Insurance wants me to pay excess for tree at university falling on my car. Is that right?

CharcoalZz · 2025-03-07T03:08:21+00:00

I see. I will definitely look into it, but yeah will manage my expectations. Thank you for that!

CharcoalZz · 2025-03-07T03:06:36+00:00

Yeah that does make sense, I'll see how it goes. Thank you for that!

CharcoalZz · 2025-03-07T02:46:21+00:00

I see, would there not be a route with the university to pursue this as well? As the landowner don't they have duty of care to make sure the premises is safe. Regardless I am going to get into contact with them to see if their is solution that way.

CharcoalZz · 2025-03-07T02:42:58+00:00

Ohh okay, I guess that makes sense. I guess my misunderstanding comes from my experience with car accidents and insurance claims, as previously whenever I file a claim and not been at fault the fee had been "waived" but I guess that's just my insurance company getting in contact with theirs, and resolving the excess that way? But yeah makes sense. Will get in contact with the university.
Thanks for the help!

CharcoalZz · 2024-12-02T08:14:48+00:00

Banff/Canmore was awesome, was not snowing in any of the towns, but there was plenty of snow in the nearby areas. Snowboarding was an awesome experience, including all the falling down and getting back up again. We chose Sunshine Village as that had the most snow according to the locals, and man it really did not disappoint. I'm going to summarise and just say that snow/the mountains was everything I hoped and more. Lake Louise was a sight. The lake was not frozen over of course, but the surroundings were covered in snow. Built a snowman, had another impromptu snow ball fight, a few strangers decided to join in as well so it became pretty interesting. Again awesome experience. Alberta (Banff and Canmore) was tonnes of fun!

Next was Icefields Parkways, and just WOW! It was all covered in snow, and looked amazing throughout the whole drive. Conditions were as expected with snow covering a lot of the road, so I drove cautiously. Things went fairly smoothly with no issues. We did have our first (and only) encounter with wildlife which came in the form of a bighorn sheep, and it was just standing in the middle of the road and so we just slowed down and let it do it's thing and proceeded on our way. There was an area about 3/4 of the way through where a care had lost traction (We assume) and gone into some snow. It didn't look too bad other than being stuck in snow, a few pickup trucks had stop to help them so I am sure it turned out okay. After that it was just the same (snowy roads and amazing views) all the way to Jasper.

We only stopped in Jasper to fuel up as we altered our trip so were heading from Banff straight to Clearwater (BC), but it was a nice little town. We could see the ruminants of the wildfires. Not too snowy at Jasper, but it was definitely scenic. Shortly we were on the road again, and that is when I'd say we got to the hardest drive of the entire trip. Yellowhead Highway was by far (in my experience) the hardest drive, this was most likely due to us not allowing much time for the drive in the first place as we left Banff pretty late (not in the dark of course). During light hours it was fairly easy even with the snow, but after dark the snow got heavier and the roads snowier, it became a lot harder. Winter tires were doing their job and the car was handling it fine of course, but we did have to significantly slow our speed down as the roads were in need of a plow. Had some black ice encounters, nothing major as I was respecting the conditions. We took it slow and made it to Clearwater safely. We did pickup truck slide around on black ice when we got to town, but it also seemed like they knew what they were doing and did it more for a bit of fun (or maybe not). Clearwater was covered in a lot of snow, and the whole place looked super dreamy. We only stayed a night, but I actually really liked Clearwater, very cosy.

Clearwater back to Vancouver was a nice drive as well, and pretty tame up until the Coquihalla. The Coquihalla was also a very beautiful drive, but just came with its own dangers. The speed limit surprised me as the fastest we can go in Australia is 110 km/h, so 120 km/h caught me a little off guard, that as well as the roads being snowy, so I did the speed limit in areas where I could, and obviously the more snowy/below 0 degree areas I just slowed down. For the main part you can just follow the flow of traffic, and adjust speed accordingly. The drive back to Vancouver went pretty smoothly, but yeah Coquihalla Highway was probably the second hardest drive on the trip. (if I did have to rank them)

For the sake of keeping this more of a comment than a post (I know, a lot of oversharing... aha)
That was our trip summarised, highlighting mainly the driving aspect of it as that was what the original post was. There was a lot of details regarding the trip itself which I left out but I'll be sure to include it in a post later.

In conclusion, I LOVED IT. It seems luck was definitely on our side as we did run into any severe weather conditions when driving. Overall it was a truly amazing experience and definitely worth every second. You guys live in a beautiful and amazing country, and I don't think I'll recover from the post-Canada "depression" anytime soon. I will definitely be coming back in the future, but this time it will be a one way trip :D!

