Posts Tagged ‘ shiftintowinter ’

What You Need to Know About Stricter Chain-Up Rules

We’ve introduced better chain-up regulations for commercial vehicles, which will provide more clarity for professional drivers this winter. That means safer roads, too. The changes come in the wake of one of our worst winters for highway closures. Unprepared commercial trucks caused 41 highway closures because they were either poorly equipped or totally unequipped with chains. In some cases, this was due to the driver’s inability to install the chains properly. Loss of traction in winter conditions leads to...

National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims

re-mem-brance (ri-mem-‘br-ens) noun. the act or process of remembering the state of being remembered Today (Nov. 21) is National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims in Canada– a day set aside to remember those killed or seriously injured on Canadian roads. It’s also a time to consider the victims’ friends and families who are left struggling with the sudden loss of people they love. We choose not to use the word “accident” because these crashes are more often...

Starting this week, we are restricting commercial vehicles from using the far left lane northbound on the Coquihalla’s Snowshed Hill between Box Canyon and Zopkios with our No Trucks in the Left Lane pilot program (other select routes in the Interior to possibly follow). The restriction is in effect year-round. The Coquihalla Highway is one of the province’s busiest mountain passes. Both passenger and commercial vehicles rely on it as a primary connection between the Lower Mainland and the...

Commercial drivers on the Coquihalla have a lot more room to equip their vehicles with chains now that the Box Canyon chain-up facility has expanded from 14 to more than 70 parking spaces. But the larger site will be unchartered territory for many professional drivers this winter. Whiteout conditions combined with road markings hidden by snow and ice could make identifying parking spaces and through lanes difficult. So, to help you prepare for the next big winter storm on...

It’s not even “officially” winter yet but we’re certainly already getting hit by it. With the Shift into Winter safety campaign in full swing, we’ve noticed a lot more activity on some of our websites lately as people get ready for the ice, snow and earlier night times. We’ve collected your top 5 winter resources, based on visit popularity, to provide you a bit of a one stop shop. Passenger Vehicle – Tire and Chain Requirements What’s the legal...

Sure, we know what you’re thinking… “Of course I know how to dress myself!” But you won’t believe how often ministry staff come across drivers severely underdressed (some even wearing flip flops!), stranded on the side of the road with a broken down vehicle or struggling to chain up during a snow storm. Don’t let the sanctuary of your vehicle fool you. Yes, vehicles are toasty and warm when they’re running – some even have heated seats and steering...

We get questions about winter tires all the time. Well, not all the time – mostly in October when winter tire regulations go into effect on most BC highways until the end of March. Drivers want to know which tires are legally considered winter tires, and which tires provide maximum performance in cold, snow and ice. They also want to know how their vehicle is already equipped, so they can better decide if they need new tires. So, we...

“I was in a hurry.” That was the excuse a Vancouver Island driver gave when one of our CVSE officers stopped him on the Malahat for driving with a mere “porthole” of snow cleared from his windshield. The officer issued the driver a $368 fine and didn’t let him continue driving without clearing all the snow off his vehicle. When we tweeted the photo, many of you were shocked: What’s worse, this isn’t just a one-off occurrence. Surrey RCMP...

Having trouble viewing this video in your browser? Try watching it directly on our YouTube channel. The Coquihalla (BC Highway 5 from Hope to Merritt) is the province’s busiest mountain pass. At more than 1,200 metres in elevation, it’s also one of the routes hit hardest by heavy snowfall and other winter conditions. Fear not… we have a plan, and a team of professionals to execute what we call: The Coquihalla Snowshed Protocol. When the snow flies, the...

We’ve heard from a few folks recently asking how they can travel the Coquihalla safely during the winter. Apart from our usual recommendations for proper tires, checking DriveBC, keeping a full tank of gas and driving to conditions, we thought we could help travellers make better decisions around their travel by identifying some of the winter conditions found on the Coquihalla and explaining how they might impact travel. So, we asked our Weather Services Specialist, Simon Walker (who worked...