Photo courtesy ICBC

Prince George, B.C. – With the B.C. Day long weekend upon us, ICBC is reminding motorists to remain vigilant when behind the wheel.

According to the public auto insurer, five people are killed and 600 injured in 2,400 crashes on average during the upcoming long weekend.

“On average, there are over 500 crashes involving large trucks and 370 crashes involving RV’s in B.C. throughout the summer,” adds ICBC. “Due to their sheer size and significant weight, crashes with trucks and other large vehicles are usually much more serious, with occupants of the smaller vehicles more likely to be seriously injured or killed.”

With those sobering stats in mind, ICBC is offering the following tips to prevent crashes with large vehicles:

• Stay focused: distracted driving is the top contributing factor in crashes involving large vehicles. To mitigate the risk, program your GPS before leaving home or ask a passenger to manage your texts or calls.
• Allow space for roll backs: Heavy vehicles can roll back as far as 15 feet when stopped on a hill so give plenty of space.
• Drive out of blind spots: Keep clear of blind spots. When following, you should be able to see both mirrors of the RV or truck in front of you.
• Leave more space to break: If you’re passing a truck, remember to leave extra room before pulling back in. Trucks need plenty of space to slow down. If you pull in too close, the truck driver may have to brake hard to avoid a crash (possibly jack-knifing in the process).
• Have lots of space to pass: You need a lot of space when passing a large vehicle.
• Return the favour when merging: If a truck moves to the left lane to let you merge with traffic on a highway, slow down to let them return to the right lane in front of you. It helps them get out of the faster-moving left lane.
• Have a little patience: If you’re following a slow-moving RV climbing a hill, give them plenty of space with the understanding that they’re probably trying their best to keep up with the flow of traffic.

Over the BC Day long weekend, 20 people are injured in 130 crashes in northern B.C.

(Injured victims and crashes from 2015 ICBC data and fatal victims from police data five-year average. 2010-2014.)