Road Safety Advice – 66 Characters at a Time


Short, succinct and speaking to you in 66 characters or less, our dynamic message signs have a lot to say about safety.

WHAT are dynamic message signs?

You’ve likely noticed our big message signs overhead, and you may have seen them pictured on the DriveBC map. We call them “dynamic,” because their electronic messages change to help you stay safe and informed on the road – using two lines (or three lines on our biggest signs) of up to 22 characters each. They let you know what’s on the road ahead, so you’re prepared to drive to the conditions.

HOW do they help you stay safe?

At times, the signs report incidents like vehicle crashes or mudslides, climatic conditions like slushy sections or black ice, or planned events like avalanche control, line painting or construction. They may also issue amber alerts to advise travellers of missing children or provide emergency information, like tsunami warnings in coastal areas.

WHERE are the signs?

Check out the DriveBC map to see the location of our approximately 150+ signs permanently located around the province. Just click on the Dynamic Message Sign icon, on the legend at the right of your screen. (They’ll appear on the map as “DMS” as shown below).

WHY short messages?

We want to be sure our safety notices can be absorbed by motorists in motion, so we follow pre-approved guidelines so they can be read at least once. Short words, common language, numbers, symbols and standardized abbreviations, are used to put across the point.

WHEN there is nothing out of the ordinary on a highway, what do you do?

If it’s “business as usual” and there is no traffic, roadway or traveller news for the stretch ahead, we program the signs with other road-related reminders. For example, we might provide winter driving tips or Cone Zone reminders. When we’re supporting a campaign by ICBC and the RCMP to stop distracted driving. the big overhead boards urge drivers to focus on the road and not their cell phones.

Often, we time the message with the calendar; for example, you might see “ROAD CHECKS ON NOW”, during the December festive season. In summer, they might communicate about campfire bans in the area. When there are frequent weather changes, due to the season, a dynamic message sign could caution, “CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS, PLEASE DRIVE SAFELY”.

WHO chooses the messages?

Ministry and maintenance contractor staff from around the province, along with our safety partners like police and ICBC, advise DriveBC employees of what motorists need to know. When the words are programmed onto the various signs, the signs’ messages also show up on our DriveBC map or on “Plan Your Route.”

The signs are among our intelligent transportation system (ITS) tools to keep you safe. A few are even smart changeable message signs which connect to a nearby ministry weather station or sensor, to let drivers know instantly about conditions they need to cruise with care.

The message may be brief and simple but our dynamic signs speak volumes about staying safe on BC roads.

Are you interested in how transportation information is communicated throughout BC? Check out:

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Page 1 of 23 comments on “Road Safety Advice – 66 Characters at a Time”

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  1. hello. i think the messages on BC’s dynamic messages signs are not very helpful.
    They need to say’ stay back 3 seconds from the car in front”, or ‘dont throw your cigerette butts out the window’ , ‘watch closely for motercycles, they are hard to see’
    ‘speed limits are for ideal conditions only. drive below the speed limit’, ‘do not light fires when its hot and dry.’ ‘hyway 1, hope to cache creek. long delays at 3 locations.’, see how effective these statements are? Just a few suggestions for new messages.
    please use them asap!

  2. I believe there should be a southbound sign before the scale area on 19 S. in Parksville. With so many accidents between The scale area and Nanaimo a sign warning of any delays would enable drivers to turn off at the scale area instead of going south and spending time in Parksville until the problem has cleared.

    • Hi again Diana,

      While there are no current plans at this location, we will be considering further infrastructure additions of this nature in the future to provide advance notice during incidents for those corridors with limited or no detour routes. Drivers are encouraged to check DriveBC before they go to ensure they are aware of the road conditions and any potential delays to their travels.

  3. Why is the dynamic overhead sign located at the Mission chamber of Commerce facing the wrong direction? The #7 highway eastbound of Mission surely warrants more “dynamic” road information than approaching Mission at 60km/hr.

    • Hello there Peter and thanks for your question. We shared your concern with our staff in the area. The sign informs westbound drivers of delays to the west (moving towards the urban centre and Mission Bridge. In other words, we have experienced delays in the west bound direction more than the eastbound direction. Hope this is helpful.

