A new report prepared by researchers at the University of BC (UBC) suggests that the number of fatal crashes has doubled on highways where the speed limit was raised in recent years.
The study examined crash and insurance claim data specifically from 1,300-kilometre stretches of highway where the speed limit was hiked to 120 kilometres per hour in 2014. UBC published its findings in the journal Sustainability.
Researchers found that the number of fatal crashes that occurred on these highways surged by 118% following the speed limit hike. They also found that injury claims with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) similarly rose by 30% and total insurance claims went up by 43%.
“Even adjusting for confounding factors like a general increase in traffic volumes, we’ve seen these numbers go up,” UBC Okanagan professor in sustainable transportation safety and study co-author Gordon Lovegrove told CBC News.
Lovegrove and his co-authors have been observing the effect of the higher speed limits since their implementation. Although their report suggests a strong correlation between higher speed limits and fatal crash incidences, the study’s authors stressed that they have only found limited evidence that highways across BC – where speed limits were not rolled back – are becoming more dangerous.
The researchers, however, found that BC’s spike in traffic deaths is much larger than in other provinces and territories where speed limits have been increased. The experts suggest that the difference could be due to BC’s own geography and weather.
“Travel in rural B.C. is particularly hazardous because of a harsh winter climate, mountainous terrain causing curvilinear alignments, fewer roundabouts (which reduce risk of side impact collisions), and the fact that large regions of the province are remote, with limited access to post-crash trauma care,” the research paper suggested.
