The City of Vancouver took action against two drivers at the BC Civil Resolution after they were involved in a crash that damaged a traffic light.
Vancouver claimed thousands in damages against both drivers, one of whom worked for Vancouver Taxi. The taxi driver represented themself, alongside an ICBC employee.
The City claimed that one or both drivers drove negligently, were vicariously liable, and should have to pay for the cost to repair the traffic light.
Meanwhile, both drivers pointed fingers at the other, claiming the other driver ran a red light, which caused the accident.
Some of the undisputed facts include that both drivers were involved in an accident on Oct. 8, 2022, at around 6:30 a.m. According to the tribunal, the collision occurred in the intersection of Seymour and Nelson streets. Both vehicles and the traffic light suffered damage.
The City claimed the respondents were negligent, and the tribunal sought to determine whether one or both drivers breached the standard of care it owed to the City.
One of the drivers, SE, claimed the taxi driver, AY, had a dash camera. AY said that it wasn’t working at the time of the accident. SE was trying to claim that AY didn’t submit footage because it would have proven that the taxi driver ran a red light. The tribunal refuted this claim due to a lack of evidence.
SE also claimed the insurer said they weren’t at fault, but the tribunal placed little weight on that, suggesting that SE provided no documents from the insurer or any other independent evidence to prove they weren’t at fault.
An independent witness, MP, submitted what the tribunal referred to as the only independent evidence of how the accident occurred.
“Relying on this statement, on a balance of probabilities, I find that [SE] entered the intersection on a red light. I find that [SE] drove negligently because entering an intersection on a red light is a clear departure from the standard of care of a reasonable and prudent driver,” the tribunal said.
The tribunal ordered both SE and RJ (who owned the vehicle that SE drove) to pay the City of Vancouver $4,466.72 in damages, including the cost of the damage to the traffic light, and the rest in tribunal fees.