Comments on: The Right to have a Right-Hand-Drive Car http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/ neweurasia\'s Kazakhstan blog Fri, 4 Jul 2008 13:22:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 By: Chris Merriman http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-10852 Chris Merriman Wed, 17 Jan 2007 20:09:09 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-10852 Interesting assumption there OZ man. If I may just make a couple of corrections... 1) I'm from the West 2) I live in Astana 3) In the UK, you will find a sizable minority of cars that have the steering wheel on the left - the opposite side to what we normally have 4) I'll happily drive one 5) The police, the department of transport and any other (UK) motoring organization couldn't care what side the steering wheel is on, as long as the car is roadworthy. Registering a car from another country takes a bit longer, but the side the steering wheel is on makes no difference to the outcome of the procedure Whilst things may be different in your country, not everywhere in the West is the same... Not trying to flame you, just inform... Interesting assumption there OZ man.
If I may just make a couple of corrections…

1) I’m from the West
2) I live in Astana
3) In the UK, you will find a sizable minority of cars that have the steering wheel on the left - the opposite side to what we normally have
4) I’ll happily drive one
5) The police, the department of transport and any other (UK) motoring organization couldn’t care what side the steering wheel is on, as long as the car is roadworthy. Registering a car from another country takes a bit longer, but the side the steering wheel is on makes no difference to the outcome of the procedure

Whilst things may be different in your country, not everywhere in the West is the same…

Not trying to flame you, just inform…

]]> By: OZ Man http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-7482 OZ Man Wed, 06 Dec 2006 06:28:38 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-7482 Had a lot of fun reading the opinions of people from the West. Why was it so funny? Because none of you guys would dare to even try and register a wrong-side car in your own country. The police won't even look at your car, let alone recognise it as being roadworthy. Look around at your local car yards, how many wrong-sided cars would you find there? None. Guess why. Had a lot of fun reading the opinions of people from the West. Why was it so funny? Because none of you guys would dare to even try and register a wrong-side car in your own country. The police won’t even look at your car, let alone recognise it as being roadworthy. Look around at your local car yards, how many wrong-sided cars would you find there? None. Guess why.

]]> By: Leila http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6687 Leila Mon, 27 Nov 2006 23:22:44 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6687 The Government offered people to readjust their steering wheels. For that, they would use the services of several private companies. It would be expensive; besides, some cars are not suitable for this change, so if they do switch the place of the wheel, they would become more dangerous. There are reports that the equippment for readjusting the steering wheels went through the customs office in October... The Government offered people to readjust their steering wheels. For that, they would use the services of several private companies. It would be expensive; besides, some cars are not suitable for this change, so if they do switch the place of the wheel, they would become more dangerous. There are reports that the equippment for readjusting the steering wheels went through the customs office in October…

]]> By: Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6674 Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:04:10 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6674 [...] There are separate signs for this being the case. Leila of neweurasia reports on the ‘right to have a right-hand-drive car’ and the protests following a recent decision by the administration to ban the import of second-hand Japanese cars. Finally, KZBlog, a blog maintained by an American expat living in the capital Astana, reports of recent fashion trends in Kazakhstan and in how far an indigenous scene is evolving. [...] […] There are separate signs for this being the case. Leila of neweurasia reports on the ‘right to have a right-hand-drive car’ and the protests following a recent decision by the administration to ban the import of second-hand Japanese cars. Finally, KZBlog, a blog maintained by an American expat living in the capital Astana, reports of recent fashion trends in Kazakhstan and in how far an indigenous scene is evolving. […]

