Government

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.

ICBC's current corporate slogan is "Building Trust, Driving Confidence." Pair that with this week's announcement of a $582 million loss for the first six months of the corporation's fiscal year and one begins to wonder about the confidence part. That loss is being blamed on the rising number and cost of claims.

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.

Increased penalties will come into effect today for drivers who put people at risk through excessive speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving and other violations.

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General has announced that effective at the end of July, 2018 all 140 intersection safety cameras in our province will be operational at all times. The Intersection Camera Safety Program has also increased its staff to review incidents and process additional tickets in a timely manner.

Our provincial government is preparing for the decriminalization of the use of marihuana. As alcohol is currently regulated under the Liquour Control and Licensing Act (LCLA), cannabis will be regulated under the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act (CCLA). Specific sections of the Act govern possession and use in motor vehicles.

Governments are faced with the prospect of preparing for the operation of self driving vehicles on our highways. Probably chief among the considerations is who is responsible if the automated vehicle causes a crash.

I was curious about the outcome of ICBC's rate fairness survey so I checked the box to be notified when the report became available. The notification arrived in my inbox this week and I've made a quick scan of the document. The diverse opinions on who should be held accountable for what and how rates should be set is interesting.

Bill 17, the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act (MVA) 2018 has passed third reading in the legislature. The bill amends the MVA to include provisions for the use of drug screening instruments and the imposition of prohibitions based on the result of using them to test a driver. In addition, a driver may be subject to licence conditions prohibiting the operation of a motor vehicle when the driver has a prescribed drug in their body,

Last week we looked at how we might define a bad driver. Views were varied, but there were two well thought out responses that did more than just express an opinion. This week, let's look at how bad drivers pay for the risk that they present to others using our highways.