Things That Go Bump in the Parking Lot - Part 2

Intersection CrashAsking for people to send me their thoughts at the end of last week's article resulted in one of the largest responses I've ever received. Ultimately, the overwhelming choice of advice was to report the offending driver to ICBC and the police. Fewer people were willing to shrug their shoulders and carry on with life while two offered emotional support.

CASE LAW - Vandendorpel v Evoy

BC Courts Coat of Arms"Excuse me? There is no wrong side of the road for pedestrians." This is the gospel according to @alaskanmind in a conversation I was involved in on Twitter this week. "It is a drivers legal responsibility to drive with due care and attention, meaning they are solely responsible." Here's an example from our courts where this view is shown to be incorrect.

CASE LAW - R v Ren

BC Courts Coat of ArmsZihe Ren was convicted of speeding for traveling in excess of 80 km/h in the posted 50 km/h zone of the 4900 block of West 16th Avenue in Vancouver. He appealed the conviction citing that:

  1. The investigating officer, by mistaking the model of his vehicle on the traffic violation ticket, demonstrated that he was “obviously absent-minded" and it should be assumed that he was equally absent-minded about his estimate of the accused’s speed; and
  2. The decision is invalid because the investigating officer did not provide calibration records of his “speeding radar".

RESEARCH - Bike Friendly Cities are Safer

CyclistA report from the Mountain - Plains Consortium answers the question of why bike friendly cities are safer for all road users. From the document abstract:

Despite bicycling being considered on the order of ten times more dangerous than driving, the evidence continues to build that high-bicycling-mode-share cities are not only safer for bicyclists but for all road users. This paper looks to understand what makes these cities safer.