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Manitoba's monopoly auto insurer wants more mandatory immobilizers |
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Written by Tamara King, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Monday, 12 May 2008 |
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WINNIPEG - More Manitoba drivers could soon be faced with a government-imposed decision - install an anti-theft immobilizer or lose their car insurance.
A chronic, sometimes deadly, auto theft problem prompted the province last year to approve the requirement, believed to be the only of its kind in Canada. Around 47,000 drivers have until the end of September to outfit their vehicles with the electronic devices before renewing their insurance.
But it might not stop there.
The NDP government confirmed Monday it has received a request from Manitoba Public Insurance to add to its list another batch of vehicles that would require immobilizers, this time affecting approximately 50,000 drivers.
The Crown corporation has a monopoly on auto insurance in Manitoba, meaning motorists must comply with the policy or park the car for good.
The measure is necessary because thieves are now targeting vehicles that don't have an after-market immobilizer, said Brian Smiley, a spokesman for the insurer.
"How it typically works is thieves will attack a particular model of vehicle. Once those vehicles are equipped with immobilizers, thieves move on to other targets," Smiley said.
Smiley would not provide specifics about which vehicles would be added to the list.
In the past, the Crown insurer has focused on older vehicles, since federal requirements introduced last year have targeted newer vehicles. All cars, vans and light trucks including sport utility vehicles built and for sale in Canada after September 1, 2007 have to be outfitted with anti-theft devices.
Dave Chomiak, the minister responsible for the public insurer, was not available for an interview Monday, although his spokeswoman said the government is considering the recommendation.
If approved, it would mean that one in seven vehicles registered in Manitoba would need to have an immobilizer.
Winnipeg has long been considered Canada's car theft capital, with nearly double the number of stolen vehicles in 2006 than second-place Edmonton.
But more troubling is the number of deaths and injuries caused by vehicles stolen in the Manitoba capital. In the last year, three people were killed in crashes with stolen vehicles.
In late March, a stolen sport utility vehicle T-boned a taxi at an intersection, killing Antonio Lanzellotti, a 55-year-old who had only been working as a cab driver for two months.
Rachelle Leost, a 39-year-old Winnipeg mother, was killed on her way to work May 12, 2007 when her van was struck in an intersection by a speeding, stolen car.
James Duane, 58, died of massive head injuries last July after being hit by a stolen pickup truck. Police say the vehicle only had a manufacturer-installed ignition disabler, which the thief was able to bypass.
At least five people have been injured by stolen vehicles, including three police officers who were trying to arrest a suspected car thief, in the same time period.
In March 2007, a group of youths in a stolen car were accused of deliberately hitting a jogger, sending him to hospital. Charges against the 16-year-old driver were later stayed.
Just shy of a week after that incident, a group of youths in a stolen SUV opened a door as they passed a 15-year-old girl who was walking with friends.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 12 May 2008 )
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