Jeffrey Hershberg

The accused was charged with dangerous driving causing death after failing to stop at a stop sign and colliding with a vehicle travelling on a through road.

The court found the actus reus established because driving through the stop sign created a significant risk to other road users.

However, applying the principles from Supreme Court of Canada authorities on dangerous driving, the court held that the evidence did not establish a marked departure from the standard of care of a reasonable driver.

The evidence suggested either a momentary lapse of attention or a negligent misjudgment when performing a rolling stop.

Such conduct, while careless and potentially giving rise to civil liability or provincial offences, did not meet the criminal threshold for dangerous driving.

The accused brought a Charter application alleging a violation of s. 8 after police accessed and downloaded data from the airbag control module (ACM) of his vehicle without a warrant following a fatal motor vehicle collision.

The court held that the accused had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the data stored on the vehicle’s onboard computer and that the police conduct in entering the vehicle, cutting the flooring, and imaging the data constituted an unreasonable warrantless search.

However, applying the framework under s. 24(2) of the Charter, the court concluded that admission of the evidence would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

The breach was moderate, the evidence was reliable and real, and society’s interest in adjudicating a fatal dangerous driving charge on its merits was high.