Members of the BC Highway Patrol want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable BC Day long weekend.
Media Relations Corporal Michael McLaughlin said roads will be busier so give yourself more time to get to your destination.
He said to also practice being a little more patient, give yourself 20 percent more patience than you would normally and you’ll arrive much more safely.
McLaughlin spoke about one of the particular problems BC Highway Patrol deals with in our region.
“It’s a lack of seat belt use. For some reason people don’t like wearing their seat belts. Put your belt on, it’s literally the difference between walking away from a crash and dying at the scene and we don’t want more deaths on the road.”
Keep an eye on your speed and slow down.
“Every time you’re dealing with a crash, as the speed increases you have a logarithmic increase in severity,” McLaughlin said, “What that means in plain language is a little bit more speed means a lot more fatalities and serious injuries so slow down. Above all when you do slow down don’t drive while you’re impaired. It’s another issue that we do see in the Cariboo, it reduces your reaction time and increases your chance of dying on the roads. ”
And even though the road conditions when you’re driving are perfect, McLaughlin had this advice.
“It’s really tempting when you see those wide open roads, warm temperatures and beautiful sunsets to really drop the hammer when you’re driving, don’t do it. The fact is you greatly increase your chance of dying on the roads or killing somebody else with that increased speed. Try and slow down and enjoy the ride, take that mentality instead of the hustle mentality.”
McLaughlin said BC Highway Patrol still sees a huge problem with people driving while distracted.
“It’s not just phones, some people are still putting on makeup, eating is a really common one, but those phones are absolutely an attention leech. Put them down, if you’re tempted put it in the truck, put it in a bag out of your reach. Don’t reach for your phone focus on driving, it’s a complex task even though we do it a lot.”
He added all road users need to be respected.
“Whether you’re looking at motorcycles, people on bicycles, pedestrians, try and act like everybody is your relative and your friend. If all of us can be a little bit more respectful of each others space on the roads that would really improve the experience and the safety for everybody,” McLaughlin said.
BC Highway Patrol is always on the road and are extra conscious of these long weekends as they tend to see a spike in serious collisions and fatalities, exactly what they are trying to prevent.
Something going on in the Cariboo you think people should know about?
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