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October is Drive Relative to Conditions Month
By Bc Highway Patrol
Summer is gone, and so are the long days, dry roads, and great visibility.
The month of October is the BC Association of Chiefs of Police Drive Relative to Conditions campaign, and now that fall is here, drivers have a legal obligation to slow down and keep themselves, their loved ones, and vulnerable road users safe.
“Speed limits are created for ideal conditions, and that’s not what we’re seeing now,” said Superintendent Lori Orstad with BC Highway Patrol. “Wet roads and darkness give drivers less time to react and make it harder to stop. Give yourself extra time on your commute.”
BC Highway Patrol will be doing extra enforcement to ensure that motorists are at the speed limit or slower.
There is even a BC Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) offence specifically aimed at driving too quickly (even under the speed limit) in bad weather and darkness:
Speed relative to conditions, section 144(1)(c), with a fine of $196.
Motorists are also reminded that pedestrians are particularly vulnerable in fall weather.
“Pedestrians can help themselves by choosing bright, reflective clothing, obeying traffic lights, and making sure they have their eyes up and their phones away when they are crossing the street,” said Superintendent Orstad. “It may be the driver’s fault if you are hit in a crosswalk, but that’s no consolation if you’re badly hurt or killed.”
All road users are reminded that the BC MVA defines a “crosswalk” as:
A portion of the roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs or by lines or other markings on the surface, or;
The portion of a highway at an intersection that is included within the connection of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on the opposite sides of the highway, or within the extension of the lateral lines of the sidewalk on one side of the highway, measured from the curbs, or in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the roadway.
In plain language, a crosswalk extends from any sidewalk at an intersection to the adjoining sidewalk on the other side of that intersection.
“The goal of the Drive Relative to Conditions month is to make our roads safer for everyone,” said Orstad. “People who choose to drive unsafely will get an expensive warning about the consequences of their actions.”
Lead image: A BC Highway Patrol cruiser at the side of a wet highway in poor driving conditions. BC Highway Patrol photo
