Case Law

Driving related decisions by the courts.

CASE LAW - R v Scherbey

BC Courts Coat of ArmsIn the case of R v Griffith we find ourselves in the Supreme Court at an appeal of a conviction for speeding. Edward Scherbey was driving out of a 30 km/h school zone travelling at 54 km/h. Constable Sabulsky made both a visual estimate of his vehicle's speed and measured it with a Stalker Dual DSR radar device before issuing the speeding ticket. At the conclusion of the trial in Provincial Court, a conviction was entered.

CASE LAW - R v Beheshti

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis case involves Doctor Benham Beheshti who was a physician at a hospital in Port Moody and lived in Vancouver. On August 30, 2015 he was on call and summoned to the hospital to treat a seriously ill patient. He was stopped for speeding on Pender Street and issued a traffic ticket by a member of the Vancouver Police Department.

CASE LAW - R v Khan

BC Courts Coat of ArmsShan Khan was a pedestrian trying to cross 152nd Street at 81st Avenue in Surrey. She crossed to the median barrier dividing the four lanes of traffic and waited for the approaching vehicles to stop. When the vehicle using the lane nearest to her did stop, she began to cross. Unfortunately the driver behind that vehicle did not stop, changed lanes to pass it and struck Ms. Khan.

CASE LAW - R v Rahmani

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThis is an appeal to the Supreme Court over the dismissal of a number of violation tickets by Judicial Justice Adair. In each case the justice decided to dismiss these traffic tickets because they took too long to proceed to trial. Neither the Crown nor the disputants involved had any input into these decisions.

CASE LAW - Salo v ICBC

BC Courts Coat of ArmsMatthew Salo was riding his hybrid bicycle and approaching a stop sign at an intersection with North End Road on Saltspring Island. His intention was to slow down and turn right without stopping if traffic permitted. There was a beige SUV stopped at the stop sign intending to turn in the same direction. Circumstances of what actually occurred next are unclear and Mr. Salo has no recollection of the incident himself due to injuries suffered. None the less, he claims negligence on the part of the driver and makes a civil claim against ICBC for damages.

CASE LAW - R v Kafka

BC Courts Coat of ArmsRobert Pitman-Jelly was driving a tractor trailer southbound in the 9800 block of West Saanich Road in Victoria. His intent was to turn left into the driveway for the Marine Technology Center. To prepare for the turn, Mr. Pitman-Jelly moved to the right side of the road in order to make a wide left turn due to the length of his vehicle combination. He was aware of traffic around him and judged that he had sufficient time to make the turn safely. He signalled and started to make his turn only to have a passing vehicle collide with the left front corner of his tractor.

CASE LAW - R v Gjoka

BC Courts Coat of ArmsMarlen Gjoka was travelling eastbound on the Trans Canada Highway entering the posted 50 km/h speed zone that begins near the Harriet Road intersection. Constable Klear of the Saanich police department was stationed 350 meters into the zone observing and measuring the speeds of approaching traffic. He estimated Mr. Gjoka's speed at 100 km/h and using an UltraLyte LRB laser device he measured the speed at 99 km/h.

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.

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.