]]> By: Tim Schwab http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6644 Tim Schwab Mon, 27 Nov 2006 03:14:51 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6644 I'm a journalist in the Bahamas where right hand drive Japanese vehicles have flooded the market for the last ten years. Many arrive in very good condition and can be bought at a good price (even with the 50% import tax the government of the Bahamas charges). I heard about the Kazakhstan issue with these vehicles on the BBC and was surprised that the president was alleging they are dangerous. There has been no such report here in the Bahamas, though I intend to research accident reports (thought they, like most records, probably do not exist). I can't help but wonder if the president has another motive in mind by banning these vehicles. I know nothing about your country, but I'm skeptical about the underlying motive being traffic or smog as someon e suggested. Unless one of those is absolutely horrendous there....I've never known a government to make sweeping, contraversial decisions on the basis of the environment. I'm looking more for an economical explanation....By banning these inexpensive Japanese vehicles, is the president giving a competitive advantage in the market for a domestically produced vehicle by any chance? Tim Schwab I’m a journalist in the Bahamas where right hand drive Japanese vehicles have flooded the market for the last ten years. Many arrive in very good condition and can be bought at a good price (even with the 50% import tax the government of the Bahamas charges). I heard about the Kazakhstan issue with these vehicles on the BBC and was surprised that the president was alleging they are dangerous. There has been no such report here in the Bahamas, though I intend to research accident reports (thought they, like most records, probably do not exist).

I can’t help but wonder if the president has another motive in mind by banning these vehicles. I know nothing about your country, but I’m skeptical about the underlying motive being traffic or smog as someon e suggested. Unless one of those is absolutely horrendous there….I’ve never known a government to make sweeping, contraversial decisions on the basis of the environment. I’m looking more for an economical explanation….By banning these inexpensive Japanese vehicles, is the president giving a competitive advantage in the market for a domestically produced vehicle by any chance?

Tim Schwab

]]> By: Anandi Pendse http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6275 Anandi Pendse Tue, 21 Nov 2006 22:53:47 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6275 Hi, I am Anandi Pendse, a graduate student pursuing my masters in Human-Computer Interaction at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, U.S.A. I belong to the college of computing (http://www.cc.gatech.edu/). I am writing a research paper on the Effectiveness of blogs in promoting and raising awareness about development activities such as women's issues, conflict resolution and education etc under the guidance of Dr. Michael Best ( http://www.inta.gatech.edu/~michael_best). I am focusing on blogs written by residents of developing countries or blogs about developing countries. I am trying to cover as many countries and development issues as possible. I came across your blog through a blog search engine and thought you would be an ideal person to be a part of my survey. I would be grateful if you could take out some time from your schedule and answer the questions in the survey. This survey should not take more than 15 minutes to complete. I am hoping that this survey will help me to pinpoint the deficiencies and improve blog service providers so that you and other bloggers like you can use the blog in a better way to raise awareness and get your ideas across. I assure you that the information you give will not be used for any purpose other than this paper and your identity will not be revealed to anyone. There will be no mention of your name or nationality or any other personal information in the paper. The information you provide will be used to generate statistics and only these statistics will be used in the paper. This survey is divided into 2 parts. Following are the links to the 2 parts. Please do respond to both the links http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=231122912261 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=87962927704 If you go to this link and respond to the survey it means that you are voluntarily consenting to be a part of the survey and allowing the information you provide to be used to compile statistics for the research paper. If you are a minor i.e. an individual who is less than 18 years of age the please seek parental permission before taking the survey. I would once more like to make it clear that no personal information you provide will be revealed to any person or organization. If you have any other questions or would like to share any other information please email me at anandi@gatech.edu. I would be glad to answer. I am hoping that you can be a part of this survey, Anandi Pendse Masters in Human Computer Interaction College of Computing Georgia Institute of Technology Hi,
I am Anandi Pendse, a graduate student pursuing my masters in Human-Computer Interaction at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, U.S.A. I belong to the college of computing (http://www.cc.gatech.edu/). I am writing a research paper on the Effectiveness of blogs in promoting and raising awareness about development activities such as women’s issues, conflict resolution and education etc under the guidance of Dr. Michael Best ( http://www.inta.gatech.edu/~michael_best).
I am focusing on blogs written by residents of developing countries or blogs about developing countries. I am trying to cover as many countries and development issues as possible.
I came across your blog through a blog search engine and thought you would be an ideal person to be a part of my survey.
I would be grateful if you could take out some time from your schedule and answer the questions in the survey. This survey should not take more than 15 minutes to complete. I am hoping that this survey will help me to pinpoint the deficiencies and improve blog service providers so that you and other bloggers like you can use the blog in a better way to raise awareness and get your ideas across.
I assure you that the information you give will not be used for any purpose other than this paper and your identity will not be revealed to anyone. There will be no mention of your name or nationality or any other personal information in the paper. The information you provide will be used to generate statistics and only these statistics will be used in the paper.

