Haljackey
Active Member
CBC Marketplace report on speed limits
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Roads: Increase Ontario 400-series Highway Speed Limit
- Thread starter chrison
- Start date
sixrings
Senior Member
#SameLimits
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Adjustable speed limits. With 120 km/h when road and weather conditions allow it. Should it snow, for example, then display the speed for the weather, 80 km/h or even less.
crs1026
Superstar
Have driven in Arizona where the speed limit is as high as 80 mph. It is safe.....because people don't dare go 83, or they will get pulled over.
Ontario's problem is the police do not enforce until you are 20+ kph over the limit. This encourages people to ignore the limits and drive aggressively.
I support a higher speed limit, but only if enforcement is tightened.
It will probably lead to exactly the same result as we have now - an effective speed of 120 - but it will be more disciplined and people will think more.
- Paul
Ontario's problem is the police do not enforce until you are 20+ kph over the limit. This encourages people to ignore the limits and drive aggressively.
I support a higher speed limit, but only if enforcement is tightened.
It will probably lead to exactly the same result as we have now - an effective speed of 120 - but it will be more disciplined and people will think more.
- Paul
cplchanb
Senior Member
I believe there is a clause HTA that allows for a 10kph "buffer" which you can strike a ticket down if the cops write you up for it
I guess its to account for the +/- for radar readings (?). Perhaps this can also partly explain the confidence of drivers going to 120 these days, but then again
for the more part (90%) I think its because cars are in general much faster and safer to drive in compared to the 1960s (or whenever it was back in ancient days) when these limits were introduced
I guess its to account for the +/- for radar readings (?). Perhaps this can also partly explain the confidence of drivers going to 120 these days, but then again
for the more part (90%) I think its because cars are in general much faster and safer to drive in compared to the 1960s (or whenever it was back in ancient days) when these limits were introduced
MisterF
Senior Member
I'd say the problem is more that we design our highways for 130 and then expect people to drive 30 km/h slower. It's no wonder that our speed limits are so thoroughly ignored. Most places have the speed limit at or near the design speed, which most people generally won't go over. BC is a good example. Freeways are 120 and undivided country roads are 100. And people actually drive those speeds.
Do adjustable speed limits increase safety at all? The point of a speed limit is to be the fastest you can drive in ideal conditions. In conditions that aren't ideal you slow down. Some countries have lower speed limits in poor weather but don't always have signs that change. It's telling that France's speed limit for when it rains is still faster than our maximum.
I think that in general we hand-hold our drivers too much. Too much signage, too low speed limits, roads built way bigger than they need to be. This leads to drivers being unaware of how much space they have and unable to judge how fast to drive around corners. In the UK they have country roads with no shoulders, unannounced twists and turns, narrow lanes, and basically no room for error. And the speed limit on these roads is 60 mph (97 km/h). Drive over there and you quickly learn that 60 mph is the fastest you can go and much of the time you'll be driving slower. You learn to pay attention and drive according to the conditions, not according to what a sign tells you. European drivers are much more spatially aware than North American drivers.
cplchanb
Senior Member
Id say its also partly because of the lack of skill and confidence for drivers that is causing the hesitation to consider upping the limits. I had to follow a camry driving at 70kph for no particular reason with no cars in front on the dvp today approaching Wynford. That and people who drive dead on the limit in the left lanes (as its been repetitively mentioned...)
Mind you it was a bit of an up hill but if one has the awareness, they would be able to maintain the constant speed.
MisterF
Senior Member
You have a point but like I said in BC they raised the limits with, apparently, no ill effects. People still drive the same speed as they did before. People drive slower on the DVP because it has sharp corners, substandard interchanges, etc. I don't think anybody would propose raising the limit on the DVP to anything over 100.
cplchanb
Senior Member
Im curious on how traffic is on the BC highways. Are there bottlenecks like the 404/401 interchange and are there alot of moronic drivers who are too scared to drive a kph past the posted limit?
They are using adjustable speed limits in some areas of England; we were just over there driving and saw them a few times.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Changing tire sizes (IE. summer to winter) can result in an incorrect registration of your speed on your speedometer. See link. You may think you're doing 100 km/h, but you maybe doing 105 km/h or more.
Johnny Au
Senior Member
Speed limit should be raised for the leftmost lane or two, as well as all express lanes.
It should only be lowered during inclement weather and during construction.
It should only be lowered during inclement weather and during construction.
TOareaFan
Superstar
In the UK they reduce road speed when there is an accident....their theory (and it seems to work) is if there are lanes closed at point "x" and you go back to poin "y" and reduce he speed then you reduce he flow of traffic through the open lanes at "x" and prevent complete log jams between "y" and "x".
nfitz
Superstar
Nothing new there ... I recall those changeable speed limit signs driving there in the 1970s. In particular they liked to put them in areas where there is fog, so that they could reduce the limit before an accident.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
At the same time as increasing the speed limit, change the sign to
like they have in Mexico and the rest of the world (outside of the United States and Canada).
Or at the very least, put a red circle around the number.
like they have in Mexico and the rest of the world (outside of the United States and Canada).
Or at the very least, put a red circle around the number.