The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is working to improve winter driving conditions on B.C. highways.
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“I have heard from people and communities throughout the province that we need to take action to improve safety on our highways,” Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a news release. “With that in mind, our government is moving quickly to implement changes that will ensure people are able to get where they need to go more safely through the winter months.”
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Road-maintenance contractor monitoring will be enhanced to include GPS tracking of snow plows, and commercial vehicles will face higher fines for failing to carry chains or chain up when necessary.
Winter tire and chain regulations on select highways will be expanded to Oct. 1 to April 30 (instead of March 31) to account for early spring snowfall.
A pilot program will be introduced to restrict commercial vehicles from using the far left lane on key three-lane highway sections in the winter to ensure routes remain open for snow plows, emergency vehicles and private vehicles.
The province is also investing $1.8 million over the next three years in additional weather stations and overhead message signs to provide better road condition information.
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