CASE LAW - Deol v Veach

BC Courts Coat of ArmsIn this case Mr. Deol was riding his bicycle on a sidewalk in a direction opposing traffic on the highway adjacent to him. Mr. Veach was attempting a right turn onto the highway from a parking lot. Both stopped, Mr. Deol on the sidewalk at the parking lot access and Mr. Veach prior to crossing the sidewalk. Both proceeded at the same time and collided.

Of interest in the case are the duties of care each owed the other, the presence of an unmarked crosswalk at the access to the parking lot and the fact that Mr. Deol was in contravention of the Motor Vehicle Act both in riding his bicycle on the sidewalk and riding it through an unmarked crosswalk. In addition, Madam Justice Dardi found Mr. Veach to have been driving without reasonable consideration for others because he knew cyclists used the sidewalk and he should have seen Mr. Deol.

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As an avid cyclist who follows the rules of the road, I see a lot of people who need their bikes taken away for flagrant violations of the Motor Vehicle Act, which they either do not understand or do not care about. Their attitudes and their abuses create problems for motorists who take it out on all cyclists, with their own bad attitudes. It is time for cyclists to man or woman up and wear their helmuts, get off the sidewalks and crosswalks, unplug their headphones, come to complete stops, signal, and follow ALL of the rules of the road, not just those that appeal to them. Make all cyclists 12 or older get a license, carry it with them, and make them accountable for their actions, through enforcement, fines, and cycle confiscations.