“Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable”, the famous author Mark Twain once said, and one group is arguing that ICBC is taking advantage of that in manipulative ways.
The group goes by Sense BC, which advocates on behalf of motorists. “End policing for profit”, their site says. “Smart laws, better drivers, safe roads.”
Their latest target is ICBC. (When you have the monopoly that ICBC has in BC, you’re always the target.)
ICBC Statistics
In a 24-minute YouTube video, the group lays out how ICBC and the provincial government have used statistics to justify things like enforcement campaigns and heavier fines.
They’re not accusing ICBC and the BC government of fabricating statistics, but rather that they’re presenting them without proper, and full, context.
“When the government comes out and says distracted driving is now the number two cause of fatalities on B.C. roads, that’s true. But that’s just because the number of fatalities due to impaired driving has dropped much faster than the number of fatalities due to distracted driving”, Thompson said.
In other words, distracted driving isn’t moving up the list of causes for fatalities so much as the causes above it are moving down the list.
ICBC and the provincial government then uses that statistic to justify higher fines for distracted drivers. Thus, “distracted driving fines are skyrocketing because fewer people are getting killed by drunk drivers”, he explains. “This makes no sense.”
Thompson also points out that 42% of accidents each year take place in parking lots. Yet, enforcement is focusing more on things like speeding.
ICBC is often the target of criticism in British Columbia. Earlier this month, a 21-year-old student led a protest outside ICBC headquarters. In addition the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, also an advocacy group, posted a video of their own, featuring a dumpster, labeled “ICBC”, on fire.
For more local news, stay tuned to 604 Now News.
[sjnow-ad-large-leaderboard]
