Episode 409: Bobcat Assault Appeal, Charter Delay Victory, and Tailgating Hypocrisy

This week on Driving Law, Kyla Lee and Paul Doroshenko dig into a BC Supreme Court appeal involving a man convicted of using a bobcat to threaten two unhoused individuals on his property. The appeal raised arguments of burden-shifting, misapprehension of evidence, and speculative reasoning—but the court upheld the conviction. The judges found that the trial decision was supported by tire track evidence and the logical inference that the complainant was struck by the bobcat, rejecting the alternative “heatstroke” explanation as unsupported. They then turn to a traffic court case involving a Charter section 11(b) delay application. A driver who disputed a ticket for using an electronic device waited over 20 months for trial. Judge Guild found the delay presumptively unreasonable and dismissed the ticket. The decision criticizes the government’s reliance on mailed notices and suggests disclosure should be automatic once a ticket is disputed, rather than provided only upon request. Finally, the Ridiculous Driver of the Week is… everyone. An ICBC-commissioned Ipsos survey revealed that 77% of BC drivers admit to tailgating, while 86% say being tailgated makes them feel angry or scared. The episode explores the contradiction between how people drive and how they want to be treated on the road, exposing widespread hypocrisy in BC driving habits. Check out the 'Lawyer Told Me Not To Talk To You' T-shirts and hoodies at Lawyertoldme.com and 'Sit Still Jackson' at sitstilljackson.com.