An RCMP officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in a collision with a cyclist that led to serious injuries last year after the officer failed to signal a turn.
On Sept. 12, 2019, an RCMP officer was driving a marked police vehicle northbound on Admirals Road in View Royal. As he was turning right onto Seenupin Road, the vehicle collided with a cyclist who was thrown over the hood and onto the pavement. The female cyclist was seriously injured according to a report from the Independent Investigations office of B.C. (IIO).
After the incident, the IIO was notified and began an investigation that involved statements from civilian and police witnesses, evidence from an RCMP investigation and video.
On Tuesday, the IIO released its decision on the investigation saying that while the officer did not signal his turn, it is only an offence to not do so if traffic may be affected by the turning vehicle. In this case, the decision says the officer could not have reasonably been aware of the cyclist due to poor visibility and the fact that the lane she was cycling in, while appearing to be a bike lane, was actually just a paved shoulder by law. Oncoming traffic is also unable to turn left onto Seenupin Road.
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B次元官网网址淚f [the cyclist] were travelling in a legitimate parallel lane of traffic B次元官网网址� a B次元官网网址榙esignated bike laneB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� then [the officerB次元官网网址檚] duty would be particularly onerous,B次元官网网址� the decision says. B次元官网网址淗owever, [the cyclist] was riding on what was, in law, only a paved shoulder, which is nor more than an extension of the northbound lane.B次元官网网址�
In addition, video from the officerB次元官网网址檚 vehicle shows the cyclist was approaching along the shoulder at a fast speed, was wearing dark clothing and did not have a front light on the bicycle.
The decision says that Admirals Road features a marked, designated bike lane on each side but at the boundary between Esquimalt and the Songhees First Nation, the periodic stencilled bike lane symbols in the northbound lane no longer exist because it is no longer a bike lane. There is also a sign indicating that cyclists can ride on the sidewalk about 150 metres down the road.
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B次元官网网址淏y law she is expected to understand she was no longer in a bicycle lane,B次元官网网址� the decision says.
While the cyclist could drive on the roadway, she wasnB次元官网网址檛 legally allowed to pass vehicles on the side since she wasnB次元官网网址檛 in a bike lane and the duty for the officer to check for a vehicle passing was B次元官网网址渟omewhat reduced accordingly,B次元官网网址� the decision says.
B次元官网网址淭he only user affected was [the civilian witness] who was affected not by the turn but by the braking and slowing that accompanied it, and he was alerted to that decrease in speed by the operation of [the officerB次元官网网址檚] brake lights,B次元官网网址� the decision says.
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