A guide to RV towing rules in B.C.

Towing an RV

Keep off painted traffic islands

Painted traffic islands

Question: Would you write an article about painted traffic islands?

As I pass an island with my left turn signal on, someone behind me will often drive across the island, attempting to pass me and turn at the same intersection. I have seen professional drivers do this as well.

Perhaps the reason that these drivers ignore painted traffic islands is the lines do nothing to physically prevent them from driving on it. I suspect they see it as just another area of open pavement that no one else is occupying at the time and they can use it to their advantage. A raised island may damage their vehicle so it is treated with more respect.

Chapter three of the ICBC manual Learn to Drive Smart presents a graphic of a painted traffic island and tells drivers that they must keep to the right and not drive on or over it.

Painted traffic islands are really a special case of a double solid line. The diagonals between the two parallel solid lines serve to indicate to the driver that they are related to each other and not to treat them as a single solid line.

In British Columbia a double solid line means that you must drive to the right of it only, except when entering or leaving the highway as long as other drivers are not unreasonably affected by the movement.

This is also a good illustration of the fact that a defensive driver needs to be aware of what is going on around them at all times. If this driver was not watching what was going on behind him on the traffic island there is the possibility that a collision would occur.

Just because the other driver isn't supposed to doesn't mean that they won’t.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

When important information about a vehicle is not revealed to the buyer

Important omissions

Question: When I purchased a truck, the seller did not notify me it had a rebuilt status and he did not write "R" (for rebuilt) in the appropriate section of the APV9T transfer paper.

He lied to me and did not disclose information that he was obligated to disclose.

Now I know the truck was rebuilt, so far it has been impossible to sell because I bought a rebuild and wasn't told about it.

I'm not interested in suing the seller. Is there anything I can do recoup the money that will be lost when I eventually sell it for far less thanI paid?

Other than the additional kilometres, the initial condition was relatively the same as it is now.

Answer: In my experience, few people take the time to fill out the APV9T completely, let alone complete a vehicle transfer correctly without coaching from their Autoplan agent.

In most cases, all goes well after the fact but your instance is not one of them.

Did you look carefully at the transfer paper and the registration and insurance documents when you were making the purchase? They specify if a vehicle was rebuilt or not.

In the bottom right of the APV250 form there is a vehicle status line that will say “rebuilt” if it was registered properly after rebuilding. ICBC says that portion of the form was supposed to be handed to you as part of the transfer.

(According to the Motor Vehicle Act):

False Statements

69 (1) A person commits an offence if the person does any of the following:

(a) makes a false statement in

(iv) a notice of transfer of a motor vehicle or trailer

To successfully prosecute under that section of the Motor Vehicle Act, it would have to be shown the person you bought the truck from wilfully made the false statement.

The difficulty there is the part on the transfer paper not filled in. That may be a fraud by omission rather than making false statement. Unfortunately, that is not something normally dealt with in traffic enforcement, so I don't know the answer. Consulting legal counsel would be appropriate.

Unfortunately, the only way I can see you getting any compensation for this is to deal with the seller via Small Claims B.C. or the Civil Resolution Tribunal.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Road safety solutions for your neighbourhood

Road safety research

There is nothing like a near miss or collision to focus your mind on road safety.

I often hear from people hoping to enlist my help in solving their issue. Requests have ranged from posting lower speed limits to constructing left turn lanes recently.

Most people have already tried something on their own and are frustrated with what they see as the authorities not wanting to apply what they see as the solution.

We live in an age of access to information. In fact, there is so much of it on the internet one has to be careful they are reading reliable information instead of rants, rumours and opposing points of view. However, by doing some research with respected sources, you can create a logical, comprehensive identification of the problem and useful solutions to present to the authorities to deal with your issue.

ICBC maintains crash maps for the province that currently contain data from 2019 to 2023, showing casualty crashes, property damage crashes or both together. It is a bit cumbersome to locate a specific area but you can find any place of interest with a little trial and error. This allows you to accurately cite a collision history if there is one at your location. Causal factors for the collisions are not listed but the information can be requested if crashes have occurred.

There are a number of Canadian organizations and universities that provide road safety audit guidelines. These PDF manuals are available for download by anyone with an interest. ICBC has applied audits as part of its Road Improvement Program. The aim is to solve both existing problems and design new roads more safely.

Traffic calming measures include more than just speed bumps. Drivers can be influenced by the environment they are in and slowed without using speed bumps or limit signs.

Better Environmentally Sound Transportation is a BC non-profit that facilitates programs that include one called Living Streets. According to its web site, it provides participants with an opportunity to have positive and productive interactions with municipal planners and subsequently generates useful information for the future development of these neighbourhoods.

To understand one Canadian road safety perspective clearly, I recommend reading No Accident – Eliminating Injury and Death on Canadian Roads by Neil Arason.

Arason is a Victoria resident who has significant experience in road safety research.

So, if your two-paragraph letter to city council requesting the installation of a stop sign at the end of your street was rejected and the safety issue is really important to you, do some research and try again. Justification may bring success or you may even be able to provide a better solution that is acceptable to everyone.

Sometimes success requires learning and trying again.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.