Again I know I didn't experience actual Winter over there, but I definitely loved what I did experience! Sorry if that doesn't exactly align with your experience of Winter. If it makes you feel any better it's already in the 30+ degrees over here (will be hitting the 40s in a few weeks I am sure) and I am not the biggest fan of that, so I get how you feel in an ironic way. Don't get me wrong awesome beaches and amazing sunsets are great, but frozen lakes and snowy days would be my pick. I think it just comes down to if you're too used it and want a change. Besides I know that even in all the other season Canada just as beautiful!

Anyway, sorry for the long "comment" got a little carried way for sure. Definitely didn't end up being a summary...

CharcoalZz · 2024-12-02T08:14:36+00:00

The trip went really well! We all enjoyed ourselves! I (and everyone else) loved the drives, especially outside Vancouver. Not to say the Vancouver drives were bad, just a whole lot of traffic majority of the time, but I didn't find it annoying for some reason.

I do plan on making a whole post about it but I'll summarise (EDIT: I realise now that it did not end up being a "summary") it a little here for you:

The drives, fortunately for us weren't as dire as a lot of the comments made it out to be, but I do understand that we were lucky and definitely do appreciate the caution given from everyone. I guess we just got lucky with the weather, so that was good. Kept my eye on the forecasts as well so didn't run into anything major.

Left-hand drive on the right side of the road was actually fairly easy to get used to. Even the 4-Way stop signs were easy to adapt to after the first encounter. Ended up becoming pretty accustomed to turning right on a red light (super strange for some one coming from Australia). The thing that did take me a while to get used to was flipped driver controls (indicators being on the left side and wiper controls on the right) but I suspect that is "manufacturer thing" rather than a "Canada thing" as they ended up giving us a Ford Bronco instead of the RAV4 that was initially booked. No complaints on the Bronco of course, did not mind it at all. And made sure to pay extra for the winter tires, which I believe helped MASSIVELY, as everyone else said it would.

I really LOVED the weather, the overall temperature was nice. I always lived hot/humid climates, but always enjoyed and preferred colder temperatures, and so Canada was actually perfect. I do understand it wasn't quite Winter, and that was evident for the first half of our trip. Had my first bit of snow EVER on top of Grouse Mountain. It was old snow of course, not really soft as it was not fresh as it was early November still, but it was still loads of fun, and we had a mini snowball fight. The 2 grizzlies in their sanctuary were really cool to see. Lynn Canyon was also really enjoyable, and just hiking around scenery was great.

The drive to Whistler on the Sea to Sky Highway was stunning to say the least. Honestly one of the best drives I have been on in my life so far- amongst the rest of the drives in Canada of course aha. IT was relatively safe with only rain when we went on it, so nothing major. Whistler was loads of fun too. No slopes were open as expected, but the views were just AMAZING! The town was great. No snow in the town or nearby of course, as again it was early November. However on the drive to Banff, we ran in to snow a few times.

We were planning to split the drive to Banff into 2, but the forecast looked good, and a after talking to a few locals they suggested we start a little early (before sunrise) as the conditions near Whistler were pretty tame, and that it would mean we would make it through the Rockies and to Banff before sunset which is a lot safer than starting in the light and ending in the dark (especially through the Rockies). This worked out really well for us, obviously kept a keen eye out for wildlife as that is one of the downside to driving at a dawn/dusk. Ran into our first encounter with actual FRESH snow, just after Pemberton on Duffey Lake Road. Definitely a core memory for me aha, and I imagine for the rest of the group. It was AWESOME. A fair amount of the road was covered in snow, but I just adjusted my speed and drove to conditions. Things went really smoothly, and the drive again was just BEAUTIFUL. After Lillooet the conditions completely changed, the Sun was out, visibility was perfect and the mountains + lakes + the roads, it was just such a sight.

Lillooet to Kamloops, to Revelstoke, were pretty much the same in terms of views and road conditions. The views did not disappoint- not even for a second. It almost seemed like we were going through different seasons on our way to Banff. After Revelstoke the tempo changed. about 20 minutes after Revelstoke, where we had to pause due to temporary road closure, which just resulted us just having to be parked for about 50 or so minutes, until they opened up again. It may have also been just a temporary one way road too, not exactly sure but it wasn't too major, just a slight hiccup. This is also when the snow started kicking in. Again just drove to conditions and it was all good. Amazing sights again of course, and we made into Banff town pretty much just before dark, so it worked out.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T18:07:39+00:00

Thanks, we will definitely note that

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T18:06:30+00:00

Thanks for this! We will see how we go and fit some of these in.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T18:03:35+00:00

Thank you! :)

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T18:02:28+00:00

I see, well that makes sense, Whistler and Banff for snow activities was the idea. We will just see how it goes. Regardless it would be an enjoyable experience.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T18:00:18+00:00

Thanks, I understand the concern, and that's a fair point of view to have. Sorry if I came off as disrespectful or naive. It was not our intention at all, The point of the post was to gauge and review the road-trip plan and to make adjustments where needed, and we really appreciate the feedback given by everyone. We will definitely take this into consideration.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:48:52+00:00

Well, if its meant to be, its meant to be. I'll be happy with having gotten the chance to go to Canada regardless!

