According to RCMP statistics, there will be three deaths, 489 injuries, and 1700 crashes this long weekend. Police say they will have a full complement of officers. I'm not sure how many that is, but clearly it isn't enough with these numbers.
The problem we have is all money comes from one pocket, taxpayers, and that includes corporations. We pay the taxes, the insurance premiums. But then, that money comes back to us out of many self-interested pockets, who don't worry about the greater good, but themselves.
Because with these numbers, ICBC will pay out my best guess 3 X $500,000 for the deaths, 489 x $25,000 for the injuries, and 1700 x $10,000 for the wrecked vehicles. Round it up to an even 14 million dollars.
Assume it costs say $1,000 each 24-hour period for one police car, or $3,000 a weekend. ICBC could put 4500 officers on the streets this weekend with heavy traffic enforcement, saving lives and injuries (and making ticket revenue) but, ICBC doesn't pay policing costs, the government does, and it isn't going to come out of their budget, because we don't want to pay taxes.
So, instead, we pay higher insurance premiums and tolerate loss of life and limb.
Which brings me to this provocative question: if a terrorist organization threatened to kill at random three people, and injure 489 people on the highway, would we find the money for adequate law enforcement then? We invaded a country that didn't attack us, spending billions in the process. Why is it we pay so little to protect us from domestic terrorists - the ones who drive on our highways and make us just as dead, just as maimed.
Andrew Snaden
Prince George
