Understanding BC’s "Area" Speed Signs and Blanket Limits

As a knowledgeable driver, you are likely aware of the three blanket speed limits that cover the province of British Columbia. These statutory limits are 80 km/h outside a municipality, 50 km/h within a municipality, and 20 km/h on a municipal lane. However, there is another official method for establishing a localized blanket speed zone: the use of an "Area" sign.

Area signs can establish a broad blanket speed limit across an entire region, using the phrase "unless otherwise posted" to allow for specific exceptions on major corridors. These customized blanket zones are officially designated and published in the British Columbia Gazette by the King's Printer. If you are curious about the exact geographic extent of an area zone, you can now search the Gazette online for free via BC Laws, or consult the physical volumes at your local library.

As with any regulatory speed sign, you must be traveling at or below the posted limit the moment you pass it. If you encounter an exception—such as passing a sign with a higher speed limit—be prepared to slow right back down to the area's base limit if you turn onto a connecting highway and do not see a new sign telling you otherwise, or until you know you have officially left the boundaries of that blanket area.

Rural vs. Municipal Area Zones

The official "Unless Otherwise Posted" sign may display any speed limit. However, how these signs are used changes completely depending on who installs them:

In Municipalities: Local city councils use these signs to lower speed limits across whole neighborhoods to 60 km/h or less using city bylaws.
In Rural Areas: The Ministry of Transportation often puts up "Maximum 80 Unless Otherwise Posted" signs at the borders of large regional networks. Even though 80 km/h is already the default unposted rural speed, these signs serve as a helpful visual reminder when you exit a high-speed highway onto winding side roads.

Fines and Penalties: What a Ticket Will Cost You

Violations of area speed zone limits carry the exact same fines and penalty points as any other speeding offence under the BC Motor Vehicle Act. Fines scale upward depending on how fast you exceed the limit, and every speeding ticket hands you 3 driver penalty points:

1 to 20 km/h over: $138 fine
21 to 40 km/h over: $196 fine
Excessive Speeding (41 to 60 km/h over): $368 fine, plus an immediate 7-day vehicle impoundment
Excessive Speeding (61+ km/h over): $483 fine, plus an immediate 7-day vehicle impoundment

Keep in mind that excessive speeding also triggers ICBC’s Driver Risk Premium, costing drivers hundreds of dollars annually on top of towing, storage, and ticket fees. Whether you are driving past a standard regulatory post or crossing into a municipal or rural area zone, slowing down protects both your wallet and your community.

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Comments

Different Speed Question

I travel highway 19 a fair amount and have some observations:

a) Most drivers travel at 120 KM under good driving conditions.

b) The 90 KM signs at Cook and Horne lake are ignored by most drivers.

c) The location of the 90 KM signs are approx. .5 KM from the intersection.

Since the signs are there for the intersection, why are they located so far away?

If the police enforce the speed limit at the point of the signs, they should also enforce that limit after the intersection until the 110 KM sign is reached. Both of these scenarios seem somewhat ridiculous if controlling the intersection is the point of the exercise.

I don’t understand why there is a reduction in speed limits at these lighted intersections. The yellow lights are very visible at a distance that allows a car to stop if they are flashing. If there is a collision because of a stupid driver running a red light, there would be very little difference in the damage if the car was going 90 or 110 KM.

Since very few drivers obey this speed reduction, and the police appear to not take much interest in enforcing it, why not do away with it.

I have been passed while doing 90 KM in the intersection by drivers continuing to do 110 KM. This would seem to be more dangerous than if we were both doing 110 KM through the intersection.

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Choice of Speed Zone

How and where police enforce speed limits depend on the officer and what the officer may have been ordered to focus on. Generally it is expected today that enforcement focuses on high collision locations. It is impractical to enforce precisely to the boundary of speed limits, but I didn't have a problem doing this when the driver was over the speed limit in the zone that they were leaving.

The speed zones are mandated by highway design practice. You can find out about some of these practices on the Ministry of Transportation and Transit's web site. Failing to follow these accepted engineering practices would leave the government and construction companies open to civil action in the event of a crash.

Just because drivers fail to follow and you don't see police doing enforcement does not mean that these zones should be done away with.

Finally, it depends on what risk you are talking about. The risk to the two of you doing 110 travelling side by side might be minimal, but you are not the only road users out there.

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