Kyla Lee

This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, our dreams of two kids in a trench coat doing something shifty finally come true. Only to be squashed again by the oppressive state of Russia. But lighten up, at least you’re not the guy in the post who is facing a mischief charge for destroying a breathalyzer, right? Right? Read on to find out more!

This week on the Driving Law podcast, I speak with Emma Wilson my articled-student-turned-lawyer about poverty and social justice, and where that fits in the driving law context. She and I bounce around some ideas for how to make driving law more accessible in the social justice sphere, but there’s very little to hope for.

You can listen on PlayerFM, SoundCloud, or subscribe on iTunes.

After the eye examinations have been completed, the DRE officer will move on to the next steps in the investigation. Those steps include what are known as “psychophysical tests.” As with last week, this step of the evaluation is actually a series of other steps amalgamated into one.
 
For the psychophysical tests, the goal is to measure impairment of the ability to drive by assessing the individual’s physical and cognitive condition. But rather than a proper cognitive assessment, which you can find here, the test evaluates cognitive ability through trickery. Similarly, as we will see below, the physical aspects of the test are confusing in and of themselves and are extremely difficult for anyone to perform after age 30. You’ll see why as we break them down.
 
The four tests that are preformed at this stage of the evaluation are the Modified Romberg Balance Test, the One Leg Stand, the Walk and Turn, and the Finger to Nose test.

This week, Weird and Wacky Wednesdays kicks off with the case of a man who dived off a BC Ferry and commandeered a life raft. I will give you three guesses as to why. Then, we examine what happens when a drug bust is a lot sweeter than expected. And finally, our attention is turned once again to a fantastic concept known as irony.

All this and more on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays!

In Episode Twenty of the Driving Law with Kyla Lee podcast, I speak with Paul Doroshenko about more information on the Drager DrugTest 5000. We also look at two interesting issues: the increase in deaths of motorcyclists in British Columbia, and examine the potential explanations for that; and the proposal in Alberta to use cameras to enforce vehicle noise laws.

You can subscribe on iTunes, or listen on SoundCloud or PlayerFM.

The Vancouver Sun recently published an op-ed piece, written by Dr. Patrick McGeer. He is an emeritus professor at the UBC School of Medicine and continues to conduct research in the field of neurology. Sounds like a smart guy. In his op-ed, he claims that cannabis legalization is harmful to Canadians. And he is wrong.

Not only has Dr. McGeer overlooked the numerous social benefits that will flow from legalization, but his article stinks of reefer madness. And it’s simply not supported by any scientific research. As a professional researcher and professor, I would expect more from the good doctor. But it appears that he is more interested in fear-mongering and scare tactics than publishing a reasoned and supported opinion.

So let’s break it down.

After the preliminary steps are done, taking first pulse and an initial examination, the DRE officer is then able to move on to the more complex eye examinations. The results of these examinations are said to be used to help the DRE officer determine whether a person is impaired by a drug, and identify the class of drugs that is causing the impairment.

Eye examinations are particularly interesting because they do not actually say much about impairment at all. What they do say a lot about is the condition of a person’s eyeball and whether that person may have suffered head injuries, has or is suffering a stroke or a seizure, or whether a person may have neurological conditions. Of course, a police officer is in no position to determine any of this.

So read on to find out the three types of eye examinations that are used in the DRE Evaluation.

This week, on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays, we focus on how a series of bad decisions can seriously impact a person. From a lawyer who has not one but two troublesome marriages, to a man whose viral Internet fame cost him his employment, and finally to the case of a guy who tried to buffalo buffalo and ended up buffaloed in court, this week takes us through the interesting world of how one bad decision can lead to hilarious and then disappointing results.