Highways in Canada

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by DavefromSt.Vital

I recently drove to Niagara and back. I didn't notice any significant changes in driving behaviour on the QEW on the stretch between Hamilton and St. Catharines where the speed limit was increased to 110 km/h. The vehicles driving quickly were now not as far over the limit as they would have been previously and the ones going slowly were now more noticeably below the limit.

How fast do the fast ones go? 120 or 130?

I was testing out the 110 km/h on Highway 417. Almost everyone except this old Asian couple (and me) went 120 km/h. Some actually stick to the 110 km/h speed limit. Going ~130 km/h was actually hard because I wasn’t expecting that much traffic on a Saturday (the weekend after Thanksgiving). It was becoming like N.S. 102...
By the way, the couple that passed me was doing 140 km/h. Now looking back, I’m surprised that they didn’t get busted because I was 2 cops on the 417...

[Loco101]

I'm all for higher speed limits on many highways in Ontario if photo radar were to be used as well as stricter enforcement where driving more than 25 km/h over the limit would mean severe penalties.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I'm all for higher speed limits on many highways in Ontario if photo radar were to be used as well as stricter enforcement where driving more than 25 km/h over the limit would mean severe penalties.

I have always thought they need to add a zero to the fines. Seriously, $200 isn't a big deal, but $2000 is. For all speeds in excess of 50 km/hr over, the vehicle should be crushed and the driver presses the button. If it is is not owned by them, the owner stands beside them.

Or better still, all 400 series highways outside of the cities should have no speed limit. Also, a new law should be brought in, a keep right unless you are passing.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

I have always thought they need to add a zero to the fines. Seriously, $200 isn't a big deal, but $2000 is. For all speeds in excess of 50 km/hr over, the vehicle should be crushed and the driver presses the button. If it is is not owned by them, the owner stands beside them.

Or better still, all 400 series highways outside of the cities should have no speed limit. Also, a new law should be brought in, a keep right unless you are passing.

I don't care if someone is doing 150 in a 50 zone. 2,000 dollar fine for speeding is fucking retarded. Automated traffic enforcement is a horrible practice with exceptions like being in school or work zones-- even then I think it should be limited. Stop worrying about people speeding. It is dangerous driving like weaving, driving distracted or impaired that is the worst. Speed is often a contributing factor to the severity of the wreck. Newer cars are safer and safer allowing their occupants to walk away from a wreck at 100 or more MPH with scratches.

Handing out fines A) don't seem to work b) impose unfair hardships on the working class C) even on threat of having a suspended license do not deter those from driving anyways. That isn't to say there shouldn't a fine as there has to be order and breaking order, if you are caught, should come with some sort of penalty.

[Dengler Avenue]

I don't care if someone is doing 150 in a 50 zone. 2,000 dollar fine for speeding is fucking retarded.

I agree that it’s retarded. With that kind of offence, prosecutors should be looking at jail time instead.

Newer cars are safer and safer allowing their occupants to walk away from a wreck at 100 or more MPH with scratches.

Don’t get tricked into thinking that you’re invincible though.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by plutonicpanda

I don't care if someone is doing 150 in a 50 zone. 2,000 dollar fine for speeding is fucking retarded. Automated traffic enforcement is a horrible practice with exceptions like being in school or work zones-- even then I think it should be limited. Stop worrying about people speeding. It is dangerous driving like weaving, driving distracted or impaired that is the worst. Speed is often a contributing factor to the severity of the wreck. Newer cars are safer and safer allowing their occupants to walk away from a wreck at 100 or more MPH with scratches.

Handing out fines A) don't seem to work b) impose unfair hardships on the working class C) even on threat of having a suspended license do not deter those from driving anyways. That isn't to say there shouldn't a fine as there has to be order and breaking order, if you are caught, should come with some sort of penalty.

If you cannot afford it, don't speed.

If I had things my way, 50m/hr over, and your car is crushed with you pressing the button. Not owned by you, then the owner is there watching as you press the button. That means high end cars would end up as cubes.

The issue also isn't what will happen to you, but to others. Hear of the sander that pushed a car into the guardrail and didn't notice it? That car is newer, and is totaled while the truck is on the road without much more than a scratch.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

If you cannot afford it, don't speed.

If I had things my way, 50m/hr over, and your car is crushed with you pressing the button. Not owned by you, then the owner is there watching as you press the button. That means high end cars would end up as cubes.

The issue also isn't what will happen to you, but to others. Hear of the sander that pushed a car into the guardrail and didn't notice it? That car is newer, and is totaled while the truck is on the road without much more than a scratch.

Not to mention when the truck is a car and the car is a pedestrian.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

IMO in places like KW where road network’s radial, it’s understandable. In grid-like places, it’s inexcusable.

This is very true. Kitchener-Waterloo is a nightmare for thinking up directions off the cuff, and you can forget about giving an intercardinal direction for a location at an intersection.

King St runs east-west in Kitchener but then becomes north-south when you cross into Waterloo (which makes more sense). It gets confusing when you look at a map and see that Victoria Ave, which is basically at a 90-degree perpendicular angle to King St. in Waterloo, is also a north-south street.

That turns into Hwy 7 and, uh, goes east to Guelph.

Even stupider, King St. in Cambridge is "King St. East" until it gets to Hespeler, where it changes name to become Dundas St. running north-south.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by rousseau

This is very true. Kitchener-Waterloo is a nightmare for thinking up directions off the cuff, and you can forget about giving an intercardinal direction for a location at an intersection.

King St runs east-west in Kitchener but then becomes north-south when you cross into Waterloo (which makes more sense). It gets confusing when you look at a map and see that Victoria Ave, which is basically at a 90-degree perpendicular angle to King St. in Waterloo, is also a north-south street.

