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
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.