Avoiding Penalty Points

Violation Ticket TopOne of the recurring themes among DriveSmartBC correspondents involves avoiding penalty points after a driver has received a traffic ticket for committing a hazardous moving violation. Often the driver realizes that they have erred and are willing to pay the fine but want to avoid having penalty points assessed for the transgression.

CASE LAW - Nguyen v British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles)

BC Courts Coat of ArmsOn January 13, 2015 Van Nhut Nguyen was sentenced for failing to produce his driver's licence. The penalty was a $750 fine and one year term of probation during which he was not allowed to operate a motor vehicle between the hours of 7:00 pm and 6:00 am. It would appear that this is the result of an incident of driving while being prohibited from doing so.

BC's IRP Program Survives Another Court Challenge

image of AlcoSensorFST deviceCounsel for Lee Michael Wilson argued that the Approved Screening Device (ASD) result alone could not provide the officer with the reasonable grounds and that the officer was also required to point to other confirmatory evidence. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled today that this is not the case and dismissed the appeal of his Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP). The ruling supports the BC Motor Vehicle Act legislation that allows police to quickly and effectively remove impaired drivers from our highways.

READING - Eyes on the Road

RAC Foundation for MotoringThis publication, commissioned by the Royal Auto Club Foundation for Motoring, reviews the current scientific literature on the use of smart glasses and driver distraction. It also contains information obtained from an on-the-road experimental study comparing driver behaviour whilst navigating using smart glasses, smartphone-based satellite navigation and verbal instructions.

Q&A - Left Turn Right of Way at T Intersection

Q&A ImageIn a T-shaped intersection with lights but no arrows, the through street is green both directions and the side street is red. A person is trying to turn left from the through street onto the side street. As well, another car is coming from the opposite direction wanting to turn right onto the same side street but has a yield sign in the turn lane.

Failure to Keep Right

Q&A ImageQuestion: I got a ticket from an officer for "failure to keep right" after he showed up an hour after I had hydroplaned off of a ONE WAY to the right of the road. He gave me this ticket and he said he was being "nice" because he felt he could have gave me a speeding ticket (even thought he wasn't there) Do I have a case ?

Q&A - Does Our Hay Trailer Need a Licence and Insurance?

Q&A ImageWe own a small ranch in BC. Our hay fields stretch out along a small public road that runs through our ranch. We have just purchased a large truck which is now insured with farm plates to haul our hay bales off of the fields. We have been told that the hay trailer being pulled by this truck needs to be liscenced.