This survey is divided into 2 parts. Following are the links to the 2 parts.
Please do respond to both the links

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=231122912261
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=87962927704

If you go to this link and respond to the survey it means that you are voluntarily consenting to be a part of the survey and allowing the information you provide to be used to compile statistics for the research paper. If you are a minor i.e. an individual who is less than 18 years of age the please seek parental permission before taking the survey. I would once more like to make it clear that no personal information you provide will be revealed to any person or organization.

If you have any other questions or would like to share any other information please email me at anandi@gatech.edu. I would be glad to answer.

I am hoping that you can be a part of this survey,

Anandi Pendse
Masters in Human Computer Interaction
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology

]]> By: Narcogen http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6192 Narcogen Tue, 21 Nov 2006 05:54:29 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6192 The claims, as I heard them, were that out of the 117,000 right-hand drive cars now in the country, Almaty alone had experienced 600 auto accidents involving them so far in 2006. Now for some shorthand: assume all of those right hand drive cars are in Almaty itself. Assume that the figure is actually for the entire year. 600 accidents for 117,000 cars (assuming each accident involved one right hand drive car with a non-right-hand-drive car) is a rate of 0.5%. Most recent reports put Almaty's automobile count at about 500,000. If left-hand drive cars had accidents at the same rate as right-hand-drive cars, that would be 2560 accidents so far this year in Almaty. Of course, what has been missing in all the reporting is the number of accidents involving left hand drive cars. If somebody has that, it would be helpful in determining if there really is any link whatsoever between the import issue and auto safety. The level of driver education in Almaty is generally very poor. Many licenses are purchased outright and many drivers have either no training or testing or merely drive as if they had none. Under those circumstances, it seems equally likely that the different driver position is something drivers are simply unable to successfully adjust for, or that compared to other factors it is simply a non-issue. I suspect that given increasing problems of traffic and smog, this is just a convenient way of reducing the automobile count while at the same time attempting to shift business from the small, entrepreneurial used-car importers to the new car importers, many of whom are charging as much as 30% more for car they are calling new (but which is actually a 2005 year model) compared to a similarly-configured car in the U.S. market. Not all the brands are doing this, but some of the better-known dealers of new Japanese cars do this. The claims, as I heard them, were that out of the 117,000 right-hand drive cars now in the country, Almaty alone had experienced 600 auto accidents involving them so far in 2006.

Now for some shorthand: assume all of those right hand drive cars are in Almaty itself. Assume that the figure is actually for the entire year. 600 accidents for 117,000 cars (assuming each accident involved one right hand drive car with a non-right-hand-drive car) is a rate of 0.5%.

Most recent reports put Almaty’s automobile count at about 500,000. If left-hand drive cars had accidents at the same rate as right-hand-drive cars, that would be 2560 accidents so far this year in Almaty.

Of course, what has been missing in all the reporting is the number of accidents involving left hand drive cars. If somebody has that, it would be helpful in determining if there really is any link whatsoever between the import issue and auto safety.

The level of driver education in Almaty is generally very poor. Many licenses are purchased outright and many drivers have either no training or testing or merely drive as if they had none. Under those circumstances, it seems equally likely that the different driver position is something drivers are simply unable to successfully adjust for, or that compared to other factors it is simply a non-issue.

