HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: lucy@beaufort.sfu.ca (Lucy Chan)
Subject: emission standards for California (was Re: Car inspections..)
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Distribution: na 
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 17:22:04 GMT

douglasc@fraser.sfu.ca (Douglas Ming Chong) writes:

>We don't have mandatory car inspections but we do have AirCare.
>AirCare is a new mandatory program that will start in the beginning or end
>of September.  All vehicles in the Vancouver area will be required to 
>go to an AirCare inspection facility.  The car must pass certain vehicle
>emission guidelines for the specific model and year of the car.

On a related note, does anyone know how the AirCare standards compare to
the emission standards in the state of California? I know that California
already has a similar inspection program in effect and was wondering if I
could get my car checked here in BC to see if it will pass California
standards. I'm moving there (California) in the near future and am trying
to figure out if it's worth it for me to bring my car (a 1990 Honda Civic
DX). A few years back, a friend of mine tried to bring a fairly new Toyota
Tercel (it was only a year old at the time) to California and have it
registered there; however, the inspection people said that he'd have to
have about $2000 worth of work on the car before it could pass emission
control standards. He ended up bringing the car back here and buying another
one in California.

Lucy_Chan@sfu.ca
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Originator: clewis@bwdlh118
Organization: eh?
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 16:37:46 GMT

In article <1992Aug20.022715.13209@r-node.gts.org> marc@r-node.gts.org (Marc Fournier - Sys Admin) writes:
>In article <1992Aug19.143428.7971@ee.ryerson.ca> cal@ee.ryerson.ca (Calvin Henry-Cotnam) writes:
>>In article <3153@isgtec.isgtec.com> robert@isgtec.com (Robert Osborne) writes:

>>>Here in Toronto they don't even trust people testing for their driver
>>>license on the street.   The have a little track with stop signs,
>>>cross walks and stop lights and no other traffic!  So they putter
>>>around this nice little perfectly paved track for a half-hour and,
>>>before you know it,  they get to drive down the 401 at 120kph!

>	Hey...I never took my test on a 'safe' little course...I took
>mine on the streets.  I don't know if these coures are new, but they
>didn't exist 7 years ago when I took my licence.

The Keele street and 401 MTO installation had one over 20 years ago when
I got my license.

>>1) Manditory retesting every N (5?) years.

>	How about up to and then after a certain age?  Like once at
>16, then at 18, then at 21, and then after a certain age?

We already have the latter.  I think it's at age 70 or perhaps 75 when they
start mandating yearly retesting.

>>2) Non-snow versus all-weather licencing.

>	Oh ya...how do you expect to get all-weather experience?

Well, at least we'd know that the driver can handle clear weather
driving before they're in bad-weather.

Graduated licensing *is* coming.  Some of it is already in place,
and many other parts are coming.
From: wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales)
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Re: emission standards for California (was Re: Car inspections..)
Date: 14 Aug 92 17:06:55 GMT
Reply-To: wales@CS.UCLA.EDU (Rich Wales)
Distribution: na
Organization: UCLA CS Department, Los Angeles

Lucy Chans asked how California emissions standards compare with those
of the new "AirCare" program in B.C.  She's going to be moving to Cali-
fornia and wants to know if she should bother to bring her car with her.

This may or may not be the right question to ask.

The way the California system currently works, if you bring a used car
into California from outside the state, you have to pay a one-time fee
of US$300 when it is first registered in California (they call it some-
thing like a "smog impact fee").  Thereafter, when you have the car's
emissions checked every other year (even or odd, depending on whether
the last digit of the VIN is even or odd), the car is only required to
meed the emissions requirements to which it was originally built.

Predictably, the $300 fee cannot be waived, even if an out-of-state car
is clean enough to pass the California smog limits without modification.

Now, that's how things work if a car is brought into California from
another US state.  I confess I really don't know anything about the
rules that apply when a car is imported from Canada.

The first set of people you need to talk to are US Customs and/or the US
Department of Transportation.  Make sure your car is eligible for impor-
tation at all -- and, if it is, what will have to be done to it to make
it comply with US requirements.  You may have to have the car modified
by a private garage (so-called "grey-market conversion"), though the
amount of stuff they'll have to do will presumably be much less than if
you were shipping in a car from Europe.  For all I know, you might get
away with just a few things, such as having the DRL system disconnected
("your lights are on!!!") and having the speedometer swapped out for a
unit reading in miles.  But please check =before= you show up at the
border.

