Case Law

Driving related decisions by the courts.

CASE LAW - R v Partridge

BC Courts Coat of ArmsOn August 21, 2018 Philip Partridge was observed by police looking downward while driving. After being stopped, it was noted that he had a cellphone wedged between the folds of the passenger seat with the screen facing him. The screen was not lit when the officer looked inside Mr. Partidge's vehicle.

CASE LAW - Block v Schmitt

BC Courts Coat of ArmsChristina Block was driving eastbound on Yarrow Central Road near No. 3 Road in Yarrow. She and her family were returning from the movies. Kevin Schmitt was driving westbound and veered into the Block's lane, causing a sideswipe collision. Ms. Block pulled over and stopped but Mr. Schmitt did not.

CASE LAW - R v Jackson

BC Courts Coat of ArmsOn November 7, 2018 Cst. Neid was participating in a two person enforcement operation where he was the observer beside Highway 33 in Kelowna. In his evidence he states that he observed Corinne Jackson driving toward him "shovelling" food from a bowl into her mouth and was not holding the steering wheel.

Cst. Neid estimate the speed of Ms. Jackson's vehicle at 60 km/h in the 50 km/h speed zone.

CASE LAW - Jory v Pereira

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis case resolves liability for a collision that took place at the intersection of Rutherford Road and Cedar Ridge Place in Nanaimo. A car was being driven eastbound on Rutherford Road by Gordon Pereira at a speed of between 80 and 115 km/h in the 50 km/h municipal speed zone. A van driven by William Jory stopped at the stop sign northbound on Cedar Ridge Place and then began to turn west on Rutherford Road.

CASE LAW - R v Gleeson

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis is a road rage incident that occurred near Saanich starting on McKenzie Avenue near Glanford Avenue and proceeding westbound. A pickup truck driven by Adam Gleeson engaged with a car driven by Ms. Kirkpatrick in what could be described as an episode of road rage culminating in Mr. Gleeson pulling up beside Ms. Kirkpatrick and spitting on her. This resulted in Mr. Gleeson being charged with assault and dangerous driving.

CASE LAW - Marcena v Thomson

BC Courts Coat of ArmsAriston Marcena and his wife decided to cross Yates Street just east of Cook Street in Victoria. When two vehicles in the lane closest to them stopped for his wife, Mr. Marcena urged her to cross the two lanes (not in a crosswalk) at a jog as he assumed that traffic was going to wait. Barry Thomson was riding his motorcycle in the next lane over and did not stop. He struck and injured both Marcenas.

CASE LAW - Naidu v Zhong

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis case involves a head on collision between two vehicles driven by Wasanthi Naidu and Xu Xia Zhong on Blundell Road between #6 and Sidaway Roads in Richmond. Both drivers claim that the other was on the wrong side of the road at the time of the crash.

CASE LAW - Uy v Dhillon

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis case resolves liability for a collision between a car driven by Johnberlyn Uy and a tractor-trailer combination driven by Daljit Singh Dhillon on the Coquihalla Highway just west of the Zopkios brake check. The collision occurred in the early morning hours of January 31, 2014 following a winter storm. At that time the road conditions were relatively good, consisting of a light coat of a mixture of compact snow and sand.

CASE LAW - R v Almardy

BC Courts Coat of ArmsKhalid Almardy was stopped by police in the early morning hours of October 21, 2017 in Victoria as he was a novice driver who was not displaying a new driver sign on his vehicle and was carrying too many passengers. Cst. Christians of the Capital Region Integrated Road Safety Unit detected the odour of liquor on Mr. Almardy's breath. Drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program must have zero blood alcohol when driving.

CASE LAW - R v McEachern

BC Courts Coat of ArmsMira McEachern was a novice driver on September 17, 2016 when she was issued a traffic ticket for using an electronic device while driving. She was convicted of that offence (records do not indicate if it was because she paid the fine or was not successful in a traffic court dispute). Shortly after the conviction RoadSafetyBC notified her of a pending prohibition of 3 months due only to that conviction.