Roads: Ontario/GTA Highways Discussion

[11th]

To be slightly pedantic it comes down hard on anyone doing 50 Km/Hr ABOVE the posted speed limit. If the speed limits are raised to 120-130 Km/Hr than the stunt driving charges move to 170-180 Km/Hr, making stunt driving laws all but useless. Would you support a change in stunt driving laws that set the limits for stunt driving charges at the same current 150 Km/hr, or even a small bump to 160?



Actually yes I see drivers doing 130+ Km/hr nearly everyday on the 401/412/407*. At all times of the day, evenings, morning/afternoon peak, weekends. (asterix on the 407 because it's the one highway that seems to be designed for higher speed limits, and the traffic levels easily allow speeds at 130 Km/Hr

My point, perhaps made not so clearly, was that an increase in speed limits should be matched by enforcement of the posted speed limit. No more of this "oh just keeping up with traffic" or other rules thumbs used to justify speeds well above the posted limits. If you are above the posted limit, you are speeding and you get a ticket. If your confident that increasing speed limits won't be met by a proportional change in driver behaviour (number of speeders, and top speed of the speeders goes up in line with the speed limit increase), then like I said above those who continue to speed above to posted limit should face severe consequences. Personally I think the fraction of those drivers who think they are playing a real life game of mario kart will continue to drive as if every vehicle ahead of them is a goal for them to pass, and will do so regardless of the posted speed limit or the flow of the rest of traffic.

I remember when 5-10 Km/hr above the limit was the "rule of thumb" for being safe from police citing you for speeding. Then 20 Km/Hr above the limit became the norm. Now it seems that 130 Km/Hr is the free flow speed on most highways

5-10 km/h is for roads in urban settings. It's been max +20km/h on rural/highways for a long time.
Interesting though, you see people regularly doing 5-10 mph over the limit on US interstates.

 

[turbanplanner]

The problem in Ontario is that our speeding culture is derived from the fact that we have such a low speed limit. People (like admittedly myself) don't drive 120-125 because we feel an obligation to drive 20 above the speed limit, we do so because 100km/h is an unreasonably low speed limit, and we push the limit as much as we can get away with so that we can travel on these highways designed for 140km/h at a reasonable speed. I can promise you that in the event our speed limits are raised to 130, I personally wouldn't drive much faster than at most 135, because that's basically the limit at which I'm comfortable driving at.

My personal experience confirms this tbh. Going on the 110 sections people drive the same speed as before. I say way more pepple going 20 over in an 80 than 20 over in a 110!

 

[Dan416]

I agree. I don't see this as really increasing people's speeds, just acknowledging how fast people are driving on highways that are designed for these speeds. In the GTA, traffic will impact how fast people can go anyway. Considering how well-designed our freeways are, it's counterintuitive how low the speed limits are.

I'm also really curious to see which highways get updated to a 110 limit.

 

[drum118]

I agree. I don't see this as really increasing people's speeds, just acknowledging how fast people are driving on highways that are designed for these speeds. In the GTA, traffic will impact how fast people can go anyway. Considering how well-designed our freeways are, it's counterintuitive how low the speed limits are.

I'm also really curious to see which highways get updated to a 110 limit.

This is what Is see. 401, 402, 403, 404, 410, QEW, 416, 417 out side city area like they do in the states. Most of them could be 120-130 as well. Not sure if 427 will make the list. Same can be said about Hwy 11 and 406.