The State of Self-Driving Cars In Canada

You’ve probably been hearing about self-driving cars for a few years, but Canada took a big leap forward with this new technology in October with the country’s first driverless car test on a public road. Although the road was closed at the time, the car used it’s Blackberry-developed technology to navigate traffic stops and pedestrian crossings in a live demonstration. This milestone came alongside the announcement of an 80 million dollar investment in autonomous technology by the Ontario government – an investment that could reap huge rewards.

Currently, around 50 percent of Canadians say that they trust self-driving cars; confidence for the technology is highest in Quebec and lowest in Saskatchewan and Alberta. But considering that human error is a factor in over 90 percent of auto accidents, the upside of this new technology is immediately clear. This is backed up by a report from the Conference Board of Canada, which suggests that the country could benefit up to 65 billion dollars from autonomous vehicles due to “fewer collisions, less time in cars, fuel savings and reduced congestion.”

On top of the benefits derived from implementing this technology, Canada is poised to become a leader in the development of self-driving cars. In addition to Blackberry’s development initiatives, Canadian firm QNX has been working to leverage its experience in developing secure operating systems to build software for automated vehicles. Magna, a Toronto-based auto parts supplier, is the latest Canadian company to throw it’s hat into the development ring with an announcement of its own autonomous technology.

In order to keep pace with other countries developing autonomous driving technology, Canada will need to step up in areas beyond development, including testing, regulation and infrastructure. While the test in Ottawa is an exciting step forward, Ontario is the only spot in Canada that allows testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads. In comparison, 17 states in the United States issue street-testing permits for self-driving cars.

In terms of regulation, Transport Canada is tasked with the job of keeping Canadians safe on the road. When considering driverless technology, they’ll need to adopt regulations that don’t hamper innovation, but that protect the safety and privacy of Canadians. Some questions that regulators will need to ask themselves include:

• Will Canadians need training and licenses to commute in self driving cars?
• How does intoxication factor into riding in a self-driving car?
• Would children be able to ride alone?

The Insurance Bureau of Canada will need to assess the risks and benefits of driverless cars to develop insurance products that keep up with this changing technology.

So, what’s next? Realistically, industry insiders say that self-driving cars that require human surveillance could be available in a few years; however, mass availability of fully autonomous cars are likely decades away. And there is still debate about whether driverless cars are safe in areas that get hit by winter snow. Regardless, driverless cars have the potential to completely transform how people commute around their cities and towns, and Canada should be doing everything it can to keep pace with this developing technology.

ARI RUSH

WRITER

Ari Rush is the president and founder of Rush Ventures, a full service digital agency offering web development skills, paid marketing, and SEO services to businesses. Apart from its’ elite team of professionals, and dozens of positive reviews, Rush Ventures can boast a successful history of lucrative business dealings.

Rush is the former owner of a successful social media marketing company that fostered over 1,000 clients, many of which rely on his expertise to this day. This entrepreneur has also founded and owned a marketing company that helped over 1,500 customers generate online traffic, all earned through verified white-hat methods.

Is Mobile Shelving Right For You?

Northwestern University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has opened its doors to evangelical students for more than one-hundred years. Surrounded by a beautiful park-like campus, students have been able to study with some of the best teachers in fellowship and faith.

But until recently the University struggled with their storage capabilities and technology. They seemed stuck in a technological rut that left both students and faculty frustrated and even unable sometimes to access vital files and information. For instance, the curators for the school’s noted sheet music collection were forced to keep their perishable ensemble collections in almost cave-like conditions.

Prior to putting in their very own customized library storage shelving, the school’s sheet music curators had to imprison their precious collection in the dank basement below Northwestern’s world famous performing arts arena — an unventilated hole that was nearly impossible to access without a treasure map.

But once shelving space became available upstairs in the school’s library, the curators were happy to be able to store their instrumental and choral arrangements in an organized manner that made it much easier for faculty and students to access the sheet music for all sorts of musical performances and study. It’s the kind of thing that mobile shelving can do for a college or a business to bring filing order out of chaos.

Shelving with efficiency

Lacking a central plan for optimum use with limited space, the University hesitated to move sensitive material like their sheet music collection to the performing arts library without a plan to minimize disruption to the library’s everyday activities, since the library was literally the nerve center for the vigorous performance arts activities that make the school a magnet for students from around the world.

But after a professional assessment was made of the library’s storage potential, the crucial space was shown to be available through use of a mobile shelving strategy that would minimize disruption using a collapsible concept with the shelving that made it possible to bring up all the sheet music in a remarkably short time and refile it with a minimum of fuss and bother.

Complete access

Putting the large collection of sheet music safely on the first floor allowed students and staff full access without any further delays, the kind of delays that in the old days had had a dampening effect on musical soirees and study.

For the curators, this also meant they could pour more of their time and energy into current musical events instead of having to worry about how long it would take to dig up the appropriate sheet music down in their former musical dungeon.

Organization with intelligence

Sheet music comes in all sizes and shapes, so standard operating procedures for filing it are too cumbersome. But with mobile shelving technology the sheet music, whether for a concerto or for a quartette, is sorted first by folio size and then by number of consecutive pages — this allows for a filing system that makes sense to the greenest student and can be accessed quickly and frequently.

It’ll work anywhere

Most schools and companies don’t have the luxury of putting up additional structures just for better and more accessible filing and storage. They have to work with what is already in place. That’s why mobile shelving makes so much sense — it takes the available space and can literally double or triple its storage capacity while increasing efficiency. And, as they discovered at Northwestern University, that’s something to sing about!

