News

Our government continues to roll out electronic tickets, which are intended to replace paper traffic tickets, reduce red tape, allow officers to respond to traffic offences more efficiently. They will also provide more accurate data that will help to improve road safety programs and policies.

Slated to take effect in January 2020, BC's Director of Police Services, Brenda Butterworth-Carr, has released new standards aimed at promoting unbiased policing.

The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure has announced proposed changes to the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) that would allow alternative types of transport such as Segways, e-scooters and electric unicycles to be used legally.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has released the British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide. The Guide addresses human powered modes of transportation and focuses primarily on walking, cycling and rolling. However, it also addresses single person electric vehicles such as electric bicycles, scooters, Segways, skateboards and hoverboards.

Effective March 8, 2019, the thresholds that require police to complete and submit a collision report to ICBC if they attend a crash scene have changed. The old trigger of $1,000 damage has been raised to $10,000 for property damage only collisions.

BC's Auditor General has released the report of an independent audit of commercial vehicle safety in our province. The audit looked at whether the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General have effectively managed their respective programs to promote the safe operation of commercial vehicles on B.C. roads.

Effective on December 18, 2018 amendments to the Criminal Code will allow police to demand that any driver stopped for a lawful purpose participate in a screen for alcohol use. Currently police must have a reasonable belief that a driver has alcohol in their body before they can make a screening demand.

Effective this week, heavy commercial vehicles will be forbidden to use the leftmost lane on the Coquihalla Highway between Box Canyon and Zopkios. Aimed at keeping "spun out" trucks on the right side of the highway and the left lane clear for snow removal equipment and tow trucks. If this pilot program produces the hoped for outcome it may be extended to other routes in the interior of the province.

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena has announced the roll back of speed limit increases on 15 segments of highway that were raised in 2014. The new speed limit will be 10 km/h lower in the hope that the increase in crash rates seen after the previous change will return to what they were before.

You have received a violation ticket and have decided to dispute the allegation in traffic court. The date has been set and you can't wait to get in there and tell the judicial justice that your ticket should be tossed. Have you given any thought to preparing for the dispute or are you just going to wing it?