In recognition of National Volunteer Week (April 15 to 21), ICBC is thanking the more than 240 volunteers in Burnaby and New Westminster for their continued support in making the communities safer for everyone.
Throughout the Lower Mainland, more than 2,200 volunteers spent approximately 100,000 hours delivering road safety programs in 2011.
"These volunteers care passionately about the safety of their neighbourhoods," Jill Blacklock, ICBC road safety manager said in a press release. "They work tirelessly to help make Burnaby and New Westminster roads safer for everyone. Their dedication is remarkable and truly appreciated."
In 2011, Speed Watch program volunteers in Burnaby and New Westminster contributed more than 750 hours to help reduce speed-related crashes in their communities. With the support of volunteers, speed-related crashes have steadily decreased in B.C. over the last five years.
Volunteers use radar and speed-reader boards supplied by ICBC to show drivers how fast they're actually travelling. Research shows that more than 70 per cent of drivers travelling 10km/h over the speed limit slow down when they see a speed-reader board.
In 2011, Lock Out Auto Crime program volunteers in Burnaby and New Westminster handed out more than 5,500 notices resembling parking tickets onto the windshields of vehicles, many with valuables in sight, offering common sense tips to the owners to protect them from becoming the victim of auto crime.
These volunteers also operate the stolen auto recovery program in Burnaby and New Westminster, and in 2011, they scanned approximately 265,000 licence plates to help identify stolen vehicles.
Each year, volunteers help recover hundreds of stolen vehicles in B.C.
With their support, in Burnaby, the city has seen an 82 per cent decrease in vehicle thefts and 61 per cent decrease in vehicle break-ins since 2003.
In New Westminster, vehicle thefts have decreased by 82 per cent and vehicle break-ins by 60 per cent since 2003.
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