Collisions

Information regarding collisions.

Driving with Collision Damage

car being towedYou’ve been involved in a fender bender and now your vehicle is damaged. The headlight is pointing at the sky, the signal light is missing and the bumper had to be removed so that the tire has room to steer. The appointment with an insurance adjuster is pending, and you can’t even think about the body shop yet. Can you just keep driving until the vehicle is repaired?

CASE LAW - Link v ICBC

BC Courts Coat of ArmsPeter Link was driving to White Rock from Richmond on an evening with 2 to 3 inches of new snow. On highway 99 between the highway 10 and highway 91 exits he was passed by an unidentified SUV. The SUV moved into Link's lane after passing at such a short distance that his windshield was completely covered by snow thrown up by the SUV's wheels making it impossible to see.

Post Crash Seatbelt Use Investigation

SeatbeltPart of the investigation of any serious motor vehicle collision is an examination of the seatbelts to determine if the person in that seating position was restrained or not. The outcome could determine whether a ticket for failing to wear the restraint was issued or not but I suspect that more commonly the information was used to determine liability. If you were not wearing your seatbelt your award for injury could be reduced by the courts.

REPORT - Health Impacts of Traffic Mishaps and Opportunities for Road Safety

VIHA LogoBetween 2001 and 2008, more than 5,600 VIHA residents were hospitalized and 443 died a result of transport - related motor vehicle events. More people die at a young age from transport - related collisions involving motor vehicles than any other injury - related cause of death.

VIEWPOINT - Saw a preventable crash today

SoapboxWell, most crashes are preventable, even mechanical failure to some degree.

This rainy morning, as I was descending down a 10% grade coming up on an intersection, I observed two cars: grey Pontiac G5 being followed at about 3 feet distance by a large black Dodge Ram 1500.

Both vehicles were in the middle lane of a 3 lane street, where traffic 'typically' travels around 60km/h.

Fail to Remain at a Single Vehicle Crash

crash cartoonLast year I was involved in a single vehicle accident. I swerved to miss a raccoon (is what i think it was, anyways) and hit a curbed meridian. No injuries, noone else involved. I bent a rim on the car though and it looked like the tire was losing pressure bigtime, so I parked the car and went home to get a car dolley to tow it home and save on some ridiculous tow bill.