Construction season has begun. Despite construction being a hassle for drivers, with traffic often slowing at construction zones, the maintenance of our roads and highways is 100 per cent necessary.
Here in the Elk Valley, Highway 3 winds and turns through mountain passes and rock cuts, making it all the more important to drive slowly and pay attention to construction zone warnings.
In early December, the B.C. government announced that beginning on January 1 of this year, there would be significant changes made to the Slow Down Move Over rule. These changes were meant to ensure the safety of roadside workers throughout the province, including construction workers.
The previous regulations left several roadside workers out of the mix and only required vehicles to reduce their speed for police, fire, ambulance, town trucks, park rangers, Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement vehicles and conservation officers.
All other roadside workers were exposed to speeding cars flying by them, something I can imagine would be frightening, to say the least.
After heavy stakeholders, including the BC Road Builders and the Heavy Construction Association, raised concern over previous regulations, the government brought forward new legislation enforcing reduced speeds for drivers passing highway maintenance workers along with several other roadside workers.
Drivers are now required by law to reduce their speed to 70km/hr when driving in an 80km/h or over zone and slow down to 40 km/h when in an under 80km/h zone. Individuals that fail to meet these standards can be fined up to $173 in addition to receiving three penalty points.
Construction is a necessary evil and it’s important that drivers passing through the Elk Valley slow down and not put the maintenance workers lives at risk.
Last week, an 18-wheeler lost control at the rock cuts between Fernie and Elko, tipping over on its side near a construction zone. The RCMP advised residents to drive cautiously around the accident, as Sgt. Will Thien warned that speeding vehicles driving past the accident nearly caused another accident.
It’s important that we take the RCMP warnings into consideration. We know that construction is inevitable this summer so planning ahead is key. With so many resources available to the public, including the Elk Valley Road Report Facebook page and DriveBC, there’s really no excuse for speeding. Being late is sometimes necessary if it means that your safety and the safety of others is not at risk.