Collisions

Some sections of rural highways in British Columbia saw an increase in the posted speed limit in 2014 following a provincial government review which included a poll of the population. Within two years some of these increases were rolled back due to rising collision rates. Today a research report released by academics from the University of British Columbia evaluates the effect that the initial speed increases have had since they were implemented.

Many drivers believe speeding alone does not actually cause crashes. While not totally inaccurate, this over-simplified phrase does not paint the whole picture. The fact is, very few crashes are caused by one factor alone, and this includes speeding, but downplaying the impact of speeding can prove to be deadly.

This video from the IIHS explains what happens to vehicle occupants during car crashes. It reviews the history of research into how much force the human body can withstand and then relates it to what causes injury and how in a collision.

There's been a major crash that has injured or killed someone on one of our highways. The highway has been closed for a period of time and everyone is being inconvenienced. The words killer highway or something similar has been mentioned and there are calls for the government to do something to make the highway safer.

In what may be one of the ultimate Tonka toy dreams, I was lucky enough to participate in a training session where we were tipping heavy trucks over on purpose. The adventure, spearheaded by Eric Brewer, took place on a dormant runway at the Boundary Bay airport that is used by government agencies for driver training and collision reconstruction testing.

In this article Paul describes a David vs Goliath case where Frank Kristen disagreed with the ICBC claims adjuster finding him 100% at fault for a collision. Mr. Kristen proceeded to a Claims Assessment Review where the adjudicator agreed with the claims adjuster. The final step was to have the issue heard before the court and the case against ICBC was commenced.

Not all collision litigation resulting from crashes on our highways involve motor vehicles. In this case, the collision occurred between Rosario Perilli, a jogger, and Wendy Marlow, a 10 year old youth riding a bicycle. Mr. Perilli fell to the ground in his attempt to avoid the collision and suffered injuries, including one to his shoulder that required surgery to repair.

This is a case where a runaway snowmobile collided with Angelo Passerin who had stopped to help another rider whose snowmobile was stuck in deep snow. In a way, this is an example of the perfect storm as the riderless snowmobile went over a 33 meter cliff, climbed out of a ravine and ran for more than a kilometer before striking Passerin.

Last week we looked at how we might define a bad driver. Views were varied, but there were two well thought out responses that did more than just express an opinion. This week, let's look at how bad drivers pay for the risk that they present to others using our highways.

Misbehaving and incompetent drivers get off too easy in the media. How many times have you seen news headlines like these?