It’s summertime, which means people are hitting the highways for vacations, trips to the cottage, and to do some exploring. It also means that more people are using B.C.’s road, from bike-riding kids to those on horseback, and road construction season is at its peak.
Drivers should therefore be aware of hazards, such as wildlife activity, which increases during the summer months. Road Safety at Work urges drivers to be on the alert for animals on the province’s highways.
Every year in B.C. some 9,900 vehicle collisions with wildlife are reported, according to ICBC, although the actual numbers may be much higher due to under-reporting. Collisions with deer and moose often increase at this time of year.
“Wildlife collisions often happen with little or no warning and are traumatic for everyone involved,” explains Trace Acres, Program Director for Road Safety at Work, which aims to prevent work-related crashes. “Drivers, their passengers, and animals can be injured or killed by the initial impact.”
A male elk can weigh more than 300 kg (700 pounds), and a male moose can weigh up to 700 kg (1,500 pounds). The force of a collision with such a large animal can cause serious injuries when drivers lose control of their vehicle and go off the road or hit another vehicle.
Wildlife collisions are more common during dawn and dusk — from 6 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. — when animals are most active and light conditions are low. Collisions often occur on highways and roads connecting rural and suburban areas, and near good habitat and forage sites such as green belts, parks, fields, and golf courses.
Animals are unpredictable, and may appear to be leaving the road, then turn suddenly and run right in front of you. Drivers should remain alert during peak wildlife hours, and watch for animal crossing signs. Scan the roadsides, looking for movement or shining eyes, and slow down if you see an animal at the side of the road; others might be nearby.
Pay attention to other drivers: someone flashing their headlights may be signalling that they’ve seen an animal. If you do see an animal, resist the urge to stop and take pictures, as this might endanger you or other drivers.
If a collision seems imminent, apply the brakes firmly (don’t jam them), and try not to swerve, as you might head into oncoming traffic or collide with a different hazard. If you do need to swerve, aim for where the animal came from, and try to sound your horn, to encourage the animal to get out of the way.
When it comes to human beings working along the province’s highways, drivers can’t be too careful. From 2014 through 2023 in B.C., nine roadside workers were killed, and another 251 were injured severely enough to miss work, according to WorkSafeBC statistics.
“Every time you drive through a roadside work zone, you're not just passing cones and barriers. You're in someone's workplace,” says Acres. "Just like you, these workers deserve to be safe in their workplace. Slow down and pay attention. Work zones are temporary, but our actions behind the wheel can last forever.”
Roadside workers are in vulnerable positions, with traffic passing within metres of them. They include traffic control persons, road maintenance crews, utility workers, landscapers, paramedics and police officers, tow operators, waste collectors, and many more. Every shift they are at risk of being struck by vehicles.
B.C. law requires drivers approaching and driving through roadside work zones to slow down and drive with care, pay attention and leave the phone alone, and obey road signs and traffic control persons and devices.
Drivers may see more than bright orange cones marking work sites. Automated flagger assistance devices (AFADs) are becoming common throughout B.C. These safety devices use a gate arm and traffic light to guide drivers. Vehicles need to stop when the gate is down and a red light is shining.
Vehicles stopped at the roadside with red, blue, amber, or white lights flashing are also work zones under B.C.’s Slow Down and Move Over law. It requires drivers to slow down and switch to another lane if it is possible and safe to do so. If you see flashing lights at the side of the road, you must slow down to at least 70 km/hr (if the posted speed limit is 80 km/hr or higher), or to at least 40 km/hr if the posted speed limit is 50 to 80 km/hr.
New rules implemented in early June also mean that drivers must keep new minimum distances from people walking and riding on the province’s roads, in order to protect vulnerable road users. These include pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, individuals on animals or in vehicles pulled by animals, and people who use electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and electric kick scooters.
Drivers are required to keep at least one metre away when passing these users on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/hr or less. On roads with a speed limit of 51 km/hr or more, drivers must keep at least 1.5 metres away when passing. Distances are measured from the furthest protruding part of a passing motor vehicle, such as a mirror, to the furthest protruding part of a vulnerable road user or their equipment, such as a handlebar.
