NEW THREAT??
To be bluntly honest I feel they have just shot themselves n the foot. We now know that just because they have taken a step back on enforcement of the SAE/DOT compliance random inspection, which gave the BC persons a false sense of hope, was just a ruse so they could try a different angle.
With this information reaching the headlines there is hope that finally the owners of RHD cars and trucks will rise up and fight this movement. A call to action per says.
Even though a request has been made, and we know already that BC had initiated a request long before now, Transport Canada confirmed that it would be a minimum of 2 years to implement. To add to the situation the other provinces do not back the feelings of the BC government mostly because THERE IS NOT PROOF as admitted in the link above by the BC government.
IF they had proof then their case would be much stronger, what we need to do is get motivated to take action to stop this movement in its infancy. (Actually we should have started 2 years ago but the fear and hope that the BC government would come to its senses kept many from doing so) If we can petition the Canadian Government to get proof that the RHD units accident rate is smaller per capita than LHD units we will be able to squash this.
Alberta has stood up to the movement by BC (for now) but there are no guarantees in life. This might take another reversal again so to assume Alberta is risk free is foolishness. But this being said we have a province that is one our side (for now) and we should take advantage of this while we still can.
The government cannot outlaw the RHD units that have already made it to Canadian soil but the government insurance run provinces could make the premiums too high to actually insure the units or they might put a ban on insuring the units at all. The private brokers on the other hand will still insure the units till there is proof they are more of a risk than the LHD counterparts.
What can we do?
Drive responsibly would be the first and easiest action we can take.
Organize ourselves into a group that is working together, a group of RHD owners, not as a group of importers. A nation wide club, I have lawyers, cops, forestry, oil workers, Geological Engineer, Park Warden, Doctors that I have sold trucks to that would come on board if there was such a group started. I have a lawyer that is willing to take on a case to fight this. We could become a force to be reckoned with, one thing the government loves is apathy and Canadians in general are apathetic. If this was happening in America there would be action taken a year ago, here they are counting on us to sit back and go "Oh Well"
DON”T PANIC, if we panic then all rationality heads out the door and they have won. It will be 2 years before they will be able to have the door shut IF they can but if we panic then irrational behavior will result. All this post does is alert us that the BC government DOES NOT HAVE PROOF of what they are applying for. If they could have kept this under wraps until they blind-sided us with the actions it would have been much easier for them.
Don’t panic buy, NOTHING HAS CHANGED. There are going to be Importers that are going to use this information to “Pressure Sell” to the public. DO NOT SUCCUME to the pressure. We will get more accurate information over the next 2 years, hearsay and rumors will abound and get blown all out of proportion especially by importers trying to fuel the fire to instill fear into the buying public.
What will this mean to value of the RHD import? IF the BC Government operated insurance company did decide to stop insuring RHD units then the value of course to a BC resident is minimal but to the other Canadian provinces with independent brokers the RHD value will still be a constant. The government will not be able to stop the sale of DOT/SAE compliant vehicles but the ones that were registered illegally then these will need to be made to comply or once again there is a fear of a very expensive front lawn ornament.
If you are in the position to buy and want a RHD unit then do so but if you need to put your families happiness in jeopardy or make your families budget too tight then DO NOT BUY at this time. There is still 2 years before we have anything to worry about. Once we feel there is urgency we will let the buying public know WITH FACTS not hearsay. This letter is a wake up call, nothing else. There are no new facts contained in this posting.
Once again, we need to DRIVE RESPONSIBLY, ORGANISE and DO NOT PANIC.
The BC government never did back down but we can make it extremely hard for them to proceed if we group together. Do not wait for your buddy to make the decision for you, it is your enjoyment that the government is trying to take away, your freedom of choice is being threatened, so do something about it.
As more information comes to light we will be posting it up.
Cheers and Happy Holidays
http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?p=1674668#post1674668
ARTICLE COPIED:
B.C. tries to put brakes on right-hand-drive cars
Last Updated: Friday, December 22, 2006 | 4:44 PM ET
CBC News
They are in excellent mechanical shape with low mileage,
but used right-hand-drive vehicles from Japan are raising
safety concerns in British Columbia.
Provincial officials are concerned the vehicles might be
dangerous in passing situations and have asked Transport
Canada to step in.
Mike Woods, manager for vehicle inspections in the province,
said that while there's no evidence of accidents caused by
right-hand-drive vehicles, officials need more time to
determine their safety record.
"There is some concern, and the Insurance Corp. of B.C. is
probably looking at that quite closely, and I'm certain that
the Insurance Bureau of Canada is also looking into it,"
Woods said.
Some officials worry the cars may be dangerous when passing
because the driver's range of vision is limited on the
outside of the road.
All cars imported from Japan —where motorists drive on the
left-hand side of the road — are at least 15 years old
because federal laws place restrictions on newer cars.
However, B.C. officials have asked Transport Canada to
extend that to 25 years in an attempt to reduce the number
of right-hand-drive cars entering the province.
About 175 Japanese right-hand-drive cars are registered in
B.C. every month — a number that has grown steadily,
provincial officials say.
One of them is owned by Thomas Nottelman, who imported his
16-year-old Toyota Corolla and several other cars from
Japan. Because Japan has tough mechanical regulations and
regular inspections, he said, its second-hand cars are prized.
Many of them have "never seen an accident, they've never
seen dirt, they certainly don't have any rust, and they're
exceptionally low mileage," Nottelman said.
"So you can't buy anything comparable here, unless you
happen to find a little old lady's car."
Back to top of page
|
