Case Law

This case is another example of how a series of choices led to a collision. Merritt Towing parked a tow truck on the left side of the divided highway, partially encroaching on the travelled lane, without placing warnings. The angle of the sun and the reflections off of the wet pavement seriously affected the forward vision of drivers at that location. The driver that hit the parked tow truck and been following a large commercial vehicle and chose to pass it on the left instead of on the right.

The rules surrounding the use of electronic devices while driving have been refined by the BC Supreme Court yet again in the case of R v Bleau. Ryan Bleau was charged for having his smartphone sitting in his vehicle's cupholder using it to listen to a podcast while he drove to work. He was convicted of the offence in traffic court.

This is a case where Timothy Drewcock appealed his conviction for speeding in traffic court. His position is that the JJP should not have admitted police radar evidence because there was no evidence explaining when and how the radar instrument used in the case was tested and what tests were made.

Cody Andrews and Barry McKenna were driving northbound on Highway 1 between Hutchinson and Chapman Roads in Cobble Hill. Mr. McKenna was operating a motorcycle in the left lane intending to make a left turn onto Hutchinson and Mr. Andrews was driving his sportscar in the right lane. When Mr. Andrews moved to the left lane, they collided.

Patrick Grzelak has a habit of driving while wearing earbuds that are attached to his iPhone because they help block out the drone of the highway. He was stopped by police and issued a violation ticket for using an electronic device while driving. A dispute of that traffic ticket was not successful so he appealed his conviction to the supreme court of BC.

It's relatively rare to see a traffic court decision appealed by the Crown. In this case, Aria Seraji was charged with excessive speed and disputed the traffic ticket. After his trial the judicial justice found that Mr. Seraji was not driving at excessive speed and convicted him of the lesser included offence of speeding. Crown appealed the decision.

Kristian Thanas was riding his bicycle southbound in a marked cycling lane on Burrard Street in Vancouver. He noticed a car driven by Joseph Long traveling alongside him with it's right turn signal on as they approached the intersection of Pacific Avenue. Mr. Thanas thought that Mr. Long had neglected to cancel his signal as a right turn at the intersection was not permitted.

This case involves a Shaw Cablesystems van driven by Mauricio Batin and a mobility scooter driven by Najafholi Nikkhah at the intersection of Queens Avenue and 8th Street in New Westminster. Mr. Batin was driving along Queens Avenue to make a right turn at 8th Steet and Mr. Nikkhah was using the marked crosswalk on 8th Avenue to cross Queens Avenue.

This case arises from a two vehicle collision that occurred at the intersection of 200 Street and 62 Avenue in Surrey. It involves a car driven southbound on 200 Street, turning left onto 62 Avenue and a car driven northbound on 200 Street in the right hand or curb lane. Traffic in the left and middle lanes of 200 Street northbound was at a standstill due to congestion.

Jagger Ross Schurman was stopped by police in Vancouver for a number of violations while he was driving his mother's car. "He was under the impression that he would be principally fined but that the tickets would not go on his driving record. He also indicated that he was led into an erroneous understanding about the effect of pleading guilty with respect to the accumulation of points against his driver's licence by the attending officer's roadside statements."