• Safety
• Transportation Safety Policy
• Winter road safety
  • Definitions of road conditions and visibility
  • Safety tips
  • Road maintenance
• Road safety
• Off-road vehicles
  • Snowmobile
  • Quad
• Quizzes
  • Winter road safety
  • Snowmobile
  • Quad
  • Road signs
  • Roadwork
  • Cycling

The ministère des Transports du Québec reminds drivers that winter driving on Québec’s roads can represent a major challenge. Difficult or changing conditions, intense cold and blowing snow are among the obstacles that force all drivers to exercise extreme caution and skill. The Department and its partners have spared no effort in order to offer superior road conditions designed to ensure public safety. Combined with the responsible behaviour of road users, this effort helps us all, year after year, to get through this pleasant yet unpredictable season and to enjoy winter in complete confidence.

Campaign

 

It's winter… Watch out. You can never be too sure, even of yourself

After putting the emphasis on ways to tame winter and showing the limits of maintenance operations, this year's campaign will now focus on driver behaviour.

Many Quebecers are aware of the importance of equipping their vehicle with winter tires and vehicle performance has improved, but this may have caused some drivers to feel invulnerable.

Under the theme It's winter… Watch out. You can never be too sure, even of yourself, the campaign returns for a third year to try once more to get drivers to be more responsible and invite them to adapt their behaviour to winter conditions.

To do so, this year’s messages use humour to encourage people to exercise caution when they drive. They introduce two people who imitate sports analysts and use the behaviour of hockey players and drivers to introduce situations that are likely to convince drivers of the need to adapt their driving to winter road conditions.

The advertising campaign includes broadcasting five 30-second radio spots. This medium offers the advantage of reaching drivers when they are at the wheel and thus more receptive to a message of safety on the road.

The campaign will be carried out in five phases and will be more intense during the year-end vacation period. Two of the five messages will be endorsed by the Sûreté du Québec, i.e. the preventive message at the beginning of the season and the holiday period message.

Ten-second spots complete the radio campaign, which will continue until the end of February 2007. The campaign also includes reminders posted along the highways.

Radio messages

 

• Snow tires
• Snow tires Montréal
• Behaviour
• Holidays

10 second spots:

1. Maintenance
   Snowplows are there to help you. Avoid passing them, because road conditions up ahead could surprise you. It's winter. Watch out for others… and watch yourself.

2. Clean the snow off your vehicle
   Before driving, clear your vehicle of snow and ice. Not only do they interfere with your vision, they can become dangerous projectiles. It's winter. Watch out for others… and watch yourself.

3. Slow down
   In winter, keep your vehicle under control at all times by reducing your speed. It's winter. Watch out for others… and watch yourself.

4. Stay informed on road conditions
   This winter, plan ahead before you drive by checking road conditions at 1-888-355-0511 or online at inforoutiere.qc.ca.

Winter shows its true colours

 

Concerned with the safety of drivers and making their trips easier, the ministère des Transports du Québec has developed standard terminology for describing winter road conditions.

Thus, to help guide the behaviour of drivers, it developed a colour code where each colour corresponds to a winter road condition associated with a tip.

For example, expect longer travel time and, in some cases, put off driving. Remember that the Ministère provides real-time road condition information on its Web site, which is then retransmitted by the media, especially television networks, including Météo Média, which uses the same terminology.