In many parts of BC including the north, drivers are seeing winter conditions and snowfall on the roads.
With the forecast of La Niña, cooler and wetter conditions are expected when compared to previous years.
According to WorkSafeBC, the average number of crashes where someone is killed or injured due to ‘driving too fast for the conditions’ more than doubles from 99 in September to 220 in December.
Head of Prevention Al Johnson spoke with Vista Radio.
“Often, those are workers who are driving for a living or driving to their work so a real message with Shift into Winter is to plan ahead.”
He added winter driving provides its own set of challenges.
“Roads are slippery there is reduced visibility whether it’s the rain or the fog or whether it’s the snow and ice driving during the winter during the workday is much more hazardous. ”
In addition, 28% of all work-related crashes resulting in injury and time-loss claims occur in November, December, and January.
The Winter Driving Safety Alliance encourages drivers and employers to adhere to these tips to stay safe on the road this winter:
· Plan ahead and check current road and weather conditions on DriveBC.ca.
· Install a set of four matched winter tires with the 3-peaked mountain/snowflake symbol.
· Give your vehicle a pre-season maintenance check-up.
· Keep an emergency kit in your vehicle.
· Slow down—the posted speed limit is the maximum speed under ideal driving conditions. Reduce your speed below the speed limit and drive with extra care.
· Maintain a safe following distance—look ahead and keep at least four seconds of distance between you and the vehicle in front.
To learn more about the Shift into Winter campaign, click here.
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