“Mpp (pc Leader Candidate) Wants Speed Limit Increased”

Most people wouldn't go over 130 anyway. Past 130 you start burnin' up the gas like there's no tomorrow. You are correct about the northerners. While they may go loco in an urban setting, they are still able to adjust to various weather conditions.

That way, we can reduce the speed limit enforcement and focus in on deviating from the flow of traffic. Of course, then we can shift our focus on making sure everybody operates their vehicle with due care and attention, making sure that the vehicles are safe and that everybody observes the rules of lane discipline.

Reflections wrote:Bear has already stated that he'll give 20 over before he pulls in a customer...so don't we already have 120, at least in his area???

Depends on the Area. In Chatam and some places West of London they really enforce it.

The mentality now of alot of Ontario drivers seems to be that the best time to speed is with alot of traffic and tailgate as much as you can to get the left lane up to 130-140 cause they cant ticket us all!!!

Go on the 401 to London on a sunday and youll see what i mean!

i think the reason alot of Ontarians dont say peep about the speed limit is because it is very random enforced and around GTA you seem to have to go 130 + to get a ticket.

They all claim the polls show people support this whole 150 law and our current speed limit. But if you only drive on the 401 in The Toronto core, Gardiner, etc your never going to go over 100 any ways there is so much volume. Why dont you go ask that question to those folks that live in Barrie and come to Toronto to work everyday?

I am just tired of this whole thing. Lately along some stretches of road i have seen the flow of traffic in the left get up to 140 so many times. I guess there is some places they just choose to not enforce that much. I hear the 407 is like that aswell...

I like what alot of you said. Besides this 50 over law is not catching the real street racers. You can see people driving this fast all the time doing so just safely and fine. Travel outside the GTA where the volume goes down and the speed goes up. Its not all young teenagers and rich guys in expensive sports sedans. Not at all. It's usually mini vans, family's, average cars (in other words normal people) that do this all the time. They are not racing or performing a stunt. They are just trying to get somewhere.

We could use a higher limit, enforce other things, lane discipline, aggressive behavior, tailgating, that weaving lane *EDIT*, threatening, the whole works. But before you talk about that. I would like to know how much of that whole "weaving lane stuff" and tailgating is caused by motorists who sit in the passing lane attempting to slow others down?

When the time and road permits the flow of traffic in the left lane is usually anywhere from 125-140 anyways. It is not as if people are not driving these speeds already.

I am a believer that driving skill, lane discipline, following the rules of the road, passing on the left, has ALOT more to do with safety then the limit itself does.

Germany seems to have it down the best. Safe, properly designed road ways, extreme enforcement in urban areas with reduced limits, passign on the right massive fines same as weaving lanes, attempting to slow others or blocking passing lanes also taken very seriously.

One thing i have said about our 100 km/hr limit for so long, besides the fact it is so archaic in many ways is it begins to cause a moral hazards problem.

I mean when you go on a 3 lane highway and are already at 20 over in the middle lane, you look to the left and everyone is exceeding 130, driving close trying to go even faster, with a few trucks on the right and the ones that feel the left lane is to slow so they pass on the right? I mean what is the point of the limit itself? I think people begin to not take it seriously or not care at all and this is creating a general disregard of speed limits, traffic laws, and traffic enforcement itself.

Also i think something we forget is that higher speed limits have shown a tendency to get drivers to focus and pay attention more resulting in less accidents.

Ill post up a study tomorrow. I believe it was Denmark they increased the limit from 110 to 130 and they had less deaths and accidents. They believed the main cause of this was due to increased attention to the "driving task" required to drive faster.

Most people dont complain cause they dont get tickets. The left lane gets up to 130 and 140 all the time. But its not about that. It creates a moral hazard and setting the limit so much lower then people actually drive causes alot of problems.

I also believe that if the limit was set higher you would have less of those going exactly 115 in the left lane, therefore less of those people that seem to be in a down hill skii solom trying to navigate through all the slow cars and trucks.

The thing that disappoints me about Ontario. Is there is sometimes a way to fix thing with less money, less enforcement, less police, less laws, less government, and let people make choices themselves.

I think a speed limit set in compliance with the road conditions, something more to what 85 % of people are driving, better road design, some signs reminding to only pass in the left lane, better paint on our road, get rid of the ending right lanes, and perhaps an extra lane on each side of the highway to accommodate the increased volume, will do more then an officer with a radar gun and a tow truck will down the road any day. We already see that this new 50 over law is still not stopping people from speeding. They're still catching people all the time for doing it.

Anyways regarding the limit, most drivers seem to do whatever they feel appropriate, unless they see an officer on the highway. If flow of traffic on the highway is already at 20-40 km/hr alot of the time doesn't that speak for itself? They've tried it at all, fines, cops, tow trucks, they got planes now to, maybe the limit is just to low???

Its funny to watch cops on the road. Today alot of cars were doing the usual like 120-140. But a cop entered the road he was talking on a cell phone in the right lane at about 110 km/hr.

Not a single car passed him. He looked around to see a traffic jam brewing behind his car. So he sped up to 120 and there was still a traffic jam. Finally he got up to just under 130 km/hr.

I dont how the OPP can get people to drive 100 if alot of their officers won't even do it. Wouldnt it make alot more sense to set a more realistic limit instead of trying to same old thing that clearly is not working and focus on other bigger fish to fry?

Another random question i have for hwybear. This is very common. They're will be lots of cars going around 130 lets say. They are in the left lane with a safe following distance. 1 car infront is at 110 with ample room to move over but he just stays there. Now all the cars behind no longer maintain the safe following distance?

Who is to blame? Who is the cause of this problem? Who would be fined? I am just curious because i suppose in the text book definition everyone is supposed to slow down and keep the new distance but we know in the real world this is not what happens.