VICTORIA -- A provincial judge has acquitted a driver who was recorded speeding on the Malahat highway after the driver said he feared for his safety and was attempting to outrun an approaching transport truck.

The incident occurred on March 26, 2019 on what the court heard was a dry and clear day. The driver, Gabriel Milne, said in his defense that he was attempting to overtake a slow-moving tourist bus on the highway – before the two-lane section of road returned to single-lane traffic – when a transport truck attempted the same maneuver and was dangerously close to rear-ending him.

Milne testified that the tourist bus "started to slow down aggressively," so he accelerated and moved from the right lane to the left lane to overtake the vehicle. Shortly after he switched lanes, Milne said he noticed the transport truck had also switched from the right lane to the left lane to overtake the vehicle and was quickly bearing down on his vehicle.

Milne testified that the truck "was so close that given its size and speed he feared it would rear end him," according to the court ruling.

Milne said that after passing the tourist bus, he returned to the right-hand lane. Several hundred metres past the point where the two lanes merged into one, a police officer recorded Milne travelling at approximately 105 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.

Milne testified that after he was pulled over by the officer, he tried to explain that he was speeding due to the transport truck.

"[The constable] could not recall this and did not make a note of it but no doubt if the comment had been made, the officer would consider it to be just another of the many excuses officers hear at roadside in response to a traffic offence allegation," reads the judge's ruling.

In the report, the judge says he was inclined to believe that Milne's testimony was an excuse for a traffic violation. However, he eventually decided that Milne's testimony was truthful and that there was no legal alternative that the driver could have taken when fearing for his safety in this situation.

"I find Mr. Milne to be a credible witness," reads the judge's report. "He candidly admitted he was speeding at the speed determined by Const. Narraway, he stated to the officer at roadside why he was speeding and he has been consistent in doing so."

"I also find that at that moment he honestly believed, on reasonable grounds, that he faced a situation of imminent peril that left no reasonable legal alternative open."

The judge adds that the possible harm caused by Milne's speeding was proportional compared to the possible harm of the transport truck colliding with his vehicle.