That turns into Hwy 7 and, uh, goes east to Guelph.

Even stupider, King St. in Cambridge is "King St. East" until it gets to Hespeler, where it changes name to become Dundas St. running north-south.

Most of Southern Ontario is in a grid pattern for it's major roads. R.M. of Waterloo says "screw that, hold my beer." And then does the mess we now live with.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Most of Southern Ontario is in a grid pattern for it's major roads. R.M. of Waterloo says "screw that, hold my beer." And then does the mess we now live with.

Don't get me wrong. I personally hate the grid pattern. I curse the fact that Upper Canada was developed so late in the game that we basically took after Ohio. If K-W were as old and big as Hamilton it would be dreamy.

This is why a walk in London will always be more fundamentally interesting and pleasing to the eye than in New York.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

I agree that it’s retarded. With that kind of offence, prosecutors should be looking at jail time instead.

Don’t get tricked into thinking that you’re invincible though.

When you get caught doing something like that it is no longer an issue of speeding. You have moved onto a new offense which is a misdemeanor(I am not sure if that is the case in Canada). I would not even support jail time simply for exceeding a certain speed limit across the board. Suggesting a zero is added for exceeding speed limits(which are usually set arbitrarily) is asinine.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

If you cannot afford it, don't speed.

I suppose in theory I agree with this as I have learned quickly what having a lead foot and shallow pockets does to you. That said I don't think the rich should be able to speed and break the law getting away with it.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by plutonicpanda

I suppose in theory I agree with this as I have learned quickly what having a lead foot and shallow pockets does to you. That said I don't think the rich should be able to speed and break the law getting away with it.

Hence why I would like them to add car crushing to it. To watch your new Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc end up a cube might hit home the lesson. The fact that they would be still paying for the cube would help them learn.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Hence why I would like them to add car crushing to it. To watch your new Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc end up a cube might hit home the lesson. The fact that they would be still paying for the cube would help them learn.

I don't remember what country it is that does this, but I saw a system where the price of traffic violation ticket is proportionate to income. That seems more fair than a blanket fine.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by plutonicpanda

I don't remember what country it is that does this, but I saw a system where the price of traffic violation ticket is proportionate to income. That seems more fair than a blanket fine.

IIRC it's Finland that has such a system. I think for some tickets it's 2% of your income which to me sounds way too high. In Canada the real problem is speed limits that are set way too low. The vast majority of people everywhere drive at a speed that is conducive to the road and conditions at the time. This of course means most people drive faster than the posted unrealistically low speed limit. The government then uses this to justify ticketing people claiming there's a speeding problem and they have to keep the roads safe. It's all a huge scam to raise revenues via fines.

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

IIRC it's Finland that has such a system. I think for some tickets it's 2% of your income which to me sounds way too high. In Canada the real problem is speed limits that are set way too low. The vast majority of people everywhere drive at a speed that is conducive to the road and conditions at the time. This of course means most people drive faster than the posted unrealistically low speed limit. The government then uses this to justify ticketing people claiming there's a speeding problem and they have to keep the roads safe. It's all a huge scam to raise revenues via fines.

Right and that is my main problem with the attitude towards speeders that some have. I am certainly not advocating people should be traveling 150MPH as I only used that as an extremity to show why simply viewing a number on paper isn't cause to add zeros at the end of fines. If we had a network of autobahns that were designed with no speed limit and other roads that had higher speed limits I would be more in favor of stricter testing regiments for license approval and more emphasis on speed control.

But in this current climate I find police focus too much on speeders as it has become a giant scam.

[theman23]

I don’t know how effective autmated speeding enforcement is. I recently rented a car in Spain, where they seem to have speeding cameras every few KM on the highway and it seemed like everyone was speeding regardless, just slowing down when they passed the cameras. The driving behaviour was generally much more civilized though, even if Spain doesn’t have the same reputation as Germany or the Scandinavian nations.

Rather than arresting speeders, we should be going after people who needlessly change lanes to try to save a few seconds in traffic, tail gaters, and people who drive in the left lane. I was driving to work the other day and some guy in an 18 wheeler decided to tail gate me on the wet/icy roads (he eventually cut off someone in the left lane to pass me). I’m not sure what he was thinking, but this type of behaviour is pretty common here even amongst truck drivers.

I also wonder why truck drivers in BC aren’t speed limited or restricted to the right lane, like they are elsewhere. Some of the worst drivers in this province seem be driving trucks, which is in stark contrast to my experience driving in Eastern Canada and the States.

[craner]

Originally Posted by theman23

I also wonder why truck drivers in BC aren’t speed limited or restricted to the right lane, like they are elsewhere. Some of the worst drivers in this province seem be driving trucks, which is in stark contrast to my experience driving in Eastern Canada and the States.

Because BC highways only have one lane each way.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by craner

Because BC highways only have one lane each way.

Well so does Northern Ontario...

Here’s the thing though: AFAIK, in Canada, only Ontario* and Quebec mandate speed limiters. Not anywhere else. I’ve followed a truck at 120 km/h on N.B. - 2 before.

* Trucks originating from Brampton can be a different story though.

[bartolo]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Well so does Northern Ontario...

Here’s the thing though: AFAIK, in Canada, only Ontario* and Quebec mandate speed limiters. Not anywhere else. I’ve followed a truck at 120 km/h on N.B. - 2 before.

* Trucks originating from Brampton can be a different story though.

I remember once driving through Quebec I was being followed by a transport doing 130-140kmh. I looked up the law it only applied to trucks that were built after 1994.