'Alarming' highway death rates for B.C. First Nations
Last Updated: Thursday, October 12, 2006 | 12:22 PM PT
CBC News
Death rates for B.C. First Nations people in motor vehicle crashes are nine times higher than the provincial average, say safety officials hosting a road safety conference in Prince George, which began Thursday.
They note that road accidents are also the number 1 cause of unintentional death among First Nations, particularly among children and young people.
"The accident rates, the crash rates, are really quite alarming," said B.C. Forest Safety Council CEO Tanner Elton.
He's one of the organizers of the safety conference, which hopes to address one of the main causes: the fact that many native communities have to share their local roads with logging trucks and heavy equipment.
Elton notes that 25 First Nations communities in B.C. are only accessible through logging roads.
He hopes the meeting will prompt immediate safety improvements on resource roads, noting the role that treaty negotiations can play in improving road safety.
"It's worth noting that when the Nisga'a treaty was signed with the community of New Aiyansh, part of it involved a brand new highway, to the benefit of that community and many others around it."
