Is the tailgater behind you causing you undue stress because you’re already driving at the speed limit?
The provincial government has the solution to your problem: drive faster.
That’s one of the recommendations being implemented from a provincial road safety and speed review that may raise a few eyebrows.
After assessing more than 9,000 kilometres of B.C. highways over the past year, the province will “adjust†the speed limit for about 1,300 km.
That will include bringing in a new overall maximum speed of 120 km/h, as well as trying out “variable speed zones†along sections of the Trans-Canada, Coquihalla, and Sea-to-Sky Highways.
Other changes stemming from the review include redefining “winter tires†and cutting a month off their season (ending March 31, instead of April 30).
New regulations and enforcement provisions for “keep right except to pass†will please those who are frustrated by slow drivers – and those who feel no one else is ever going fast enough.
While many of the changes – like those aimed at reducing crashes involving wildlife – make good sense and will be welcomed universally, some leave us scratching our heads.
For instance, at a time when German authorities have re-opened debate over the possibility of setting speed limits on their famous Autobahn – with proponents citing studies indicating it would reduce serious crashes – the idea of raising speed limits in B.C. seems counter-intuitive.
If the goal is to reduce accidents caused by frustrated drivers, a better solution might be to increase enforcement to get those frustrated drivers off the road.
And we’re not sure how a new requirement for drivers with more than five vehicles backed up behind them to pull over will work during rush hour.
– B.G.