Skateboarders are People Too!(Bench Press)

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa

The Alberta Court of Appeal recently ruled that skateboarders are to be considered pedestrians under the Traffic Safety Act (TSA). After hitting a skateboarder in a crosswalk, the driver argued that the victim was not a pedestrian, and the Traffic Commissioner agreed. The Crown appealed that ruling. The Court of Appeal noted that skateboards are not mentioned in the Traffic Safety Act with reference to pedestrians, nor are they defined in the Act. It therefore looked at the rules of statutory interpretation to decide if skateboarders fall within the definition of "pedestrian." The Court noted that while most definitions of pedestrian refer to persons traveling...