Adjustable speed limits introduced on Sea-To-Sky highway

New adjustable speed limit signs have been introduced to the Sea-To-Sky Highway in an effort to reduce weather-related crashes.

BC’s Transportation Minister Todd Stone announced that the signs would be active starting Thursday, June 2. The signs will also be located along the Coquihalla and the Trans-Canada Highway.

“It is important drivers understand that along these corridors, these signs aren’t ‘speed readers’, they are the law. These electronic signs will adjust the speed limit according to conditions and will require drivers to slow down and reduce their speed in bad weather,” Stone says in a statement.

There are a total of 16 digital signs posted along the Sea-To-Sky from Squamish up to Function Junction at the highway’s most perilous points. The speed limit changes will be enforceable by police and the signs have the ability to automatically calibrate depending on the weather.

“Speeding is the leading cause of fatal car crashes in our province,” says chief constable Neil Dubord, chair of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police Traffic Safety Committee in a statement. “Seven out of ten speed-related crashes are related to driving too fast for the road conditions. Police across BC are urging drivers to be alert, slow down and adjust their driving for the conditions.”

The province invested $12.5 million into the signs as part of the ministry’s Road Safety Improvement Program.