  4. The overhead TCH sign in Kamloops (westbound) states “no leisure travel”. This statement adds to the confusing Provincial message re: travel restrictions. How about a positive message that is more clear e.g. “Stay in Your Region”? Or “Travel Only within Region”. The Premier has not banned local leisure travel, but has encouraged local camping, for example.
    Make it easier for everyone to do the right thing.

    • Hi Mark,

      Thanks for your comment. A positive approach is always a good thing and we appreciate your wording suggestion. We have shared it forward with our staff for their consideration and discussion. Thanks again for connecting with us here. Safe travels.

  5. For eastbound Highway 95, just outside of Cranbrook, the recently installed “INFO-CRAN-3E-1” is not on the Drive BC Map View.

    Be nice if this was on the Drive BC website.

    • Hi Dan – thanks for your comment. This is one of four DMS signs which we have noted as experiencing technical difficulties at the moment. We hope to have it resolved shortly. Safe travels and thanks again.

  6. why not employ as many safet messages as available on the overhead signs ie.
    slow down and live
    speed kills
    drive road conditions
    fasten seat belts
    use tail lamps in darkness
    maintain safe following distance
    use caution passing
    pass when its safe

  7. I take the upper levels highway in West Vancouver every day, and I have been distracted several times by the dynamic message sign 11-1 (route 99 northbound, near the Cypress mountain exit.) The message is too long to read in one screen, so it flashes to a second “page”. I have enough time to read a message such as “road closure” or “icy conditions ahead” but I don’t think this is the appropriate location to tell drivers to “share your input on future priorities bc on the move survey at drive bc.ca” (that is the current message today.)This message is way too long, and irrelevant for drivers when they are actually driving. I think the purpose of the dynamic message signs is to update drivers on the conditions of the road ahead, and as such, that is all we should be concentrating on. I hope this concern will get to the right person, and that the use of these signs will be kept to their original purpose. Thank you.

    • Hi Beth,
      Thank you for taking the time to share your concern with us. We contacted our area office regarding your comment and they assured us safety messages, such as “icy roads” etc., take priority on our reader boards, and if conditions such as those were an issue the current messaging would be replaced immediately. The #BContheMove messaging will only be in place until December 12th. Hope that this helps!

  8. Daytime Running Lights – It’s the Law. Can you put up this notice on the dynamic signs? We are seeing an epidemic of vehicles running around without daytime running lights. Education trumps enforcement, right?
    Thanks!

  9. It would be of considerable safety value to have changeable message signs display the wording “CAUTION OVERSIZE LOADS” when permits are issued for specific routes where loads exceed a width of 14 feet or 4.26 meters or lengths greater than 100 feet or 30.48 meters. There is no need to use dynamic message signs for over height loads unless they involve a combination of safety concerns which are engineer accompany or police escorts due to additional safety concerns.
    The use of dynamic message sign information for the foregoing would be considered of extreme safety value as many of these loads will be travelling along two lane highways on their ways to Alberta throughout the winter months, where both traffic and road conditions would dictate advance warning to motorists approaching such movements regardless of times of day, ether from in front or from the rear.

  10. I wonder why it is when I drive over the malahat the sign never gives the current road report, I have traveled over the Hat in dense fog, snow or been tied up in a accident cue and no information was displayed or was put up an hour later. Is no one watching the many weather cameras along the route?

    • Hi Mike,

      Thanks for your comment.

      We do our very best to stay on top of changing weather and road conditions with 2 full time staff monitoring the 180+ webcams across the province 24/7 and receiving incoming road condition and event data from our ministry staff and contractors. Because our maintenance contractor and district staff provide us with some of our road condition information, there can be a short delay between the time an incident or condition happens and when it is reported on DriveBC (and on the Dynamic Message Signs). If you notice a discrepancy or highway issue during your travels, and you think it should be reported, we encourage you to connect with us and let us know: http://www.drivebc.ca/rahp/index.html

      Thanks again!