ICBC finds cyclist 50% at fault after car allegedly drove over her bike
A cyclist in Chilliwack is frustrated with ICBC’s decision after being involved in an alleged case of road rage.
The insurer told Laura Auffray she’s 50 per cent at fault even though, according to her, a car drove over her bike.
In July 2022, Auffray was leaving the parking lot at Hofstede's Country Barn in Chilliwack when she says a car came up behind her with the driver honking and yelling. Eventually, she said, the driver tried to go around her, hitting and dragging her bike underneath the vehicle.
“I was trying to gesture to the woman, stop – what you’re doing is really scary and aggressive,” she said. “I am extremely lucky that I wasn't majorly injured.”
Auffray says she filed a claim with ICBC and found out she’s 50 per cent at fault. In a statement, the insurer told CTV News Auffrey won't be required to pay for any damages.
“We always hope to find a fair resolution to every claim. We aren’t present at the scene of a crash so determining liability can be challenging sometimes,” the statement said.
Auffray spent $4,000 on a new bike as it’s her sole means of transportation, and is hoping the insurer will cover the cost.
“I’m surprised and frustrated at that news because I feel like I did everything right,” she told CTV News.
Erin O’Melinn, the executive director at HUB Cycling said road rage between cyclists and vehicles is not uncommon, and that a lack of infrastructure is partly to blame
“We know that two thirds of people here in B.C. are interested in cycling. They either already ride regularly or they want to but they’re held back by safety concerns, and this kind of thing contributes to that,” she said.
ICBC changed to a no-fault insurance model in May 2021. Last year, CTV News spoke with a number of cyclists who shared stories about the insurance provider finding them at fault.
In this case, ICBC says there wasn't enough evidence, and because Auffray and the driver provided different accounts of what happened, they are both responsible.
Auffray has hired a lawyer to contest the decision, calling it unfair.
“It’s not just personal,” she said. “This is a systemic problem that ICBC is doing, that the province is doing, and that municipalities are doing, in that they are punishing cyclists and coddling drivers and it needs to stop.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.