Letters, Oct. 12, 2019: ICBC premium increases for young drivers are unacceptable
Credit to Author: Stephen Snelgrove| Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2019 01:00:06 +0000
We need to find other alternative to replace ICBC. The recent premium increase for young drivers is unacceptable.
My 18-year-old son, who has one and a half years of driving experience, recently renewed his car insurance. He owns a 2011 Volkswagen Golf and his car insurance has increased by over 30 per cent, from $3,945 to $5,235.
How ICBC could justify such an increase when my son has gained one year driving experience, doesn’t have a driving offence on his record, never made a claim and drives a four-cylinder car with approximately 150 horsepower?
I understand that young drivers are more of a risk for insurance companies. My son worked full time during the summer and works part time during the school year. He commutes from Langley to Abbotsford to attend the University of the Fraser Valley.
How can the B.C. government continue to make it more difficult for young people to achieve their primary goals of education, career/employment and being a contributor to our society?
I would like to bring to your attention that car insurance in Quebec is at least 60 per cent less expensive than B.C. for young drivers (18 to 25). We should be encouraging young people, not continuously putting financial burdens before them that make it more difficult for them to establish themselves.
Richard Couture, Langley
The surest way to solve the ICBC debacle is to get out of the insurance business or open it to full competition. Oh, the horror of that word!
I know this would be a tough pill to swallow for the government of the day, as the power hungry bureaucrats are loath to return any measure of freedom and free choice once they have wrested it from us serfs, but it would go a long way to make driving affordable for lots of people. I’m sure it would likely be a huge vote getter as well.
Andrew Davidson, Surrey
How are three lanes (each way) 10 years from now going to help? We already have three lanes during morning and evening rush hours with huge lineups.
Many more people are expected to move to Surrey during the next decade and whether they drive gas or electric cars, they still need to get past the river. The environmental issues of this tunnel will cause significant delays and we won’t even have a shovel in the ground by the time the previously approved bridge would have been operating.
Even four lanes each way will almost certainly mean we’ll continue to have delays.
Bob Garnett, Steveston
A question: As our present token efforts to fight climate change fail, the Fraser delta slowly settles and the sea level rises at an accelerating rate, should we be massively upgrading the Massey Tunnel and encouraging population growth in Delta?
Delta’s now only a few metres above sea level, and barring dramatic change, most of it will eventually be under water.
Considering that, perhaps our long-term regional planners should be channelling population growth toward higher ground.
Phil Chubb, North Vancouver
After this week’s leadership debate, it is becoming painfully obvious that we will be heading for a minority government.
For now, l will leave aside that minority governments typically don’t last long and elections are tiresome and expense.
I say painful because I don’t want a government like B.C. has where the tail wags the dog. Andrew Weaver and his three seats seem to be controlling much of the agenda. Worse yet, what if Canada should find itself in a position like Britain amid the Brexit fiasco?
The problem with minority governments, or proportional representation, is what if a difficult decision needs to be made and the majority can’t agree on a solution? Britain may be headed for economic catastrophe.
I have never voted Liberal, but I would rather see another majority than the political dysfunction that can be a minority government.
Dan Petryk, Calgary
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