Letter I posted to Vancouver Sun and ICBC Potential RHD ban

[Delicaman]

Here is the letter I just sent in response to the Vancouver Sun article ofn Possible RHD Ban in BC Nonsense!!
Feel free to comment and PASS IT ON!

Board of Directors - ICBC

The standard rules of the road are, If you can't see... DON'T GO! How can other drivers be penalized for other less safe driver's mistakes? I have never had a problem with my RHD Mitsubishi Delica. It has large windows and excellent visibility all around. It is also my right as a Canadian to use any vehicle that I see fit as long as it adheres to standard safety guidelines which are outlined by Transport Canada.
RHD drives that are involved in accidents are the result of an inexperienced DRIVER. Its not the machine that causes the accident, its the driver and his or her lack of driving technique and experience. A simple "intro to RHD Blind spots and technique" is all that would be required to alert drivers to a modification of driving habit . Penalize the driver and restrict them from using right hand drives in the future and don't penalize me when my driving record and RHD vehicle operation are clean. How dare ICBC group me with other less capable drivers! ICBC, you should run a "Intro to RHD Safety course" at public expense to educate the less capable drivers and maybe do a quick road test as they do motorcycles. Vehicles don't cause accidents...inexperienced people do!!

If ICBC plans to ban RHD vehicles, ALL, Including Garbage trucks AND postal vehicles must be considered as well.
I also have heard the Canada post will purchase RHD Honda Pilot vehicles as well. So, before ICBC does an arbitrary ban... consider the other users of RHD and they MUST be banned as well if you proceed with this unfair nonsense.

Do not use Quebec as an example and follow blindly....ICBC must do its own research and come up with a decision that works for all vehicle owners in the province of BC. We are not Quebec!

If ICBC is not capable of making a fair decision, an independent agency must be hired, that can consider all aspects of this situation and provide positive recommendations that are fair and just to all.

If it is a matter of the bottom line for ICBC and paying out insurance claims, then Provide education and not penalization! There are many RHD drives in BC so isn't it time that a formal additional class be added to the BC driver's license to show that you have been tested and are competent enough to make safe decisions while operating a RHD?

In England and the UK, drivers routinely travel into Germany which is a LHD country and use the opposite side of the road AND steering as well. Is ICBC saying that Canadians are not competent enough to accomplish the same mental feat? I say NO, we are not less capable! RHD users just need to be educated a little better. Maybe ICBC's should be responsible enough to provide information for RHD users on differences and driving technique adjustments and take a pro-active position to help avoid future accidents!

I challenge ICBC to poll ALL RHD owners and see how many have been involved in accidents where the driving position is the cause of the accident. Not accidents such as collisions with Animals, driving off the road, collisions with stationary objects, standard fender benders and general unsafe conduct.

As I support ICBC with my insurance premiums, the board of directors MUST consult the public and inform them at every point of decision making and justification must be complete with statistics to prove that ALL RHD vehicles, including garbage trucks and Postal vehicles and any other vintage RHD are dangerous and it is the vehicle at fault and not the driver. If they cannot, then it must be the operator and operator education is then required.
For us Safe drivers who drive defensively and have enough common sense to realize that there are different blind spots, we should be allowed to operate our vehicles under the rules and guidelines of the road as usual.

To sum up;
Vehicles don't cause accidents, people with bad decisions cause accidents.
Educate your ICBC clients and in turn accident rates will decrease. Simple formula really when applied correctly.
If ICBC needs logical thinking and straight forward decision making, I can be hired to assist in this simple task. I am sure there are many RHD vehicle owners that concur and would volunteer their time to assist in this project to keep our unique and safe RHD vehicles on the road.

sincerely,

Benn Pridham,
Vancouver Island, B.C.
bennpridham@shaw.ca

[DelicaMark]

Not sure demanding things is your best path to success. It should be interesting to see if it gets published...my guess is no. Likely not what you were looking for comment-wise.

-Mark

[Delicaman]

Not sure demanding things is your best path to success. It should be interesting to see if it gets published...my guess is no. Likely not what you were looking for comment-wise.

-Mark

All comments are welcome as frustration after two years of watching the situation get worse and worse continues. Getting into the paper might send a message and others motivated to do something. Nice only goes so far and sometimes agencies need raw, outside recommendations. If you have any positive ideas to help rectify or provide a win/win solution let me know. I think education might be worth it for ICBC to look into.

Cheers and best intentions always..

[snelson]

Not the the angle I would have taken at all.

By even suggesting drivers of RHD vehicles take a special course you're insinuating that they are more complicated to operate than LHD - which I know is not the case.

From my experience, a driver needs no more than 10-15 minutes behind the wheel before they are comfortable enough to drive them safely.

[Delicaman]

Not the the angle I would have taken at all.

By even suggesting drivers of RHD vehicles take a special course you're insinuating that they are more complicated to operate than LHD - which I know is not the case.

From my experience, a driver needs no more than 10-15 minutes behind the wheel before they are comfortable enough to drive them safely.

That is correct, I usually suggest about two hours to allow the body to get used to a new driving "Habit".
Yes, The suggestions or Demands show the frustration with this situation. Hopefully it will spark others with similar views to get active if the direction of ICBC is to Ban.

I was also trying to track down whether the Province can ban a vehicle that has been accepted into the country and passes DOT inspection as per Transport Canada guidelines? Has there ever been a ban on any vehicle type, by a province, in Canadian history?

[phunka]

I agree that it is the drivers, and to group everyone into the same class isn't fair. Something like 5+ accident free driving (im at 10 years) should most definitely be allowed to drive whatever they want, as long as its up to safety standards.

I think it's mainly these douche bags in skylines, trying to renact the last Fast and the Furious movie they saw that is giving most of us a bad name.

A competent driver should FEEL and BE safe in whatever vehicle they have, the problem isnt in RHD vehicles, it's into the freebie drivers license any idiot can and does get.