Case Law

Driving related decisions by the courts.

CASE LAW - R v Parmar

BC Courts Coat of ArmsTejveer Parmar was ticketed for speeding on Kittson Parkway in Delta. He testified at trial that another driver had continually pulled in front of his vehicle and braked. He decided that the only opportunity available to him was to exceed the posted speed limit and pass this vehicle in order merge safely into traffic. The traffic court justice convicted him for traveling 81 km/h in the 50 km/h zone.

CASE LAW - R v Dassylva

BC Courts Coat of ArmsIn response to complaints of commercial vehicles failing to follow regulatory requirements in the District of McKenzie the police began to operate compliance check stops. A Kenworth tractor without a trailer was observed traveling northbound on Highway 39 near the causeway outside Mackenzie. The officer followed the vehicle for some kilometers before stopping it and interviewing the driver.

CASE LAW - Lovse v British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles)

BC Courts Coat of ArmsRogan Lovse is a novice driver with a history of two speeding tickets and a two month driving prohibition brought on by those tickets. On receiving a third ticket for speeding, the Superintendent sent him a notice of intention to prohibit him from driving for five months.

CASE LAW - Gaebel v Lipka

BC Courts Coat of ArmsGordon Lipka was driving his vehicle on the Stillwater Main forest service road near Powell River, B.C. As he neared the intersection of Highway 101, Mr. Lipka drove onto the shoulder of the road and lost control of his vehicle. The vehicle travelled up an embankment, became airbourne and rolled before landing. Brad Gaebel, a passenger in the vehicle injured his right shoulder and collarbone in the incident.

Pedestrians & Drivers Turning Left

Alexander Zacher was walking to work early on the morning of October 31, 2014 in Tsawwassen. He followed the walk signal on 12th Avenue at the intersection of 52nd Street using the marked crosswalk. When he was about two-thirds of the way across he was struck by a left turning vehicle driven by Glenn Prescesky and suffered serious injuries.

CASE LAW - R v Ren

BC Courts Coat of ArmsZihe Ren was convicted of speeding for traveling in excess of 80 km/h in the posted 50 km/h zone of the 4900 block of West 16th Avenue in Vancouver. He appealed the conviction citing that:

  1. The investigating officer, by mistaking the model of his vehicle on the traffic violation ticket, demonstrated that he was “obviously absent-minded" and it should be assumed that he was equally absent-minded about his estimate of the accused’s speed; and
  2. The decision is invalid because the investigating officer did not provide calibration records of his “speeding radar".

CASE LAW - R v Chamberlain

BC Courts Coat of ArmsColt Chamberlain was convicted in traffic court for driving at 145 km/h in a posted 90 km/h zone on highway 19 in Delta. He appealed the conviction based on the failure of the Crown to prove that the speed sign in place on the highway that day was posted by the minister responsible for the administration of the Transportation Act and that the sign applied to his lane of travel.

CASE LAW - R v Catling

BC Courts Coat of ArmsMatthew 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.