Rose Keith of the Harper Grey LLP has published a fact sheet about Under Insured Motorist Protection (UMP). UMP is meant to provide financial protection if you are involved in a collision with another driver who is either under insured or who has no insurance coverage. Prior to the latest changes to ICBC the legal counsel that I received was to buy as much UMP as I could afford.
Rethinking the One Way Street references a study published in the Journal of Planning and Education Research in 2022. The authors observe that one way streets were created by suburbanization to allow a quick and simple drive in and out of suburbs commuting to city jobs. They allowed for higher speeds over greater distances with fewer stops. This led to unpleasant, often dangerous streets for other road users.
I always thought that the disaster route signs posted beside some of our highways indicated the route that people would take if they had to evacuate during a disaster or major emergency. I was mistaken in my belief as these signs actually indicate routes that may only be used by emergency services consisting of police, fire, ambulance and other qualified responders.
HUB Cycling has released a report titled Pedaling Towards Equity - Analyzing Transportation Access in Metro Vancouver's Cycling Network. HUB Cycling is a charitable not-for-profit organization that has spent over 25 years removing barriers to cycling in Metro Vancouver while cultivating the health, environmental, and economic benefits that active transportation can bring.
The case of R v Gray arises from an incident that occurred on the highway near Round Lake, B.C. A police patrol that was southbound on the highway observed 3 vehicles abreast approaching. The highway was only two lanes wide for northbound traffic so the third vehicle was being driven between the widely spaced solid yellow lines marked in the center of four lanes.
Many drivers on the receiving end of a speeding ticket commented that their speedometer reported their vehicle's speed as something different than the radar or laser speed measuring device that I had used. I don't doubt that these drivers were telling me the truth. The trouble is that for virtually all of these incidents, I knew how accurate my speed measuring device was but these drivers had no idea whether their speedometer was accurate or not.
A learner driver who had made a serious error in judgment asked about collision coverage. He had taken the family car without consent, did not have the required supervisor present and caused a crash. What kind of trouble would he be in?
RoadSafetyBC has released an annual report on Intersection Safety Cameras (ISC) for 2022. The ISC program operates 140 digital cameras installed at high-risk intersections throughout BC to enforce red light running offences. 35 of these cameras also enforce speeding offences.
A Courtenay resident is upset with drivers that turn left from the Island Highway onto Ryan Road and fail to enter the first available lane. He identifies this as a problem for drivers traveling in the opposite direction on the highway wanting to turn right onto Ryan Road. Who would be liable he wonders if the right turn vehicle failed to yield as directed by the sign and collided with a vehicle that had made the left turn into the curb lane instead of the lane next to the center line.
Transport Canada estimates that one in five vehicles registered since 2019 have an outstanding safety recall. Manufacturers will notify owners of these recalls if the owner's address is kept current, otherwise it is up to the vehicle owner to check for and arrange with the dealer for repairs. While this is not difficult to do, you have to remember to do it.