RightHandDrive.ca/blog Canadian Right Hand Drive News and Thoughts

Shamed!

I host my own website in 'the cloud'. I was using a service I wasn't paying enough for... and paid for it. I thought my automated backups were working... and they were not. Shame on me.

So. I've lost the last few months of posts. If anyone has the full text cached somewhere, shoot me a line.

I'll recreate the last few about my latest import.

Got something to say?

Say it here!

I've become super busy, and don't have time to entertain everyone on my own any more. I'll hopefully be getting a gloriously quirky car soon, and hopefully that will be a source of talk. But for now, I'll do my best effort here, as always... but would love to post your stories too.

Things you can (should!) submit:

1. I'd love to start a 'my import story' category. Tell us your story! Why that make? Why now? Did it go smoothly? Who did you use? Any surprises?
2. My troubles with the law. We're on the ragged edge of the law in some regards. Any problems? I'll probably have to strongly edit these.
3. Your import dreams. What do you want? Is there something uncommon that you want that no one else has heard of before?

I'm ok with re-posting your forum posts (provided they are, indeed, yours), as some people have already documented their story in some places.

To submit: email robg@righthanddrive.ca - I'm listening!

VIN-Swapped RHD Land Rover Defender Smashed

So, the laws in the US are pretty clear that you can't bring in a RHD (easily), and that VIN-swapping is illegal.

This is what happens if they catch you.

http://jalopnik.com/watch-the-feds-brutally-execute-an-illegally-imported-l-1153942812

It makes me sad, because I want a Defender pretty badly.

New truck!

Went out to pick up the truck from Vancouver. Ben (from Fraser Valley Imports) had to pick up my truck for me, so he did a 'Drive Home'!

Note that he mentions that it's slow. It's hard to miss... he said it a few times.

Because of that, this is what my trip partially looked like:

Yep. That happened.

So, we needed to replace a part. Specifically, the fuel filter. I was pretty stoked that we even managed to FIND the part in Calgary at short notice. Thanks to my buddy who let us use the underground parking at his condo. Man, that was a saving grace of the trip.

You can see we had to move the intercooler to do it. The job was quick, but I would have been happier to not actually do it.

Manitoba update!

MPI is accepting JIS non-headlight lighting! This is a big step forward to us.

E-code lighting is partially accepted now, too. They're being picky about a point I'm not totally clear on... I'm still trying to work that out.

This has been a long time coming, and is still unofficial. By the sounds of it, JIS non-headlight lighting will be accepted in the next edition of their safety standards... so they're allowing the lights on the road with that in mind.

This is not a win of the war, but definitely a win of the battle.

And, why have I been so quiet lately? Well, I just added 3 more letters behind my name this month... so I've been busy doing bureaucratic nonsense.

I'll try to kick it up a notch now that I'm done that....

Cheers,
Rob Guderian, M.Sc.

Conversation with the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation

Here's an update on the world's slowest conversation.

This was my letter to the minister:

Mr McNeil,

First of all, thank you for your thoughtful reply. I appreciate the time you took to respond to my mail. I apologize for the time it has taken me to get back to you.

Though MPI administers the law, the legislature makes the laws. I agree that MPI is a stakeholder and should be an active member in the conversation about changes to any vehicle safety standards, but the changes must take place at a higher level. I have had a meeting with some MPI staff, and they have been very helpful answering my questions and meeting with me, but I feel that these changes are beyond their jurisdiction.

But, the problem as I see it is that Manitoba is falling behind the times in terms of vehicle safety. The world is getting smaller, and it is becoming easier for regular folk to import the cars of their dreams from other countries. I don't see this as a passing fad, and I believe that it should be looked at and handled sooner rather than later.

The most important part of the argument is that it is absurd and archaic that ECE coded (e-coded) lighting is not accepted in Manitoba. This is a world standard that has been accepted in the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/acts-regulations/regulations-crc-c1038-sch-iv-108.1.htm), and a precedent has been set by allowing vehicles such as Mercedes Benz into the country, as they have no DOT markings, but only ECE markings.  Clearly proper e-codes for left-hand drive countries must be marked on the headlights, but all ECE markings should be accepted for non-headlight lighting.

Accepting ECE markings will not make the vehicles less safe, and bring Manitoba up to the world standard for safety.

ICBC, the public insurer for British Columbia has already implemented some of these changes, including accepting JIS (Japanese standards) to the fold. Accepting national standards from other 1st world countries makes sense in this which is getting smaller. I understand that not every vehicle should be permitted on Manitoban roads (the autorickshaw from India comes to mind), but accepting other-national standards for imported cars (15 years or older) makes sense for this ever-shrinking world.

I've attached my full technical document again for your perusal, as I believe it outlines my argument well.

Thank you again for your time.

Robert Guderian

Concise and polite, I'd say.

This is the minister's response:

Dear Mr. Guderian:

I am responding to your January 6, 2012 e-mail regarding your interest in Manitoba's vehicle equipment laws in relation to grey imports. I am pleased that you have found Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) to be helpful in addressing some of your concerns regarding this matter.

