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ICBC, police warning drivers to slow down as speed-related crashes rise

Lone Sheep Publishing
By Lone Sheep Publishing
May 3rd, 2022

As the weather warms up, the Insurance Cooperation of BC (ICBC) is advising the public that an average of 141 speed-related crashes causing injury or death occur every month now through summer.

ICBC said that police-reported data shows the speed-related crashes causing injury or death is over a five-year average from 2016 to 2020.

The speed data includes unsafe speed, exceeding speed limit, excessive speed over 40km/h, and driving too fast for conditions from May to September.​

That’s why ICBC and police are launching a month-long campaign to warn drivers that driving too fast — even in ideal road conditions — can have tragic consequences.

Police will be targeting speeding drivers during May. Speed Watch volunteers will also be set up in communities across B.C. to remind drivers of the speed they’re travelling.

“Road safety is a responsibility that we all share,” said Chief Superintendent Holly Turton, Vice-Chair of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police Traffic Safety Committee.

“When drivers make good choices to not engage in high risk driving behaviours such as speeding, they are doing their part to make our roads safer together.”

Speeding remains the leading cause of car crash fatalities in B.C. with eight people, on average, killed in crashes involving speed every month from May through September.

In the Southern Interior, 37 speed-related crashes causing injury or death occur every month now through summer.

ICBC said the faster people drive, the more time and power the vehicle needs to stop.

Which is why ICBC encourages the public to slow down so you can see more of the road and have more time to react.

“We need everyone to do their part to shift the culture around dangerous and high-risk driving behaviours,” said Lindsay Matthews, ICBC’s Vice-President Customer Experience & Public Affairs.

“Reducing your speed gives you more time to react and helps ensure that everyone on the road arrives at their destination safely.”

For more information on driving tips, go to the ICBC link.

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