This is all assuming you're talking about moving permanently.  If you're
just coming down for an indefinite period on a Free Trade (TC-1) visa,
chances are you won't need to worry about any of this, because you won't
be reregistering it in California anyway.

--
Rich Wales <wales@CS.UCLA.EDU> // UCLA Computer Science Department
3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (310) 825-5683
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: buckland@ucs.ubc.ca (Tony Buckland)
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Organization: University of B.C. Computing Services
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 18:05:13 GMT

In article <1992Aug20.163135.20393@bwdls61.bnr.ca> clewis@ferret.ocunix.on.ca (Chris Lewis) writes:
> ... Wales certainly isn't the right place for long-haul
>commutes.

 It isn't the right place for imprecision either.  I have never
 been so scared and alert as when driving, on the unfamiliar side
 of the road, at highway speeds down a road no wider than the
 street I live on (2 lanes), with no shoulders whatever, bounded
 on both sides by chest-high walls of slate with all the jagged
 edges sticking out horizontally, ready to rip the side off my
 rented car if I wavered.  It rained only some of the time.
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: dave@imax.imax.com (Dave Martindale)
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Organization: Imax Corporation, Mississauga Canada
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 01:06:51 GMT

mart@csri.toronto.edu (Mart Molle) writes:
>
>4. (my favourite longer term solution) install government-certified
>   fuel flow limiters in all cars, with higher annual fees for those
>   that permit higher maximum flow rates.  This would not only make
>   differences in fuel consumption more visible to the consumer, it
>   would also give people more of an incentive to keep their cars in
>   tune, not use the air conditioner so much, avoid heavy optional
>   equipment, etc.

Oh, I *like* that idea.  You'd need to allow momentary fuel flow over
the limit, to allow safe passing.  But that could be restricted to
one minute or less.

And if you made prices absolutely skyrocket beyond some particular
threshold value, you'd find that in a few years most cars on the road
would be below that fuel consumption at highway speeds.

	Dave (whose 1.6 l Honda Civic routinely gets better than 40 mpg)
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: grant@clarinet.com (Grant Robinson)
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Organization: ClariNet Communications Corp.
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 19:43:42 GMT

In article <3142@isgtec.isgtec.com> robert@isgtec.com (Robert Osborne) writes:
>mart@csri.toronto.edu (Mart Molle) writes:
>> Again, if you really want to save the environment by reducing fuel
>> consumption, then please advocate measures that directly affect fuel
>> consumption, like:
>> 
>> 1. higher gasoline prices

Well here in California (generally considered to be progressive in
environmental matters), the opposition to this measure consists largely of
arguments of the form:

	it's a regressive tax on the working poor.

Similarly, auto insurance is required by law, as in Ontario, but the law
is not enforced, with the result that 1 in 4 drivers on the road are
uninsured, requiring others to carry "uninsured motorists coverage" to the
tune of about $80 per 6 months.  The reasoning is the same: to enforce
coverage would be a regressive tax on those who can not afford it.

In Canada the solution would be "gasoline tax credits" and "insurance
credits." :)
-- 
Grant Robinson -- ClariNet Communications Corp, Sunnyvale, CA (408)-296-0366
From: Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: Electronic Matchmaker
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 01:40:59 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Distribution: world

Canadian women, having a problem finding a Canadian man?  I am about 
to launch a free electronic matching service on Usenet.  Thanks to 
the imbalance of men to women on Usenet, more guys than gals have 
expressed an interest so far.  If you would like to see the fifth 
draft of my questionnaire so we can alter it to also fit women's 
needs as well as men's, either send me mail or look at the copy I 
posted in alt.personals.  
 
This service is serious and I already have 310 men and 174 women 
signed up so far.  The site of the service has already been selected 
and programming is nearly completed.
 
