A few days ago I found myself thinking something I never thought I’d consider.
An Ernst and Young report commissioned by the former Liberal government painted a pretty bleak picture of ICBC.
It indicated that if there wasn’t fundamental change in the insurance company our premiums would need to increase by as much as 30 per cent over the next two or three years.
Why? Too many accidents and too many millions paid out in legal settlements.
So, I thought, bring back photo radar. I never thought I’d say that, but I think it’s time to consider it.
The more I drive the more I see flagrant abuses of speed.
The new minister responsible for ICBC, David Eby, was quick to reject the idea but I think he needs to give it a second thought.
When the NDP first brought in photo radar it was badly used. It required well-paid and highly trained police officers to operate it.
It was also deployed in “fishing spots” — at the bottom of long hills or in high traffic zones where virtually everyone was driving above the posted speed and wouldn’t know for days they’d been hit with a ticket and may have gotten two or three others by the time the last one arrived in the mail.
Province columnist Mike Smyth revealed that the red light cameras that are installed in many intersections are only operational six hours a day because when they were first put in place they had film that had to be taken out and processed every day.
When they were replaced with digital cameras the insurance company didn’t choose to use them 24/7 because it didn’t want to anger too many drivers.
Well, in my opinion, what angers drivers is seeing other drivers abuse speed limits and running red lights.
The other thing that angers drivers is outrageous increases in insurance rates, especially for those with clean driving records and no speeding tickets or tickets for running red lights.
When the NDP government brought in ICBC in the 1970s, it did so because people felt ripped off by private insurance companies. Looking back at the NDP government of the ’70s, ICBC would seem one of its best achievements.
ICBC has remained as a Crown corporation for more than 40 years because it’s been a good system. Social Credit toyed with replacing it but didn’t because the public had grown to trust the company. Not everybody loves it, but in 16 years of Liberal rule there was no serious move made to replace it.
Photo radar and more efficient red light cameras would achieve two things: Fewer accidents and increased revenue for a cash starved insurance company.
I don’t think too many people would complain about that. The NDP invented ICBC and now they have a chance to bring it up to date.