Volunteers have been out in force helping to make Prince George roads safer, according to numbers released this week by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
Over 2014, volunteers in the local Cell Watch program put in 115 hours towards combatting distracted driving by standing near the roadside with signs to remind drivers to leave their phones alone and conduct roadside surveys to observe drivers and their behaviours.
A further 185 hours was put into the Speed Watch program, where they used radar and speed-reader boards supplied by ICBC to show drivers the speed they were actually travelling.
Volunteers usually set up at high crash locations and school and playground zones and often partner with police who will ticket speeding drivers who don't slow down after seeing their speed on the reader board.
And Lock Out Auto Crime volunteers handed out more than 1,500 notices.
They resemble parking tickets onto the windshields of vehicles, many with valuables in sight, offering drivers tips to protect themselves from becoming the victim of auto crime.
These volunteers also operate the Stolen Auto Recovery program in Prince George and checked over 10,600 vehicles to look for signs of theft and help identify stolen vehicles.
They provide a valuable service, said local ICBC road safety coordinator Diana Pozer.
"We're tremendously grateful to every one of our volunteers in Prince George for their hard-work and commitment to deliver these important road safety programs," Pozer said.
For more information on getting involved in the efforts, call Pozer at 250-561-5073 or Prince George RCMP community policing at 250-561-3366 or drop by their office at the detachment, 455 Victoria St.
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