To dissuade those who think they might get away with dishonesty in the courtroom, we have made lying under oath a criminal offence. And the courts apply suitably severe sentences.
The motorist had given the true version of events to an ICBC adjuster (who has since retired) shortly after the collision. I knew that because of notes of that discussion within the ICBC file materials.That version of events changed over time. He was elderly, and the shifting story can be explained by his deteriorating memory. The ICBC file notes were not enough. I needed that former adjuster to attend the trial and tell the court what the motorist had said.
It’s a road recipe for disaster because other road users might try to cross in front of (or between) the stopped vehicles and your vision is likely blocked by those stopped vehicles. Each of you and the other road user are on a blind collision course.
Driving with the attitude that right of way is the be all and end all is the antithesis of defensive driving. And does not measure up to the legal duties we owe other road users.
The scenarios I am referring to arise when one lane is flowing while another lane (or lanes) have come to a stop.This regularly occurs with HOV lanes. Only those with more than one occupant can cruise past while others are gridlocked.It also occurs when a left turner, waiting for oncoming traffic to clear, blocks traffic coming from behind. Traffic will move over to the right to get past. Often even if there isn’t a designated lane.
“If roads are in such a condition that a motor car cannot safely proceed at all, it is the duty of the driver to stop. If the roads are in such a condition that it is not safe to go at more than a foot pace, his duty is to proceed at a foot pace.”
Please join me, others whose lives have been impacted by death and injury from road traffic incidents, representatives of fire, ambulance and police services, and other concerned citizens for the brief ceremony.
Please very carefully guard against getting to the point of your liability insurance company pointing fingers at a child or their parents to avoid having to fully compensate a child for their injuries and losses.
But please don’t wait until you see throngs of children before you slow down. We must jack up our level of vigilance and lower our speed everywhere children might be trick-or-treating.
Most drivers are unaware of the danger of “inattention blindness”, a term to describe a phenomenon that occurs when the brain is engaged in something else besides driving and your brain fails to process some of the available visual information.
Awareness that chatting with a passenger is distracting will hopefully lead both drivers and passengers to be cautious about becoming wrapped up in a discussion, and to compensate by each of them paying extra attention to the roadway while choosing to chat.
But the most critically important piece of scientifically proven information they failed to share: “Evidence also concludes that there is no difference between the cognitive diversion associated with hands-free and hand-held cell phone use”.
