VICTORIA—With winter quickly approaching, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure would like to remind motorists that as of Oct. 1 winter tires are now required on many highways throughout the province.
Highway 19 between Port Hardy and Campbell River is among the roads on which the seasonal tires are required.
Signs are posted on each of the designated highways to advise motorists where 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.
Maps showing which roads require winter tires can be found on the ministry’s web page at: www.th.gov.bc.ca/SeasonalDriving/winter-tires-chains/index.html.
As a result of the technical analysis completed during the Rural Highway Safety and Speed Review, 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 time frame that winter tires are required on the high mountain passes. The new time frame is October 1 to March 31 (it previously was October 1 to April 30).