What is the common law standard of care for a driver in a motor vehicle accident?

All drivers have an overarching common law duty to exercise reasonable and due care. The analysis of the common law standard of care is informed by the circumstances of the case, the reasonableness of the parties’ conduct, and the rules of the road: Salaam v. Abramovic, 2010 BCCA 212 at paras. 18–21; Stewart v. Dueck, 2012 BCSC 1729 at paras. 38–40.

Section 174 of the Motor Vehicle Act casts the burden of proving the absence of an immediate hazard at the moment the left turn begins on the left turning driver: Nerval v. Khehra, 2012 BCCA 436 at paras. 28-29. Justice Harris explained that a “left turn must not be commenced unless it is clearly safe to do so. If there are no vehicles in the intersection or sufficiently close to be an imminent hazard, the driver may turn left and approaching traffic must yield the right of way”: at para. 33.