Vehicle impoundment is a primary penalty tool used in British Columbia to discourage high-risk driving behavior. Under the Motor Vehicle Act, the registered owner of the vehicle is entirely responsible for all towing and storage costs. Even if you were not the driver at the time of the infraction, you must pay the impound fees to recover your vehicle.
Yes, you can absolutely fail an ICBC road test for driving too slowly. While many examinees focus entirely on avoiding a speeding ticket, driving well under the posted speed limit indicates a lack of confidence, poor vehicle control, and a failure to maintain the flow of traffic. The exact ways driving too slowly leads to a failed test depend on the severity, the context, and how the behavior affects other road users.
Question: Is it legal to have a nitrous oxide system hooked up to a vehicle in British Columbia? If the bottle is detached from the system, is it legal? Does a DOT/WHMIS oxidizer symbol grant any right to transport it?
Question: A friend of mine just received a speeding ticket in BC. The description of the offence says "speed signs", the Act is "MVA", and the section is "146(7)". What does this mean? She doesn't think her actual speed was recorded on the ticket, but there are two numbers, "91-89", written in the top right corner. Lastly, if she disputes this ticket, can a judge increase her penalty?
Failing to measure a load properly is an expensive crisis on B.C. highways. About once a month, an over-height vehicle or its load is involved in a collision with an overpass somewhere in British Columbia. According to the Ministry of Transportation and Transit, these preventable infrastructure crashes cause millions of dollars in structural damage, gridlock commuter traffic, and compromise public safety.
Sometimes the simplest questions are the ones that make you pause. During a recent highway patrol shift, a work-experience student sitting in my passenger seat asked a straightforward question: Are radar detectors legal in British Columbia?
This is a short trip down memory lane with a retired traffic cop: me. Having recently completed a round trip from Vancouver Island to the West Kootenays and back, I had plenty of time to think along the way. There were ghosts along Highway 3 from the Manning Park works yard to Rock Creek, one of my old patrol areas.
I'm not a lawyer reads the e-mail, I'm a grandfather but I want to be able to help my grandson dispute a ticket in traffic court. At his first appearance the presiding justice refused to let me participate telling me that my grandson was old enough to do it himself. There wasn't enough time to get to his hearing that day so I want to try again. How do I get the court's permission to do this?
Question: If a person is not satisfied with the response of the local police to a driving complaint, what is the next step? I know for a fact my wife and I had the offending vehicle, driver's description and B.C. license number correct.
Have you ever spotted a bright yellow ribbon tied to a crashed car beside a British Columbia highway? If you are driving on any BC road, seeing this tape is an important signal. It means BC emergency services have already been to the scene, checked for injuries, and cleared the vehicle. If you see that yellow ribbon, you do not need to call emergency services.