Road safety
Investing in road improvements
Why do we spend money on roads? Prioritizing safety enhancements means fewer crashes, injuries, and fatalities, fewer damaged and wrecked cars, and fewer insurance claims. Investing in road safety improvements invests in the safety of people living in British Columbia.
Since 1990, we’ve invested approximately $225 million in over 8,300 road safety improvement projects across B.C., and we're committed to continuing to making roads safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
The most recent evaluation 
concluded that, over three years, our road improvement program led to:
A 24% average reduction in crashes that led to injuries and fatalities
A 15% average reduction in crashes that led to property damage
69 out of 72 urban intersections seeing a reduction in severe incidents
All 39 rural intersections seeing a reduction in such incidents
The evaluation also concluded that every $1 spent on road improvements across B.C. resulted in an average of $4.70 in savings.
Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) installed near school crosswalks in Oak Bay (left) and Parksville (right). When activated by pedestrian movement or a push button, RRFBs emit a high-intensity flashing light to drivers on both sides of a crosswalk.
A community effort
We work with a variety of stakeholders and experts on road improvements, including engineers, municipalities around the province and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
We also consult with other road safety experts on technologies and initiatives that can prevent crashes, including:
Anti-skid pavement treatments that reduce crash frequency
Roundabouts that may improve traffic flow and reduce crashes
Traffic signal and road sign upgrades
Installation of Uninterrupted Power Supply systems, which ensure traffic signals work during power outages
Rumble strips on highways with a history of centre-line crossovers, head-on, and off-road incidents
Studies and audits that help identify safety concerns and formulate plans to improve road safety
As new tools and technologies aim to make roads even safer, we aim to study — and where appropriate, work with our road authority partners to implement — emerging improvements that show promising benefits for road safety in B.C.
Identify a dangerous road in your community
If you have a suggestion for how to make a road or intersection in your community safer, you can contact your local municipality.
Municipalities and other road authorities can contact the Road Improvement Program engineer for their region or email [email protected].
