Kootenay drivers urged to slow down and stay alert to help protect roadside workers
By Contributor
As roadside work ramps up across B.C., a provincewide campaign launches today with an important message for Kootenay drivers: stay alert behind the wheel.
Driver distraction and inattention, as well as unsafe speed, put roadside workers at serious risk of being struck by vehicles, says Trace Acres, spokesperson for the annual Work Zone Safety campaign managed by Road Safety at Work.
“Work zones are complex, fast-changing environments. If drivers lose focus even for a moment, they can miss critical cues. And that’s when people get hurt.”
From 2016 to 2025 in B.C., 11 roadside workers were killed and 263 more sustained injuries resulting in time loss claims.
The campaign began this morning with an enforcement event in Surrey. RCMP Highway Patrol partnered with Road Safety at Work to target unsafe driving behaviours in a work zone. Officers issued tickets for distraction (cell phone use) and also stopped an impaired driver, six people with no driver’s licence, and five with no vehicle insurance.
Work zones are a daily reality for many drivers in the Kootenays and other regions and a high-risk environment for the tens of thousands of workers in B.C. who do their job just metres from traffic. These include traffic control persons, road construction and maintenance crews, tow operators, utility crews, emergency responders, landscapers, and others.
Work zones operate year-round but are more common in spring and summer when the weather is better. Traffic picks up at this time of year too, increasing the risk of injury to both workers and drivers.
Drivers need to actively scan for changing traffic patterns and uneven surfaces, as well as people working, walking or cycling. “You need to be ready to respond at any moment,” Acres says. If you’re distracted, fatigued, or speeding, you may not have enough time to react safely. “A moment of inattention can have life-changing consequences.”
The law requires drivers to slow down, avoid distractions, follow directions
The safest thing to do is avoid work zones when possible by checking traffic reports and adjusting routes.
In you have to drive through a work zone, B.C. law requires you to:
- Slow down and obey posted speed limits;
- Stay alert and avoid distractions, including phones and in-vehicle technology;
- Obey traffic control persons and devices.
When approaching a vehicle with flashing lights at the side of the road, drivers must also follow the Slow Down, Move Over law. The law requires drivers to reduce speed and, when safe, move into the next lane. Drivers must slow to 70 km/h in zones where the limit is 80 km/h or more, or 40 km/h in lower-speed zones.
Driving offences such as using a cell phone, speeding, and disobeying a traffic control person can result in fines of up to $368 and penalty points.
While drivers play a key role in work zone safety, employers are responsible for protecting roadside workers by identifying hazards and assessing risks, ensuring that a traffic control plan is developed based on the risk assessment, and ensuring workers are appropriately supervised and trained to work around traffic.
“Roadside workers are doing jobs that keep our communities running,” Acres says. “Staying alert when you drive through a work zone is one of the simplest ways to help them get home safely.”
Road Safety at Work provides tips for drivers at https://roadsafetyatwork.ca/
The Work Zone Safety campaign is supported by the Road Safety at Work Alliance, a group of public and private sector organizations committed to improving the safety of people who drive for work or work at the roadside.
Road Safety at Work is a WorkSafeBC injury reduction initiative managed by the Justice Institute of B.C. It works with employers and workers to prevent work-related motor vehicle crashes, injuries, and fatalities.
