With the Labour Day long weekend almost here, ICBC is warning that this is one of the most dangerous times on BC roads.
John Dickinson, Director of Road Safety says the North Central region sees 120 crashes over this period with 21 people injured.
“Typically on a summer long weekend, like Labour Day, we do see a spike in crashes,” he says. “Although there are not as many people living in the North-Central region, there’s still enough [in the number of] crashes that’s related to the long weekend.”
Dickinson advises travelers to leave with plenty of time, pack an emergency kit, slow down, and keep your distance, especially around logging trucks and RVs on mountainous roadways.
He says if you are behind an RV or a large truck, you need to stay patient and wait for an opportunity to pass.
“To those that are driving those types of vehicles, those RV’s, be sensitive to the fact that traffic might be backing up behind you,” he says. “Pull over at any opportunity and of course, use the right-hand lane when there’s a passing lane opportunity.”
Dickinson notes 25% of drivers responded to a survey saying their main concern is aggressive driving, but points out that YOU could be the aggressive driver you’re worried about and not even know it.
“Quite often, we lose track of how fast we might be going, maybe we try to sneak a peak at our cell phone while we’re driving and we inadvertently become the cause of problems,” he explains. “That’s why we’re reminding people to stay focused on the task of driving this long weekend.”
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
