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Tuesday » June 5 » 2007
CNR ordered to pay cost of fishing tackle damaged at crossing
Kelly Sinoski
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
CHILLIWACK - A provincial court judge has ordered the Canadian National Railway Co. to pay more than $3,000 to a man whose fishing tackle was damaged at a railway crossing.
Judge Kenneth Skilnick ordered the CNR to pay $3,462.36 to Chester Wos, ruling the railway had breached its standard of care at the Chilliwack crossing and was liable for the damages.
The issue arose last August while Wos was on a fishing trip with his neighbour Wayne Allan and his grandson. Wos claimed he stopped at the Young Street crossing in Chilliwack to let a train pass and then waited until the barrier was upright and looked both ways before driving his Chevrolet pickup through the crossing.
Partway through, he said, the barrier started coming down. Wos sped up, managing to avoid being hit by the barrier arm.
However, the arm struck his upright fishing rods and broke the rod-holders affixed to the boat he was pulling.
Although he hasn't replaced the fishing rods, Wos told the court it would cost $3,050.72 to do so. He also claimed for replacement and repairs to the rod-holders and his boat.
The CNR argued Wos caused the damage himself by going through the intersection before the barricade had returned to an upright position.
Under the Motor Vehicle Act, drivers aren't allowed to go through a crossing while the gate or barrier is closed or being opened or closed.
But Skilnick said he was unable to conclude Wos had violated this section of the act.
He said Wos and Allan presented themselves as "honest witnesses" and he had no reason to reject their evidence. He also cited testimony from Dennis Maskell of Transport Canada, who said the crossing, set up by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance Agency, meets the standards for the industry, but that he was aware of other incidents where the barricades often function too quickly or too slowly.
The judge said the barrier arm is calibrated to allow a reasonable time for an ordinary vehicle to pass safely, but not longer vehicles such as semi-trailers or those pulling trailers.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
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