BC Ferries, ICBC urge patience as long weekend travel ramps up

Travellers across B.C. are being asked to be patient this long weekend, with roads, ferries, borders, and airports expected to see increased volume.

According to ICBC Road Safety and Community Coordinator Tracey Hoffman, a recent survey showed 95 per cent of respondents had travel plans for the August long weekend.

She says three top concerns were cited by survey takers with road trip plans: speeding, distracted drivers, and slow-moving vehicles, like RVs.

“If you happen to be following an RV or a vehicle towing a trailer or a boat, try to be patient. They are likely travelling as fast as they can,” she explained. “If you are the one driving a slower-moving vehicle and there’s drivers behind you getting backed up, please be courteous, pull over as soon as it’s safe to do so, and let them go by.”

She says on average, there are more than 560 injuries and over 2,000 crashes reported through the August long weekend in B.C.

“On average, there are two fatalities during the B.C. Day long weekend,” Hoffman added.

BC Ferries, meanwhile, has already been preparing for increased demand on its systems.

The corporation shared a series of social media posts earlier in the week with “Travel Tips,” including arriving at terminals early and having a reservation — even for foot passengers.

B.C. Day is historically BC Ferries’ busiest long weekend. However, this year could be even busier as the last quarter set records for passengers and drivers.

In an update Wednesday, BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez said the corporation is taking steps to keep people moving as smoothly as possible, following a tumultuous few weeks.

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“We’re putting every vessel into service, we have teams at the ready in case something goes wrong,” he said.

“We move 60,000 people a day, 450 sailings a day. The question isn’t: ‘Is it going to happen?’ It’s: ‘How quickly can you react when it does happen and how do you move on from the incident when it does occur?’”

Jimenez added BC Ferries was also working on long-term solutions to combat the numerous challenges it has faced.