BC Highway Patrol numbers show an increase in long weekend fatalities and excessive speeding in the month of May

June 11, 2026 - British Columbia, British Columbia
From: BC Highway Patrol

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A spike in Victoria Day long weekend fatalities, along with an increase in excessive speeding tickets compared to May 2025, shows that too many BC drivers are exercising poor judgment behind the wheel.

Five people died on BC roads this year on the Victoria Day long weekend, which was a dark return to form after 2025 had zero deaths. “The sad increase in long weekend deaths shows how we can’t be complacent after a good year like 2025,” says Inspector Chad Badry with BC Highway Patrol. 

In 2025, BC Highway Patrol officers wrote over 9,600 total speeding tickets and 403 excessive speeding tickets during the 2025 May campaign month, and here’s what they wrote in 2026:

“A lower overall number of tickets is good, but it’s not an indication that we are actually driving more safely,” says Inspector Badry. “BC Highway Patrol officers wrote significantly more excessive speeding tickets in May 2026. Those tickets indicate a dangerous lack of judgment from many drivers.” 

Some highlights from BC Highway Patrol’s May enforcement include: 

• On May 24, 2026, in a single stop on Highway #97 east of Falkland, a BC Highway Patrol officer impounded 3 motorcycles whose riders were travelling together at excessive speed,
• During the May Days Festival in Fruitvale (May 23-24), BC Highway Patrol set up check stops that removed 5 impaired drivers, arrested a high-risk domestic violence suspect for breaching a Conditional Sentence Order, and stopped 2 motorcyclists who had no licences or insurance and were speeding.

Motorcyclists are reminded that extra caution is required for the extra fun of 2 wheels. Motorcyclists are 3 times more likely to be injured or killed in a crash compared to people in a passenger vehicle, and 1 in 3 motorcycle crashes do not involve another vehicle**. 

BC Highway Patrol will continue its ‘education through enforcement’ efforts all summer and would like to remind you that driving safely is the best way to avoid both tickets and tragedy.

**Data provided by RoadSafetyBC.

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