Main and Terminal: Vancouver’s Most Dangerous Intersection

Posted on by Graham Taylor Posted in Motor Vehicle Accident, Pedestrian Accident

 

NEWS 1130 recently published data obtained from ICBC, that shows the Main Street and Terminal Avenue intersection in Vancouver is the most dangerous intersection in British Columbia. In fact, there at least one incident every two months last year. The intersection is a microcosm for the many risks associated with moving people and goods through a dense urban environment. The City has implemented strategic speed limits and protected left turns in various parts of the city, but the question remains: why is this particular intersection so dangerous and what is the City going to do about it? We want to start by exploring what makes this intersection particularly dangerous.

Growing Pedestrian Volumes

Located on the north side of Terminal is the Main Street/Science World Skytrain station. TransLink reported record ridership in 2017, with 105 million boardings on the Expo line which run through this station. With more transit ridership … Continue reading

Conditions for Cycling Accidents in Vancouver

Posted on by Kevin Blair Posted in Bicycle AccidentsTagged , ,

Each year many cyclists traveling Vancouver roads and are involved in car accidents. During rainy weeks like we’ve had the past little while we are reminded that it is important to be diligent as both a vehicle driver and a cyclist. The majority of accidents occur during the peak months of May through October, with 160 BC cyclists injured per month on average. Most cycling accidents are caused by drivers’ lack of awareness and failure to yield the right-of-way. Many motorists lack an awareness of cyclists, fail to accommodate for weather conditions, and fail to share the roadway.

Lack of Awareness of Cyclists

Motorists need to be aware of their surroundings at all times and keep a safe distance from other drivers as well as cyclists. Drivers often report their failure to see a cyclist as their reason for striking the cyclist, especially for accidents that occur in intersections, where … Continue reading

Can You Be Held Responsible for Distracted Walking in British Columbia?

Posted on by David Goldberg Posted in Pedestrian Accident, Who's at Fault?Tagged , , ,

While Toronto City Council has passed a motion to encourage regulation of distracted walking, reports indicate that the BC Ministry of Transportation is not going down the same road. The Ministry of Transportation has declined to weigh in on the issue.

Pedestrian advocates argue that “at the gentle speed of a normal walking pace, we can afford to multitask, while at higher speeds, we can’t”. This is the rationale behind why distracted driving is prohibited in the BC Motor Vehicle Act, but has not been incorporated for distracted walking.

What is Distracted Walking? 

Distracted walking refers to walking while using a cell phone or mobile device for texting, web browsing, playing Pokémon Go, using applications, posting on social media, emailing, etc.

While distracted walking can refer to other distractions, such as reading or talking with friends and generally not looking where you are going, the growing trend in distracted … Continue reading

Vancouver’s Winter Tire Wars

Posted on by Kevin Blair Posted in Motor Vehicle Accident, ICBCTagged , ,

The good old winter tire debate has been a sore spot in Vancouver for many years. Last year, with our exceptionally bad winter, the conversation reignited over whether or not winter tires should be mandatory on Vancouver’s streets. Those who bore witness to the chaos on the streets during that week know it was not a pretty sight. Many people were underprepared for the driving conditions, making the roads extremely unsafe. Cars and busses were sliding down the streets, causing many accidents and clogging the roads for emergency response vehicles to get through.

Vancouver traditionally offers mild winters, with most winter tire adherents being expats from “the rest of Canada.”A winter tire requirement has become fodder for city politicians and radio talk show hosts on a seasonal basis.

Winter tires and the rest of BC:

Many of our neighbouring cities make it mandatory to have winter tires to drive on … Continue reading

Supercar Accidents: Speed vs. Safety in Vancouver

Posted on by David Goldberg Posted in Motor Vehicle Accident, Car Accident, ICBCTagged , , , , , , ,

For many, it is a struggle to maintain a life in the Lower Mainland with the cost of living soaring over recent years. While real estate receives most of the media attention, Vancouver’s growing fleet of “supercars” is increasingly hard to ignore. While most of the time these vehicles are driven responsibly, on occasion some drivers take advantage of the excess power these vehicles have and turn Vancouver’s streets into a racetrack.

A supercar is a luxury vehicle defined by ICBC as:

  • over $150,000, with a model year that falls within seven years of the current year or
  • over $400,000, with a model year that falls within 14 years of the current year.

When news breaks of a luxury high-speed car accident it raises a long-standing debate whether supercars are even safe on our streets. Most notably, the recent incident where one person was killed and two were critically injured, … Continue reading