                                                          Eric Klien
Newsgroups: can.general
From: klassen@sol.UVic.CA (Melvin Klassen)
Subject: high insurance costs in B.C. [NOT!!]   (was: Car inspections..
Organization: University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. CANADA
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 20:03:55 GMT

In article <*> douglasc@fraser.sfu.ca (Douglas Ming Chong) writes:
> Speaking of insurance, be prepared for high insurance costs in B.C.
>
I disagree!

My sister lives in the USA, and she pays over 4 times as much as I do, 
even though her car is older than mine.
(Both of us have clean driving-records, single, and are over 25 years old.)

B.C. auto-insurance rates are based strictly on the driving-habits
and claims-experience of B.C. drivers, e.g., up to 40% discounts
for 4+ years of claim-free driving.
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: woods@robohack.UUCP (Greg A. Woods)
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Organization: Elegant Communications Inc.
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 04:13:09 GMT

In article <1992Aug17.025817.25655@bmerh85.bnr.ca> myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui) writes:
> Presently we have an artificial situation, whereby drivers are told to
> suppress their own judgement and simply drive at or below the limit,
> and if that's done no one will get into an accident. We have too many
> drivers who do not evaluate the situation on the road and just blindly
> drive at the limit.

I won't argue with the last statement, except perhaps to suggest the
last sentence should end with "just drive blindly".

We (i.e. society) make insurance the law for drivers, because we don't
trust their judgment to choose appropriate insurance to cover their
habits.  Same for traffic laws.  They're (hopefully) primarily
designed to prevent fatalities, and keep the traffic moving.

I'm not going to trust Joe Blow to judge all the conditions that
govern what speed he should limit himself to, nor will I even trust
him to have maintained his vehicle to be safe at any given speed.

> My argument is to let this judgement be passed back as the
> responsibility of every driver. Police may, with their supposedly
> professional judgement, deem a maneuver or speed as unsafe for the
> given situation, and will have the power to cite an infraction,
> regardless of the speed of the accused in relation to the legal limit
> on that section of road.

Good luck!

Let me know in advance though, so I can start walking in safe places
before all the wild people go out to practice evolution in action!

While in an ideal world everyone would treat their rights with
responsibility, it doesn't seem to work in practice.

There's this little problem with funding for sufficient enforcement.

And the "threat" of creating a "police state".....
-- 
						Greg A. Woods

woods@robohack.UUCP woods@Elegant.COM  VE3TCP	UniForum Canada & ECI
+1 416 443-1734 [home] +1 416 595-5425 [work]	Toronto, Ontario; CANADA
Newsgroups: can.general
From: roihar@cc4.crl.aecl.ca
Subject: Canadian Flag in Postscript
Organization: AECL RESEARCH
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 15:46:50 GMT

You guessed it! I need one PDQ...
Please send file to roihar@crl.aecl.ca
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: buckland@ucs.ubc.ca (Tony Buckland)
Subject: Prescott
Organization: University of B.C. Computing Services
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 03:33:51 GMT

 The news item said that over 40 people in Prescott, Ontario,
 had been charged with sexual abuse, and that another 31 were
 still under investigation.  Well, despite having lived in
 the province for 14 years, I had no idea how big Prescott is.
 Maybe an industrial suburb of a hundred thousand or so?  Nope.
 The latest CAA book says 4700.  That means close to one per cent
 of the entire population, young, old, Baptist, Catholic, female
 and male, virginal children, impotent nursing home patients and
 all, have already been charged.  Ontarians who may be listening:
 what is happening in Prescott?
Newsgroups: can.general
From: dave@imax.imax.com (Dave Martindale)
Subject: Re: Television commercials in the shakycam style
Organization: Imax Corporation, Mississauga Canada
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 15:23:51 GMT

>Yikes, says me.  And so should you.  When you see an ad with a 
>whole-lotta-shakin'-goin'-on, beware.  It's not real.  It's fake.
>Change the channel and watch a documentary.

Ads are not real.  Ads lie.  When was the last time you saw an ad
that told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

(well, there is the occasional public service message that really is
in the public service, but they're pretty rare).
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: dave@imax.imax.com (Dave Martindale)
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Organization: Imax Corporation, Mississauga Canada
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 20:48:13 GMT

donald@sq.sq.com (Donald Teed) writes:

>What is it like to have
>two vehicles doing a head-on at 160 km/h?  Sort of like doing
>320 km/h (200 mph) into a brick building isn't it?

