Drivers unprepared for winter conditions

Several vehicles were found with bald winter tires and other safety deficiencies while travelling along an icy Highway 6 in Coldstream last week.

Members of the North Okanagan traffic services and the commercial vehicle safety enforcement conducted a vehicle safety blitz on Highway 6 near Kalamalka Road on Feb. 17.

“That day was exceptionally icy due to recent snow melt, and hundreds of vehicles were checked for vehicle fitness,” said Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy in a news release.

The exact number of vehicles found with safety deficiencies was not available, she said.

In one case, CVSE officers located a trailer being pulled down the highway with a wheel falling off.

One Vernon man was also stopped driving down the highway with “extremely bald tires,” said Noseworthy, adding the man said he was on his way to a local tire shop to work and that he had difficulty getting out of his driveway that morning.

Consequences for safety issues could range from a notice of deficiency with an order to fix the problem within a set amount of time, to a wide variety of fines to having the vehicle towed, said Noseworthy.

“Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP are reminding drivers that the daytime melting snow mixed with the nighttime freezing temperatures means local roads are far from ideal, and commutes in the morning and after 5 p.m. are often mixed with icy road conditions,” she said. “It is the responsibility of every driver to ensure their vehicle is equipped properly and they are driving safely.”