Truck driver loses premium claim against ICBC

A truck driver who clipped another vehicle will be stuck paying higher insurance premiums after losing a claim against ICBC.

Harjot Singh was driving a commercial truck and trailer in Coquitlam in July 2023. When making the left turn from Foster Avenue onto North Road, there was a collision between his trailer and another vehicle.

The other driver, who was not named in the Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, told ICBC investigators they’d been in the inside left-turn lane beside Singh, who was in the outer left-turn lane. Combined, Singh’s truck and trailer were about 72-feet long.

Midway through the turn, Singh’s trailer veered into the other lane and clipped the other driver’s vehicle.

ICBC found Singh 100 percent responsible for the crash.

Singh disputed that account, alleging ICBC was mistaken and claiming $360 to cover the cost of increased insurance premiums.

Singh told the court his truck was in both Foster Avenue lanes when the other driver sped up and tried to pass him, causing the vehicle to slide into his trailer.

There were no witnesses or dashcam footage.

Legally, a driver moving into a different lane is the servient driver while the motorist who is already in that lane is considered the dominant driver. The servient driver is obliged to prove they could move into the other lane safely and, “without affecting the travel of the dominant driver.”

ICBC found Singh was the servient driver at the time of the crash,

“Mr. Singh does not dispute this,” noted tribunal member Jeffrey Drozdiak. “Other than his bare statement that he was not at fault for the accident, Mr. Singh did not provide any objective evidence.”

Based on a balance of probabilities, Drozdiak dismissed Singh’s claim.