If the two vehicles weigh about the same, and crumple at the same rate,
the contact point will remain approximately stationary.  So each vehicle
sees the same effect as hitting a truly immovable object, like a large
concrete bridge foundation, at 160 km/hr.  Not 320 km/h.

If the two vehicles have grossly different masses, the larger one
suffers less of a change in velocity (thus less crash force) while
the smaller one suffers larger crash forces.  From conservation of
momentum, you can figure out roughly what velocity both vehicles will
be moving after the crash, and the difference in the "before" and
"after" velocity will give you the "equivalent speed into a brick
building" value.  (Of course, real crashes are more complex than this.
But this is a starting point.)

We now return to our regularly-scheduled fact-free USENET discussion.
Newsgroups: can.general,can.politics
From: richard@csi.on.ca (Richard Martin)
Subject: Re: RACISM???/Access to English schools
Organization: Carp Systems International, Kanata, ON
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 12:52:01 GMT

Just a nitpicking protestant here, but the words `Catholic' and `Christian'
actually mean the same thing.  `Roman Catholic' is something different though.
Sorry.
Richard.
Xref: sparky can.general:4052 soc.culture.canada:5853
From: robert@isgtec.com (Robert Osborne)
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Date: 18 Aug 92 18:32:26 GMT

mart@csri.toronto.edu (Mart Molle) writes:
> Again, if you really want to save the environment by reducing fuel
> consumption, then please advocate measures that directly affect fuel
> consumption, like:
> 
> 1. higher gasoline prices

I wouldn't mind seeing this if they actually did something with
the money,  things like:

    1.  Research into *viable* alternatives.  Stop wasting research
	money on electric/battery cars and look at hydrogen or
	electric/fuel-cell.
	
    2.  A GOOD public transit system.  To visit my parents in Powassan
	by public transit (bus,rail,etc.) would cost my wife and I $200
	and take ~10 hours each way.  My parents would still have to
	pick us up in North Bay.  We can drive there and back for $30
	in gas and it will take 3 hours each way.
    
> 2. rationing

Yep, all Canada needs is yet another black market controlled by
organized crime to start up.
Good thinking.

> 3. much higher graduated taxes/rebates/whatever on car purchases and
>    annual registration renewals based on fuel consumption

Don't we already get these guys with the gas taxes?

> 4. (my favourite longer term solution) install government-certified
>    fuel flow limiters in all cars, with higher annual fees for those
>    that permit higher maximum flow rates.

Don't we already 'punish' higher flow rates with gas taxes?

A better idea:

We put a computer on board that tells the government what were are
doing and where we are going.  Then we can charge tolls to use
bridges.  We can raise fees on people who drive to the local store
instead of walk.   We could also automatically fine anybody who goes
over the speed limit.  We could track criminals and anybody who drives
down the local Jumbo Video and rents prono flicks.  We could also run
checks on anybody who drives slowly down Church St. in Toronto.

No thanks.

Rob.
--
Robert A. Osborne   ...!uunet.ca!isgtec!robert or robert@isgtec.com
Newsgroups: can.general,soc.culture.canada
From: donald@sq.sq.com (Donald Teed)
Subject: Re: Change the speed limit
Organization: SoftQuad Inc.
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 13:52:33 GMT

buckland@ucs.ubc.ca (Tony Buckland) writes:

>In article <1992Aug16.200311.22480@bmerh85.bnr.ca> myhui@bnr.ca (Michael Hui) writes:
>>If I'm elected, I will change the speed limit on Ottawa's 417 and most
>>safe sections of the Trans Canada Highway to 160 km/h, and also review
>>related laws comprehensively to make it easy for police to discipline
>>dangerous drivers without penalizing safe and fast drivers. ...

