Collisions

This 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.

In the early evening of May 26, 2018 a person in a motorized wheelchair tried to cross the railroad tracks at Broadway Street in Chilliwack. During the crossing the rear caster wheels of the wheelchair dropped down into the flangeway (slot alongside the inside of the rail that allows the wheel flanges to pass the pavement), trapping the chair.

The rain is pounding down outside this morning as I sit looking out my livingroom window with tablet and coffee in hand. I'm warm and dry enjoying the idea that being retired means I am no longer on the highway investigating collisions in this weather. Of course, Murphy was listening...

Putting human life at risk to save an animal on the road is negligent. Paul Hergott discusses two cases where drivers attempted to do this and serious collisions were the result. There are also links to the case law involved in these stories.

On the 14th of November, 2015 at about 9:00 am, Ken Chung was operating an Audi northbound on Oak Street approaching West 41st Avenue in Vancouver. Evidence suggested that his speed was about 140 km/h in the 50 km/h zone.

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.

ICBC premiums are rising! The corporation is losing billions, we have to get costs under control! Let's put out the ICBC dumpster fire by reducing what we pay out in claims, but assure crash victims that they will be properly taken care of.

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.

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.

"Excuse me? There is no wrong side of the road for pedestrians." This is the gospel according to @alaskanmind in a conversation I was involved in on Twitter this week. "It is a drivers legal responsibility to drive with due care and attention, meaning they are solely responsible." Here's an example from our courts where this view is shown to be incorrect.