CASE LAW - R v Robinson

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThe case of R v Robinson involves disobeying a traffic control device at the intersection of Maclure Road and Babich Street in Abbotsford. In this instance, the traffic control device was the speed limit sign for the road that Mr. Robinson was driving on. The ticket alleged that he had failed to obey a traffic control device, but said nothing further.

Parallel Parking and the Impatient Driver

Parallel ParkingHere's another question from the DriveSmartBC inbox: I've noticed recently that often drivers are impatient of people parallel parking and pass them on the left rather than waiting in the right hand lane for the driver to finish parking before moving forward. In the event of a collision who is at fault - the person parallel parking or the person trying to go around the parallel parking car?

VIEWPOINT - Under Insured Motorist Protection

SoapboxRose 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.

ARTICLE - Rethinking the One Way Street

one way street signRethinking 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.

Disaster Response Routes

Disaster Response Route SignI 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.

REPORT - Pedaling Towards Equity

HUB Cycling LogoHUB 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.

CASE LAW - R v Gray

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThe 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.

How Accurate is Your Speedometer?

SpeedometerMany 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.