Highway speed limits under review for rural B.C. routes
Transportation Minister says drivers who don't 'go with the flow' cause accidents
B.C. will conduct a full review of highway speed limits outside of of major urban areas, Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced on Friday morning.
Stone says, as an MLA from Kamloops, he's well aware of the public's desire to see the speed limit increased on rural highways like the Coquihalla Highway, Okanagan Connector and Island Highway.
Stone says his review of highway speed limits will focus on long stretches of highway in rural areas of the Interior and on Vancouver Island.
A technical review is already underway looking at safety history, volume of traffic and travel speed, slow vehicles and wildlife corridors.
Stone says research shows it's the 15 per cent of drivers that don't "go with the flow" of traffic that cause accidents.
He says this review isn't about increasing speeds — it's about finding the correct speeds for B.C. highways.
A public consultation period begins today with eight meetings scheduled across the province.
Changes that come out of this review will be implemented by early spring next year.