“Slow down and move over” now law in B.C.

[SpongeG]

I was not aware of this at all nothing on any news I saw the last two days anyway

good though - io hate freaking slow drivers in the left lane - I was on the 99 and its 110km and there was a car in the right lane however not even doing 80! it was causing some issues

“Slow down and move over” now law in B.C.

Burnaby, British Columbia - A new law requiring drivers to slow down and move over when passing stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights is now the law in British Columbia, effective June 1, 2009.

The new law requires drivers to slow down to 70 km/h on highways where the speed limit is 80 km/h or higher, and to 40 km/h where the limit is below 80 km/h when approaching a stopped emergency vehicle that has its lights flashing.

If there is another lane going in the same direction, drivers must also move into that lane if it is safe to do so.

Until now, B.C. has only had such laws for driving in construction zones, and none to protect emergency roadside personnel such as police, fire, ambulance and towing vehicles. The penalty for those in contravention of the new law is a fine and three license penalty points. The fine, including a 15 per cent surcharge, is $148 if paid within 30 days, and $175 thereafter.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/0...-law-in-bc.htm

[DKaz]

What does the new law have to do with slow drivers/slow drivers in the left lane?

[SpongeG]

i must have misread something

but i know in was state you have to stay in the right lane except to pass - people don't do that here

[DKaz]

Yah, but people are just clueless. Although the alternative is to be like the US and have all lanes become the travel lane since everyone goes the same speed since speed limits are strictly enforced there.

The 3rd lane on Hwy 1 each way will help a lot, we'll see.

Good new law though, I think this gets rid of a lot of confusion in regards to what people are supposed to do when encountering emergency vehicles to the side of the road.

[agrant]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

i must have misread something

but i know in was state you have to stay in the right lane except to pass - people don't do that here

Some do, some don't. I know I've seen signs that tell you to do this, Squamish highway does for sure. I don't know if it is law enforced though.

[zivan56]

I've always done this whenever someone is stopped at the side of the road. You never know when someone lacking total common sense will open their door and blindly get out without looking. Likewise, totally ignore traffic and walk around to fix a flat tire or similar...

[mersar]

Originally Posted by DKaz

Good new law though, I think this gets rid of a lot of confusion in regards to what people are supposed to do when encountering emergency vehicles to the side of the road.

In time it should. We introduced a similar law in AB a few years back (60km/h or less in the lane adjacent to the emergency vehicle or tow truck), however a lot of drivers initially tended to slow down in all lanes (instead of just the adjacent one) which caused some chaos. Our fine though is higher, we went with a double the normal speeding fine approach which can get quite costly if you don't slow down, such as going from a 110km/h to 60km/h zone, so 50 over, which normally is ~$350 but would become a $700 ticket. No doubling of demerits here though.

[David]

people usually slow down to gawk if they see emergency vehicles anyway...

[SpongeG]

yah but its surprising how many people don't