Driving related decisions by the courts.
Matthew Catling received two traffic tickets, one in Richmond for speeding in a municipality and one in Vancouver for using an electronic device. Mr. Catling filed separate Constitutional Question Act notices on both the Richmond and Robson Square prosecutions on November 2, 2017, and November 24, 2017, respectively. He asserted that s. 63.1 of the Offence Act violates Sections 7 and 11(d) of the Charter.
Nada Banic-Govc was approaching the exit of a parking lot at a slow speed intending to exit onto 1st Avenue in Surrey, B.C. by turning right. Gregory Timm approached the parking lot on 1st Avenue intending to turn left and enter it. The two drivers collided in the parking lot exit.
This case resolves the liability for a crash where a driver making a left turn drove over the painted traffic island to get to the left turn lane rather than wait for traffic ahead. Unfortunately, the car ahead was also turning left and a collision occurred when that driver moved into the left turn lane without making a shoulder check first.
Jeremy Duplissie was riding his motorcycle in the 10,300 block of 272 Street in Maple Ridge. This road has a posted speed limit of 50 km/h. The speed chosen by Mr. Duplissie was measured at just over 100 km/h by Corporal Martin. A ticket for excessive speeding was issued and subsequently disputed.
On September 9, 2015 Edward Scherbey was driving a vehicle exiting a school zone. His speed was measured using laser at 56 km/h. Constable Sabulsky stopped him and issued a traffic ticket for speeding in the school zone. He disputed the ticket but was not successful.
Brigitte Schultz was stopped by police in Abbotsford for failing to maintain proper lane position, driving more slowly than normal and failing to stop for a yellow light. She displayed symptoms of impairment and was tested with an approved screening device. The test registered a fail.
The case of R v Tannhauser involves the use of a cell phone app that prevents making a cellular phone call while driving. Initially Mr. Tannhauser's defence was successful after receiving a distracted driving ticket but it did not survive after examination in the BC Court of Appeal.
Marika Winthrope obtained her class 7 novice driver's licence in 2012. Due to the cost, she never attempted to obtain her full class 5 licence. In 2015 she received a speeding ticket and what the court surmised was a one month prohibition resulting from it in 2016.
We often see serious collisions reported in the news where the offending driver was only issued a traffic ticket for the violation that caused it. Public sentiment often conveys the wish that the driver should have been charged criminally for what they have done. One yardstick for considering a criminal charge instead of a traffic ticket is whether the offending driver showed "a marked departure from the standard of care which a reasonable person would have exercised in the same circumstances."
In this article Paul describes a David vs Goliath case where Frank Kristen disagreed with the ICBC claims adjuster finding him 100% at fault for a collision. Mr. Kristen proceeded to a Claims Assessment Review where the adjudicator agreed with the claims adjuster. The final step was to have the issue heard before the court and the case against ICBC was commenced.