Visual Speed Estimates

Published by DriveSmartBC -
Case Law
Speed

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis case is an appeal of a traffic court conviction where the officer who issued the ticket used a visual observation of vehicle speed to base the ticket on. The estimation was 90 km/h in the posted 60 km/h zone on the Lougheed Highway near the North Road intersection.

Visual Estimate of Speed is Sufficient

Brendan McMullen was convicted of speeding against a municipal sign in Burnaby traffic court. The Judicial Justice of the Peace found that Cst. Bayer's evidence of the visual speed estimate was sufficient to prove the Crown's case beyond a reasonable doubt.

visual image of speed

Grounds for Appeal

Mr. McMullen appealed the conviction to the Supreme Court on three issues:

  1. by not undertaking a proper credibility analysis;
  2. by not providing sufficient reasons for judgment in failing to explain why and how a significant evidentiary conflict was resolved; and
  3. in failing to give proper effect to the evidence.

Credibility Analysis

The JJP preferred Cst. Bayer's evidence because it was reliable and credible. In contrast, Mr. McMullen's evidence was inconsistent and contradictory.

Sufficiency of Reasons

Cst. Bayer and Mr. McMullen gave different estimates of the distance traveled before he was pulled over. This would affect the corroboration that it would offer of Mr. McMullen's speed. The JJP accepted Cst. Bayer's evidence and was not criticized by the Justice for doing so.

Giving Effect to the Evidence

Mr. McMullen argued that the speed Cst. Bayer had to travel in order to catch up to him did not support that he was speeding. Both courts disagreed.

The Verdict

[69]         The substance of the issue before the Judicial Justice was the speed at which Mr. McMullen’s vehicle was travelling. Mr. McMullen’s evidence was clearly rejected as unreliable and not credible. The evidence that Mr. McMullen was speeding was supported by the evidence of Cst. Bayer as to Mr. McMullen’s speed not only as he passed through the Intersection but also as corroborated by the later speeds that Cst. Bayer was required to travel to catch up with him, some distance away, all of which was accepted by the Judicial Justice. This evidence amply supported the verdict.

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