Victoria, British Columbia — June 29, 2016 — British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is decreasing speed limits along two sections of the province’s highway system after a spike in collisions along those roads. The province had boosted the speed limits on a number of highways in July 2014. The speed limits on Highway 1 from Hope to Cache Creek will return to 90 km/h from 100 km/h and Highway 5A from Princeton to Merritt will return to 80 km/h from 90 km/h.
A total of 33 sections of highway in BC had their speed limits increased around the same time, but only those two sections will have their former speed limits restored. In total, government staff found that crash rates had increased in 14 of the 33 sections of highways where speed limits were raised.
On the other side of the coin, data from the Ministry shows that crash rates on 19 of the 33 sections either stayed the same or actually decreased.
The Coquihalla from Hope to Kamloops, for example, where the speed limit was increased from 110 kilometres per hour to 120 km/h, continues to see the lowest crash rate in the last 10 years.
“Ministry engineers have taken a close look at the speed and crash data for each section of highway where we increased speed limits,” Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Todd Stone said. “They found that on 19 of 33 segments of highways, the crash rate either fell or remained unchanged.”
Over the last six months, engineers in the ministry have carefully examined crash and speed data from the 33 sections of highway where speed limits were increased in 2014. The ministry’s analysis compares the crash data from November 1, 2014 to October 31, 2015 with crash data from the previous three years.
The data shows:
• On seven sections, the rate of speed decreased and crashes decreased.
• On 12 sections, the rate of speed increased and crashes decreased.
• On seven sections, the rate of speed increased and crashes increased.
• On the remaining seven sections, the data shows that the crash rate increased, despite motorists traveling slower than they did before the speed limits were increased.
“Of particular interest, the data shows that we saw the crash rate increase on seven sections of highway where people were actually travelling slower,” Stone said. “This suggests again that there are many different factors that can lead to crashes and speed is only one of them.”
According to an official statement from the Ministry, changing weather conditions, distracted driving, driving too fast for conditions, heavy traffic, falling asleep, alcohol, driver error and wild animals can all contribute to crashes. Distracted driving, road conditions and driving too fast for conditions contributed to 54 percent of serious crashes where speed limits changed.
“Once again, this data serves as a reminder for the public to put your phone away while you are driving,” Stone said. “We continue to see a rising number of people being killed or injured while using their phones and driving a vehicle. A text message, a phone call, a Facebook post is not worth your or someone else’s life.”
The Ministry retained University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers to assess the first year’s crash data and look specifically at the sections of highways where the speed limits increased. The researchers concluded that there was not enough data in a single year to develop a statistically-significant trend for individual highway segments. However, they were able to determine, using a theoretical model, that the increase in crashes for all segments was up by an average of 11 percent in the first year. A statement from the Ministry says the UBC modelling is consistent with the 9 increase the province saw on all other British Columbian highways where the speed limits were not raised.
The researchers recommended that more analysis be done for a longer period of time and projected that the crash rate would drop in the coming years.
“The findings in the reports highlight some of the challenges and complexities of looking at this data for only one year. We really need at least three years of data to establish a trend and we need to look at the trends in context with the range of causes for crashes,” Stone said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we will be introducing new safety features and making adjustments, where needed, on sections of highway where the crash rates have increased.”
In total, the crash rate increased on 14 of 33 sections of highways where speed limits increased. On the 14 sections where the crash rate has increased, the province will invest in added safety features like improved road markings, better signage, new rumble strips, variable speed signs and wildlife safety measures.
