Will variable speed limit signs on BC highways improve road safety?

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A group that is pushing for more of what it calls “realistic” restrictions on highways across the province has concerns about the government’s plan to install electronic road signs on three major routes.

The 18 electronic signs will lower the posted speed limit when weather conditions make it necessary. They’re being installed on parts of the Coquihalla, Trans-Canada, and the Sea to Sky Highway, in an aim to reduce crashes on the busy routes.

There will be at least two to three months of testing before the systems go live, which should happen early next year.

But Michael Cain with SENSE BC says accuracy is vital when it comes to success.

“Everyone who has driven the Coquihalla has probably seen the overhead signs saying, ‘Slushy road conditions up ahead.’ But then you drive across the highway and the highway is clear. The signs need to be kept current, and we would want to ensure that the variable speed limit signs are kept current.”

Otherwise, he says drivers will learn to ignore them pretty quickly.

“The expectation certainly is that if the speed limits are posted and they’re proper, that people will slow down and obey them. It’s important that the ministry keeps these signs current,” says Cain.

The province says pavement and visibility sensors will be used to detect conditions and provide a recommended speed to operations staff. But Cain is concerned those staff members may not update the signs often enough, which is already the case in some places.

“Too many drivers are used to having information given to them which is out of date. Our concern with the variable speed limits is that they are properly maintained. Certainly, we don’t want to see police enforcing an unreasonably low limit because an operator forgot to set a proper speed back up.”

The signs will cost just over $12 million and are part of the province’s larger $25 million/year Roadside Safety Program.