I suspect that given increasing problems of traffic and smog, this is just a convenient way of reducing the automobile count while at the same time attempting to shift business from the small, entrepreneurial used-car importers to the new car importers, many of whom are charging as much as 30% more for car they are calling new (but which is actually a 2005 year model) compared to a similarly-configured car in the U.S. market. Not all the brands are doing this, but some of the better-known dealers of new Japanese cars do this.

]]> By: Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Kazakhstan: Right Hand Rights! http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6190 Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Kazakhstan: Right Hand Rights! Tue, 21 Nov 2006 04:39:30 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6190 [...] Leila reports on protests in Kazakhstan over the the government’s decision to ban the import and sale of cars with steering wheels on the right side. Nathan Hamm [...] […] Leila reports on protests in Kazakhstan over the the government’s decision to ban the import and sale of cars with steering wheels on the right side. Nathan Hamm […]

]]> By: Chris Merriman http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6131 Chris Merriman Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:48:14 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6131 When I heard of this decision, through my wife, my understanding was that only imports would be banned, that is to say current owners would not be expected to dispose of their right-side steering cars, only those who did not have one, and now wanted to obtain one, would be affected. Also, is it not also possible that there is a different reason for the increased likelihood of an accident occurring if one of the cars in the vicinity is a right-side steering model? It may not be the height of political correctness to pose this question, but the sort of person who is able to afford such cars may be the catlyst in this equation, not purely the side of the steering wheel... I would be very interested if someone were to analyse the same accident stats, and include the income bracket of the people involved. If you have more money, for example, you're more likey to have a mobile phone, than say an old Lada driver. If you're driving and speaking on the phone, or fiddling with your nice car hi-fi, or otherwise distracted, you're far more likely to have an accident than someone pottering along in their old Lada, who is paying more attention to the road... However, the fact that these protests did not result in the expected ‘normal’ heavy handed approach is indeed a bright spot in my day… When I heard of this decision, through my wife, my understanding was that only imports would be banned, that is to say current owners would not be expected to dispose of their right-side steering cars, only those who did not have one, and now wanted to obtain one, would be affected.

Also, is it not also possible that there is a different reason for the increased likelihood of an accident occurring if one of the cars in the vicinity is a right-side steering model?
It may not be the height of political correctness to pose this question, but the sort of person who is able to afford such cars may be the catlyst in this equation, not purely the side of the steering wheel…
I would be very interested if someone were to analyse the same accident stats, and include the income bracket of the people involved. If you have more money, for example, you’re more likey to have a mobile phone, than say an old Lada driver. If you’re driving and speaking on the phone, or fiddling with your nice car hi-fi, or otherwise distracted, you’re far more likely to have an accident than someone pottering along in their old Lada, who is paying more attention to the road…

However, the fact that these protests did not result in the expected ‘normal’ heavy handed approach is indeed a bright spot in my day…

]]> By: KZblog :: Right Hand Cars :: November :: 2006 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6093 KZblog :: Right Hand Cars :: November :: 2006 Mon, 20 Nov 2006 08:08:30 +0000 http://kazakhstan.neweurasia.net/2006/11/19/the-right-to-have-a-right-hand-drive-car/#comment-6093 [...] According to New Eurasia there are 117 000 such vehicles in the country. That’s a lot and a potentially large loss of money for a lot of people, even though the President’s announcement appears to make some sense, and aims at public safety. There are questions of whether this is something the President himself, and the Security Council should be taking up instead of the police or the Ministry of Transport, but leaving that aside, the proposal makes sense if the facts are accurate. [...] […] According to New Eurasia there are 117 000 such vehicles in the country. That’s a lot and a potentially large loss of money for a lot of people, even though the President’s announcement appears to make some sense, and aims at public safety. There are questions of whether this is something the President himself, and the Security Council should be taking up instead of the police or the Ministry of Transport, but leaving that aside, the proposal makes sense if the facts are accurate. […]

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