League and Williams Lawyers

Tag: walktoria

ICBC Hit and Run Accident Claims (Video Blog)
ICBC Hit and Run Claims

British Columbia insurance law makes sure that every vehicle licensed in this province carries at least basic coverage of $200,000 in third party liability insurance through ICBC. This basic level of required ICBC coverage means that if someone else injures you with their vehicle, you at least have some certainty that you will at least have access to some insurance funds. Even if the minimum insurance is inadequate for most serious injuries, the driver that injured you will be able to, at least a certain extent, compensate you for things such as your lost wages, medical expenses not covered by the medical services plan (MSP), and for your pain and suffering. To access this coverage, however, you need to know who the other driver was, or at least have enough information so that the vehicle can be found and the appropriate insurance policy identified. But what happens if the driver that hurt you fled the scene of the accident and you can’t identify either the driver or the vehicle?

Some insurance coverage is still available even if your collision was a hit and run. Section 24 of the Insurance (Vehicle) Act still provides basic coverage through ICBC for anyone injured by a vehicle in BC, even if the vehicle or driver can’t actually be identified. This coverage provides up to $200,000, the same amount as the minimum provided by any BC licensed vehicle.

This insurance is last resort, however, and isn’t available if there is other insurance coverage available elsewhere, such as if the vehicle’s owner can be found but not the driver. There are also requirements that you be proactive in attempting to identify the other driver, which usually means making a police report and attempting to find witnesses.

In addition to still not being able to identify the driver after taking reasonable steps, there are two other requirements to access this coverage through ICBC:
1. That the incident leading to the injury must have occurred on a highway in British Columbia, and;
2. That the injury came from the use or operation of a motor vehicle.
A highway in BC has a broader meaning than the usual sense and is broadly defined as most roadways that are meant for public use. Beyond this, it’s not necessary that you have any insurance of your own to access this coverage or for you to prove that the driver that injured you actually had any insurance. This is because hit and run coverage is a matter of public policy intended to ensure those without a way to directly access the insurance of the person that hurt them won’t be left entirely unprotected from the actions of someone who has wronged them twice, first in the collision, and second by leaving the scene.

If you do have your own vehicle insurance, this provincial hit and run coverage also extends to the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and the United States, provided you can show that another vehicle hit you.

Accessing hit and run coverage can be a technical area of insurance law with some strict time limits in reporting the collision and making a claim. If you find yourself in a situation where you were injured by an unknown driver, you should contact an injury lawyer experienced in making ICBC hit and run claims as soon as possible to make sure that you preserve your rights.

If you have a question about this issue topic or another legal issues, please feel free to contact us for a free legal consultation. We may be reached at our offices at 250-888-0002, or via email at info@leaguelaw.com.
September 20, 2016
Video Blog: Speeding Cyclists and BC Law

School Zones, Speeding Cyclists and BC Law

Last week, a local cyclist was ticketed for speeding in a school zone. The event attracted considerable news attention and a lot of discussion on social media – with many wondering if speeding cyclists are subject to the Motor Vehicle Act. In this week’s blog, we will discuss how BC’s Motor Vehicle Act applies to bicycles and why this might be. Viewers should be warned that some of the images in the above vlog may be disturbing to some viewers.

Despite being call the “Motor” Vehicle Act, section 183 of the BC’s Motor Vehicle Act states:

In addition to the duties imposed by this section, a person operating a cycle on a highway has the same rights and duties as a driver of a vehicle.

In other words, all of the rights and duties provided to cars, apply to bicycles as well. This applies to speed limits, the manner in which bicycles and vehicles enter and leave roadways, and how they negotiate intersections and interact with each other. In my view, this is a good thing. There is a significant power indifference between motor vehicles and bicycles, and similarly, between bicycles and pedestrians. Speeding cyclists are a road safety hazard.

It may seem obvious that, because of the simple physics of mass times velocity, a vehicle can cause more damage to a cyclist, than a cyclist to a pedestrian, but that comparison bears little comfort for a pedestrian who suffered a brain injury when they are knocked to the ground by a careless cyclist.  In other words, an object traveling at speed does not need to weigh even a fraction of what a vehicle weighs in order to cause significant injury. Section 183 provides for pedestrians the same increase in safety from being injured by cyclists, as it provides cyclists from being injured by motorists.

Lack of Liability Insurance Carried by Cyclists Put Victims at Peril

What many people overlook in this debate is that while every person, including a cyclist or pedestrian, injured by a motor vehicle in BC will have some form of insurance coverage to help pay for medical expenses and wage loss while they are injured, the same is sadly not true of pedestrians injured by speeding cyclists. In other words, ICBC and private automobile insurers will not pay for the medical expenses or wage loss of a pedestrian injured by a cyclist.  It is only if the cyclist has liability insurance through their home or renters insurance that they will have some source of money to help pay for the injured person’s expenses. If that insurance is not available, the cyclist will be personally responsible to pay for the injured person’s expenses. Often, this can mean personal bankruptcy for the cyclist, as many injuries result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. Both the injured pedestrian and the cyclist are the ultimate losers in that scenario.

Imagine for a moment a cyclist speeding though a school zone, colliding with a small child who is crossing the road, leaving the child with a brain injury.  The cyclist would likely have no insurance and the child would be left with minimal resources to pay for medical care and income loss through their life. In short, there is good reason the safety precautions set out in the Motor Vehicle Act apply to bicycles as well as motor vehicles.

Inability to Gauge Speed is No Excuse

In closing, I reviewed one blog in the last few days that questioned whether a cyclist should be ticketed for speeding when bicycles do not have a speedometers and therefore cannot gauge their speed. This raises an interesting issue that we will cover in more detail in a future blog, but for the time being, it will suffice to say that cyclists should always err on the side of caution if they are unable to reasonably judge their speed.

