As the warm weather ramps up, so do speed related crashes in BC.
According to a recent release from ICBC, an average of 141 speed-related crashes causing injury or death occur every month now through summer.
Those stats come from police-reported data over a five-year average from 2016 to 2020.
On Vancouver Island specifically, there are 25 speed-related crashes causing injury or death occur during this time frame.
Due to the increased number of crashes, ICBC and police across BC are launching a month-long campaign to warn drivers that driving too fast—even in ideal road conditions—can have tragic consequences.
Police will be targeting speeding drivers during May. Speed Watch volunteers will also be set up in communities across BC to remind drivers of the speed they’re travelling.
“Road safety is a responsibility that we all share,” said Chief Superintendent Holly Turton, Vice-Chair of the BC Association of Chiefs of Police Traffic Safety Committee.
“When drivers make good choices to not engage in high risk driving behaviours such as speeding, they are doing their part to make our roads safer together.”
Last month, dashcam footage showed two vehicles speeding northbound on the Pat Bay Highway when one of the drivers sped past a vehicle using the shoulder.
Video sent to @victoriabuzzes shows an extremely aggressive street racer heading north on the Pat Bay Highway in #Saanich today – there was also a second driver, just not as reckless. Dashcam caught the incident, along with the driver’s license plate.
Video by Cameron McCrodan pic.twitter.com/2CjTasDRf8
— Mike Kelly (@mikevicbuzz) April 23, 2022
Speeding remains the leading cause of car crash fatalities in BC with eight people, on average, killed in crashes involving speed every month from May through September.
ICBC said the faster people drive, the more time and power the vehicle needs to stop.
“We need everyone to do their part to shift the culture around dangerous and high-risk driving behaviours,” said Lindsay Matthews, ICBC’s Vice-President Customer Experience & Public Affairs.
“Reducing your speed gives you more time to react and helps ensure that everyone on the road arrives at their destination safely.”
