Road Maintenance

One of the drawbacks of living on Vancouver Island is having to drive at night in the rain. Where there is no street lighting present I find it like driving into a wet sack of coal. When the road markings are worn I must slow down in order to be safe because it is difficult to maintain proper lane position.

I was driving home after shift last week listening to the radio and enjoying the sunshine. The traffic report was being broadcast and in it was a cell phone call from a woman who had been stopped in the lineup for the highway construction on Highway 4 between Port Alberni and Parksville. She wondered if anyone knew what was going on.

Knowing how to behave around snow removal equipment when you encounter it on the highway is important for both your safety and that of the equipment operator. These trucks must operate at optimum speeds to remove snow, drop sand and salt or apply brine. A bit of patience is required if this optimum is not what you consider appropriate for you.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has released the 2020 version of the Traffic Management Manual for Work on Roadways. This is essentially an 815 page textbook outlining fundamental principles and guidelines for traffic management and traffic control in work zones. The goal is to ensure the protection of workers and the safe and efficient movement of road users through the work zone.

Here's another complaint from the DriveSmartBC Inbox: "Please speak to the situation that I call the "Invisible White Lines" on our highways as soon as we get some rain and whilst driving in the dark. Night visibility in winter is terrible.

Line-marking crews have begun the annual task of refreshing markings on highways across British Columbia to help provide a safer drive for motorists. More than 30,000 kilometres of lines are marked every year throughout the province to guide drivers.

If I were to ask you what a flag person's job was, what would you reply? Assure orderly movement of traffic through a highway obstruction of some sort? Help everyone involved to be safe as they work on the highway? Why then do some drivers treat flagpersons so badly?

I find it interesting that following 2 serious crashes, Neil Menard, the mayor of Merritt, has been taking shots at the maintenance crews that are responsible for the Coquihalla.

Christine Bayfield was driving her van southbound on the Inland Island Highway in rainy and wet road conditions. She overtook a logging truck to avoid being sprayed by the water it picked up off the pavement. As she passed, she lost control, began to rotate and left the pavement, rolling over in the median.

From the video description: If you are travelling BC highways during the winter months please be prepared and be aware - drive to conditions and take your time to get where you’re going. Our maintenance contractors are out there clearing our highways and provincial roads to make it safer for those driving on them and so we are asking anyone who is on the road with a snow plow to please steer clear and let them clear the road. It is never safe to pass a snow plow on the right or weave between plows when they are clearing the road.