Quebec RHD ban.

[!Zar!]

Do I live in Canada, no. But I found this interesting.

Quebec has become the first Canadian province to temporarily ban imports of right-hand-drive vehicles.

For the next six months, no one in the province will be able to import a personal vehicle designed to drive on the left side of the road.

The province's automobile insurance board says it wants time to evaluate the safety of the vehicles, but owners of right-hand-drive vehicles say there is no cause for concern.

Montrealer Paul Nunes said Wednesday his wife's 19-year-old Nissan 300ZX is one of the many cars his company has imported to Quebec from Japan.

"It's a normal car," he said. "There's no modifications. It's in excellent condition. It sailed through its inspection."

Nunes can't understand why Quebec would impose a six-month moratorium on right-hand-drive vehicles, and he worries other provinces might follow suit.

"This may domino. Other transport ministries may use this as leverage to get similar legislation passed," he said.

Nunes said more than 2,000 owners have signed an online petition against the moratorium.

Quebec's automobile insurance board, the Société de l'Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ), says there are about 3,000 right-hand-drive vehicles on the province's roads. It says the trend is growing because there are plenty of good second-hand cars available in Japan, where people drive on the left side of the road.

A board spokesman, Gaëtan Bergeron, said right-hand-drive cars aren't designed for Quebec roads, and they don't always meet Transport Canada safety standards.

Bergeron acknowledged there have been no fatalities as a result of the right-hand-drive aspect of a vehicle, but, he said, the board wants to analyze accident reports and consult other cities before the government considers lifting the ban.



Read more: CBC News - Montreal - Quebec temporarily bans import of right-hand-drive vehicles (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/05/06/righthand-drive.html#ixzz0jb1aIASq)

[ronmcdon]

Yeah, I don't see what the big deal is against RHD.
the worst I can think of is that it's a minor inconvenience w/ toll booths.
gov'ts could just RHD cars a bit more & profit off of it.

be thankful you don't have CARB-like laws out there.

[BustedS13]

i've always kind of wanted to have a rhd car, just so people at drive thrus and parking attendants and valets would be like "LOL WUT". other than that i see no appeal, and it's a minor handicap being on the wrong side of the car.

[slider2828]

^^ Or being on the correct side of the car! hahahaha!!! depends on POV...

[HyperLeafBlower]

oy vey, I live one province over from Quebec. Thats a stupid law.

[alpha180sx]

any politicians will always have something new? why not focus on drug smuggling and criminals


geeez

[stinky_180]

theres a carls jr near my work with the drive thru pick up window is on the passenger side....

[TeamFRAT]

Way to fail again, canada......








...stupids.

[IIIXziuR]

There is no point to RHD

...unless the car only comes in RHD

...and it is a cool car.

[TeamFRAT]

There is no point to RHD

...unless the car only comes in RHD

...and it is a cool car.


Ya....like mail trucks!

[FaLKoN240]

This is important...






















Not.

Sounds like the board of transport is just bored.

[ronmcdon]

There is no point to RHD

...unless the car only comes in RHD

...and it is a cool car.

there is no point in getting a car on the sole basis of it being RHD.
those who brag about it, is completely meaningless imo.

that being said, I also don't see why there should be anything against it either.
It's not like like it would be more of a pollutant and/or more unsafe.
It's not like it would give the said politician more or less votes to ban RHD.

If anything, govt's are just cutting off another source of revenue they could otherwise tax.
(yeah it's not a lot of $$$, but it's revenue nonetheless).

I really fail to comprehend the rationale behind such meaningless laws.
It's almost like the governments are banning shit for the sake of it.

[BustedS13]

^^ Or being on the correct side of the car! hahahaha!!! depends on POV...

if you drive on the right, you should be on the left. that's how the roads are set up. unless you're delivering mail, you should probably have lhd.

[ZilviaKid]

its great on the track if your right handed.

but in reality, they suck dick. left hand turns are brutal, no drive thrus.. bleh

[BustedS13]

its great on the track if your right handed.

but in reality, they suck dick. left hand turns are brutal, no drive thrus.. bleh

i feel like shifting is probably pretty ambidextrous. of course, i'm left handed, so maybe i don't get the same feel you guys do in a left hand drive manual.

[S-Nation S13]

damn.. i cant stand all these governmental regulations, to me its all bullshit!! whats next they gonna impose a law on motor vehicles even those that are found in their own country, its not the car that dangerous, its the stupid drivers that the DMV passes that makes a car dangerous shit even i can make a geo metro dangerous !!! i dont see this law being justified, to me its just another way of making the government control the masses!!

[BustedS13]

damn.. i cant stand all these governmental regulations, to me its all bullshit!! whats next they gonna impose a law on motor vehicles even those that are found in their own country, its not the car that dangerous, its the stupid drivers that the DMV passes that makes a car dangerous shit even i can make a geo metro dangerous !!! i dont see this law being justified, to me its just another way of making the government control the masses!!

you're blowing this waaaaay out of proportion.
also, this is Canada we're talking about. not southern California.

[S-Nation S13]

you're blowing this waaaaay out of proportion.
also, this is Canada we're talking about. not southern California.

that is why im blowing it out of proportion, cause its what i have to live by all the time, CARB sucks, cops out here pull you over just for having RHD. if canada can do it, what makes the states any different.

[BustedS13]

i think they should. you're just creating a handicap by driving on the wrong side on public roads. you are creating a safety hazard.
and to this community, not being able to convert to rhd would be like not being able to bedazzle your favorite capri pants.

