Dump the Junk – Clean Up the Dirty Driving

A while ago ICBC launched their “Dirty Driving” campaign. Not only was it clever, the confessions were quite humorous. They even created a website where you can learn how to be a better green driver. So is any driving really green?

The concept is not only to save money but to reduce the driving emissions carbon footprint. I recently used the Drive Smart Calculator. You put in the data – gas price, kms driven, and type of car. The calculator calculates I can save $385 a year or 710 kgs of CO2 emissions. Tell me more!

Here ‘s the problem. The nifty little calculator makes a few assumptions: I jackrabbit drive; I don’t inflate my tires properly; I don’ t maintain my vehicle and, oh my gosh, I carry 100kg of junk in my trunk.

Well, if I have to confess to anything – I do jackrabbit drive on occasion, okay almost weekly. But that’s because Vancouver traffic is a nightmare – no left-hand turn lanes, no advance green lights for turns, ped lights that go at the same time as traffic. But read more on that in upcoming blogs.

My challenge with ICBC’s good intentions is I can’t do a thing about the price of gas, I keep my tires inflated to the proper psi and I maintain my vehicle on a regular basis. The only 100 kilos of junk in my trunk – okay car seats – are my two lovely daughters whose combined weight is barely100 kg. If I dumped them I wouldn’t have any reason to drive at all!

An informal study by students at Mellon University concluded that 80% of all cars on US roads drive on tires inflated to only 80% of capacity. Properly inflated tires can improve gas mileage by 3.3%. So if we take the ICBC dirty driving test with a small car, the annual savings per year is $15 and 28kgs less of CO2 emissions. This doesn’t sound like much, but here are a few facts that add up to a lot. AirCare (in BC) inspected 479,604 vehicles in 2007. Of that number, 74,435 vehicles failed inspection. Let’s make an assumption that 80% of the failed vehicles don’t have properly inflated tires. If AirCare implemented a quick tire pressure test, over $890,000 and 1.6 million kgs of emmisions could be eliminated each year!

Little things add up and we all can do our part. However, I am still skeptical. Is any driving really green?

What do you think? Leave a reply.

What’s Up With the Right-Hand-Drive?

Until recently, the only right-hand-drive (RHD) cars seen in Canada were vintage versions of British imports like MGs, Morrises, Austins and Hillmans. But RHD cars are growing in popularity here, with ICBC reporting that some 200 of these vehicles are imported into British Columbia every month, mostly from Japan.

So, why the popularity and why Japan? The primary driver for their popularity is price; with vehicles often costing thousands of dollars less than a comparable local car. But there are other reasons, including the uniqueness or cool factor as they garner high looky-loo appeal. As for importing RHDs from Japan, it’s all about safety. In Japan, all cars must undergo an expensive and extensive inspection every two years and while most of the RHD imports are 15 years and older — that’s because Canadian laws place restrictions on newer imported cars — the average odometer reading is very low at between 75,000 and 125,000 kilometres.

As long as the vehicles meet provincial standards and pass a BC safety inspection, RHD cars can be licensed and insured. But a recent study by ICBC casts some doubt on the safety of operating a right-hand-drive vehicle on right-hand-traffic roads. According to the study, RHD vehicles are 40 per cent more likely to get into a crash than a similar left-hand-drive vehicle. Furthermore, researchers found that the average time for a crash to occur after an owner first purchased an RHD vehicle was 223 days, 68 per cent sooner than the 705 days for a LHD vehicle.

Although there was no evidence in the study that suggested RHD vehicles offer less protection in a crash than built-for-Canada vehicles of similar age, BC officials have asked Transport Canada to increase the restriction period on import vehicles from 15 to 25 years, in an attempt to reduce the number of RHD vehicles entering the province.

There is no extra insurance premium for driving an RHD vehicle. However, ICBC is warning potential purchasers that they present greater risk, citing increased difficulty in seeing oncoming traffic when making a left turn and similar challenges when pulling away from the curb.

Are you Ready to put Down the Phone? BC Legislates a Cell Phone Ban

“Hey, what are you doing? Do you want me to call you back?” “No, its no big deal, I am just driving.”

This describes the busy lives of so many of us. What makes us think we will not be one of the careless drivers? Is it human nature to take risks? How about the lives of families who have changed in that one moment when a serious car crash has injured or killed a loved one? Was it really important to make dinner reservations while driving? It should be common sense not to take these kind of risks.

These actions are conducted everyday, by thousands of drivers. Reflect on the research:

• On average, about 117 people die each year in British Columbia and approximately 1400 are sent to the hospital because of driver distraction.
• Drivers who text spend 400 per cent more time with their eyes off the road than a normal motorist.
• People who talk on a phone while driving are four times more likely to crash.

But in our society it takes legislation to make people personally responsible for their actions and the safety of others.

On January 1, 2010 BC motorists will be legislated to put down the phone, the blackberry, portable games and MP3 players. Adult drivers will still have the privilege of using “hands-free” devices, such as earpieces and speakerphones. To dial a number you must use verbal or one-touch dialing. New drivers, however, will be banned from using phones or sending messages, even with a hands-free device.

Drivers caught texting or e-mailing will be fined $167.00 after February 1, 2010 and have three penalty points added to their licences. New drivers who violate any part of the rules will receive three points. To continue driving, people who accumulate more than three points must pay a penalty points premium to ICBC.

This is a good time to take a stock of your driving habits. What else do you do that is distracting? It can be the simple things like referring your kids argument, eating a sandwich, spilling your hot coffee, applying lipstick, or worse reading or checking your computer. Take on your own responsibility for your actions. Become an engaged defensive driver. Be safe, arrive alive.

If you or someone you know has been injured due to the carelessness of others while operating a motor vehicle, call Klein Lyons for a free consultation on your rights to compensation.