Collisions

ICBC premiums are rising! The corporation is losing billions, we have to get costs under control! Let's put out the ICBC dumpster fire by reducing what we pay out in claims, but assure crash victims that they will be properly taken care of.

Effective March 8, 2019, the thresholds that require police to complete and submit a collision report to ICBC if they attend a crash scene have changed. The old trigger of $1,000 damage has been raised to $10,000 for property damage only collisions.

Asking for people to send me their thoughts at the end of last week's article resulted in one of the largest responses I've ever received. Ultimately, the overwhelming choice of advice was to report the offending driver to ICBC and the police. Fewer people were willing to shrug their shoulders and carry on with life while two offered emotional support.

"Excuse me? There is no wrong side of the road for pedestrians." This is the gospel according to @alaskanmind in a conversation I was involved in on Twitter this week. "It is a drivers legal responsibility to drive with due care and attention, meaning they are solely responsible." Here's an example from our courts where this view is shown to be incorrect.

This is a short story about things that go bump in the parking lot. The outcome could have been a lot simpler with a bit of courtesy and the sharing of required information but it didn't happen that way. I wonder what the ultimate cost will be when all is said and done.

Q: I would like some information regarding laws in Vancouver or other provinces in Canada that require a temporary suspension of one's license if they are involved in a motor vehicle accident where there is a fatality or serious injury.

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.

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena has announced the roll back of speed limit increases on 15 segments of highway that were raised in 2014. The new speed limit will be 10 km/h lower in the hope that the increase in crash rates seen after the previous change will return to what they were before.

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.

Some sections of rural highways in British Columbia saw an increase in the posted speed limit in 2014 following a provincial government review which included a poll of the population. Within two years some of these increases were rolled back due to rising collision rates. Today a research report released by academics from the University of British Columbia evaluates the effect that the initial speed increases have had since they were implemented.