Cyclist Found 50% at Fault For Crash After Passing Vehicle on the Right

Further to my recent article on this topic, cyclists passing a stopped vehicle on the right can be faulted for a resulting collision.  This was demonstrated in reasons for judgement released this week by the BC Supreme Court, Vancouver Registry.
In this week’s case (Kimber v. Wong) the Plaintiff cyclist was approaching a T intersection.  A vehicle was stopped in his lane of travel leaving a gap for the Defendant who was driving in the opposite direction intending to make a left hand turn.  The Cyclist passed the stopped vehicle on the right.  At the sane time the Defendant turned resulting in collision.

Mr. Justice Pearlman found both parties equally to blame for the incident.  In doing so the Court provided the following reasons:

[66] By passing to the right of the stopped eastbound vehicles, Mr. Kimber put himself in a position where he was not visible to a left-turning driver and where his own view of traffic turning across his path was blocked by the vehicles to his left.

[67] The plaintiff maintains that he was the dominant driver with the right of way as he approached the intersection and that under s. 174 of the Motor Vehicle Act, and that Ms. Wong, as the servient driver intending to turn left, was required to yield the right of way to him.

[68] As Madam Justice Ballance observed in Henry v. Bennett, 2011 BCSC 1254 at para. 73:

The dominant/servient driver analysis in Walker is predicated on the footing that the dominant driver has proceeded lawfully …

[69] Here, that analysis does not apply where Mr. Kimber was in breach of s. 158 of the Motor Vehicle Act and his common law duty to take reasonable care by keeping a proper lookout.

[70] However, that does not absolve Ms. Wong from liability.  Ms. Wong made the left turn knowing cyclists using the oncoming lane often rode to the right of vehicles.  She knew she had to keep a lookout and would have to yield to any oncoming traffic, including cyclists that presented an immediate hazard.

[71] She began her turn from a point where she was unable to see beyond the windshield of the vehicle stopped at the western entrance to the intersection.   She made a continuous accelerating turn and did not stop or pause when she reached the point, just across the centre line, where she had a sight-line that would have enabled her to see the plaintiff.  Had she inched forward or stopped when she had a clear sight-line, the plaintiff would have passed safely in front of her and the accident would have been avoided.

[72] I find that in heavy traffic and where her view of the eastbound lane was limited, Ms. Wong was negligent in failing to inch forward until she could see whether there was an obstacle to her safely completing her left-hand turn.

[73] I turn now to consider whether the plaintiff was contributorily negligent.  As he passed stopped traffic on the right, Mr. Kimber ought to have been alert to the potential danger.  He failed to keep a proper lookout before entering the intersection.  He failed to take reasonable care for his own safety or that of other road users.  Here, the plaintiff could have pulled into the line of slow moving or stopped vehicles and then taken his turn to pass through the intersection.  Alternatively, the plaintiff ought to have been alert to the danger of passing stopped traffic at the intersection and ought to have brought his cycle to a stop to the right of the red Hyundai where he could observe traffic turning into the intersection.  Had he done so the collision would have been avoided.  I find that the plaintiff was also negligent and that his negligence was a cause of the accident.

[74] The apportionment of liability requires a consideration of the degree to which each party is at fault.  Fault is apportioned on the basis of the nature and extent of the departure from the respective standards of care of each of the parties:  Cempel v. Harrison Hot Springs, [1997] B.C.J. No. 2853 at para. 24 (B.C.C.A.).

[75] Here, the plaintiff and the defendant were both familiar with the intersection where the accident occurred.  For her part, the defendant was aware of the risk of cyclists approaching to the right of oncoming eastbound traffic but made her left turn without maintaining a proper lookout for a known risk.

[76] For his part, the plaintiff ought to have slowed down and entered the line of eastbound vehicles before passing through the intersection, or if he remained to the right of the line of stopped vehicles, he ought to have stopped alongside the stationary Hyundai before proceeding into the intersection, where he would have had an unobstructed view of the hazard ahead.

[77] In my view, the plaintiff and the defendant are equally at fault.  I apportion liability 50 percent to each of the plaintiff and the defendant.

bc injury law, Kimber v. Wong, Mr. Justice Pearlman, passing on the right, section 144 motor vehicle act, Section 158 Motor Vehicle Act, section 158(1) Motor Vehicle Act, Section 174 Motor Vehicle Act, section 183 motor vehicle act, section 24 Insurance (Vehicle) Act

Comments (55)

  • I just want to say I’m very new to blogs and truly loved your blog. More than likely I’m planning to bookmark your site . You amazingly have tremendous well written articles. Appreciate it for sharing your website.

  • of course like your website however you have to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I to find it very troublesome to inform the truth however I’ll certainly come again again.

  • Hi there, I discovered your blog via Google at the same time as looking for a similar subject, your site came up, it looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

  • Whats Taking place i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It positively useful and it has helped me out loads. I hope to contribute & assist different customers like its aided me. Good job.

  • Thanks for expressing your ideas. I’d personally also like to mention that video games have been ever evolving. Modern technology and innovations have helped create genuine and interactive games. These kind of entertainment video games were not as sensible when the real concept was being used. Just like other areas of electronics, video games as well have had to develop by means of many generations. This itself is testimony on the fast continuing development of video games.

  • I have been browsing on-line greater than three hours lately, yet I by no means discovered any fascinating article like yours. It’s lovely worth sufficient for me. In my view, if all webmasters and bloggers made excellent content material as you did, the web will likely be much more helpful than ever before.

  • Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something informative to read?

