I was on the roads south of town this morning. From the old Art Knapps the roads where horribly slippery, like a sheet of glass. Once we got to the Stonebuck Road (just south of the new scale site) the roads were suddenly sanded and in very good condition. Interestingly that is where Quesnel takes over road maintenance.

Frankly somebody should place criminal charges against YRB. There was not a sign of any road maintenace vehicles in the Prince George region, but on my way to Quesnel at approx 7am this morning I met not one, not two, not three, but four different road maintenance vehicles once I was in the Quesnel district.

The local company is an absolute disgrace.

By the way the title of this report is terrible. It implies the accidents on the road were the fault of those traveling when in reality the lack of road maintenance is the main problem.

I agree with Stompin Tom it is time that YRB is held accountable.

They should be held accountable that people are driving too fast for the conditions?

If you crash and blame conditions, ICBC says you did not take adequate care and attention in driving to the conditions, it is all your fault.

Even in a multi-vehicle incident, if a driver blames conditions, see above.

MrPG- thats always YRB's excuse. "People driving too fast for road conditions". Why don't we just post a 50km/hr limit wherever YRB is supposed to be maintaining our roads, and then just not pay them? Our roads would be safer, and we would save a lot of money.

I came through from McBride last night in a raging blizzard from Goat river to Tabor Mnt. Saw one sand/plow truck and one car in the ditch waiting for a wrecker. Was no surprise to me to hear this report today.

It is a well known but ignored fact among our gov't that YRB does less than what it should to maintain our hwys in safe winter condition, particularly from PG to Bednesti.

How is it so many other areas seem to get the job done before the roads get dangerous?

From Bednesti to Vanderhoof is always looked after the way they all should be.

Why does it take incidents such as these and so many others where fatalities occur before the hwys get sanded/plowed?

How/why does YRB get away with their lack of making all our hwys in their areas of resonsibility safe for those whose taxdollars pay their wages?

Perhaps those responsible from YRB should be brought up on the carpet to explain to us peeons just how they are legally allowed to get away with it.

I suppose when our family members are injured or killed they just say driving to fast for road conditions.

Awesome way of saving money!

In the real world, when one designs something and also maintains it, one is responsible for that work. If it is improperly done, it then gets categorized as not designed or maintained for the purpose for which it is intended.

The user also has a responsibility. That responsbility is clearly identified in the MVA. The design and maintenance responsibilities are obviously not enshrined in an Act of Parliament.

However, due diligence is, under the Criminal Code of Canada and it has been strengthened several years ago through Bill C45.

In fact, YRB are the experts. They know the roads, they know the weather and they know where and when they might find icy conditions. Someone driving on a section of road they do not normally drive on would have no such knowledge.

It is something like saying that the person who has an accident as a result of a gas pedal sticking in a Toyota should have checked the gas pedal and all other mechanical conditions of the car before driving it.

ICBC should check into there driving history and rewiew it carefully.we dont need these type of people on the road

At the end of the day, it's up to each individual driver to drive to the conditions. Ultimately, people have to take personal responsibility. The crashes were caused by driver error.

I have to assume that many cars passed the accident areas safely. Guess what? They were driving to the conditions.

Let the blame game continue.

Blame game & driving to suit the conditions not withstanding,it is a fact
that the local YRB do not maintain the local roads to a high standard, all the time. We live out of town (North)and commute daily to P.G. and have found for many years that YRB does not plow or sand the highway, or the side roads in a timely fashion. Of course the highway gets first priority, but so often the traffic has compacted the snow on the highway into a bumpy, rutted track, before the YRB truck has left the yard in the morning at 07:30 or 08:00. Even the sideroad school bus routes are not plowed and sanded right away and why not? I have found that if one drives according to the conditions you are usually fine. What about the times, usually once or twice a winter, where the freze-thaw cycle has left a side road nearly impassable due to glare ice? I have seen that condition last for more than a day, I think maybe they are afraid to take their trucks out, too slippery. As for black ice on the highway how many people want to drive to Mcbride at 40 km/h in case they hit black ice? Maybe studded tires should be mandated, then YRB would only have to plow snow and not spread sand and gravel on our roads.
metalman.

I think it is time we remove speed limit signs from roads and get rid of the RCMP who patrol highways ........

Everyone can figure out themselves what the conditions are and drive accordingly.

Seems ot work fine in some parts of the world.

