B.C.’s Transport Minister says the province has made a number of changes to improve safety ahead of this winter.

Speaking on the NL Morning News, Claire Trevena was asked if she thinks the province is better prepared this year for adverse weather on mountain highways.

“We’re hoping so. Last year, we did two things. One is expand the times when people have to use chains. Because winter doesn’t stop automatically on March 31st, nor does it automatically start on October 1st. So we expanded that time. We also tightened up the regulations about passing and made sure we have that safe approach to our highways. And recently, to back up all the work we’ve been doing on the regulations to make sure trucks are chained up, we have now increased the fines,” Trevena says.

“Last year it was, these are the new regulations. It was the education of the drivers, making sure they were aware of what they had to do. Extra chains they had to use, make sure they knew when and where they could and couldn’t pass. This year, it is if you don’t know the regulations, we’re coming down with heavy fines.”

On the Coquihalla specifically, there were 10 extended closures last winter according to the province, and nine of those involved commercial trucks.

The winter prior, the province says there were 35 extended closures and 33 of those involved big rigs.