Provincial Driving Offences (13:VI): Difference between revisions

Per ''Motor Vehicle Act'' s 250, “Race” includes circumstances in which, taking into account the condition of the road, traffic, visibility, and weather, the operator of a motor vehicle is operating the motor vehicle without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway or in a manner that may cause harm to an individual, by doing any of the following:

(b) operating one or more of the device's functions;

Additionally, ''Use of Electronic Devices While Driving Regulation'' s 2 adds watching the screen of an

In [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcpc/doc/2018/2018bcpc101/2018bcpc101.html?autocompleteStr=r%20v%20bainbridge&autocompletePos=3 ''R v Baindridge'' 2018, BCPC 101] the accused was found guilty of the offence for simply holding the device in his hand while driving. The court held that any number of functions of the accused’s phone '''could''' have been used in the position in which he held his phone.  In [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2017/2017bcsc745/2017bcsc745.html?autocompleteStr=r%20v%20jahani&autocompletePos=1 ''R v Jahani'', 2017 BCSC 745], the accused was found guilty of the offence for plugging his phone into the cord to charge the phone.

In [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcpc/doc/2018/2018bcpc183/2018bcpc183.html?autocompleteStr=r%20v%20tannhaus&autocompletePos=1 ''R v Tannhauser'', 2018 BCPC 183], the accused was acquitted of the offence because his cell was programmed with a software that immobilized the phone when a vehicle that is in motion. **Caution this case may be appealed: [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcca/doc/2019/2019bcca220/2019bcca220.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAOMjAxOSBCQ0NBIDIyMCAAAAAAAQ&resultIndex=2 R v. Tannhauser, 2019 BCCA 220].

 

In [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2019/2019bcsc360/2019bcsc360.html?autocompleteStr=r%20v%20partridge%202019%20BCS&autocompletePos=1 ''R v. Partridge'', 2019 BCSC],  The accused was observed by a police officer looking downwards whilst driving and when stopped, a cell phone was found wedged between the folds of the passenger seat such that the screen was facing the driver. Accused was convicted. However, the accused was acquitted on appeal because the mere presence of a cell phone within sight of a driver is not enough to secure a conviction, leaving aside a situation where, for example, the screen is illuminated and so the driver may then be utilizing the cell phone in some fashion.  

The number of penalty points will be taken into account under ''Motor Vehicle Act'' s 93 when the Superintendent suspends a license. '''The Superintendent may suspend the license of a class 5 driver who accumulates 15 or more points in any two year period.''' For a class 7 driver, or novice driver, the Superintendent may suspend the licence for receiving single a 3 point Violation Ticket. [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/driving/publications/driver-improvement-policies-guidelines.pdf More information can be obtained from the Driver Improvement Program Policies and Guidelines].