Squamish drivers are talking again about road safety after a local resident recently experienced a wrong-way driving incident. While these events are uncommon, they carry a high risk of serious harm, especially on fast-moving corridors like Highway 99 and on busy local connectors. The conversation now is less about a single moment and more about what we can do as a community—drivers, the District, the province, and police—to prevent the next close call.
Wrong-way driving typically happens when someone enters a roadway against the intended flow. It can be the result of impairment, distraction, fatigue, unfamiliarity with an area, or confusing sightlines and signage—factors that can compound in darkness or winter weather. In the Sea to Sky corridor, where highway speeds are high and many motorists are new to the route, even brief lapses can escalate quickly. The good news is there are proven measures that reduce risk, and most of them involve a mix of clear information for drivers, consistent enforcement, and practical roadway design.
Here in Squamish, responsibility for road safety is shared. The BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) manages Highway 99 and its interchanges, while the District of Squamish oversees municipal streets. Both follow provincial standards for signs and markings. On high-speed facilities, you will normally see “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs at ramp terminals, directional arrows on the pavement, and reflective edge and centre lines to guide drivers at night. MOTI also uses highway devices such as dynamic message signs and, on sections of the Sea to Sky, a Variable Speed Limit system that adjusts posted limits in response to weather and road conditions. Those tools are designed to help drivers make better decisions with clearer, more timely information.
Enforcement is another piece of the safety puzzle. Squamish RCMP and the Sea to Sky Traffic Services conduct regular campaigns targeting high-risk behaviours, including impairment, distracted driving, and speeding. Under BC’s Motor Vehicle Act, “excessive speeding” (40 km/h or more over the posted limit) can lead to a seven-day vehicle impoundment. Police also run year-round impaired driving initiatives, including seasonal CounterAttack roadchecks. The aim is straightforward: visible enforcement changes driver behaviour, which reduces the chances that anyone ends up heading the wrong way—or making any other dangerous choice—on our roads.
While the immediate details of the recent wrong-way incident are not the focus here, it has prompted reasonable questions from Squamish residents. Are signs and markings as visible as they should be at key decision points? Are there highway ramps or local intersections where overnight lighting or reflective treatments could be improved? Are visitors getting enough wayfinding cues before and at the point where they need to choose the correct lane or exit? These are practical lines of inquiry that can help shape preventive steps.
There is a well-established toolbox for places that see confusion or near-misses. On the provincial highway network, potential measures can include larger or duplicate “Do Not Enter” and “Wrong Way” signs placed where headlights capture them best, enhanced directional arrows on the pavement, improved delineators and chevrons, high-visibility sign sheeting, rumble strips that alert drifting drivers, and added illumination at complex junctions. On municipal roads, the District can review line painting, lane channelization, curb islands that discourage wrong turns, and supplemental wayfinding signs that orient drivers earlier, before choices split. None of these interventions are dramatic on their own; together, they reduce the odds of a mistake and give drivers more time to self-correct.
Education and awareness also matter. Many of us host family or friends who are unfamiliar with the corridor. During winter, when nights are long and road conditions change quickly, a quick reminder about posted speeds, winter tire requirements on designated BC highways, and what to watch for on Highway 99 can go a long way. For local drivers, it is worth building a few habits into nighttime trips: slow down as you approach interchanges, scan for pavement arrows and overhead signs early, and give yourself space to react to unexpected moves by others. If you are ever uncertain about a ramp choice, continue safely to the next marked opportunity rather than making a sudden correction.
If you do encounter a vehicle travelling the wrong way, safety officials recommend a calm, defensive response. Reduce speed, move as far to the right as safely possible, and avoid swerving into other lanes. When you can stop in a safe location, call 911 with the most precise location you can provide (direction of travel, nearest exit or landmark, and vehicle description). Dispatchers rely on timely, accurate reports to alert other drivers and get police to the area quickly.
Community reporting is another practical avenue. For concerns on municipal streets—such as a faded stop bar, a sign that is obscured by vegetation, or nighttime visibility at a particular corner—residents can submit service requests to the District of Squamish through its customer service channels. On Highway 99, MOTI and its maintenance contractors respond to issues like sign damage, lighting outages, and line painting; drivers can report hazards through DriveBC or the local maintenance provider’s hotline. These small actions, multiplied across many eyes on the road, help engineers and maintenance crews prioritize the right fixes in the right places.
It is also helpful to put this discussion in the broader context of Sea to Sky safety work. The corridor has seen significant investment over the past decade and a half, including highway widening in targeted sections, improved sightlines, median and shoulder rumble strips, and the introduction of Variable Speed Limits on sections farther north. Locally, the District continues to advance transportation planning to improve safety and reliability on municipal routes as Squamish grows. While no network will ever be risk-free, steady attention to visibility, predictability, and enforcement has been shown to reduce severe collisions across BC.
We have requested information from Squamish RCMP and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure regarding any review of the location associated with the recent wrong-way report. If a safety audit or signage review is initiated, we will share those details as they are confirmed. Until then, the practical steps within our collective control remain the same: drive attentive and sober, reduce speed in poor conditions, follow guidance from electronic signs, and report problems when you see them. Small improvements—both behind the wheel and in the field—add up.
For real-time highway updates, DriveBC remains the province’s official source. Residents with questions about Highway 99 operations can contact MOTI through its regional office, and local road concerns can be directed to the District of Squamish’s service request portal. We will update readers when official comments are available or when any safety improvements are scheduled for review.
