Close X
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
ADVT 
National

Supreme Court Rules Against Speeder In Dangerous-Driving Case

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Mar, 2020 08:09 PM

    OTTAWA - A reasonable person should foresee the risk of driving almost three times the speed limit towards a major city intersection, the Supreme Court of Canada says in upholding a man's conviction.

     

    The 4-1 decision came Friday in the case of Ken Chung, whose silver Audi hit another car in Vancouver in November 2015, killing the driver.

     

    Chung, who was driving at 140-kilometres-an-hour in a 50-kilometre-an-hour zone, was acquitted at trial of dangerous driving causing death.

     

    Over the span of a block, Chung had moved in to the curbside lane, passed at least one car and accelerated quickly before entering the intersection. The trial judge found Chung was neither inattentive nor driving dangerously prior to this one-block span.

     

    The judge ruled Chung's speeding was only momentary and therefore amounted to a lapse of judgment rather than a significant departure from the standard of a reasonably prudent driver.

     

    British Columbia's appeal court overturned the decision and entered a conviction, prompting Chung to take his case to the Supreme Court.

     

    In its decision Friday, the high court said the trial judge's fixation on the momentary nature of the speeding was an error of law.

     

    In writing for the majority, Justice Sheilah Martin said Chung's actions were not comparable to momentary mistakes that might be made by any reasonable driver, such as a mistimed turn on to a highway or the sudden loss of awareness or control.

     

    "A reasonable person would have foreseen the immediate risk of reaching a speed of almost three times the speed limit while accelerating towards a major city intersection," she wrote. "Mr. Chung’s conduct in these circumstances is a marked departure from the norm."

     

    Driving is an inherently risky activity that is made all the more risky "the faster we drive, the harder we accelerate, and the more aggressively we navigate traffic," she said. "Although even careful driving can result in tragic consequences, some conduct is so dangerous that it deserves criminal sanctions."

     

    However, Martin cautioned against adopting "hard and fast rules" on actions.

     

    It is conceivable that in some cases even grossly excessive speed may not be a notable departure from the standard of care, she wrote.

     

    "Only when there has been an active engagement with the full picture of what occurred can the trial judge determine whether the accused's conduct was a marked departure from the conduct of a reasonable and prudent driver."

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Canadian Organizations Distancing Themselves From Disgraced Royal

    A prominent member of the Royal Family has little ground left to lose in Canada even as he faces fresh scrutiny and public rebukes closer to home.    

    Canadian Organizations Distancing Themselves From Disgraced Royal

    Poem Gives Fresh Voice To African-canadian Pioneer Of Song And Stage, Portia White

    HALIFAX - As a boy, George Elliott Clarke browsed a family album and marvelled at the "shimmering career" of his great aunt Portia White, an African-Canadian woman who became an acclaimed classical singer in the 1940s.    

    Poem Gives Fresh Voice To African-canadian Pioneer Of Song And Stage, Portia White

    Enchaced Camera Surveillance, Stiffer Panhandling Fines Floated In Winnipeg Safety Report

    Enchaced Camera Surveillance, Stiffer Panhandling Fines Floated In Winnipeg Safety Report
    The report was commissioned earlier this year as crime spiked in the city.    

    Enchaced Camera Surveillance, Stiffer Panhandling Fines Floated In Winnipeg Safety Report

    Motherhood, Social Norms Behind Gender Wage Gap In Canada: Finance Canada Docs

    Motherhood, Social Norms Behind Gender Wage Gap In Canada: Finance Canada Docs
    An internal government analysis concludes motherhood — and the societal expectations that come with it — are major factors in the gender wage gap.

    Motherhood, Social Norms Behind Gender Wage Gap In Canada: Finance Canada Docs

    Old-Age Benefits Have Dramatic Effect On Poverty For Immigrants, Study Says

    Old-Age Benefits Have Dramatic Effect On Poverty For Immigrants, Study Says
    To qualify for the old-age payment, someone must live in Canada for at least 10 years after age 18, a prerequisite that means some immigrant seniors don't qualify.

    Old-Age Benefits Have Dramatic Effect On Poverty For Immigrants, Study Says

    U.S. Congress Has To Move On New Nafta, Trump Says Before Trudeau Meeting

    LONDON - U.S. President Donald Trump says his country's legislators have to ratify the new North American free-trade deal before Mexico and Canada lose interest in finalizing it.

    U.S. Congress Has To Move On New Nafta, Trump Says Before Trudeau Meeting