National

B.C. sets distance for drivers to steer clear of cyclists, scooter users, walkers

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 Jun, 2024 01:51 PM

Drivers in British Columbia now have to meet minimum distances between their vehicle and people walking or riding on provincial roads.

The new rules start Monday and require drivers to stay at least a metre away from vulnerable road users if the speed limit is up to 50 kilometres an hour, and a metre-and-a-half at speeds over that.

A statement from the Ministry of Transportation says vulnerable road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, people on horses or in vehicles pulled by animals and those who use electric wheelchairs and scooters.

The statement says the measurements start from the furthest part of the vehicle, likely the mirror, to the furthest part of the road user or their equipment, such as a handlebar.

The ministry says police can issue tickets for violations under the new Motor Vehicle Act regulations.

Fines range from $109 and three penalty points, up to $2,000 and six months in jail for those who fail to maintain the minimum passing distances.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. to add 240 complex-care housing units in communities throughout the province

British Columbia is planning to add 240 new units to its complex-care housing program, providing homes for people with mental-health and addictions challenges that overlap with other serious conditions. The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions says in a statement 200 of the units will be located in Abbotsford, Burnaby, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Prince George, Sechelt, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria.

B.C. to add 240 complex-care housing units in communities throughout the province

B.C. port terminal among sites blocked in co-ordinated pro-Palestinian protests

A blockade by pro-Palestinian protesters at a major port terminal in Metro Vancouver disrupted operations for several hours before dispersing on Monday. Terminal operator GCT Canada said the protesters' actions were illegal and stopped container trucks from accessing the Deltaport facility by blocking the Roberts Bank causeway for several hours.

B.C. port terminal among sites blocked in co-ordinated pro-Palestinian protests

B.C. woman found dead after alleged abduction, man arrested: RCMP

An RCMP investigation into the alleged abduction of a woman from Lumby, B.C., has turned into a probe of a suspicious death. Mounties say in a statement that officers with the North Okanagan detachment found the woman's body in a rural area on Sunday, and a man believed to have been involved was arrested in the vicinity.

B.C. woman found dead after alleged abduction, man arrested: RCMP

B.C. celebrates 10 billion seedlings planted since 1930

British Columbia officials are celebrating the planting of 10 billion seedlings since reforestation efforts began nearly a century ago. A statement from the Forests Ministry says two billion of those seedlings have been planted in the last seven years.

B.C. celebrates 10 billion seedlings planted since 1930

B.C. home sales slide almost 10 per cent in March despite mortgage rate drop

Home sales in British Columbia fell by almost 10 per cent in March compared with the same period last year, in a slowdown an analyst says could be buyers waiting for lower interest rates. The B.C. Real Estate Association says the province saw 6,460 residential unit sales in the Multiple Listing Service systems last month, a 9.5-per-cent decline from March 2023.

B.C. home sales slide almost 10 per cent in March despite mortgage rate drop

Decades in the making, B.C. signs agreement handing over title to Haida Gwaii

The B.C. government and the Council of Haida Nation have signed an agreement officially recognizing Haida Gwaii's Aboriginal title, more than two decades after the nation launched a legal action seeking formal recognition.