[!Zar!]

that is why im blowing it out of proportion, cause its what i have to live by all the time, CARB sucks, cops out here pull you over just for having RHD. if canada can do it, what makes the states any different.

Your argument lacks any valid points.

[Slammed180]

RHD is boring. Nissans are boring.
I'm getting rid of my RHD Nissan for a Lotus.
This thread is boring.
Fap

[ronmcdon]

i feel like shifting is probably pretty ambidextrous. of course, i'm left handed, so maybe i don't get the same feel you guys do in a left hand drive manual.

I'm left-handed as well,
and I prefer shifting with a lhd.

Having driven in some miscellaneous parts of europe, japan, & hong kong (learned to drive there),
I can say it just doesn't feel right driving in a rhd car,
and shifting with my right hand.

maybe it's just a matter of practice, idk.
I'm sure ppl just get used to it either way.

[drift freaq]

that is why im blowing it out of proportion, cause its what i have to live by all the time, CARB sucks, cops out here pull you over just for having RHD. if canada can do it, what makes the states any different.

Oh come on you exaggerate as bad as the stupid out of state people. Give it a fucking rest. LOL

[theicecreamdan]

This is what socialized healthcare will lead to.

[ZilviaKid]

i feel like shifting is probably pretty ambidextrous. of course, i'm left handed, so maybe i don't get the same feel you guys do in a left hand drive manual.
its just nice because if your right handed, you take your dominant hand off the wheel to shift. to be able to keep your stronger dominant hand on the wheel while shifting is amazing.

[Chrischeezer]

rhd is ghay anyway

[sephiroth99]

OK I'll try to explain some points.

First, you must know that in Québec, we have the SAAQ (as mentionned in the article). They provide standard DMV services, like plates and driving license, but they also provide an universal "personal damage" coverage for all Québec residents for every accident related to cars. We all pay $60+ (I don't know exactly) each year on our license for that coverage (which we don't have to pay through a private insurance compagny, obviously) and we get coverage for physical damage in a car accident, or even physical damage if we are hit by a car as a pedestrian for example.

You must also know that the funds of the SAAQ were "wrongly" taken to finance other spheres of the governement. So right now, the SAAQ is in the red.

So, when the SAAQ sees those new kind of cars, and they see those awful "statistics", they sure don't want to pay, so they ban them. Problem is that the statistics they base their judgment on are either wrong or biaised. The only real study was done in British Columbia by the association of insurers or something...

So they decided to ban for 6 months. But you see, the 6 months expired in November 09... They could not prove that RHD caused more accidents, so they decided to continue the "temporary" ban for another 6 months....

And there is another reason why they would want to ban them... Pure politics... the current Québec governement is pursuing all the car and bike enthusiasts for the sake of "safety". And it works, with all the baby boomers agreeing blindly!! They introduced speed cameras and red light cameras. They introduced bigger fines for excessive speeding (remember they are broke). They doubled, tripled and even quadrupled the cost of a motorcycle driving license (they say its because they are dangerous on the road... but it's because they are broke). They ban RHD cars for.. who knows how much time now... all for safety. But we all know it's because it's a joke to get your driving license here. Make driving school harder and more useful, with winter driving, night driving courses. That will reduce accidents.

Anyway sorry for the rant.:hs:

[SlideWell]

yes, lets ban anything we can on this continent before we can actually certify that it is not safe for the roads after intensive crash testing and driving as auto manufactures do. Importation of jspec cars is good business in Vancouver, B.C. if it gets banned there, ill know then that this big chunk of land called North America has gone down the shitter. and since when is liability such a concern in a socialist country, and is this just a french thing? hmm.

[sephiroth99]

and is this just a french thing? hmm.
you know, there are english people living in Québec too :)

[BustedS13]

yes, lets ban anything we can on this continent before we can actually certify that it is not safe for the roads after intensive crash testing and driving as auto manufactures do. Importation of jspec cars is good business in Vancouver, B.C. if it gets banned there, ill know then that this big chunk of land called North America has gone down the shitter. and since when is liability such a concern in a socialist country, and is this just a french thing? hmm.

what the fuck are you talking about? you're acting like cars are criminal suspects, innocent until proven guilty.
guess what, Vancouver will be fine without importing a handful of 15 year old shitboxes yearly.

[tricky_ab]

From what I understand the Quebec government had a improper and incomplete report that made it sound like everyone would die driving one. So they had a 180 day ban. I don't see this continuing throughout Canada as the rest of Canada does not care about the French (sorry).

It's funny that my buddy in BC was telling me that at the DMV now, they ask if your car is LHD or RHD...

[army240]

For those who would like to see this report :

English : PDF Documents | Documents and Publications | SAAQ (http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/documents/pdf/research_report/analysis_righthand_drive.php)

French : Documents PDF | Documents et publications | SAAQ (http://www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/documents/documents_pdf/dossiers_etudes/analyse_volant_droite.php)

Frank

[SimpleS14]

theres a carls jr near my work with the drive thru pick up window is on the passenger side....

Do you get the option of both?

Take for example Checkers....

http://www.checkers.com/images/company_overview1.jpg

[SlideWell]

^^^ Checkers = RHD car friendly :)
however, you still have to talk across your car since the order screen is on the left side.

[Matej]

Imported cars are bad.

Did you guys know that imported Skylines were the number one cause of vehicular terrorism in the US?