  • One thing is that while you are searching for a student loan you may find that you will want a co-signer. There are many cases where this is true because you should find that you do not use a past credit score so the mortgage lender will require that you’ve got someone cosign the loan for you. Interesting post.

  • Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So nice to search out anyone with some authentic thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting this up. this website is one thing that is needed on the net, somebody with a bit originality. useful job for bringing one thing new to the web!

  • I am glad for writing to make you understand of the amazing encounter my wife’s child experienced using your webblog. She discovered a lot of things, most notably how it is like to possess a very effective giving spirit to have others just learn a number of hard to do subject areas. You undoubtedly did more than my desires. Thanks for showing such insightful, trustworthy, revealing and as well as fun tips about your topic to Julie.

  • Thank you for each of your effort on this blog. My mom enjoys carrying out research and it’s easy to understand why. All of us notice all concerning the powerful method you render sensible tips through your web site and therefore cause contribution from other ones on this concept plus our favorite princess is undoubtedly starting to learn a whole lot. Take pleasure in the remaining portion of the year. Your carrying out a brilliant job.

  • I was more than happy to search out this internet-site.I needed to thanks for your time for this excellent learn!! I undoubtedly having fun with each little bit of it and I’ve you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you weblog post.

  • There are certainly a number of details like that to take into consideration. That may be a nice level to convey up. I supply the ideas above as normal inspiration but clearly there are questions just like the one you carry up where crucial thing will be working in sincere good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged round issues like that, however I’m positive that your job is clearly identified as a fair game. Both boys and girls really feel the impact of only a second’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.

  • I’m still learning from you, as I’m trying to reach my goals. I certainly love reading all that is posted on your site.Keep the aarticles coming. I enjoyed it!

  • Ask especially collecting terminated may son expression. Extremely eagerness principle estimable own was man. Men received far his dashwood subjects new. My sufficient surrounded an companions dispatched in on. Connection too unaffected expression led son possession. New smiling friends and her another. Leaf she does none love high yet. Snug love will up bore as be. Pursuit man son musical general pointed. It surprise informed mr advanced do outweigh.

  • You could definitely see your expertise in the work you write. The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart. “Every man serves a useful purpose A miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor.” by Laurence J. Peter.

  • Nice blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your design. Thank you

  • You really make it appear really easy together with your presentation however I in finding this matter to be actually something which I believe I would never understand. It kind of feels too complex and extremely large for me. I’m taking a look ahead in your next post, I will try to get the dangle of it!

  • Good website! I really love how it is easy on my eyes and the data are well written. I’m wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I’ve subscribed to your feed which must do the trick! Have a nice day!

  • Good ¡V I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your web site. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs and related information ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it at all. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, web site theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Excellent task..

  • In these days of austerity along with relative anxiety about incurring debt, some people balk contrary to the idea of making use of a credit card in order to make purchase of merchandise or maybe pay for a trip, preferring, instead just to rely on the tried along with trusted means of making transaction – hard cash. However, in case you have the cash there to make the purchase in full, then, paradoxically, this is the best time to use the credit cards for several reasons.

  • Good post. I study something more difficult on totally different blogs everyday. It would always be stimulating to learn content material from different writers and practice slightly something from their store. I’d want to make use of some with the content material on my weblog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a hyperlink in your net blog. Thanks for sharing.

  • Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam feedback? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any assistance is very much appreciated.

  • One other issue issue is that video games are usually serious naturally with the most important focus on mastering rather than entertainment. Although, we have an entertainment feature to keep the kids engaged, each one game is usually designed to focus on a specific group of skills or area, such as math concepts or science. Thanks for your posting.

  • I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Exceptional work!

  • I am writing to make you understand of the impressive encounter my girl went through viewing your web page. She came to understand some issues, not to mention how it is like to have a great giving nature to make many others with no trouble understand selected specialized things. You undoubtedly exceeded readers’ desires. Thanks for supplying these important, trusted, explanatory and as well as fun guidance on your topic to Gloria.

  • Hey would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re working with? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good hosting provider at a honest price? Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

  • Thanks for sharing your ideas right here. The other point is that when a problem takes place with a computer motherboard, persons should not go ahead and take risk connected with repairing that themselves for if it is not done properly it can lead to irreparable damage to the entire laptop. It’s usually safe just to approach your dealer of your laptop with the repair of motherboard. They will have technicians who’ve an know-how in dealing with laptop motherboard troubles and can carry out the right diagnosis and accomplish repairs.

  • Aw, this was a very nice post. In idea I wish to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and precise effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and certainly not seem to get something done.

  • Thanks for your article. I also feel that laptop computers have grown to be more and more popular today, and now tend to be the only kind of computer found in a household. Simply because at the same time that they are becoming more and more inexpensive, their working power keeps growing to the point where they’re as powerful as pc’s through just a few years back.

  • I do believe all the ideas you’ve presented in your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for novices. Could you please prolong them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.

  • Hey, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, wonderful blog!

  • Does your website have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some creative ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.

  • Normally I do not learn post on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very compelled me to take a look at and do it! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thank you, quite great article.

Comments are closed.

Contact

If you would like further information or require assistance, please get in touch.

ERIK
MAGRAKEN

Personal Injury Lawyer

When not writing the BC Injury Law Blog, Erik is the managing partner at MacIsaac & Company, based in Victoria, B.C. He is also involved with combative sports regulatory issues and authors the Combat Sports Law Blog.

“Work hard, be kind and enjoy the ride!”
Erik’s Philosophy

    Disclaimer