> It might, but shouldn't, surprise readers of my other postings that
> I'm thoroughly with you.  I've driven in several countries in Europe,
> where people _do_ move over because the traffic patterns and customs
> make it virtually always possible and sensible.  What is needed that
> we don't have?  (1) Higher speed limits, as you say.  But, (2), a
> much higher average level of driver competence.  We are stuck, in

OK, then what do they do in Europe when the traffic is bumper to bumper
moving at 1XX km/h and a heavy tractor trailer uses the full merge length
but only reaches 40 km/h by the time it is forced to take the a
position in the right lane?  Can someone fill us in on the difference
in (1) density of road use (2) design of highways and associated
planning of merging roadways.  These factors more than any concept
of law and morality have a greater effect on how people drive (learning
from the environment they drive in).  How many lanes do these excellent
drivers in Europe have to choose from?  How long are the merge areas?
Are there traffic lights before the entrance ramps that cause 12 vehicles,
sometimes lead by a tractor trailer, to enter the highway all at once?
Are the excellent drivers of the highways of Germany, etc., forced
to tailgate because there is no where else to place one's vehicle?
(I'm referring to tailgating as a violation of the two second following
distance standard.)
  I think there is, at the root of this desire to drive fast, a
false presumption that is contradictory to what they teach in
driving courses.  The idea that "I can drive fast safely because I am a safe
and skilled driver" only holds true on a deserted road.  The reason
one must reduce their speed to a level far below their maximum
capacity to control their vehicle, is that there are other people out
there who might be doing anything.  Asthma attacks, sleepiness, cough
medicenes, stupidity, etc., are some of the things you will never be able to
control with laws, driver training, or the freedom to exercise the gas pedal.
Do you need an example?  Highway 50 was closed this morning due
to a multi vehicle accident.  A truck went through the concrete
median and ran into the oncoming traffic lanes.  What is it like to have
two vehicles doing a head-on at 160 km/h?  Sort of like doing
320 km/h (200 mph) into a brick building isn't it?
Newsgroups: can.general
From: umdenbo0@ccu.umanitoba.ca (David A. Denboer)
Subject: QuickTime on Macintosh (READ ME PLEASE!)
Organization: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 23:38:14 GMT

This is not a technical post!

I am just finishing developing a QuickTime movie player for the Macintosh,
but this one is a little bit different than the rest!
It is Canadian.  It is bi-lingual!

You can get your menus, dialogs, etc. in English or French
I am still working on one or two aspects of it though (No French balloon help
as of today...)


If you would like a copy of this program, send me a line.
If you like my idea, try it!  It was not that hard to create a bi-lingual 
application for the Mac.  If you use it, let me know what you think.

Thanks (Merci!)
David  A.  den Boer
umdenbo0@CCU.UManitoba.CA
Musi Computer Products
-- 

David  A.  den Boer
Musi Computer Products

Newsgroups: can.general
From: hermann@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (hermann)
Subject: Re: Car inspections..
Organization: U. of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Distribution: na 
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 08:50:05 GMT


Does anyone know if car inspections are required in BC? We're moving there
soon... 

|  Mike Hermann  | hermann@cpsc.ucalgary.ca
Organized crime is analogous to organized religion: it preys on peoples'
weaknesses, generates huge profits, and is nearly impossible to eradicate.
Xref: sparky can.general:4067 soc.culture.canada:5880
From: "nigel allen" <nigel.allen@canrem.com>
Newsgroups: can.general
Subject: presorting of mail at
Date: 20 Aug 92 23:45:34 EST
Reply-To: "nigel allen" <nigel.allen@canrem.com>
Distribution: can
Organization: Canada Remote Systems

janick@bcrkd13.bnr.ca (Janick Bergeron) writes that Canada Post
Corporation has installed "local mail only" and "all other mail"
mailboxes in Chicoutimi.

I suspect that anything dropped in the "all other mail" boxes gets
shipped to an automated sorting plant (perhaps in or near Quebec City),
while the "local" mail is  manually sorted in Chicoutimi.

Similarly, "local mail only"/"all other mail" boxes would allow all
non-Banff mail to be postmarked and sorted by machine in Calgary or
Alberta, leaving only the local mail to be sorted by postal personnel in
Banff.

 Ottawa doesn't have "local mail only" boxes because everything goes
through the Alta Vista postal plant in suburban Ottawa. (In fact, that
was the first postal plant in Canada to use machines to sort mail based
on the postal code.)

Nigel Allen
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario/Detroit, MI
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044