In the Times Communist today
Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 8:45 am
these two letters were in the Sunday Times Colonist - one for (sort of) and one against.
It is high time that ICBC took steps to limit or ban the sale of right-hand-drive vehicles from Japan. These vehicles are dangerous, as the ICBC study to tally the number of collisions indicates. Also, these vehicles are not crash-tested to North American standards.
Doug Lee
Victoria
With 70,000 right-hand-drive (RHD) vehicles here already, it is too late for ICBC to be talking about a ban.
I drive a RHD 1990 Nissan. I have no safety or visibility concerns, always optimizing my road positioning to maximize my sight lines and safety margins. RHD is much safer at right turns, where B.C.'s road rules put cars and pedestrians on a collision course.
My RHD Nissan has an all-wheel-drive system designed for wet and gravel roads. It is therefore very safe.
By all means consider a ban on further imports, but please allow existing cars already here to still be used or fully compensate owners. If there are more accidents in RHDs, then ICBC needs to analyze the driver experience. Penalize those drivers who've made a claim, but don't penalize the ones who haven't, regardless of what they choose to drive.
Mike Aston
Pender Island
It is high time that ICBC took steps to limit or ban the sale of right-hand-drive vehicles from Japan. These vehicles are dangerous, as the ICBC study to tally the number of collisions indicates. Also, these vehicles are not crash-tested to North American standards.
Doug Lee
Victoria
With 70,000 right-hand-drive (RHD) vehicles here already, it is too late for ICBC to be talking about a ban.
I drive a RHD 1990 Nissan. I have no safety or visibility concerns, always optimizing my road positioning to maximize my sight lines and safety margins. RHD is much safer at right turns, where B.C.'s road rules put cars and pedestrians on a collision course.
My RHD Nissan has an all-wheel-drive system designed for wet and gravel roads. It is therefore very safe.
By all means consider a ban on further imports, but please allow existing cars already here to still be used or fully compensate owners. If there are more accidents in RHDs, then ICBC needs to analyze the driver experience. Penalize those drivers who've made a claim, but don't penalize the ones who haven't, regardless of what they choose to drive.
Mike Aston
Pender Island