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ICBC considering raising car insurance premiums by 30 per cent


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6 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

I agree. Doctors from other countries are required to ensure that they meet rigid standards when they come to Canada. Sometimes even having to retake courses.

 

How are drivers from countries like China and other Asian areas exempt from this? From what I've heard, driving in most Asian countries is questionable at best, yet they can merely transfer their license? Screw that. 

I have lived in countries where people drive motorcycles wrong way or on footpaths. I see people saying the standard is "questionable" and it's such an understatement. The standard is downright horrific.

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5 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

I agree. Doctors from other countries are required to ensure that they meet rigid standards when they come to Canada. Sometimes even having to retake courses.

 

How are drivers from countries like China and other Asian areas exempt from this? From what I've heard, driving in most Asian countries is questionable at best, yet they can merely transfer their license? Screw that. 

Because it goes both ways, you could go to china and drive there.... but I'd suggest taking some valium first its pretty insane :P. I've only been to Shanghai and Tokyo but from what I saw the drivers there were better than our loopy distracted goofballs we have here, if you take your eyes off the road over there you'll get killed. 

 

Studies have shown that immigrant drivers are not the factor, they drive more carefully (e.g., http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/stephen-hume-that-ethnic-driver-accidents-stereotype-its-wrong). 

 

Its our home grown distracted idiots. I've seen contractors almost daily doing 80km/hr down a residential street I used to live on that was a 30km/hr zone. 

 

 

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29 minutes ago, pluralsight said:

You can use this argument all you want, but you can't deny the staggering amount of dangerous and terrible drivers in the Lower Mainland.

Wading into dangerous territory here but I can't help but say in Calgary it is not uncommon to see certain ethnic groups attempt to to park a car on a parking lot between yellow lines multiple times at still not get it right.  What that sez is they are buying driver's licenses from shady registry operators as there is no way a legitimate driving examiner would grant a license.  Alberta Transportation a few years back shut down a class 1 driving school here in Cowtown after suspicions of irregularities were proven by officials planted into the classes witnessed the operator basically completing written exams for those who could not pass. In a nutshell he was selling class 1 licenses to unqualified drivers and turning them loose on our highways.

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8 minutes ago, apollo said:

This is as true as it gets. 

 

Yet a guy busting his ass at 25 who only has 7 years experience and pays taxes has less of a discount. Yet the immigrants come in, take free health care, use our roads, claim 0 income and launder in 6-8 figures annually. 

 

It's not just China though... all the immigrant countries. Korea, Japan, India, Iran, all have horrible drivers.

Countries with high population density have big problems with traffic congestion. Drivers are used to using illegal maneuvering to speed up travel. Again due to sheer numbers the laws are rarely enforced, drivers from those countries come to Canada with the same mentality. 

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37 minutes ago, b3. said:

Also, just in this province in general.

 

It's amazing how many people can't even figure out four way stops in my area.

Four way stops, round abouts, left lanes, merging and matching speed.

 

Sprinkle in distracted drivers on their phones, a few aggressive drivers and then throw in commercial truck drivers weaving in and out of traffic as though they aren't driving multi-tonne steel projectiles.... it's an adventure out there!

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All the more reason why I want to transition to a life without a car.

 

Granted, I'm a graduate student in Winnipeg, so I can get by with busing and biking. But all automobile costs are outrageous, and I think cities should take an initiative to plan their development to phase out the need for care/long commutes.

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9 minutes ago, S'all Good Man said:

Because it goes both ways, you could go to china and drive there.... but I'd suggest taking some valium first its pretty insane :P. I've only been to Shanghai and Tokyo but from what I saw the drivers there were better than our loopy distracted goofballs we have here, if you take your eyes off the road over there you'll get killed. 

 

Studies have shown that immigrant drivers are not the factor, they drive more carefully (e.g., http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/stephen-hume-that-ethnic-driver-accidents-stereotype-its-wrong). 

 

Its our home grown distracted idiots. I've seen contractors almost daily doing 80km/hr down a residential street I used to live on that was a 30km/hr zone. 

 

 

Yet the article provides no link to the "study". Hmmmm....

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1 hour ago, S'all Good Man said:

Bad drivers should carry the burden of this. You can't make a 5 minute trip now without seeing at least 2 or 3 idiots on their phones or running red lights. I'm all for red light cameras and tickets for cell phone use while driving should be minimum $1,500 imo, and then tripled for a 2nd offence, otherwise people won't stop. 

I fully agree. Yesterday driving through Abbotsford, I saw a guy completely miss his green light because he was glued to his phone. I've also nearly been hit more than once by distracted drivers. They need to be cracked down on.

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35 minutes ago, apollo said:

Wait... no one is complaining about the unfair monopoly ICBC has? 

 

Yet we're bashing the drivers and the truckers? 

 

This monopoly is a joke. ICBC is Canada's most crooked and corrupt organization. No where else in Canada are rates this high.  

