ICBC recognizes West Kootenay volunteers for helping make B.C. roads safer
By Nelson Daily Editor
The Speed Watch road safety program and its volunteers made the communities of Trail, Castlegar, Kaslo and Midway a little better place to be in 2010, ICBC announced Wednesday.
Nearly 70 road safety volunteers and three community policing offices and police detachments in the West Kootenays focused on ensuring those communities were safer.
In 2010, Speed Watch volunteers in the West Kootenays contributed almost 300 hours to help reduce speed-related crashes in their communities.
With the support of volunteers, speed-related crashes have steadily decreased in BC over the last five years. Volunteers use radar and speed-reader boards supplied by ICBC to show drivers how fast they’re actually traveling.
Research shows that it works – over 70 per cent of drivers traveling 10 kilometres per hour over the speed limit slow down when they see a speed-reader board.
“These volunteers work tirelessly,” said Christine Silver, local ICBC road safety coordinator. “Many give up their time to go out on a cold, rainy day to remind drivers to stay within the posted speed limit.”
