Police

Despite the fact that it is older technology, radar is still frequently used by police to measure vehicle speeds today. When used properly, it is an accurate method of determining how fast a vehicle is traveling. The courts also accept qualified radar evidence of speed during a trial as commonplace.

When I was posted in the Okanagan in the 1990s I was answering phones in the detachment dispatch office. A caller from Summerland asked what would happen if he decided to take his protest sign down to the highway and conduct his own personal blockade. He expressed the opinion that if he did that the police would arrive quickly and if he did not move he would be removed.

The case of Burroughs v Chiasson involves a collision between a fully marked police vehicle being operated code 3 and a family mini van in the intersection of First Avenue and Young Road in Chilliwack.

A commuter asked "I would really like to see the article written about what to do when we see a commercial transport vehicle that is driving in an unsafe manner. You gave us a phone number to call that specifically relates to tractor trailers, and who to call when we witness a driving infraction. I see it on a regular basis and most of the times the trucks are unmarked."

Skidmarks left on the pavement at a collision scene tell the investigator many things about the events involved in a motor vehicle collision. One common example involves using the length of the mark to calculate pre-collision speed.

Question: What kind of qualifications do police officers have for doing mechanical inspections on vehicles? I have a 2010 GMC Sierra that I keep in excellent shape in all respects but I got a defective vehicle ticket and a safety inspection order after being stopped.

We live in a wonderful country where violence is still something relatively rare. If we are stopped by the police we tend not to worry and dig out our driver's license and vehicle registration wherever it might be in the vehicle. Some people even get out and walk back to the police car to see what is going on. These actions are meant to be polite and save time but today are not the right thing to do.

In my travels this week I was overtaken by a marked police vehicle travelling at 110 km/h in the posted 90 km/h zone. No emergency equipment was being operated. Instances like this are often complained about by the public as they see the police failing to follow the same traffic rules that they force everyone else to obey.

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.

Last week we looked at the story of a cyclist who was told by a constable that it was too dangerous to ride a bike on the road and he should find another hobby. Not knowing anything more about the encounter that produced this advice I asked the cyclist if he had done anything about questioning this attitude. No was the response, I'm afraid of retaliation.