Posts Tagged ‘ winterdriving ’

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...

It’s been a long winter, and the white stuff is still on the ground in some parts of the province. But take heart! Spring is finally here, and so comes a little “housekeeping” to keep things in order. What do you include in your spring cleaning checklist? Windows? Closets? Garage? Behind the bed? Under the stove? Well, we also have a list of to-do’s, but it looks a little different than yours. Here are a few things on our...

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...

It’s pretty simple, really. Stopping distance is the distance it takes your vehicle to come to a complete stop once you apply your brakes. The faster you are travelling, the longer it will take you to come to a complete stop (and being able to stop your vehicle as quickly as possible when you need to is always a good thing). “Speed limits are for ideal driving conditions. Winter driving conditions are not ideal. Slow down and drive safely!”...

There’s an essential rule about sharing the road with snowplows: NEVER pass them on the right. In 2016, there were 11 collisions between cars and snowplows, on one BC highway alone. That’s a lot of crashes and a lot of stress, grief and costs for a lot of people! Check out the video above, featuring VSA Highway Maintenance, our contractor responsible for the Coquihalla Highway. The reason why you don’t want to pass an operating plow on the right,...

When we asked you about your winter driving pet peeves, one of the most common responses was drivers who don’t clear their entire vehicle of snow. We’ve all seen those rolling snowballs with only the front (and maybe the rear) windows having been touched by a snow brush. There are a couple reasons why drivers who don’t clear their vehicles peeve people off. With no line of sight out the side windows or mirrors, the guilty driver has an...

One of the most common mistakes drivers are making these dark, wintry days is failing to activate their tail lights. If you’re ever trailing one of these phantom cars, either during a cloudy day or even at night, chances are there are one or more misconceptions at play. Misconceptions: Tail lights are like daytime running lights: they are always on. Not true. They turn on with the headlights. A lit up dashboard means all lights are on. Not always...

If you are unable to view this video, click here to watch on our YouTube channel. We’re big fans of the maxim: “drive to conditions.” Highway travellers improve their safety dramatically by following those three words, especially in winter. Our highway engineers set speed limits based on IDEAL driving conditions – think bare, dry roads and warm, clear weather. Once factors mess with these conditions – be it fog, rain, snow… whatever – drivers should adjust by slowing...