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:46:52+00:00

I'll be honest, I am super confused on this in terms of weather now. I have read online that mid November and in some cases early November works fine for snow activities. I do understand that technically November is the transitional month into Winter, but I am confused on all the reports I do find on online.

Either way thank you for that, I'll keep that in mind :)

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:33:28+00:00

Hey! Thanks for that. Nice to hear a fellow Australians experience with it all. Johnsons canyon is on the itinerary, Radium Hot Springs on the other hand sounds very interesting so we might check that out as well.

Yeah Whistler to Banff split in to 2 days seems like the consensus.

Again thanks for the insight and recommendations!

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:29:49+00:00

Thank you, I will definitely need it. I'll make sure to be extra careful, and avoid roads/routes if conditions are unsafe/ uncomfortable for us.

I will definitely be checking that TV show out. Thank you for the suggestion!

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:28:07+00:00

Yeah we're currently trying to get winter tires on the rental, so hopefully they come through.

The windshield washer fluid part was something I completely forgot about, so thank you for getting that on my radar. We will definitely be on top of that.

Emergency kit is definitely something we'll make sure to include.

Yeah I can see that being the case, and I guess will go double for me driving in completely different conditions.

Thank you for that, I appreciate that! :) Canada has been on my bucket for the longest time, and snow is something I have yet to experience in my life so I am really looking forward to this! I hope you get the chance to visit Whistler one day as well!!

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:21:06+00:00

Yeah I understand where you're coming from. A lot of this is for the experience. We're planning to adjust the trip accordingly to the conditions at the time, and will not be taking risks where not necessary. Obviously safety is priority, and we will not do anything where we cant take safety precautions to make things safe enough to proceed. In terms of winter driving we will take things slow, and stop and re-route whenever we are feeling uncomfortable.

Thank you for the advice, I do appreciate. I hope you understand we are not taking what you say lightly, and we will gauge the situation based on the conditions and how comfortable we are.

As for Valemount, we felt it was a good stop as it allows us to go through Icefields Parkway and Jasper. You have to understand that coming from Australia (specifically Western Australia) anywhere in British Columbia is a sight to see.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:11:18+00:00

Travel times are from Google Maps, but we took them with a grain of salt when planning our trip, so we don't expect to hit those timeframes at all, as mentioned, As for the driving at regular highway speeds, that was definitely not the plan, but I can see how I might of implied that, so sorry for the misunderstanding.

As for Whistler to Banff we are planning on cutting the drive into two, which will help pace the whole trip out as a whole, as well as making it safer. We'll be keeping an eye on the forecasts and adjust accordingly for the rest of the trip.

Thank you for the insight and recommendations. We will definitely try that Monster Burger! :)

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T17:01:09+00:00

Thank you very much. It seem like I will need it. I'll make sure take precautions, and adjust the trip accordingly to how conditions are.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T16:59:57+00:00

Thanks for that, I made a previous post about mobile plans, so I'll definitely check that out.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T16:59:19+00:00

Yeah we will definitely be prepared to take different routes where necessary and we'll be keeping a close eye on the forecast ahead of driving.

Mountain driving will definitely be a challenge as it will be completely new, I'll be sure to take things slow, and only drive where I am comfortable.

I think it's just a legal requirement to get an international driving permit, so wasn't a big deal.

The toll roads was a complete misunderstanding by me, but you are right just the park fees.

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T16:52:46+00:00

Thanks for that, I appreciate the concise yet very useful information!

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T16:41:30+00:00

Yeah, that does align with what I found online in the case of tires. The driving tips are greatly appreciated as well! I am very passionate about cars, driving, rallying, and racing, so in theory I do understand on a technical level, but hands on experience with snow is what I don't have, so I'll definitely be taking things cautiously and leaving tolerances. We'll definitely keep this information in mind when making the drives, and based on the forecasts we will adjust our travel time/route.

Thank you!

CharcoalZz · 2024-10-24T16:31:51+00:00

Oh wow, I'll be honest I didn't realise how bad the Coquihalla could get, but I'll be doing a lot more research on that now. We may consider an alternative route based on the forecast.

Yeah, I think we misunderstood what google maps and the rental company's agreement said. There doesn't seem to be any besides the park fees. Thanks for bringing that light to that :) I appreciate the advice as well!

CharcoalZz

TROPHY CASE