Most BC Drivers Say No To Boosting Speed Limits
Prince George, B.C.- It will be January before the Province’s public consultation on highway speed comes to Prince George, but a new survey would suggest most drivers are happy with the current limits.
According to the survey conducted by Insights West for Black Press, 54% of BC drivers think the speed limits should stay the same.
The results are different when you break the numbers down by gender, with 50% of males surveyed saying speeds should be higher, and 65% of women saying the speed limits should not be changed.
Also asked in the survey was if residents would like to see a return of Photo Radar.
More than half of British Columbians (53%) and drivers (56%) believe the province should not bring back photo radar, which was introduced in the 1990s as a measure to curb speeding, but was abandoned in 2001.
Residents were also asked about the quality of British Columbia’s road and infrastructure. More than seven-in-ten (74%) rate it as “good” (68%) or “very good” (6%), while only 22% deem it “bad” (19%) or “very bad” (3%).
Overall, only 16% of British Columbians believe that the province’s roads are “not too safe” or “not safe at all” for motorists, while four-in-five (82%) consider them “very safe” or “moderately safe.”
On December 17th, from 7pm to 8 p, Transportation Minister Todd Stone will be hosting a Twitter Town Hall session (#BCSpeedReview) . A regional forum on the issue of highway speed limits will be held in Prince George on January 7th from 5-8 pm at the Ramada Hotel.
Comments
And this is why you can’t govern by plebescite.
I want to see this broken down by area of province. I bet some of those numbers will change drastically depending on what area of the province they’re talking about.
ya… increase the hywys to one ten..
From when I first started driving 20+ yrs ago vehicles were built like tanks and sucked back the gas and most were not speedy vehicles and most had basic safety which was seatbelts. Forward to present vehicles are lighter, faster, safer, easier to drive and by many accounts inherently more dangerous. The new vehicles are taking away our ability to drive which is both a good and bad thing because you lose the ability to react faster because too many people rely on their vehicle tech to do that for them on the other hand it has also directly saved my life twice by having that tech there.
It is a double edged sword people want to get from point A to point B faster but it does come at a cost and for everybody that cost is different its up to you think of what the cost is. Whether it be tech, family, perceived safeness and other factors.
“54% of BC drivers think the speed limits should stay the same”
No, 54% of survey respondents think the speed limits should stay the same
I think ALL major highways in the province should be four lanes wherever possible. The money for building it would be recouped in the medical savings alone. Time to graduate away from these archaic two lane death race speedways.
Just think about it. 2 5000lb chunks of metal speeding towards each other at a combined speed of 120 to 150mph with only a painted line and 6 or 8 feet between them. Sounds like insanity to me.
Dearth is on the right track. The new technology is lulling people into a false sense of security and raising a generation of drivers that really have no clue how to actually drive. This is especially notable in a winter climate with people absolutely clueless on how to control a skid.
did they check with anyone in th North? I never heard of this until now, when it is all over….
Leave the speed limits as is. 100 km/h is more than enough speed to get to your destination on time. Everyone, including myself, are far too confident in driving over the speed limit.
Most vehicles now have used computers to design the crush zones, most if not all have airbags. Way better steering and suspension systems and better braking components.
I am glad they did not raise the speed limit. 100km/hr. Most drivers are cruising at 105-108 any way. So it works out anyway.
Huh, are you sure the savings on the medical expenses will recoup the cost of four lanes…. or are you just passing some gas on this knowledge.
80 k on the Hart. From 5th Ave to North Kelly. I think the speed differences would be more balanced thus actually safer.
It’s probably alright to boost the speeds on the four lane freeways which have a wide median in between, but to increase the speed limits on our archaic two lane main arteries from here going north, south, east and west is a bad idea as most everybody is speeding already.
90% of people on the highways are speeding anyway….so what difference does it make?
Traffic speed signs say Maximum posted speed.
That is read as minimum.
Remember………..back in the day…..Chick……chick……..chicken….on 15th ave…..man were we dumb…..
Speed limits should be set by scientific study. We have been ingrained with the notion that speed is the culprit in most accidents. This helps the government keep their coffers topped up. Most people travel on the highways around here at 110-120kph when conditions are ideal. It is those who travel too fast for conditions that cause problems and especially those who travel at speeds much less than the average who create bottle necks in the traffic flow.
Since when is a two lane highway with no medium or center divider safe at any time?
tractor the recommended speed for the Hart there was 80 but the police said if it is posted at 80 everyone will do 90 so they said it should be posted at 70 so they will do 80. And this is what happened. Unfortunately some people don’t remember this or are unaware of this and only do 70 causing unsafe speed variations. I believe it should be posted at the 80 the study said was safe and ticket the speeders. Zero tolerance and photo radar would help.
If drivers license testing was done correctly there would be half the drivers left on our streets.
Dragonmaster I do believe you’ve nailed it but I think you’re being a bit generous with the half. If my commute home tonight indicates any thing at all the number would be closer to 40%.
That being said, if we could ever get the RCMP to ticket people for anything other than seatbelts and speeding we might be able to improve the number.
I think our province should consider installing centre-barriers along Highway 16.. I feel like I know far too many people that died this year alone on the same few stretches of that highway due to vehicles crossing the centre line… barricade that $#!* up.
Why not post the Hart at 80. I had a cop pass me doing about 95. I was at 85
That was just last week
Posted by: Dragonmaster on December 5 2013 5:49 PM
If drivers license testing was done correctly there would be half the drivers left on our streets.
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Amen to that! Time to stop handing out licenses like they’re candy at halloween.
Just think, with that many fewer drivers out there, how much safer it would be!
Just think. With that many fewer drivers out there. Not only would it be safer but we could ship a whole lot more oil/bitumen to china. WIN/WIN.
Good point Loki…
…54% of survey respondents think the speed limits should stay the same…
Lying with statistics is an old game, like the much hyped poll that said 62% of British Columbians were against the gateway pipeline…(318 out of 512 people interviewed)
Good point Loki…
…54% of survey respondents think the speed limits should stay the same…
Lying with statistics is an old game, like the much hyped poll that said 62% of British Columbians were against the gateway pipeline…(318 out of 512 people interviewed)
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