Not sure it this has been discussed here or on IVOAC, but I had an idea regarding RHD banning.
It's clear they want to ban these vehicles because someone believes they are 'Unsafe'. But what does that mean really? Unsafe how? These vehicles have been inspected and are built to the same standards as our North American vehicles. So the vehicle itself is not 'Unsafe'.
What could be deemed unsafe is the fact that LHD drivers are operating them.
I myself can attest that since getting my Delica, I do have to pay closer attention while driving. I have over 15 years experience driving a LHD vehicle, it will take me a while to adjust to RHD.
So, my question is, instead of just outright banning RHD vehicles, couldn't some form of RHD training be implemented, where someone wanting to drive a RHD vehicle would have to be properly trained before being registered to drive?
I know that I would gladly take a course vs. abandoning my Delica.
Has this ever been discussed? Do you think government would consider it?
The government probably hasn't considered RHD driver training because that's not how CADA has pitched the "unsafe" nature of the vehicle. From CADA perspective, an unsafe driver would be unable to operate any vehicle, whether RHD or LHD or CD (centre-drive), and CADA can't have that because it wouldn't make a sale of a NAMPOS.
I have raised this issue of RHD driver training a couple of times. Do postal workers/garbage collectors/street sweepers get extra training to drive the "unsafe" RHD vehicles that their job requires of them? Do these workers get extra compensation for being in "unsafe" vehicles while performing their duties? Do these workers get refresher training and re-certification of their abilities to safely operate an "unsafe" vehicle on a, say, annual or biannual basis?
And if not, if the answer to all of the above questions was "no", why? How is it suddenly safe for Joe Canadian to show up at work one day, driving his LHD vehicle to get there, to be told by his employer to go out onto public streets and perform his duties while driving a RHD vehicle, for which he has no training? How exactly is that safe if CADA has convinced the government that RHD vehicles are "unsafe"?
This whole argument is not about the perceived safe-ness of a vehicle based on the position of the steering wheel. This whole argument is based on Canadians not buying the POS that the North American car sector is peddling - and just so we're clear, I'm talking about the Dodges, and the Fords, and the Chevys, and the GMCs, and the Hummers, etc, etc, etc. All one has to do to confirm this pack of lies CADA is spreading is look at the ban on new RHD registration in Quebec: you cannot register a new-to-the-province RHD import if it is more than 15 years old, but the ban does not apply to vehicles that are more than 25 years old. The ban also doesn't apply to RHD vehicles greater than 3000kg, those which are used by municipalities or those which are used for a business (somehow, these RHDs are "safer" than the smaller vehicles used by the general driving public).
How we need to attack this issue is head-on: directly at CADA. Where is their data demonstrating the unsafe-ness of RHD vehicles? How is it that drivers, who have no extra or special training, are not unsafe when driving certain RHD vehicles in which CADA has no interest? If CADA (or its provincial counterparts) is so uneasy with the perceived safety of RHD vehicles, why does it allow its dealerships (registered through their organisation) to sell these vehicles?
THAT is the way we should address this issue!
I would also ask you, having attested that you've not had any training, how is it that you've managed to drive the vehicle all this time? What training would have benefited you? What special RHD-ness things do you do when you're driving your Delica that you don't do when you're in a LHD vehicle? Is it really that different? Are you not simply doing the same things you should be doing in a LHD vehicle? Is the signal indicator on the right of the steering column all that much different than the stereo being above the heater controls as opposed to below the heater controls?
The reality is the really important things are in exactly the same spot, regardless of which side of the vehicle the steering wheel is located: the accelerator, the brake and the mirrors are all in the same positional location on either side of the vehicle. If one can't successfully operate these controls, then maybe they shouldn't be driving, LHD or RHD.
I would have to say that I don't know exactly what training might be involved in a RHD course, it was only an idea that I thought might support continued legality of RHD vehicles in Canada.
I totally understand this issue is much more political in nature, and the 'unsafe' label is a facade.
Like I said, when driving my delica, I have to pay more attention to where I am on the road, using my mirrors to judge my distance to the lines, watching how close I come to the inside curb when making a left-hand turn, things like that. Honestly, I've been driving things since I was a kid, so I'm a very competent driver, it's just that all the vehicles I've driven up until 4 weeks ago were LHD. So although making the switch to RHD has been fairly easy, there's still that adjustment period. I'm not saying "I need a course" I just thought that if taking a course would satisfy the government enough to say "Ok keep your RHD", I would be all for it.
Just signed it... there is only 39 signature... pathetic...
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