The Lower Mainland’s bicycle safety lobby is calling for law reforms, following charges in the “dooring” death of a North Vancouver man and a fatal hit-and-run involving a cyclist on Burnaby Mountain.
HUB Cycling says the maximum $81 fine the driver accused in the death of Mike McIntosh could face if found guilty is “outrageous,” and a sign the Motor Vehicle Act has become antiquated.
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While HUB says the $81 fine is outrageous, Vancouver lawyer Kyla Lee argued in a recent op-ed for Vancouver Is Awesome, it was appropriate even if it makes people uncomfortable.
“In Canadian law, including in cases of death or bodily harm, we do not punish people based on what the consequences of their actions were. Instead, we punish people based on their level of ‘moral blameworthiness,’” she wrote.
Opening a door is on the low end of blameworthiness, Lee argued, even when done recklessly.
In an interview, Lee said she would be supportive of changes to the law that distinguish between passengers and drivers and degrees of harm.
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