If you have a question about this issue topic or another legal issues, please feel free to contact us for a free legal consultation. We may be reached at our offices at 250-888-0002, or via email at info@leaguelaw.com.

September 13, 2016
That’s a Crosswalk, Really? (Video Blog)
Perhaps one of the most common mistakes drivers make is not understanding what is a crosswalk, and who, pedestrian or vehicle, has the right of way. Most people think that a crosswalk is only that area on a street marked with parallel white lines. Unfortunately, those people are incorrect.

The B.C. Motor Vehicle Act defines a crosswalk as either:

One: the portion of the roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs or by lines or other markings on the surface,

Or

Two: the portion of a highway at an intersection that is included within the extension of the lateral lines of the sidewalk, curb or edge of the roadway (whether it is marked or not).

This means a crosswalk is the area within imaginary lines drawn across the street from the edge of the sidewalk, curb or pavement edge, on one side of the street, to the similar edge on the other side of the street. Put another way, there are really three types of crosswalks.
1. Marked crosswalks at intersections,
2. Marked crosswalk other than at intersections (such as on a long stretch of road where there is no cross-street), and;
3. Unmarked crosswalks, but still a crosswalk, at intersections where there is no marked crosswalks.
This begs the question, however, if intersections have unmarked crosswalks, what is an intersection?

Again the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act comes into play. It defines an intersection (and the words get a bit fancy) as:

“the area within the prolongation of the curbs or boundary lines of two roadways that join one another at or approximately at right angles, “

Or,

“if the roadways do not join each other at close to right angles, the area within which vehicles travelling on different highways may come in conflict;”

What this means is that where roadways cross (even at a T-intersection), the crosswalk exists in the area where the direction of each roadway’s edges intersect, whether it is controlled by a stop sign or a stop light, and whether or not there are distinct pedestrian markings.

This definition of crosswalk is important when it comes to who has the right of way.

The B.C. Motor Vehicle Act states the following about the right of way between a vehicle and a pedestrian at a crosswalk:

“the driver of a vehicle must yield the right of way to a pedestrian where traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, when the pedestrian is crossing the highway in a marked or unmarked crosswalk”

And,

“the pedestrian is on the half of the highway on which the vehicle is travelling,”

Or,

“is approaching so closely from the other half of the highway that he or she is in danger.”

That said, the motor vehicle act requires that a pedestrian not leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it is impracticable for the driver to yield the right of way.

What does all this mean? It is simple.

While a pedestrian may not step off a curb at an unmarked crosswalk when it is dangerous to do so, the pedestrian does have the right of way over a vehicle at an unmarked crosswalk when they are crossing from the same side of the road as the passing vehicle, or so closely from the other side of the road that they would be in danger if the vehicle did not stop. Unfortunately, many pedestrians are injured, or at least very frustrated, because motorists do not understand the rights of pedestrians.

Many motorists become frustrated because people treat marked crosswalks with a sense of entitlement, or as if it will envelope them in a magical force field, and step off the curb blindly into traffic. On the other hand, many motorist become frustrated with pedestrians who step off the curb at intersections when those pedestrians clearly have the right of way.

Regardless of what the law says, however, at the end of the day, if we are all courteous and careful, we will all be better off.

We hope you have learned something from this week’s blog. Please feel free to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive notice of our future weekly video blogs on the law. League and Williams is a Victoria, BC based law firm with expertise in injury law, estate disputes and marine law and may be reached via email at info@leaguelaw.com or phone at 250-888-0002. If you are injured and would like a free consult, give us a call for a free consult. We are here to help injured parties get the fair compensation that they are entitled to.
August 2, 2016
Common Driver Mistakes: The Unmarked Crosswalk

Perhaps one of the most common mistakes drivers make is not understanding what is a crosswalk and who has the right of way at a crosswalk.

As noted in our blog “What is a “Crosswalk”? The Answer Might Surprise You”, a crosswalk includes an unmarked area if it is at an intersection and within imaginary lines drawn from opposite sides of the highway (road), or within imaginary lines on one side of the highway (such as across the base of a “T” at a T-intersection). This means that a crosswalk exists whether the intersection is controlled by a stop sign or a stoplight, and whether or not there are distinct pedestrian markings.

The definition of crosswalk is important because the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act states the following about the right of way between a vehicle and a pedestrian at a crosswalk:

179 (1) Subject to section 180, the driver of a vehicle must yield the right of way to a pedestrian where traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation when the pedestrian is crossing the highway in a crosswalk and the pedestrian is on the half of the highway on which the vehicle is travelling, or is approaching so closely from the other half of the highway that he or she is in danger.

(2) A pedestrian must not leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it is impracticable for the driver to yield the right of way.

(3) If a vehicle is slowing down or stopped at a crosswalk or at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the highway, the driver of a vehicle approaching from the rear must not overtake and pass the vehicle that is slowing down or stopped.

This means that, while a pedestrian may not step off a curb at an unmarked crosswalk when it is dangerous to do so (section 179 (2)), the pedestrian does have the right of way over a vehicle at an unmarked crosswalk (an uncontrolled or controlled intersection) where they are approaching the road on the same side of the road as the passing vehicle or so closely from the other side of the road that they would be in danger if the vehicle did not stop.

Unfortunately, many pedestrians are injured, or at least very frustrated, because motorists do not understand the rights of pedestrians. At LaW, we care about pedestrian rights and fight to make sure your rights are protected. For a free consultation, call 250-888-0002.

November 5, 2015