Would you kindly comment on the spate of right-hand-drive (RHD) vehicles that have appeared in B.C. recently? I have always been under the impression that imported vehicles had either to meet, or be modified to meet, Canadian standards before being licensed in Canada. As far as I know this requirement applies to such relatively inconsequential matters as metric instrumentation, running lights and high central rear brake light. Surely the fact that a vehicle has its controls on the side opposite what is standard in Canada cannot be considered less consequential than these other matters.
This reader is correct. A 2007 study by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia found that drivers of RHD vehicles used here in B.C. are more than 40% more likely to be involved in a crash than those using "normal" left hand drive (LHD) vehicles. The risk appears to extend for the long term rather than being reduced by the driver becoming more familiar with using a right hand drive vehicle in a left hand drive environment.
