CASE LAW - Eller v British Columbia (Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure)

BC Courts Coat of ArmsWilliam Eller represented the Aspen Road Community's interests in this action against the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure's (MOTI) proposed changes to the Malahat Highway intersection serving their area. The action was taken because the residents felt that the MOTI failed to incorporate their concerns into the improvement project. An injunction was requested to prevent the changes being made until the safest design for the affected area was determined in full consultation with the residents.

Some People Still Don't Wear Their Seatbelt

SeatbeltOver my lifetime so far, I've gone from a child who rode on a foam mattress in the back of our family station wagon on summer road trips to a grandfather who would not dream of driving anywhere without grand daughters safely buckled up in proper child restraints. Needless to say, wearing my own seatbelt has become a reflex action. I'm uncomfortable if I don't wear it and don't notice it when I do.

READING - Preserve Car Crash Evidence in Five Steps

Hergott Law logoHere's great advice from Hergott Law about how to protect your interests if you are involved in a crash. According to Paul Hergott, very few of his clients ever take any steps at the scene to gather and preserve information about the crash that could be crucial later on. This is particularly important for short lived evidence which may not remain to be found after the fact and may or may not be documented by police on your behalf.

Go First, Think Second

Backing UpI've started to take my own advice and back into parking stalls more often. There have been some unique experiences, mostly pedestrians that blithely march past the back of my vehicle ignoring the signal and backup lights, but there are drivers who want to go first and think second. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to include myself in that category this time around.

CASE LAW - Truax v Hryb

BC Courts Coat of ArmsHarvey Truax stopped his empty B train combination on the shoulder of Highway 1 near Sorrento, B.C. He allowed the 4 vehicles that had been following him to pass by before he started to make a left turn across the highway into a pullout. His left signal was in operation and he had 300 to 400 m. of highway visible behind him. Finding no overtaking traffic, he began to move from the shoulder into the pullout across the highway.

Driving in a Complex Intersection

Q&A ImageQuestion: I often have to use a complex intersection to get to where I am going in Nanaimo. It's at the junctions of the Old Island Highway, Jingle Pot and Shenton Roads. I use the right hand turn lane on Shenton to join the traffic on Jingle Pot and move over a lane to be able to turn left at the traffic lights onto the Old Island Highway.