BC Oppo's: The End is Nigh

"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley)
03/08/2018 at 12:46 • Filed to: VancityOppo

Hello fellow BC Oppo’s and other Oppo readers. More bad news from North America’s worst place to own a vehicle. It looks like all red-light cameras are being upgraded to catch speeders as well. This is specifically a revenue generating opportunity for ICBC.

For the rest of Oppo, we in BC have to purchase our basic insurance ($200,000 min.) from a Crown Corporation. That means it is a company who’s only shareholder is our government. They’ve managed to lose $1.3 Billion in the last year and so we’re currently experiencing what can only be described as a massive overhaul to every aspect of vehicular life in this province.

Tack on the possiblity of distance tolling (charging $ per km) and $1.50L gas, we are totally fucked.

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DISCUSSION (41)

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 12:49

What the hell is this, the UK?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 12:49

I’m sorry. The lower mainland has been a crappy place to be for a while now (sooo expensive), and now they’ll ticket you automatically for speeding... Ugly.

CB > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 12:49

Well thank goodness I live in Saskatchewan. That’s an absurd amount of cameras.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
03/08/2018 at 12:52

Sadly not. It’s 2 hours/150 miles from Seattle.

someassemblyrequired > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 12:53

The easy solution would be to kill off ICBC. But noooooo, can’t do that.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > CB
03/08/2018 at 12:54

yeah and look how they’re clustered. Not exactly spread out over the whole province. We have population centres on the island and in the interior too.

LOREM IPSUM > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 12:54

Time to add front and rear license plate frames with “parking assist cameras” and a ton of IR LED’s for improved night time parking safety.

I hate it here more and more everyday.

Also:

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-gas-prices-highest-in-north-america

Where are those masked up anarchists when you really need them?

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > someassemblyrequired
03/08/2018 at 12:55

I don’t think that’s a good idea.

ICBC, fundamentally, is a good idea. Look at Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Both have crown insurers, yet aren’t totally fucked.

I’ll do a write up about it one day.

404 - User No Longer Available > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 12:59

Or even worse look at Ontario... look at our rates.

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

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > 404 - User No Longer Available
03/08/2018 at 13:00

Yeah, ON is worse than BC. And ON is the case I point to every time some mouth breather says that everything would be fixed if we went private.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > LOREM IPSUM
03/08/2018 at 13:02

I feel like becoming a masked anarchist. I am thinking of removing the front plate from the ST.

I don’t drive it anywhere near population centres, its only a fun car for the country. Might save me one day.

404 - User No Longer Available > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:03

Think the only hope here is like they get hit with a class action for inaccuracies leading to frivolous tickets, then a court orders them to take everything down.

LOREM IPSUM > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:05

You were shopping for lights anyway, right?

https://www.rigidindustries.com/products/infrared-light-series

MarquetteLa > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:05

It’s a shame you don’t have god-given 2nd Amendment rights to fight against your tyrannical government.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > LOREM IPSUM
03/08/2018 at 13:06

Yeah, I thought about that. Luckily I don’t really drive the ST past any of these lights, but the CX-3 that I drive downtown every day? Maybe some sort of countermeasure is in order.

traitor joe > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:07

I used to loathe ICBC, thinking that their prices were too high and the driver licensing system was unnecessarily strict. Having moved to Chicago and dealing with the DMV and private insurance companies, I now pay nearly the same amount for less than a quarter of the liability coverage. I would gladly pay extra to have the convenience of multiple “Autoplan” locations where I can take care of everything at once (and without waiting in line for 2 hours).

I still spend a lot of time in BC, so regarding the red light cameras: [laughs in Victoria]

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > traitor joe
03/08/2018 at 13:10

Yeah, plus there are a lot of social goods that ICBC provides (no fault accident benefits, counselling, traffic safety funding) that for profit insurers wouldn’t want to support unless they were mandated to.

someassemblyrequired > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:12

But ICBC’s rates would actually be significantly higher if they had to break even - BC is paying higher rates, they’re just coming out of taxes. Ontario is not too bad outside of the GTA and if you don’t own a Honda.

I think the biggest reason ICBC doesn’t work is that it’s impossible to underwrite 7 gazillion Lambos being driven by 21 year olds and break even. Manitoba and Saskatchewan don’t have that problem.

LOREM IPSUM > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:14

Once they get addicted to the incoming revenue I expect them to add more and more of them. Given half a chance, every intersection and highway will probably have them installed.

...Unless the people push back, hard... but we’re so used to being held upside-down by the ankles and shaken until every nickel falls out of our pockets I doubt we’ll collectively do much more than grumble.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > someassemblyrequired
03/08/2018 at 13:15

Exactly, but for profit companies would have that problem too. Those drivers with poor records would just end up in what we call “facility”

http://www.facilityassociation.com/

At the end of the day, they will get insurance still and we will pay for it still.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > LOREM IPSUM
03/08/2018 at 13:16

I totally agree. It makes me want to vandalize the cameras.

someassemblyrequired > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:22

Did not know about that - is that a federal requirement? I would have thought if you weren’t insurable through a traditional insurer, you would just be SOL and in the market for a bus pass.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > someassemblyrequired
03/08/2018 at 13:27

Unfortunately the bus pass scenario is not the case. It has been found that it is essentially a right to be able to drive as it affects employment and so on. The government wanted some sort of mechanism where those who couldn’t get private insurance would still be able to be insured.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > someassemblyrequired
03/08/2018 at 13:28

Here’s more info, in case you’re interest, which I would guess you are not lol.

http://www.ibc.ca/qc/auto/buying-auto-insurance/facility-association

someassemblyrequired > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:34

I can see the argument - that they would just drive uninsured, which means it’s still everyone’s problem.

