Kelowna cyclist collided with vehicle, has to pay damages
A Kelowna man destroyed his bicycle in a collision with a vehicle in 2022 but he’s the one who has to pay more than $3,000 in damage to the vehicle.
Sean Daniel Murphy was riding through a parking lot near Spall Road in October of that year when he hit the car, according to a recent decision from the Civil Resolution Tribunal.
He came through a gap in a barrier meant to block traffic. He says the driver of the vehicle didn’t see him, so he braked and swerved and flew off his bike which collided with the vehicle. Murphy’s bike hit the car so hard, he dented the rear quarter panel and dislodged the bumper from the body of the vehicle. His $1,500 bike was totalled.
He claimed the vehicle was travelling too fast in a parking lot and the driver was not paying attention.
ICBC, however, found him 100% responsible for the crash and billed him nearly $4,000 for repairs.
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He sued to rebut that finding and for the replacement of his bicycle. Unfortunately for him, he made a critical and common legal error in small claims court — he sued ICBC when he should have sued the driver, completely negating his claim.
Tribunal adjudicator Christopher Rivers broke down the Motor Vehicle Act to establish that bicyclists have the same road responsibilities as drivers.
“The driver had a reasonable expectation that nothing, including a bicycle, would suddenly and quickly enter the lane from the south, and certainly not before determining it was safe to do so,” Rivers wrote. “Specifically, I find the driver could not have expected Mr. Murphy to bicycle through the gap between the barrier and the store at a speed that prevented him from stopping safely.”
Some further technicalities broke down the ICBC damages claim to nearly $2,800 which Murphy was ordered to pay. Rivers noted that it’s still open to Murphy to pursue the driver in court if he wished.
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