Demonizing vehicles has become commonplace with the rise of cyclist and pedestrian advocates supporting the Vision Zero agenda

SENSE BC and videographer Chris Thompson are pleased to announce the release of Speed Kills Your Pocketbook 2 – Lying with Statistics (SKYP2).

Six years ago, the viral hit Speed Kills Your Pocketbook attracted nearly two million views and received international recognition for its humorous and effective expose of traffic enforcement in British Columbia. The second video delves more deeply into the messaging and promotion behind recent road safety changes.

Subsequent to the original Speed Kills Your Pocketbook released in 2013, the BC government raised speed limits on some 1,300 km of British Columbia highways.

Weak reporting of government and anti-motor-vehicle activist-driven research, coupled with a new government dealing with mounting losses at ICBC, was followed by half of those increases being rolled back in spite of data which did not support many of those rollbacks.

SKYP2, Lying with Statistics, is a compelling and humorous 24-minute expose of the shortcomings, omissions, and biases inherent in the stories and themes relied upon to justify recent road safety policy changes, enforcement campaigns, and massive fine increases.

Chris Thompson commented: “The public in BC should be concerned about how the government and news agencies manipulate and misreport statistics, demonize vehicles, and advance the war on drivers while driving continues to become safer”.

“Each year in British Columbia, 42% (150,000 of 350,000) of crashes occur in parking lots – and of the crashes that occur on roads, 59% are in intersections. Still speeding and stationary cell phone tickets remain the top obsessions of ICBC and police”.

Demonizing vehicles – a mode of transportation both widely used and needed by many across the province – has become commonplace with the rise of cyclist and pedestrian advocates supporting the Vision Zero agenda. These well-funded advocates seek to impose, upon the entire province, a lifestyle driven by their privilege of being able to live within practical walking and cycling range of their work and community amenities.

This remains unrealistic for much of the geography and climate in BC, families with active children, those without reasonable transit options, and many others. Driving should be about the safe, efficient movement of passengers and goods, and not about revenue generation for the government.

The video can be found at: sensebc.org