Well it all started back in February when we had our winter road orientation for the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road,
class room training is the same all over but this time i thought i had better take note, we worked our way through the rules and regs and even if you have been on the roads in previous years taking the course is required for everybody, we went through the speed limits on the ice and on the portages [ the bit between the lakes] flood zones
Lakes loaded 25 kph
Lakes empty 35 kph
portages 30 kph
flood zones 10 kph
express lanes when empty 60kph
coming onto a lake and exiting a lake 10kph
there was also speed limits that moved about if men were working on lakes just like the real roads
the speed limit is set for a very good reason as when your moving across the ice it bends, so the faster you go the more the ice deflects the bigger the wave under the ice [ the ice is floating on water] until it bursts out and you and or the truck behind you breaks through the ice sinking to the bottom of the lake
we also talked about the consequences of exceeding these limits and these went up in stages for the lesser crimes, three day ban, five day ban, Severn day ban, right up to being banned from the winter road for the more serious ones like taking drugs, driving under the influence of drink, and even feeding the wildlife
