Ill add to that Bookm, i have talked to a few HSD officer's when they were on break. Most were decent, nice, open minded, and saw things from both ways.
As far as speed limits i like to see what they think. Ill say this though on average alot of them think we could use a higher limit then 100.
Two of them basically told me the same thing.
They think the most dangerous thing is not the speed itself, its the big difference in speeds they see that worries them, along with aggressive driving.
They told me it isn't 120 that is the problem, its that weaving all over the road that is quite dangerous, and a lack of care for lane discipline.
Of course another couple said they think any more speed would cause more accidents.
But yes a few of them basically thought if we had a limit a bit higher maybee 110-120, they think it would speed up some of the slower ones and maybee some of the faster ones would also follow the limit more and you would see less difference in the speeds.
I have never gotten a chance to ask an officer what they think of the truck speed limiters.
I have talked to some truckers. They said out of town they don't care, but most say the same thing. Its making it worse. He says what happens is you get convoys of trucks trying to pass but since they are limited it takes forever and they plug the 2 right lanes and it backs up traffic and pisses people off. And they do lose big time in the states. They also said sometimes for example they can no longer speed up to let people in the right lane or speed up to avoid "problems."
As far as the limit,ill agree with you bookm.
I am not saying raise it everywhere. But there are many places in which road design can handle higher limits, and there is not to much volume or alot of the risks you get in urban settings like Toronto. A higher limit would help to reduce the speed's of drivers.
It may help lane discipline to. Often there is this problem of oh well i am already 15 or 20 over so ill just sit in the left lane, this tends to cause problems to and really angers some drivers leading to more aggressive driving and passing on the right.
I think higher limits in areas with less volume, good road design and better lane discipline would do just fine.
Other countries drive faster as well and they get on just fine. The german's are a perfect example of that slow speed limits don't always = more safety.
Mind you alot of european's have limits of 110-130 as it is, and often they exceed those. I dont find this much different then our highways. Although the word is they drive alot more polite, and tend to follow basic rules such as passing on the left, and letting others pass.
And one officer agreed with me about the speed limits and 172, he doesn't like the road side trial, although he did say it has slown people down.
But we have to remember all of the above has nothing to do with the OPP. They are just there to enforce the limit that the MTO sets, and given Jim Bradley's attitude that will never happen.
If there is one thing we know about Jim Bradley it's that he always seems to believe the way to better roads is more rules, more regulation, more laws, less speed.
Last month i was on Guelph line.
I noticed a big sign hat said the following
"MOVE RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS."
I never see these signs on a 400 series highway and i dont know why. Another problem i think is when to many people break the law, they just stop caring in general, if to many people feel we have silly, or overly cautious laws, that are old and don't make sense they just won't follow them.
Sure in lot's of other countries drivers go fast. In england in rural freeways i believe limits are 80 mph, i asked a few people that used to live there and apparently many drive alot faster then that, In Greece i think the limit is 120 on the highway? But alot will go 150.
The big difference, especially in a place like Germany is people tend to be less rude.
I mean when i see someone who wants to pass i always try to move out of there way. If there is one thing when i drive on a highway its that i do not want to anger or inconvenience other drivers or lead to road rage. I don't know why so many people now have the exact opposite attitude, some of these people to very dangerous things, especially brake checking, they slam on their brakes that could easily cause a multi vehicle collision just because they wont move over. I see this as a bigger problem then driving to fast.
By the way what is the fine now for brake checking, if you called *OPP for that would they even take it seriously?
Anyways one time i was in a truck stop and i guess he ran out of gas or something so he was filling up and getting a cofee, and he showed me some of the gadgets on the inside of the car, i thought it was pretty cool and nice of him.
And the 6-speed shifter worked opposite to my sim-racing setup, so I kept shifting down instead of up. I want a RE-MATCH!! LOL