A proposal from a B.C. Interior community to have mandatory dash cams on commercial semi trucks has received an endorsement from Union of B.C. Municipalities delegates.
On Friday, local government representatives at the UBCM Convention in Vancouver voted in favour of a resolution put forward by Barriere.
Speaking in front of the delegates, Doug Haughton, Thompson-Nicola Regional District director, said Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer and Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell have been championing this proposal in an effort to improve highway safety.
“We went on a harbour tour yesterday. If you look at all those containers that are coming in, it's a pretty good chance they're going to head through the Interior of B.C. and head on to Alberta,” Haughton said.
“There's been a rash of big truck accidents especially on Highway 5 North — there’s been lots of fatalities.”
The resolution recommends that UBCM ask the provincial government to review the feasibility of requiring all commercial semi trucks registered in B.C. to have dash cams installed and in operation while driving on provincial roads.
“The use of dash cams can encourage commercial truck driver accountability in adhering to safe driving practices and can be affordable insurance in providing undeniable evidence for the almost inevitable near misses that professional drivers contend with in doing their job,” the resolution states.
Haughton said Stamer has worked to get this proposal endorsed by the Southern Interior Local Government and the BC Trucking Association.
“We're just looking try and make our highways and driving public safer,” Haughton said.
Stamer has publicly called for mandatory dash cams since February, days after a deadly crash along Highway 5.
At the time, a representative with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure told the TNRD board of directors the provincial government was considering the idea.