Still sucks subsidizing those folks.

someassemblyrequired > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:34

LOL, I actually took a look.

LOREM IPSUM > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 13:46

That said, I wouldn’t mind more options. ICBC has been such a source of aggravation for so long I would gladly hand my money to a competitor. Shame they can’t operate in tandem, competing with private insurers. ICBC could then potentially refuse to insure the people bankrupting them, or offer them rates only a fool would agree to pay. Then again, I’m neither insurer nor policy maker, so perhaps I have no real idea what I’m talking about.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > LOREM IPSUM
03/08/2018 at 13:50

I still think that ICBC is fundamentally good. You can always buy your liab. above $200K and collision/comp from private.

I’ve actually never bought private, but that’s because I get the commission on my ICBC policy and I find the service/coverage not bad.

Mid Engine > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 14:07

Welp, we’ll be sure to drive the speed limit tomorrow. Bad enough I can’t drive the Porsche over the border because radar detector/jammer. Living in Washington state, I pay $200/month (full coverage) for three vehicles:

2018 Tacoma SR5

2016 Focus Titanium

2007 Cayman

When I lived in Montreal the insurance rates were much lower (because no fault), but the license plates were pretty expensive.

vicali > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 14:07

Hmm, I’m fine with that distribution.

Mobile photo-radar was kicked out based on politics, but if you’ve driven in the interior in the last 10 years you will notice that there are almost no RCMP running radar.. Maybe a few over the coq on long weekends, but nothing on Hwy 1 or the yellowhead.

I would rather have some officers patrolling throughout the province, rather than easy picking at traffic cameras in Vancouver.

victor > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 14:46

When does this take effect? Will it matter if I drive with WA state plates? Gonna be up in 3-4 weeks.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > vicali
03/08/2018 at 14:49

Yeah, I agree. Even highway 1 from downtown to Langley, there is rarely any enforcement of speed or especially HOV.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > victor
03/08/2018 at 14:52

I’m not 100% sure when this goes into effect. They need to upgrade the equipment and post signage

If you are coming up in 3 weeks we have the Vancouver Auto Show going on. https://oppositelock.kinja.com/vancouver-international-auto-show-1823254422

looks like Fintail and I are going on the morning of the 30th.

fintail > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 15:18

Instead of this they should just implement progressive penalties on the new money flitting around, or a 50% real estate tax on offshore buyers.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > fintail
03/08/2018 at 15:22

They did raise the tax on luxury cars. I think what we should do is not take foreign drivers licenses as equivilent.

I mean, you come here from another country and we don’t accredit your education due to differing standards, but we let you drive on our roads? That’s a big mistake.

fintail > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 15:25

The luxury tax is insignificant in the scheme of things, and in my opinion, meaningless. If the lower mainland is going to be destination one for money laundering embezzler types, make them really pay to play, and pay in many ways.

You have blanket approval for all foreign licenses? WA does not - generally only for more developed countries where there is a reciprocal agreement.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > fintail
03/08/2018 at 15:26

I think the reciprocal agreement agreement stands for us too. But China counts as one.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > fintail
03/08/2018 at 15:29

http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/moving-bc/Pages/Moving-from-another-country.aspx

Student exception. Fuck. All those houses in point grey are owned by “students” most supercars are owned by “students”

so there we go.

fintail > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/08/2018 at 16:05

I am shocked, it is easier here than there - Murka isn’t known for strict driving standards. Although maybe not much easier. In WA anyway, driver testing is now fully privatized - the state only issues licenses, you pass a test from a privately owned for-profit school. I have to believe money changes hands for passing grades, especially via some of the insanity I see on the road.

Always amusing that taking ESL etc classes makes one a “student”.

Another one for a tax. And a 100% property tax on vacant speculator houses. When the area is in one of the worst affordable housing crisis in the world, it is unethical to allow vacant dwellings to sit idle owned by people who’d be in jail had they obtained their gold the same way in the west. Tax the living daylights out of it, and use the money to fund social and transportation infrastructure.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > fintail
03/09/2018 at 10:05

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That’s fucked up. You guys need to stop privatizing everything

fintail > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
03/09/2018 at 10:40

Indeed. And this is one the progressive first world states.

It happened with motorcycle endorsements here some time ago - not as troublesome to me, as motorcycle instructors are die-hards and take it seriously, they don’t want to pass the inept. The normal license schools though, I have doubts, money talks. For normal car licenses, this happened just in the past few years.