Castanet

After seeing this story I think our driving laws are too slack.
https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelo ... -yielding-
$173 fine is a joke.
Plus when I was taught to drive I was taught that you Pull over and Stop for emergency vehicles.
Not pull over and slow down.
Yes I was taught to drive in BC.

My first reaction was to wonder if the person driving the truck was a close family member of the person being transported, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible to be with their loved one in the ambulance.

Do we have a law in BC stating we can not follow an emergency vehicle?

rustled wrote:My first reaction was to wonder if the person driving the truck was a close family member of the person being transported, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible to be with their loved one in the ambulance.

Same here

If my loved one were inside that thing, I might be inclined to follow it feeling completely justified in doing so. We have no idea what the circumstances were.

rustled wrote:My first reaction was to wonder if the person driving the truck was a close family member of the person being transported, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible to be with their loved one in the ambulance.

I agree

it's the ones who don't pull over that would P/O me as ambulance, I've seen a few around kelowna.

Added: on the back of Ambulance it says stay back "X" meters

You do all realize that paramedics, firefighters, and police all have special training on how to drive through traffic like that.
Plus special lights, and sirens to warn people that they are coming.
Don't You?

Even with all that training and those warning devices, they are still involved in a fair amount of accidents, often killing people as a result.

So I still think that truck was driving dangerously, even if they had a loved one in the ambulance.
And I firmly feel he should be punished as much as the law allows.

stuphoto wrote:You do all realize that paramedics, firefighters, and police all have special training on how to drive through traffic like that.
Plus special lights, and sirens to warn people that they are coming.
Don't You?

Even with all that training and those warning devices, they are still involved in a fair amount of accidents, often killing people as a result.

So I still think that truck was driving dangerously, even if they had a loved one in the ambulance.
And I firmly feel he should be punished as much as the law allows.

If the pick up truck driver was indeed following the ambulance as discussed above, then sometimes just looking the other way isn't a bad thing. Thats the problem with drivers today, they're too tense, always looking for something that someone else is doing to get all worked up over.

Back when I got my licence, it was fairly common for people to follow ambulance to the hospital, but they usually put their 4 ways on so people knew. Simpler times back then.

But, lets, for arguments sake, say he was just being an idiot and trying to get ahead of everyone else. In your original post, you said that the $173 fine was a joke, and in this post, you said they should be punished as much as the law allows (and if he has just being a moron, I completely agree with you) but, what law did they break and what's the punishment?

I would say reckless driving and/or driving without due caution and care to say the least.

I would think others in the traffic would have dash cam video... to share... perhaps they can share as well and gather them up to present to the RCMP.... and hopefully his name and address is found... would be great to stop the vehicle on his way back to Alberta.. and present him with a good bye tickets... Cheers.. to all about the comments..

stuphoto wrote:After seeing this story I think our driving laws are too slack.
https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelo ... -yielding-
$173 fine is a joke.
Plus when I was taught to drive I was taught that you Pull over and Stop for emergency vehicles.
Not pull over and slow down.
Yes I was taught to drive in BC.

Pulling over and STOPPING is the law in BC. The contents of the story was wrong. Another forum discussed this and it "mysteriously" disappeared.

GordonH wrote:

rustled wrote:My first reaction was to wonder if the person driving the truck was a close family member of the person being transported, trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible to be with their loved one in the ambulance.

I agree

it's the ones who don't pull over that would P/O me as ambulance, I've seen a few around kelowna.

Added: on the back of Ambulance it says stay back "X" meters

Actually, no it doesn't say that on the back of ambulances. It does on fire trucks. Still, unless there is a law a sign on the back of a vehicle, even an emergency vehicle, doesn't make it law.

stuphoto wrote:You do all realize that paramedics, firefighters, and police all have special training on how to drive through traffic like that.
Plus special lights, and sirens to warn people that they are coming.
Don't You?

Even with all that training and those warning devices, they are still involved in a fair amount of accidents, often killing people as a result.

So I still think that truck was driving dangerously, even if they had a loved one in the ambulance.
And I firmly feel he should be punished as much as the law allows.

Like so many acts that one would think was listed in the BC MVA as being illegal, straddling two lanes doesn't seem to be addressed in the MVA.

About the only charge available is Driving Without Reasonable Consideration, a 6 point ticket. with a $196 fine. The only other one would be Driving Without Due Care and Attention, a 6 point ticket with a $368 fine, but it could be argued that the driver was using "care" (arguable) and was paying attention.

Smurf wrote:I would say reckless driving and/or driving without due caution and care to say the least.

Maybe.

Not disagreeing with you, just not really too sure on that.

While I agree it seems more likely that there is someone in the truck very concerned about a family member in the ambulance, that's not really the title subject.


I get that ICBC wants to make money, and they are making exorbitant amounts off the sh**ty drivers in the province who have multiple accidents to their names and are paying dearly for lost points and tickets, I think we are just better off making them utilize our public transit and taxis and shredding their licenses. It's a privilege, not a right, and just because you can afford a car doesn't mean you should be allowed to drive by passing some absurdly easy tests.

Crack down on the repeat offenders, if you lose your points, you shouldn't be able to buy them back or have a license plate to your name.

Maybe I'm cynical but it would send one hell of a message, and perhaps even inspire us non-criminal drivers to drive a little more carefully, more often.

I wouldn't pass judgment on the truck driver until I learned the whole story. In this day and age, people are too quick to condemn others without knowing the facts. Hopefully, someone called it in to the police.