Heavy fog is likely to blame in a serious crash near a work area in Burnaby Wednesday, and one group is now calling for tougher rules around construction sites when visibility is poor.
Despite safety cones surround the site, a van plowed into a construction crane that was parked in the westbound lane of Canada Way early Wednesday.
The driver of the vehicle escaped injury, but ICBC’s director of road safety said it’s just one in a number of incidents that happen in fog-heavy months.
“January is one of the highest crash months in B.C. There’s over 23,000 crashes across B.C.,” said John Dickinson. “Adverse weather conditions like fog are one of the primary causes of those crashes.”
Dickinson said furthermore, seven out of 10 speed-related crashes are due to driving too fast in poor visibility conditions.
Last October, a person was killed in a crash that took place in dense fog on Highway 1 near the 264 Street exit.
A Toyota RAV 4 slammed into the back of an unoccupied construction truck parked in the fast lane and burst into flames, killing the driver.
There currently aren’t any rules or regulations set in place for working on roads in heavy fog or poor weather in general, something the BC Flagging Association would like to see change.
“People are getting killed on our roadways,” said spokeswoman Tammy Sampson. “They’re simply going out to get work done that needs to be done and they’re creating an unsafe situation.”
Sampson said she’d like to see the Ministry of Transportation revise its traffic control manual so that if there is less than 1,000 metres of sight, crews can opt out of working until the fog clears.
Police said the most common cause of accidents in the fog are not enough distance between drivers as well as speed.
They advise drivers never to use high beams in the fog, as lights are only reflected back – making it harder to see.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Mi-Jung Lee
