Slap on your winter tires, Squamish drivers, or you could be slapped with a fine.
It's that time of year again: The regulator signs are up. From Oct. 1 to April 31, by law vehicles are required to have winter tires or chains on numerous sections of provincial roads, said Bruce Calbick, a Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch (CVSE) supervisor. That includes Highway 99 from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler.
"You can get a ticket for not having winter tires," he warned.
Two sections of the Motor Vehicle Act allow police officers to write up fines for not complying. Drivers can be dinged approximately $120 and have two points deducted from their driving records, Calbick said.
"As soon as you pass that sign, you have to obey it," he said, adding that the notices are white and black and included an image of a tire.
Three weeks ago, the CVSE stopped vehicles near the Alice Lake Provincial Park turnoff heading northbound on Highway 99. Approximately 95 per cent of commercial vehicles were in compliance with the winter tire regulation, but personal vehicles are another story, Calbick said.
"Private passenger vehicles coming up from Vancouver are a bit of an issue," he said.
Winter tires must have a minimum of 3.5 millimetres of tread, Calbrick said. On commercial vehicles it is mandatory that they also carry tire chains.
The requirements are put in place by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure on portions of mountainous highways that regularly experience winter conditions, due to safety concerns, ministry spokesperson Kate Trotter stated in an email. The corridors are signed with postings that read "Use winter tires or carry chains beyond this point."
"The RCMP may ticket or turn back motorists who don't obey the signs," Trotter stated.
For more information on roadways which require winter tires or chains, visit www.th.gov.bc.ca/SeasonalDriving/winter_chains.html.
