The Canadian Safety Council and their point of view...

[Bonsai]

I noticed a quote from Raynald Marchand in one of the recent JDM complaint stories, so I wrote to him in an attempt to set him straight on some issues. Here was my response:

Dear Mr. Pollock,



Right hand drive vehicles sold to the general public (as opposed to purpose build vehicles for specific job requirements) do not belong on North American roadways. Provinces such as Quebec must be applauded for taking a leadership role and no longer issuing registration certificates.



Why don’t you take your bogus arguments to the orphans of the couple wiped out at the bus stop by a right hand drive sporty car in Ottawa recently? There are plenty of used vehicles available worldwide that will comply with the Canadian regulations and have the steering wheels on the left hand side.



Drive safely,



Raynald Marchand,
General Manager, Programs
Directeur Général des Programmes
Canada Safety Council
1020 Thomas Spratt Place,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1G 5L5
Raynald.Marchand@safety-council.org

Well, The Canadian Safety council is an NGO, but we can at least choose not to donate to them! My bogus arguments refuted the 40% law of stupidity, claims that JDMs are dirty etc etc

[mycale]

Can you post the original letter you sent to him? This guy sounds like a talk-box for the Canadian Auto industry...

[surfhunter]

The orphans in Ottawa that were killed because of a RHD vehicle ?? It was the freakin driver that killed those two people, not the fact that the vehicle was a RHD. Its pretty dam sad that this guy is using these two victims and their kids to try and pass a federal ban on RHD vehicles. I think I will send him an email asking him if he contacted the family members to see if he could use them as personal references for his bogus fight against our vehicles.

Pretty low Raynald, pretty dam low.

[surfhunter]

See below

and I will send an email to Raynald of the Canadian Safety Council telling him that the crash happened because of the below reasons and not because the wheel happened to be on the right side of the car. I think I should also ask him to step down from his position due to immoral practices and slanderous remarks.


" Simon Banke, 20, of Ottawa faces multiple charges, including stunt racing, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and being a young driver with blood alcohol content above 0%."

[RichD]

I don't think that it is fair to make a comment about this gentleman because you don't agree with his opinion.

I wrote him a respectful letter asking him to redirect his attention to the real safety concern, which is speed.

As someone said in a parallel thread, shooting off at the mouth is not going to get us anywhere. We need to take a more enlightened approach.

[FalcoColumbarius]

This guy is our friend. So long as he keeps putting out such comments... not two children, but two orphans. Hmmm. This sounds like the work of Dick Dastardly! I am very sorry about the two children that have been orphaned by a reckless RDDriver ~ my heart & prayers go out to them, as well as all the people who have had their lives torn by reckless LHDrivers, too.

Bonsai, could you post the original letter to Mr. Marchand? I would be curious to what he regards as "bogus".

One thing that concerns me is that with the economic climate that we are currently experiencing it is not so far fetched to think of people wanting to find a culprit for all their woes. Could the general public actually draw up a mental image of these selfish people who buy these RHD vehicles from the enemy and cause the North American auto industry to flounder and go out and kill people?

I would like to better understand the point of view that Mr. Marchand is looking from, I think it could give us an insight to the strategy of the CADA (or whomever is behind this).

Falco.

P.S.:

[RichD]

Right, cause the Safety Council is in bed with CADA.

Where is a grassy knoll when you need one?

[surfhunter]

You don't think its fair that I make a comment about this person because I don't agree with his opinion ?? Shooting off at the mouth ?? Are you kidding me ??

I actually did a little research into the case before I posted my comment on this board so please don't think Im shooting off at the mouth. Besides, Canadian Safety Council members should be a little more educated and open minded when it comes to replying to letters from the people in which they are trying to protect.

Let me know how your "gloved hands" approach works out for ya.

[RichD]

The point I was making is that its not fair to attack this individual because you don't agree with his opinion. That is not a constructive debate.

You still haven't posted the letter in which you pissed this guy off so much that he wrote a heated letter to you. Although if you last post is any indication...

I also disagree with the suggestion that the Canada Safety Council is in bed with CADA.

[surfhunter]

I didnt write a letter to this guy in the first place so Im not sure where it is exactly your coming from with your request for me to post said letter.......

This isnt just "some guy's" opinion we are dealing with here, its an opinion of someone who actually has leverage in the political realm of Canada. Its not some Joe Blow off the street who thinks RHD vehicles are to blame for killing innocent people. If you simply "ask" people like that to look at other factors Im pretty sure you know what your reply is going to be, hell, it was already stated from him and I quote "Bogus".

I believe there is another subject on the board here that is ramping up such efforts so thats good news. Im close to Ottawa so whatever I can do I will.

[RichD]

Sorry I mixed up the posters but the point remains the same; if you insult the Safety Council you will guaranty we never get their support.

[surfhunter]

We are not going to get the support of the Safety Council now anyways, are you kidding me ? A figure head from the CSC already made claim on TV and in the papers that RHD vehicles are unsafe. He sent letters out to people telling them that the real facts are "Bogus".

When the wheel is in motion here, especially at the political level, its VERY hard to stop. People want someone or something to blame for the deaths of those two people and guess what, its the fault of the evil RHD vehicle now, not the fact that the 20 year old ass was driving like a fool as was drinking as well.

There are plenty of examples in Canada where the public needed someone or something to blame in order to feel safe again.

You dont think offices like this work with each other ? You need to make a trip out East here and see first hand how they do.

[mycale]

With all this talk of RHD bans and what not, I ended up here: http://www.icbc.com/library/research_pa ... /index.asp

How on one hand ICBC can say: "Are you thinking about buying an imported, right-hand-drive vehicle? If so, be sure you understand the risks. A recent study by ICBC shows that right-hand-drive vehicles are more than 40 per cent more likely to crash (PDF) than similar left-hand-drive vehicles."

Then in the same breath clearly state that the study they quote lacks empirical evidence gathering on RHD safety: "No evidence of greater crash or claim severity could be found to suggest that right-hand-drive vehicles offer less protection. The study did not include any testing or review of design elements of right-hand-drive vehicle that relate to the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards."

So ICBC is saying beware that RHD cars are more likely to be in an "accident" but we didn't really study the RHD design elements to come to this conclusion. I can see their distinction at one level, between likelihood to crash vs. design elements, but it smacks of inconsitancy. Just my morning rant.