Ontario 

https://www.arcinsurance.ca/blog/average-car-insurance-rates-across-canadian-provinces/

Average Car Insurance Rates Across Canadian Provinces

2. British Columbia –      $1,112 average annual premium

  • The most expensive insurance rates out of all publicly run insurance providers in Canada.
  • BC runs a break-even profit system, although operational costs often outdo revenues

1. Ontario –      $1,281 average annual premium

  • The most expensive province to insure a car in Canada
  • High frequency of claims, lawsuits, and injuries
  • High level of fraud and organized crime affecting private insurance companies
  • Expense accounts for 4.5% of disposable income

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/adventure/trends/why-ontario-drivers-pay-the-highest-car-insurance-rates-in-the-country/article19522860/

Auto insurance is the wild west of compulsory services. If you want to drive, you have no choice but to buy it – but what you pay varies wildly. According to quotes obtained Tuesday from kanetix.ca, a 20-year-old male in Winnipeg with a clean driving record would pay $1,396 driving a 2008 Honda Civic DX two-door coupe for pleasure (not to commute to school or work) and compiling 15,000 km/year. In Calgary, that same driver would pay between $2,973 and  $3,789. In Toronto, the bill would range from $4,239 to $9,270  – an increase of 664 per cent.

 

 

I've heard from relatives that live there that it's absolutely ridiculous for youth rates too, men especially (and the article backs that up).  

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Someone earlier on here said it best.  If you want premiums to be reduced, ICBC needs to bear the responsibility of doing a better job screening the people it issues licenses to.  And there need to be stronger repercussions for distracted and bad driving habits.  

 

I once personally saw someone at the driver services centre taking his FIFTH road test, and the best part... he was taking it to become a cab driver.  They told him to schedule a new appointment for next week and try again (he failed).  What is honestly going to change in a week?  He might get a more lenient evaluator.  He might have become so familiar with the test route that he manages to scrape by with a pass.  Maybe they are tired of seeing his face ever few days so they mark him a little more generously to get rid of him.  They need to have a time period of X weeks, or maybe even a year, after you fail the driving test a certain number of times.  Time for you to actually go home and practice your skills.

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I would say that one of the main reasons driving is so deplorably bad here is due to a lack of enforcement. The police say in press conferences and in reports that they are doing their best to enforce the laws, but frankly, they aren't.

 

I've seen numerous infractions occur in the presence of police and nothing is done. It's as if it's expected and accepted. I've also seen cops driving while talking on their phone as well. Couple that with a highway system that's archaic and has almost no police presence, and it's really no surprise how horrible the standards are here.

 

All one has to do is cross the border into Washington to see how it should be done. The state patrol routinely enforces the speed limit and cracks down on driving in the passing lane, and erratic driving. They are a constant presence throughout the highways in the state, and it shows in how well the average driver performs down there.

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2 minutes ago, The Sedge said:

Someone earlier on here said it best.  If you want premiums to be reduced, ICBC needs to bear the responsibility of doing a better job screening the people it issues licenses to.  And there need to be stronger repercussions for distracted and bad driving habits.

Exactly. Start at the source. Ensure that everyone being issued a licence, regardless of who they are, or how much they make, will abide by the rules of the road and are aware at all times when on the road.

 

The Liberals failed to do anything towards toughening fines or punishments regarding distracted driving. That might have been because Susan Anton is a waste of skin though.

2 minutes ago, The Sedge said:

I once personally saw someone at the driver services centre taking his FIFTH road test, and the best part... he was taking it to become a cab driver. They told him to schedule a new appointment for next week and try again (he failed).  What is honestly going to change in a week?

 

Exactly! He should have had to wait at least a year, and start the process from scratch. The person clearly was not fit to drive and ICBC should have procedures in place to address this.

2 minutes ago, The Sedge said:

He might get a more lenient evaluator.  He might have become so familiar with the test route that he manages to scrape by with a pass.  Maybe they are tired of seeing his face ever few days so they mark him a little more generously to get rid of him.  They need to have a time period of X weeks, or maybe even a year, after you fail the driving test a certain number of times.  Time for you to actually go home and practice your skills.

Agreed 100%

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1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Four way stops, round abouts, left lanes, merging and matching speed.

 

Sprinkle in distracted drivers on their phones, a few aggressive drivers and then throw in commercial truck drivers weaving in and out of traffic as though they aren't driving multi-tonne steel projectiles.... it's an adventure out there!

True story, and why don't people ever signal when they turn anymore? 

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1 hour ago, J.R. said:

Four way stops, round abouts, left lanes, merging and matching speed.

 

Sprinkle in distracted drivers on their phones, a few aggressive drivers and then throw in commercial truck drivers weaving in and out of traffic as though they aren't driving multi-tonne steel projectiles.... it's an adventure out there!

thats true, I use Knight St a lot and holy crap some of these guys drive semi's like they're in a Fiat 500. Its really bad when they first come out of the port. 

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5 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

So in order to view the study, I have to buy it?

or get it free at a library. I can try to see if one of my accounts can get it for free if you really want a copy. 

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