What is My Best Option to Solve a Temporary Financial Need?

It is getting harder to get a bank loan nowadays with more and more people getting rejected for a bank loan due to the current economic situation. So, a bank loan is ruled out if you need some emergency cash to cover your temporary expenses. If you turn to a payday loan, you have to repay in 2 weeks to 1 months which you couldn’t come up with the money so fast. Besides, payday loans have skyrocket interest fees and their loan amount is only up to one thousand dollars. A good alternative to solve your temporary financial problem is to apply for an online guarantor loan.

1. Easy to Qualify
Guarantor loan has more lenient requirements so there is a higher chance that you will get approved. This type of loan is designed for people who don’t have a perfect credit score. With most lenders, you need to provide proof of a good credit score to get a low-interest rate for the personal loan. With a guarantor loan, you are allowed to use the credit profile of your guarantor as proof.

The key is to find a guarantor whom you can prove has a clean credit profile and a good income to repay the loan that you intend to borrow. You must have a job with enough income to pay off the loan even though the lender uses the credit profile of the guarantor to determine the lending decision. The lender will call you and ask about your income and expenses too. They want to make sure that you are capable of paying back the loan before approving it.

2. Ease of Access at All Time
Everyone will face problems of short of cash from time to time. Guarantor loan provides ease of access for those who need the cash immediately to cover an emergency. You don’t have to wait for the bank to open to apply for the loan. You can apply for the loan as long as you have a computer or mobile device like tablet or phone with a stable internet connection. You can apply online through a guarantor loan company at any time by filling in the online application even though they also operate based on business hours. If your application is submitted during business hours, it may get approved faster. You can check the official site of the guarantor loan to find out their business hours.

3. Faster Processing Time
Guarantor loan has a much shorter processing time than traditional loans. One of the reasons is that you don’t have to travel back and forth and make numerous phone calls to the bank. Another reason is that the lender for this type of loan is more lenient and they use automated software to check the risk level of the borrower. You can expect to receive a phone call from the guarantor immediately after submitting the application. If you provide accurate information, your loan should get approved fast.

4. Affordable Monthly Payment
Guarantor loan has affordable monthly payment and you can easily incorporate it into your budget. Because the interest rate is fixed, you don’t have to worry about the monthly payment increasing or decreasing from month to time. The fixed monthly payment allows you to play your budget accordingly and make sure that you will always have the funds you need to apply for the loan.

5. Fixed Interest Fees
The interest fees are cheap because you are using your guarantor’s good credit score and income to apply. It is not just for covering emergency expenses but it can also be used for covering short-term or long-term expenses. The online rate of a guarantor loan is always cheaper because the loan provider wants to promote online lending. Another reason is the competition with other online loan providers causes them to have to lower the interest rates to attract more customers.

Conclusion
In conclusion, a guarantor loan can come in handy when someone with poor credit history urgently needs some funds. With a guarantor loan, you will be able to easily borrow a large amount of money without any hassle since you have a guarantor who will be there to meet the repayment in case you lose the income to repay the loan.

What Happens if Your Ride-Sharing Driver Gets into an Accident?

Ride-sharing services are convenient, but what happens if there’s an accident while the driver is taking you to your destination?
More people are using ride-sharing and ride-hailing services, but few of us know what to do if the Uber driver rear-ends the person in front of him, or if another car runs a red light and rear-ends the car were traveling in.
In 2015, 245,000 people have been injured in accidents in Texas alone, and 19,000 people were killed in accidents in the whole United States.
Who pays the bill for the accident? And will you be held liable in any way?
Ridesharing and Liability in an Accident
If you’re using a service like Uber or Lyft and the driver gets into an accident, you – the passenger – will likely not be held liable.
Drivers are required to have their personal insurance coverage, and they also have insurance included in their ride-sharing contract.
But here’s the thing – if you, as a passenger, are injured in the accident, you may have a hard time getting compensation for your injuries. Why? Because UberX drivers use only a personal insurance policy. They don’t have commercial liability insurance, and they aren’t licensed chauffeurs. If the driver gets into an accident, the insurance company can deny the claim.
Your Account of the Accident
In 2015, Fortune ran an article that discussed the issue of ride-sharing accidents. The author was a passenger in an Uber driver’s vehicle when he collided with another vehicle.
While the author wasn’t held liable for any of the damages, Uber did contact her to ask questions about the accident – presumably to see how much responsibility the company could avoid.
So, if you happen to be in the vehicle when your driver collides with another vehicle, you can expect to talk to Uber’s insurance company to discuss the details of what happened.
Changing Laws
Laws are constantly changing when it comes to ride-sharing and accident liability. Some states are taking steps to address accidents in the industry, while other states have yet to even consider the issue.
New Jersey recently enacted the Transportation Network Company Safety and Regulatory Act, which requires both drivers and ridesharing companies to meet specific insurance coverage standards.
For drivers who are not logged into the ridesharing app, personal auto insurance policies apply. But those who are logged into the app, the driver, ridesharing app or a combination of both parties will need to maintain certain levels of coverage. Passengers would have their medical bills covered by either the driver, the ridesharing service provider, or a combination of the two.
The law requires that coverage is maintained by the ridesharing company and will not be dependent on the private passenger insurance denying a claim.
California has similar requirements, and hybrid insurance coverage is available for ridesharing drivers. Still, many transportation network carriers continue to operate without the appropriate insurance coverage. Only 23% of ridesharing drivers have ridesharing insurance.
Despite the fact that ridesharing accidents are on the rise, 43% of adults still believe that Uber and Lyft drivers should not have to follow the same rules as taxi drivers.