The Ministry of Transportation doesn’t think reducing the speed limit on Highway 23 at the north end of Nakusp from 70 km/h to 50 km/h is a good idea.
The village asked for a review of the stretch near a school zone, but in a letter to council, district engineer Ryan Oakley said studies have shown that changing speed limits alone rarely slows traffic down.
“In fact, reducing a speed limit artificially … may result in a higher percentage of drivers in violation of the speed limit, while their speeds have not changed,” he wrote.
“In essence, artificially lowering a speed limit, simply creates a law that the majority of reasonable, safe and prudent individuals would then be in violation of. A law that is broken by the majority of the reasonable public is an unfair law and undermines voluntary compliance and tolerance of other laws.”
Oakley explained that BC assesses highway speed limits based on the recommendations of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, a methodology used in many places across North America.
He said using speed zones to increase safety assumes a direct relationship between speed limits and driver behaviour, which is not always the case.
“Our experience and research indicates that drivers will choose a speed that they feel is safe and reasonable based on the conditions they encounter on the road and in the surrounding area,” Oakley wrote.
“Typically, if there is a reason for drivers to pay more attention and slow down, it is more effective to sign for those specific conditions than to reduce the speed limit.”
He added that engineers have found uniform vehicle speeds is what increases safety. When vehicles deviate from a standard speed, going either faster or slower, the potential for accidents increases.
A review of the one-kilometer portion of Highway 23 in question found the 70 km/h transition zone is an appropriate speed, Oakley said, and most motorists comply with it. Reducing the limit wouldn’t slow traffic down, but it would create a speed trap where most drivers break the law.
Extending the 50 km/h zone as proposed by the village could result in “driver frustration, speeding, and unsafe maneuvers closer into town,” Oakley added.
However, the ministry says it will install additional 70 km/h signs to remind motorists of the limit on that stretch, and periodically put up a mobile speed display sign to help reinforce that limit.
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