Q&A

Question: I loaned my vehicle to my girlfriend while I was out of the province. She was caught excessively speeding, received a traffic ticket (officially called a violation ticket), and my vehicle was impounded for seven days. I wasn't even in British Columbia at the time, but now I can't get to work because my vehicle is in the impound lot. How can I be responsible for something I didn't do?

Question: I'm just wondering if the computers inside police cars have access to all of ICBC's driving records and database? What if you have say three tickets in the last five years, but you have beaten two of them in traffic court. How would that show up on the police officer's computer?

No, most often stopping behind another car at a stop sign does not count as your legal stop.

According to Section 186 of the Motor Vehicle Act, you must bring your vehicle to a complete stop at a specific location—the stop line, crosswalk, or intersection edge—regardless of whether you already stopped behind another vehicle.

Question: I'm flabbergasted that motorcycles with loud exhausts seem to be the "sacred cows" of our highways and byways. I recently spent about 18 hours working at a job site immediately adjacent to Harvey Avenue near Pandosy Street, during two sunny days of spring weather. The excessive noise from motorcycles and "jacked-up" diesel 4 x 4's trucks that constantly hammered their throttles was astonishing.

Question: I grew up in the Netherlands where riding a bike everywhere is normal. I moved to Vancouver and have noticed that there is not much safety common sense with cyclists. My main concern is their "safety" LED lights! They shine them upwards, blinding pedestrians and drivers along the way.

I am fortunate to receive a steady stream of driving questions from visitors to this website. Whenever I need inspiration for my weekly column, I can always count on a reader to spark an idea. This week, the operative word is "short." I am tackling a few brief but important questions that haven’t developed into full articles but still deserve a thorough response.

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?

The short answer is no, you cannot safely or legally drive on public roads in British Columbia while your arm is immobilized in a temporary sling.