Highways in Canada

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

For the most part I agree about BC, but I think some of the speed limits are artificially low in Metro Vancouver:

- Highway 1 drops down to 90 westbound before the Port Mann Bridge, drops further to 80 past Grandview Highway, and then down to 70 before the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. 80 is way too low through the Cassiar Tunnel, IMO. In North Vancouver, the speed limit is also artificially low.

- Highway 99 drops down to 60 northbound a short distance north of Highway 91. It feels ridiculously low, at least up until you reach the Marine Drive interchange.

- Also on Highway 99, the speed limit around Lion’s Bay is only 60. The reason for that speed limit, from my understanding, is not connected at all to safety and is for the benefit of some very well-off locals who don’t like highway noise.

I think the highway noise issue is an urban legend, the issue I see with Lions Bay is the topography (and budget constraints) forced the highway design to adopt very short on and off ramps, necessitating a slower speed.

Agreed about the speed limits in metro van, good thing most ignore them and the pace of travel is usually about 120.

[Dengler Avenue]

Excessive speeding and yet cops don't care? Man, we could only dream of that here in Ontario.
I guess in B.C., even the cops agree that the speed limit's too low?

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Excessive speeding and yet cops don't care? Man, we could only dream of that here in Ontario.

???

My general rule on the 401 is that I drive whatever speed I feel like because there's always, always, somebody going faster who will find the OPP before I do. Driving 135 through Pickering? No problem. Somebody's probably weaving through traffic going faster or reaching the speed of sound on the outside lane. Most of the time I find myself doing a pretty brisk 130 eastbound out of Toronto if traffic allows for it.

[Innsertnamehere]

yea, especially on 400 series highways in Ontario, you can go as fast as you please. The vehicle volumes alone make it extremely extremely unlikely to get pulled over.

Plus now they have 110 limits on a few of the longer range highways.. make it even easier to do a good clip. I drive on the QEW out toward Niagara often and do 130 without really thinking since it's a 110 limit and not many cops are going to pull you over for doing 20 over on a 400 series highway..

the places you have to be careful on are local rural roads, especially on the edges of towns where limits are low but feel like they should be higher. Cops LOVE those spots for speed traps as it's easy to catch people doing 35+km/h over. In my social circle, probably 4 out of 5 tickets I hear about people getting are in a scenario like that.


Ontario has somewhat recently started putting in lower limits in construction zones though, and this is annoying. The 403 through Hamilton has a 70 limit on it right now because of construction.. not like anyone follows it but it's ridiculously slow for a 400 series highway.
it's the same thing on the 400, a good chunk of it is an 80 limit right now because there is so much construction. Traffic still flows at 120+, but I have to be careful to not pass that 50 over limit..

[ssiguy]

I don't really know about the Interior but in Greater Vancouver, the police are always writing tickets but more importantly they do it on HWY#1..............absurd.

[Dengler Avenue]

it's the same thing on the 400, a good chunk of it is an 80 limit right now because there is so much construction. Traffic still flows at 120+, but I have to be careful to not pass that 50 over limit..

Yea this one's insane. I had had to deal with the construction zone on 401 through Cambridge for 3 years. It was an 80-kph zone and something like 120-kph was just unthinkable. Highway 400 really blew my mind. It's as if people are thinking that the speed limit's in mph instead of kph.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Ontario has somewhat recently started putting in lower limits in construction zones though, and this is annoying. The 403 through Hamilton has a 70 limit on it right now because of construction.. not like anyone follows it but it's ridiculously slow for a 400 series highway.
it's the same thing on the 400, a good chunk of it is an 80 limit right now because there is so much construction. Traffic still flows at 120+, but I have to be careful to not pass that 50 over limit..

I was up the 400 in February and the 80 speed limit was ridiculous. I was up there on a Saturday and there was no construction happening that day, it just seemed like a speed trap.

There's always going to be someone who defends these lower speed limits as saving lives, even though they don't.

[CivicBlues]

Did a roadtrip this summer all around BC. Found that traffic was consistently going 20km/h higher than the posted speed limit on any sort of highway - 4+lane divided, undivided, 2 lanes. Even on sharp mountainous curves where you had to slow down to 40kph if you weren't doing 60+ you'd be holding up traffic behind you.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

I was up the 400 in February and the 80 speed limit was ridiculous. I was up there on a Saturday and there was no construction happening that day, it just seemed like a speed trap.

There's always going to be someone who defends these lower speed limits as saving lives, even though they don't.

Look at Ontario's stats for highway deaths and it shows that lower speed limits do mean fewer deaths. Ontario also has the most speeding enforcement of any province from my experiences as I've travelled in every provinces at least a few times.

I do agree that speed limits in Ontario on some highways are too low. I'd rather see more realistic limits but with higher speeding fines and street racing (where your vehicle is seized, licence taken away, huge fine) set at 40 over the limit rather than 50.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Look at Ontario's stats for highway deaths and it shows that lower speed limits do mean fewer deaths. Ontario also has the most speeding enforcement of any province from my experiences as I've travelled in every provinces at least a few times.