Also we remove the "no-fault" part of the ICBC insurance so that they can recover the total dollars paid out on a claim from the person at fault.

sorry metalman, I cannot agree with you.
As far as I am concerned, we live in "the north". That means we will get snow, and conditions that very from slightly above freezing to many degrees below freezing. It is the drivers responsibility and duty to ensure that their vehicle is properly equipped for the season and the weather.

If the majority of your driving is north of hope, you really IMO should have studded winter tyres, period. I have seen so many people in the PG region driving with "all-season" tires. 2 weeks ago I saw a young female trying to move a car they had just put plates back on, she was stuck in the middle on the hard packed road with SUMMER tires.

Not only is that a joke to think they can actually get away with that, it is a hazard to you and me. It may be legal, but it sure is dumb. It is also a fact that all season tires loose traction below -7c, about the temperature that proper winter tires begin to excel at what they were designed to do. These new stud-less tire are nothing more than a scam to sell "nice" tires to gullible urbanites. Only steel studs will do the job, in the winter everything else is mickey mouse, kill the mouse before you kill another human life.

I have been on those glass slick roads. Actually it was a logging road that was clear, but it had gotten a shine on it. I had to install tire chains on the drivers front to steer with and the driven rear wheel to move. I still could not go over 20km/h it was so slippery.

If you do not want to drive less than 40 km/h all the way to McBride, postpone your trip till the weather clears. to do other wise only adds to road hazards.

YRB what say you? If the roads can be maintained adequately on both sides of your jurisdiction than why can't you? Step up or step off. Lives are at stake.

I agree with MrPG people need to take responsibility for their actions. Lets see below zero with shaded sections of road humidity in the 60% to 70% range equals a pretty good chance of black ice.... hummm what should I do.

Oh and don't forget if you drive at the posted speed limit (or faster) under these conditions and have an accident remember to blame everyone else, its not your fault.

PGDriver- no matter what speed you are going (could be 10km) if you have an accident due to poor road conditions, YRB and ICBC will simply say that you were driving too fast for road conditions. Its their "get out of jail free card", and they are not going to give it up.
If we are not going to ensure high standards in highway maintenance, then we should follow Quebec's lead and mandate winter tires (all seasons don't qualify) for everyone north of Hope.

Actually Loki, the compounds used for all season tires generally start to lose their flexibility at PLUS seven degrees not MINUS seven. This is also the line where winter tires start to perform better than all seasons.

Now, that isn't to say that all seasons are dangerous at plus six, it just means that there are better alternatives out there. I agree that there isn't much doubt that proper winter tires perform better than all seasons and most definitely summer tires. The science doesn't lie. That said, there are also situations where studs are WORSE than studless winters. On bare pavement for example, the stopping distances for studded tires can actually be longer than studless winters. On ice, however, the studs would be better.

It's all a case of matching the tires to the conditions you drive in. In those regards I agree that people should be prepared for the worst. I also agree with the other posters as well though. If the highway conditions are terrible up to a line on the road and immediately become better when a different maintenance company takes over, then obviously there are issues.

I actually find that this time of year and early fall is the worst for driving. Much fluctuation between freezing and thawing, freezing rain, the odd snow storm, etc. Winter is generally consistent. Spring and fall can be especially unpredictable and people need to be extra cautious at those times of year IMHO.

I don't have a problem with mandating the use of winter tires, however, I also tend to think that allot of the people who get into problems with all seasons would get into problems with winters as well. They aren't a replacement for common sense and cautious driving. In some cases, they may even give people a false sense of security, sort of like how it's inevitable that the first vehicle in the ditch every year will be a 4x4 or SUV. There isn't much the government can when it comes to forcing people to use their brains. Personally, I think the worst offenders out there are the trucks and SUV's.

Hey Loki, with respect, can you please re-read my post? Perhaps my opinions are being expressed in 'super subtle mode'
metalman.

I have driven with studded tires, and with studless winter tires. Now I might not be an expert, but from my experience I have made the following observations.

Studded tires seem to work better in deep snow, and have longer life due. Good if you put on a lot of km's and go down a lot of unplowed roads.

Studless tires (but still winter tires), stick to the ice better, but you do not get as many seasons from them. Better if you live in town and mostly drive on icy streets.

Last tires I bought - Studded
Next tires I will buy - Studless

i drive with summer tires year round for the last 12 years and i have never crashed once..maybe these people should learn how to drive

Mr Frye,

You are perfect.

Stompin Tom.

ps, when you do get in an accident in the winter be forwarned that your ICBC insurance will be voided.

set the hook and reel him in don.