Prince George, B.C. –  Traffic volumes on  highways throughout BC are expected to  be high as people hit  the road to either enjoy the last long weekend of summer,  or head home from  holidays.  Whatever the reason that  finds people behind the wheel,  North District RCMP Traffic Services  are calling for people to drive carefully.

Last year  in the North Central region,16 people were injured in 120 crashes over the Labour Day long weekend.

Police say you can expect to see plenty of  RV’s on the road,  and drivers may  find RVs are driving below the speed limit because the vehicles may be underpowered and overloaded. Drivers are asked to be patient with RV drivers,  as  the RV is likely going uphill as fast as it can.   The advice for RV drivers, is to be courteous and pull over to let others by if you’re holding up traffic. This is much safer than a driver making an unsafe pass out of frustration.

As always,  preplanning  your trip is essential,   with  first making sure your  vehicle is in  good operating condition by checking coolant levels, lights, tires,  and that anything  loaded on  the vehicle is securely tied down.

Plan your route,  check with  drivebc.ca  for conditions on major routes in the province.

Keep  your distance ,  allowing at least two  seconds of following distance  in good  road conditions,  at least three seconds on high speed roads  and increase your distance when following  a large vehicle such as  an RV or logging truck.

The last couple of  weeks  throughout North District have seen  numerous crashes  which resulted in five fatalities. Exercising some patience and  care  will go a long way to  ensuring  everyone wraps up  the summer of 2016  by getting home safely.