I do agree that speed limits in Ontario on some highways are too low. I'd rather see more realistic limits but with higher speeding fines and street racing (where your vehicle is seized, licence taken away, huge fine) set at 40 over the limit rather than 50.

Is it the lower limit or the higher enforcement?

[theman23]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Look at Ontario's stats for highway deaths and it shows that lower speed limits do mean fewer deaths. Ontario also has the most speeding enforcement of any province from my experiences as I've travelled in every provinces at least a few times.

I do agree that speed limits in Ontario on some highways are too low. I'd rather see more realistic limits but with higher speeding fines and street racing (where your vehicle is seized, licence taken away, huge fine) set at 40 over the limit rather than 50.

There are a ton of roads limited to 80 km/h where the average speed is close to 120 km/h. Would seem absurd to label that as street racing.

[Dengler Avenue]

Too bad we don't do 5's. Imagine setting the RIRO portion of 11 (and 115/35) at 95 km/h (basically 60 mph) instead of the current 90 km/h or 100 km/h, which may be too high with numerous accesses.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I'd rather see more realistic limits but with higher speeding fines and street racing (where your vehicle is seized, licence taken away, huge fine) set at 40 over the limit rather than 50.

To me the fines should be Based on your percentage above the speed limit, not the difference. Going 80 in a 40 zone is much worse than going 140 in a 100 zone but currently the fine would be the same.

[Airboy]

I am always locked in at 10% over limit. Adaptive cruise control make it easier to drive long distance and settle in. However if all the traffic is going faster I drive with the traffic. (driving the 401 and QEW taught me that).

I noticed on the new Explorer. (One of a few rentals I normally get). I can set the cruise to a % over the posted limit.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Airboy

I noticed on the new Explorer. (One of a few rentals I normally get). I can set the cruise to a % over the posted limit.

That's cool. I drive an Edge and I can only set cruise control at even numbers (though the actual speed may still be an odd number). Darn it American cars, increment of 1 mph not 1 kph.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Airboy

I am always locked in at 10% over limit. Adaptive cruise control make it easier to drive long distance and settle in. However if all the traffic is going faster I drive with the traffic. (driving the 401 and QEW taught me that).

Something I learned in the US, and something you'll see on the 400s occasionally, is follow the leader. Basically find a car doing 130-140, follow them doing the same speed, and if one of you gets pulled over it's more likely to be the leading car. You can usually see this if a group of cars are travelling at the same high speed in a pack.

[Taeolas]

I've loved Adaptive Cruise control, and I agree about "Follow the leader".

Over Thanksgiving, I drove from Freddy to Cape Breton, and I had the cruise set to 120 (110 on the non-divided sections). Especially going through Cape Breton, I found a pace car going at a speed I was comfortable with, and let the adaptive cruise control maintain my distance and speed.

Speaking of Nova Scotia, while I couldn't get any pictures, as I mentioned in the Atlantic Highway thread, the work they are doing between New Glasgow and Antigonish is incredible. They're working steadily on the entire stretch. Still lots of bridges to build, valleys to fill and stuff, but it is progressing great. In a few years when it is done, it will be a great highway.

I just wish NS would smarten up about their exit numbering and go klick-based like almost everyone else, instead of straight numbers.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Something I learned in the US, and something you'll see on the 400s occasionally, is follow the leader. Basically find a car doing 130-140, follow them doing the same speed, and if one of you gets pulled over it's more likely to be the leading car. You can usually see this if a group of cars are travelling at the same high speed in a pack.

From what I have heard, the police will often pull over the last car in the line as not only is it easier, but the thought is the trailing cars want to go faster but are being slowed by the leader (especially on 2 lane highways).

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by roger1818

From what I have heard, the police will often pull over the last car in the line as not only is it easier, but the thought is the trailing cars want to go faster but are being slowed by the leader (especially on 2 lane highways).

This seems odd to me if the police is sitting on a highway waiting for oncoming cars and first identifies the lead car as speeding, then deciding on the trailing car. Surely their radar would read only the first car.

Originally Posted by Taeolas

I've loved Adaptive Cruise control, and I agree about "Follow the leader".

I don't mind Adaptive Cruise Controls but I find they slow me down too often behind cars further ahead. The ones i've used, at least, have been far too cautious in its decreasing of speeds.

I miss driving on cruise control out east where I could set it for 30-45 minutes without having to adjust anything. Don't usually get that much space or time on the 400 series.

[Dengler Avenue]

I miss driving on cruise control out east where I could set it for 30-45 minutes without having to adjust anything. Don't usually get that much space or time on the 400 series.

or ON-17 from Ignace to Upsala
I cruised at 108 kph for 45 minutes.