Petition to revisit B.C. Motor Vehicle Act after mother found at fault for accident while strapping in kid

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A petition is underway to rethink driving, or rather, parking laws, after NEWS 1130 reported a Surrey mom was held responsible when a vehicle drove into her open door. She was buckling her children into their car seats at the time.

Kirsten Chalmers, a Surrey mother of three, was with her mother in the parking lot of Morgan Crossing shopping centre making sure her three children were secured into their seats, when she says a van parked next to them began backing out. The van’s mirror hit her car’s open door, and ICBC found her 100 per cent at fault for the collision.

Now it seems ICBC’s decision isn’t sitting well with some parents in the Lower Mainland.

Hijab Qaiser started the petition. She said she finds it “really bizarre” the mother was found at fault, and wants the government to revisit the B.C. Motor Vehicles Act.

RELATED: If a car hits your vehicle as you’re buckling up your kids, you could be found at fault

In a statement, ICBC wrote that, according to the act, “a person must not open the door of a motor vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless and until it is reasonably safe to do so.”  However, Qaiser says it can take longer for parents to get their kids strapped in safely.

“I am a parent myself and it’s always struggle to get my son into the car seat,” Qaiser tells NEWS 1130. “Sometimes he’s throwing a tantrum or whatever and this is a public parking lot, so what is she supposed to do? She can’t take her car somewhere else.”

She hopes the petition will result in a exception for parents of young children, who she says cannot be rushed when putting in their kids into car seats. That means that cars doors may need to stay open longer.

“It’s dangerous [to rush], it could injure the child, so you need to make sure that they’re properly strapped in and that does require some time,” she adds. “If in the process, while they’re buckling their child in, someone drives up to them, I think [the parents] should have right of way, basically.”

She says the same can apply to people who are helping out someone with a disability.

“If the law states that there are exceptions, then maybe ICBC will look more closely and investigate, and really deal with this issue on a case-by-case basis,” she says.

As of Saturday noon, the petition has garnered more than 400 signatures.

Don’t leave car doors open too long: ICBC

When asked what people should be doing to avoid this situation, ICBC says to be aware of your surroundings in parking lots.

In the statement, the insurer says:

Parking lots are very busy places. The key tip is to be aware of the vehicles around you when parking or returning to your parked vehicle and continue to watch for other drivers as you and your passengers enter and exit the vehicle. Don’t leave doors open longer than necessary and check before opening any door further. If an incident occurs, try to find an independent witness if possible.

ICBC found Chalmers at fault because it says the door was “further opened” after being “partially opened,” and was so in the way of the reversing van. Chalmers says that claim does not make sense to her, since she does not remember anyone opening the door even wider.

— with files from Taran Parmar, Denise Wong, Estefania Duran