I appreciate your comments affirming that the Manitoba Legislature has jurisdiction over the creation and amendment of provincial statutes. In doing so, guidance and advice is sought from various stakeholders. Stakeholder recommendations are taken into consideration; however, as you rightly stated in your correspondence, the decision for legislative or regulatory changes ultimately lies with Government.

Manitoba Public Insurance has been requested by the Government of Manitoba to review Manitoba's equipment standards in relation to grey imports. Manitoba Public Insurance is in the process of reviewing the European and Japanese vehicle lighting standards and will inform Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation of their findings and recommendations regarding this matter. Please be assured that MPI's assistance with this does not preclude consideration being given to information provided by other equally valuable sources. Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation is currently examining all of Manitoba's vehicle equipment requirements with a view to ensuring that they are current. The information you provided will be given full consideration in the overall review of these standards. Your patience while the review is being conducted is greatly appreciated.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Sincerely,

Doug McNeil, M. Eng., P. Eng.
Deputy Minister of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation

c.      Honourable Steve Ashton
Honourable Andrew Swan
Mr. Ward Keith

It's a nice way of saying, "Yes, you're right, now bugger off". At first they say "Go talk to MPI, they'll help you". So, I point out that MPI is no the person I want to talk to, I want to talk to the people making the changes... to which they say, "Yeah, you're right, that's us!".

I'm not sure how to approach this now. My plan is to point out that JIS parts are better than DOT, and Australia has already done this work for us. And, want to raise the issue of seatbelts too, but I also want to stay focused on one topic. Really, too much to do and too little time.

Thoughts, anyone?

Rob

JIS Seatbelts, provably better than DOT

Actually, Australia (an importer of JDM cars for obvious reasons) will happily accept JIS marked seatbelts... but not DOT. Check it out. This is the import form filled out by the mechanics doing a 'rego' (registration, OOP, safety... whatever you want to call it), and Australia is very strict about their compliance.

Here's a fun image from the sheet they fill out.

DOT need not apply.

Check that out... DOT is, quote, "Generally not accepted". That's awesome. Clearly someone in Australia did the work to prove that DOT seatbelts are not as good as JIS seatbelts.

The reason this came up, is Rob Reimer (hereby known as 'Mr. Awesome') was clever enough to look at Australia's import standards... they have comparable standards to Canada in many respects, so what about this one. Brilliant.

Mr. Awesome posted as a comment on 'Meeting with MPI - the details':

According to FMVSS 209, a seat belt must withstand no less than 22689 N of force on the overall assembly, where the JIS standard insists on no less than 22700 N. A somewhat minor difference, I concede, but the fact remains that the standard is at the very least comparable.

And, the translated JIS document: is here. (Though, I could use a better copy). And here's the Japanese original.

So, now I have more ammunition to use against MPI. Amazing. I'm still deciding how to use this new knowledge. If I should bring it up with MPI, or take it to the MLAs. I think MPI is where I'll start, as I have a contact there. Any suggestions?

Meeting with MPI: the details

Well, the meeting with a fellow at MPI went reasonably well. I was worried that they'd have me talking to some know-nothing, powerless, overall not useful person, so I was delighted to find that that was not the case. The man I was talking to (who shall remain nameless) was no VP, but is a Manager in Vehicle Standards and Technologies. Great!

I honestly didn't know what to expect from the meeting, but the fellow had read my letter to MPI, and had even marked it up for things to discuss. Awesome.

At first the fellow was somewhat defensive, expecting me to attack full-on. Honestly, I don't blame him. I'll bet he has more than a few angry people go through his office. Once he realized that I was not angry, but actually bringing up valid points and willing to discuss them, the whole tone of the meeting changed. It was really good.

The main issue that the fellow had with the letter was that 'grey imports' was too vague. Any rules from that would also apply to Tata Motors from India, and everything. I was thinking about Eurocars (BMWs, Alpinas, Mercedes, AMGs...) and not 3rd world cars. The reason I had originally done that was to avoid saying 'right hand drive', since there is a certain negative stigma attached to that term. He agreed with many of the points, but didn't want to stretch it out to all grey imports, but Japanese RHDs might be possible.

So:
JIS non-headlight lighting in Manitoba. He made it clear that they are looking into this, and they will probably be accepted in the next vehicle inspections handbook. When that comes out? I don't know.

General confusion about RHDs. Manitobans frequently get turned away from safety inspection stations. The fellow was genuinely confused about this. I mentioned that ICBC has a right hand drive page on their site... which is largely useless, but has some FAQs that can be helpful. I said that a page might clear the air about RHDs, since there is so much misinformation about them. The fellow was still surprised about the confusion, and agreed that it would help.

JIS seat belts. This is a sore point for all Manitoban right hand drive drivers. Seat belts must be marked DOT, SAE, or MVSS (read: North American standards), and most are not. Even the Fairlady (the JDM version of the 300ZX) doesn't have the right markings on the seat belts, despite the fact it's pretty much the same car! Will MPI ever accept them? Probably not. The only argument I had was 'well... BC does!', which is the equivalent of saying 'my friend's parents let them!'

If we can get together and make a strong argument that the seat belts are equally as safe, they would probably accept them... getting there would be very difficult though.

Overall... it was a good meeting. I think I won the guy over. It's a good first step in to making right hand drives more legitimate in Manitoba.

rob