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.
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.
Does a novice driver have to take the test to become a fully licensed class 5 driver? While there is a limited time that a novice must remain in the Graduated Licensing Program there is currently no limit on the other end of the scale. "N" drivers forever!
Of course, remaining a novice driver comes at a cost. You must abide by all of the restrictions listed on the back of your licence.
"I'll pay the fine, I just don't want the points." This is not an uncommon desire expressed by drivers prior to a traffic court hearing when asked how they want to proceed. If the violation ticket was issued with the accused identified as the driver, penalty points follow the conviction as night follows day. There is no escaping them.
CBC's Marketplace has produced a program on commercial driver licensing in Canada. Their driver earned his commercial driver's licence in Saskatchewan and then failed the test for the same licence category in Ontario. At issue is the varying level of skill necessary to obtain a commercial driver's licence across the provinces.
What would happen if you had to pass the ICBC Drive Smart Refresher test before you renewed your driver's licence? More daunting still, what if you had to pass the same test that a Learner Driver has to in order to obtain their licence for the first time? Or, horror of horrors, what if you were actually considered to be an experienced driver who knows much more than the basics and the test was actually made to be challenging?
Q: If a novice driver is accompanied by someone over 25 who has a full class 5 license but is currently serving a 90 day immediate roadside prohibition, are they within the law? Does this count as an appropriate "Supervisor" ?
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.
Today's hopeful new drivers must take a computer based knowledge test and pass with a score of at least 80% correct in order to obtain a learner's licence. Contrast that with the 20 question A or B test that I took when I was 16 or my mother who simply paid for her licence and then learned to drive!
Asking for people to send me their thoughts at the end of 
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. 
Does a novice driver have to take the test to become a fully licensed class 5 driver? While there is a limited time that a novice must remain in the Graduated Licensing Program there is currently no limit on the other end of the scale. "N" drivers forever!
"I'll pay the fine, I just don't want the points." This is not an uncommon desire expressed by drivers prior to a traffic court hearing when asked how they want to proceed. If the violation ticket was issued with the accused identified as the driver, penalty points follow the conviction as night follows day. There is no escaping them.
