This is a short trip down memory lane with a retired traffic cop: me. Having recently completed a round trip from Vancouver Island to the West Kootenays and back, I had plenty of time to think along the way. There were ghosts along Highway 3 from the Manning Park works yard to Rock Creek, one of my old patrol areas.
I found myself recalling the sites of serious collisions that I had investigated and areas where I knew I could always find frequent violations of the traffic rules. I was transferred away from there in 1997, but some incidents that took place before then are still not far enough in the past. If they resurface for me, I wonder how they still affect the people involved along with their families and friends today.
During my trip, I was passed over a double solid line three times and had to prepare for evasive action during one of them. In each case, the speed limit was simply not fast enough for the drivers involved. I wish that I still had my ticket book and flashing red and blue lights when these things happen.
Highway 3A and Green Mountain Road near Yellow Lake was a common spot for this behaviour. On a holiday Monday, I would have my laser and a stack of pre-written tickets ready, stop sign in hand. Traffic returning to the Lower Mainland would round the corner with the lead vehicle at or just above the 80 km/h limit. Inevitably, one of the vehicles in the group behind it would sail out over the double solid line as the driver put their foot to the floor.
Vehicle impoundment for driving at excessive speed was not part of my enforcement toolkit back then. If it had been, there is no doubt in my mind that the available tow trucks would not have been able to keep up with the demand.
Before you point out that this long straight stretch is an unfair invitation to westbound traffic, I’ll remind you that eastbound drivers using the passing lane don’t always check for illegal oncoming traffic. Furthermore, the intersection complicates the situation. Drivers who pass in this scenario are adjusting their default setting to one that will eventually have significant, life-altering consequences.
My BC Highway Patrol shiftmates and I didn’t always get to write tickets until our fingers fell off on long weekends. Sometimes we would have to put our speed measuring tools away and investigate a serious crash instead.
Unfortunately, regional statistics remind us that the holiday rush routinely ends in tragedy. According to data from ICBC, an average of three people are killed and 536 are injured in crashes across the province over the Victoria Day long weekend, with police issuing upwards of 2,800 speeding tickets during the blitz:
- Lower Mainland: An average of 403 people are injured in nearly 1,400 crashes.
- Southern Interior: An average of 76 people are injured in 322 crashes.
- Vancouver Island: An average of 75 people are injured in 317 crashes.
- Northern B.C.: An average of 20 people are injured in 134 crashes.
It is bad enough when only the offender suffers the consequences of aggressive driving, but more often than not, their actions involve innocent road users. While many associate impaired driving primarily with winter holidays, the warm seasonal months actually carry the highest risk for everyone. Historically, up to 40% of impaired driving fatalities occur during the summer months, starting with the first major spikes over the May long weekend.
Being retired, I can now choose to avoid driving during holiday long weekends, or I can choose to travel early and leave late. To those of you who don’t have that luxury—especially as we head into the Victoria Day long weekend and Canada Road Safety Week—I wish you a safe journey. Please don’t add to someone else’s collection of ghost memories.
-- Tim Schewe Road Safety Advocate DriveSmartBC.ca
