VIVICTORIA — The B.C. government has boosted speed limits to 120 kilometres per hour on some highways, despite warnings from police that faster drivers will increase the risk of serious crashes.

Transportation Minister Todd Stone unveiled the changes Wednesday, saying several months of public consultation and engineering reviews justify hiking speed limits on 1,300 km of rural provincial highway in the Southern Interior, Vancouver Island the Fraser Valley.

"The majority of the recommended increases are limited to an additional 10 kilometres per hour, which will bring the speed limit in line with actual travel speeds," said Stone.

"Experience from other speed changes undertaken by the ministry show that this will not mean everyone will automatically drive 10 km over the new speed limit."

But Stone is making the move over the objections of the RCMP and the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police.

"We're concerned that the increase in speed limits might have an adverse effect on the good trend we're seeing in reducing fatalities," said Neil Dubord, chief of TransLink's Transit police and chairman of the chiefs' association traffic subcommittee.

During public consultation earlier this year, the police chiefs told government that "speed is a contributing factor to injuries and fatalities," Dubord said.

"It's too early to say what impact of these changes will have. We're certainly going to monitor the situation very closely to see what the statistics indicate."

The RCMP also "does not support speed limit increase on current rural highways in B.C.," according to a summary of government consultation sessions. An RCMP spokesperson Wednesday would not elaborate on those concerns.

Both government and police agree that the number of serious of crashes on B.C. highways has dropped 28 per cent since 2003, mainly due to better vehicle technology and enhanced safety designs.

Stone argued that research supports setting a speed limit at the level 85 per cent of drivers travel on a stretch of road, because those travelling too slow or too fast post the highest risk of causing a crash.

He said government engineers also conducted a "significant technical analysis" of what speeds were appropriate for the roads.

"I understand the power of a [police] slogan, 'speed kills,' " said Stone. "I get that. But in my mind if we're focused on safety, what matters is ensuring we get the speed right."

The government is "very confident" it has selected the right speed limits, he said.

Three sections of B.C. rural highway will be set at the maximum 120 km/h speed limit, including Highway 5 (the Coquihalla) from Hope to Kamloops, Highway 97C from Aspen Grove to Peachland, and Highway 19 from Parksville to Campbell River on Vancouver Island.

There was no support from the public to increase speed limits in northern B.C., so nothing was changed in that region, said Stone.

Most of the speed changes will come into effect this summer, though increases to the Coquihalla and Peachland highways began immediately Wednesday.

Other highways will see speed limits rise to 100 km/h or 110 km/h, depending on the route.