Roads: Increase Ontario 400-series Highway Speed Limit

[sixrings]

Our Neighbour Michigan is also considering increasing the 70MPH (113 km/h) limit to 80MPH (129 km/h): http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/0...limits-on-the-401-are-stuck-in-the-slow-lane/

Ontario has some of the best designed freeways in the world and some of the lowest speed limits in the world. This does not make sense.

Doing 100 pretty makes you a danger to other drivers. That ain't safe. I remember a former transport minister commenting he got the finger, honked at and cut-off several times driving 100 between Toronto and Ottawa.

Since my car drinks gas at 120 I drive at 100... Never had a problem... Been driving almost daily for 2 years.

 

[nfitz]

Since my car drinks gas at 120 I drive at 100... Never had a problem... Been driving almost daily for 2 years.

A couple of times I've driven a 100 for a few km or so, just to see how it is, it terrified me. Big transport trucks trying to overtake you, and not doing it particular fast, stuff coming up behind you quickly.

I feel a lot safer at 120.

 

[doady]

From the article



That safe speed is usually the 85th percentile speed.

By that standard, why have speed limits at all? If we let people determine the "safe" speed on their own, just get rid of mandatory limits al together.

A couple of times I've driven a 100 for a few km or so, just to see how it is, it terrified me. Big transport trucks trying to overtake you, and not doing it particular fast, stuff coming up behind you quickly.

I feel a lot safer at 120.

The lack of safety you felt, and that minister felt, was because of other people driving 120 and acting like douchebags. Just shows why the police need to crack down hard on people who drive above 100. They are making the roads unsafe.

 

[BurlOak]

The lack of safety you felt, and that minister felt, was because of other people driving 120 and acting like douchebags. Just shows why the police need to crack down hard on people who drive above 100. They are making the roads unsafe.

Do other people realize the similarity between this and the Toronto Transit debate. The speed limits are not set by those who design the roads and understand traffic safety - it is set by politicians who bend to the whims of various groups.

 

[nfitz]

The lack of safety you felt, and that minister felt, was because of other people driving 120 and acting like douchebags. Just shows why the police need to crack down hard on people who drive above 100. They are making the roads unsafe.

A transport truck driving at 104 km/hr overtaking me at 100 km/hr is driving like a douchebag??

No ...

In my mind the douchebags are driving at 100 km/hr, rather than driving safely at the speed of traffic. The biggest douchebags are the ones who have their cruise control set at 100 km/hr being overtaken by another who has his cruisecontrol set at 101 km/hr ... rather than doing it safely by accelerating so that it doesn't take 5 minutes to overtake someone.

I really don't see why we don't restore the speed limit back to what it used to be. It used to be 113 km/hr (70 miles/hr) before it was lowered to to 97 km/hr (60 miles/hr) and then rounded up to 100 km/hr (62 miles/hr) when we went metric. So go back to 70 miles/hr and round to 115 km/hr (71 miles/hour). Or either 110 km/hr (68 miles/hr) or 120 km/hr (75 miles/hr).

The actual design speed of the highways when we had the 70 miles/hr speed limit was 80 miles/hr (129 km/hr) and this was increased to 130 km/hr (81 miles/hr) when we went metric. So there's now a 30 km/hr gap between the speed limit and the design speed - compared to 16 km/hr previously.

 

[Haljackey]

Here's an example of what happens when people drive at the speed limit in each lane:

[video=youtube;OoETMCosULQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ[/video]


In my opinion, highway speed limits should be*:
-At-grade expressways- 80-90km/h
-Grade-separated expressways- 90-100km/h
-Freeways (urban)- 100-110km/h
-Freeways (suburban)- 110-120km/h
-Freeways (rural)- 120-130km/h

*Of course, exceptions apply

 

[TheTigerMaster]

By that standard, why have speed limits at all? If we let people determine the "safe" speed on their own, just get rid of mandatory limits al together.



The lack of safety you felt, and that minister felt, was because of other people driving 120 and acting like douchebags. Just shows why the police need to crack down hard on people who drive above 100. They are making the roads unsafe.

You seem more interested in fear mongering than actual research. When speed have been increased on roads where drivers "naturally" speed the average speed traveled remained the same. And the amount of collisions decreased because there are less drivers going slower than the average speed.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Many of our municipal roads also need to have the limits reassessed. The most obvious examples out of many that I can think of is Eglinton Avenue East. Parts of that road are as wide as a highway, have no intersections and zero pedestrian traffic. I figue the average speed is 70kph. Yet the limit is only 60 kph. This causes many drivers to drive dangerously slow or hit the brakes to maintain the speed limit. I figure that the limit in these sections should at the very least be 70 if not 80.

 

[Johnny Au]

Many of our municipal roads also need to have the limits reassessed. The most obvious examples out of many that I can think of is Eglinton Avenue East. Parts of that road are as wide as a highway, have no intersections and zero pedestrian traffic. I figue the average speed is 70kph. Yet the limit is only 60 kph. This causes many drivers to drive dangerously slow or hit the brakes to maintain the speed limit. I figure that the limit in these sections should at the very least be 70 if not 80.

One side benefit would be that LRTs become faster (if they stop less often).

If our expressways have increased speed limits, then GO buses can travel faster.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

One side benefit would be that LRTs become faster (if they stop less often).

If our expressways have increased speed limits, then GO buses can travel faster.

Unfortunately our ROWs are still considered part of the street. This means that legally the LRVs have to move below the speed limit. I never understood the logic of this. Restricting the movement of LRVs to 40kph does little, if anything to improve safety.

BTW the section of road I was talking about won't have any ROWs. It's the area of Eglinton just west of Leslie

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Here's an example of what happens when people drive at the speed limit in each lane:

[video=youtube;OoETMCosULQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ[/video]


In my opinion, highway speed limits should be*:
-At-grade expressways- 80-90km/h
-Grade-separated expressways- 90-100km/h
-Freeways (urban)- 100-110km/h
-Freeways (suburban)- 110-120km/h
-Freeways (rural)- 120-130km/h

*Of course, exceptions apply

That video was hilarious hijackey. Really does make the point we're trying to make well.

 

[TOareaFan]

One side benefit would be that LRTs become faster (if they stop less often).

If our expressways have increased speed limits, then GO buses can travel faster.

I can tell you that GO buses do not adhere to anything close to the speed limit now. My typical speed is in the 105-110 range and the most common vehicles to zoom past me like I was standing still are GO buses and motorcycles.

 

[Dan416]

I concur. GO buses don't drive slow on the highway.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Slow drivers should stay in the right lane on highways. However, Ontario highways have a design flaw. When traffic lanes reduce (IE. from 3 to 2), it is the right lane that is usually forced to merge to the left, instead of the left lane merging to the right. Because of that, through driving requires one to go into the middle lane, including slow drivers.

 

[doady]

A transport truck driving at 104 km/hr overtaking me at 100 km/hr is driving like a douchebag??

No ...

In my mind the douchebags are driving at 100 km/hr, rather than driving safely at the speed of traffic. The biggest douchebags are the ones who have their cruise control set at 100 km/hr being overtaken by another who has his cruisecontrol set at 101 km/hr ... rather than doing it safely by accelerating so that it doesn't take 5 minutes to overtake someone.

So if we set the speed limit to 120 km/h, everyone will drive at exactly 120 km/h? Okaaaaaay...