Winter tires are now required on many highways throughout the province until March 31.
Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) highway signs are posted on each of the designated highways to advise motorists winter tires are required. These are generally located approaching high mountain passes and Interior highways where conditions can change from rain to snow very quickly.
Area MOTI district manager Todd Hubner notes winter can strike in this area in a “vengeance,” particularly at the higher mountain passes, such as Mount Begbie at 83 Mile on Highway 97 – from Big Bar through Begbie and up to Hixon.
“We are seeing overnight temperature dipping into the negatives, so it isn’t unforeseen to get snow at this time of the year....”
Maps showing which roads require winter tires can be found on the ministry's web page at http://www.th.gov.bc.ca./seasonaldriving/winter-tires-chains/index.html.
Winter tires have been defined as those labelled with either the winter mountain/snowflake symbol or the mud and snow (M+S) designation. Winter tires must also be in good condition with a minimum tread depth of 3.5 mm.
There is also a new timeframe that winter tires are required on the high mountain passes. The new timeframe is Oct. 1 to March 31 (previously it was Oct. 1 to April 30).
The ministry has increased its commitment and funding in support of the multi-agency "Shift into Winter" campaign. For details, got to http://shiftintowinter.ca/.