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Letter: ICBC and winter road maintenance and safety

Let private insurance business take over and give road maintenance to Ministry of Transportation
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Editor,

This has been a challenging winter throughout all of British Columbia and has exposed two key weaknesses in our transportation management – ICBC and private highways maintenance.

Our current government claims $935 million in ICBC losses for the first nine months of the 2017-18 fiscal year.

My advice?

Get out of the insurance business. Now.

You‘re not good at it and there are many others that would be more than happy to enter this monopolized market.

Sell your assets and pay off any outstanding claims.

Let the private industry dictate who and how much they can sell insurance to and turn over the reins of the motor vehicles department back to the Ministry of Transportation.

As usual, there are an abundance of complaints to go around with regards to our highways and road maintenance, with the most common rationale that contractors are being prudent with their resources as they are a private, for-profit entity.

This makes perfect sense in the business world.

Whether there is truth to this or simply communal angst, it does pose a “bigger picture” question: Should highways and road maintenance be a for-profit industry?

Personally, I deem it an essential service and should be brought back to the public sector.

Yes, it may cost more money, but I also believe it will save lives and improve our roads, particularly in these harsh winter months.

I would be more than happy to entertain jokes once again about the “Department of Holidays” as that our highways are our lifeline throughout B.C.

In the end, better roads equals fewer accidents, fewer claims and, therefor, lower insurance rates.

Now that makes business sense.

Walter Bramsleven

100 Mile House