Article content

Drivers will have to slow down on two sections of B.C. roads — Highway 1 between Hope and Boston Bar and Highway 5A between Aspen Grove and Princeton — following an increase in serious crashes that took place after the provincial government raised the speed limits in 2014.

Transportation Minister Todd Stone said congestion and speed are believed to be major contributors of crashes on those segments. Speed limits will be rolled back by 10 km/h: to 90 km/h on Highway 1 and 80 km/h on Highway 5A.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or B.C. to roll back speed limits on two highways after increase in crashes Back to video

Twelve other routes where collisions have also increased will keep the higher speed limits, he said, because they can be improved with rumble strips, variable speed zones, wildlife signs and message boards.

Those enhancements are expected to take 12 to 18 months.

“The most prudent and responsible thing to do is to assess each segment on its own merit,” Stone said. “If we believe the right speed has been set on a highway, we will keep that speed … but if we feel, with an abundance of caution, that it’s prudent to roll back a speed to maximize the mitigation of risk related to a collision, we will do that.”