Ontario Highways

[Horus]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

Which is my point. I am one of a few people that tries to leave a good distance between me and the car ahead of me, and what happens? Someone pulls in. Maybe a few smashed windshields and some scared drivers will have people back off.

I am old enough to remember seeing the "keep 2 chevrons apart". Now a days people are not even keeping 1 Smart car length apart.

So if someone pulls in front of you in the space you are leaving, and ice flies off their roof, into your windshield, that's your fault for following too close?

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Horus

So if someone pulls in front of you in the space you are leaving, and ice flies off their roof, into your windshield, that's your fault for following too close?

I didn't back off, so, yes. Am I still pissed at them? Yes, but I know had I backed off my windshield would be intact. That is called taking responsibility for your actions and inactions.

[vid]

Canadian tire sells extendable snow brushes for like 15 bucks, there's no excuse. I can dust off almost my entire truck from one side with it, the only thing I can' get is the side windows on the opposite side. I still have to walk around to get those ones.

At work, we use a large bush broom to clear snow off the vehicles.

A friend of mine who runs a driving school posted this on Facebook the other day:



What's especially annoying is people who let their car idle for 15 minutes, then get in without clearing any snow off, and wreck their wipers trying to clear 2 inches of snow and ice with just the wipers and washer fluid. They just shouldn't be allowed to have cars.

[haljackey]

Originally Posted by vid

What's especially annoying is people who let their car idle for 15 minutes, then get in without clearing any snow off, and wreck their wipers trying to clear 2 inches of snow and ice with just the wipers and washer fluid. They just shouldn't be allowed to have cars.

The fastest way to warm your car up is to drive it.

Any gasoline car made within the last 20 years needs maybe 20-30 seconds to warm up. In very cold weather maybe a min. That allows the engine oil to circulate.

I have a remote starter so I just turn it on while I brush and scrape off ice and snow. So I'm idling for a couple mins max to let the rear defroster do it's thing. The front one won't work well until the car gets to a higher temp.

Idling for 15 mins is not just lazy, it's a waste of gas, a non-renewable resource, and money. Not to mention it's not doing any favors to the environment.

Many newer cars have stop/start engines to help reduce idling. I think every new car should just turn off if it's stopped for 2 mins, maybe 5 max.

I'll give diesels an exception, but they are getting better too.

[sonysnob]

My car has a start/stop "feature".

I find it pretty irritating to be honest, and almost always deactivate it when I am driving.

It's really annoying when trying to make a left hand turn at a busy intersection and having the vehicle hesitate because it has to turn itself on before it can start to move.

[sonysnob]

I stumbled across this and thought it was pretty neat.

As part of the Highway 427 widening through the 427 interchange, the alignment of the on-ramp to the 427 from the 407 was shifted to the west. As part of this, the existing bridge was moved several meters to the west.

There is a cool video of this relocation here:

• Video Link

[Dengler Avenue]

https://twitter.com/opp_hsd/status/1...764196354?s=21
“Tow truck turf war on Provincial roads leads to criminal chargesAmir Al-Hisseini, 19 charged”

[vid]

Originally Posted by haljackey

The fastest way to warm your car up is to drive it.

Any gasoline car made within the last 20 years needs maybe 20-30 seconds to warm up. In very cold weather maybe a min. That allows the engine oil to circulate.

I have a remote starter so I just turn it on while I brush and scrape off ice and snow. So I'm idling for a couple mins max to let the rear defroster do it's thing. The front one won't work well until the car gets to a higher temp.

Idling for 15 mins is not just lazy, it's a waste of gas, a non-renewable resource, and money. Not to mention it's not doing any favors to the environment.

Many newer cars have stop/start engines to help reduce idling. I think every new car should just turn off if it's stopped for 2 mins, maybe 5 max.

I'll give diesels an exception, but they are getting better too.

My rule of thumb is to wait to put it in drive until the RPMs drop. When you start up on a cold day, it takes longer, so the length of time before putting it in gear goes up as it gets colder. But it's never more than a minute. Starting at -20, it maybe takes 35 to 40 seconds for the RPMs to drop from 2k to 1k. Since snow accumulation isn't actually too common here (I only brush the truck off maybe 10 times a winter) most of the time when I start, this is what I do to warm it up. I've got full heat within 2km of driving. By the time Karen has warmed up her CRV for 15 minutes I'm already done getting groceries.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by vid

My rule of thumb is to wait to put it in drive until the RPMs drop. When you start up on a cold day, it takes longer, so the length of time before putting it in gear goes up as it gets colder. But it's never more than a minute. Starting at -20, it maybe takes 35 to 40 seconds for the RPMs to drop from 2k to 1k. Since snow accumulation isn't actually too common here (I only brush the truck off maybe 10 times a winter) most of the time when I start, this is what I do to warm it up. I've got full heat within 2km of driving. By the time Karen has warmed up her CRV for 15 minutes I'm already done getting groceries.

If you care that much, I am assuming you plug your car in, right?

[vid]

I don't have anywhere to plug it in. I rent, and after the ground floor was renovated a couple years ago they took all the exterior plugs out. Short of getting 200ft of cord or climbing a ladder to plug it into the plugs at the top of the street light, I have no where to plug it in. It's also fairly long walk from my door to where the vehicle is parked, currently about 50ft from any building. I just don't start it at all when it's below -20 unless I have no choice whatsoever.

My next vehicle will be plugged in regularly, it will be electric.

[sonysnob]

A few photos looking both westerly and easterly from Markham Road overtop of the 407 in Markham. These were taken back in October, and highlight the recent expansion of the 407 from six to eight lanes between Markham Road and York/Durham Line:

Looking west:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg

Looking east:

http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg

[MatthewD]

I was wondering if anyone has photos of the recently widened Cambridge section of the 401 between Hespeler and Hwy. 8

[vid]

Today is the official launch day for the new licence plates. No word on if they're going to use up the old white ones and then start the blue ones or if they're just going to go straight into the blue ones. I guess I could have gone and asked them but line ups are always long on Saturday. Also no word on if it will affect passenger trucks, since they currently use commercial plates with an exemption sticker.

[sonysnob]

Continuing with my weekend long photo-dump, I present these photos taken from Major Mackenzie Drive over the 400. These were taken late in October and feature the construction that is ongoing to widen the 400 with (unfortunately in my opinion) HOV lanes:


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg


http://www.asphaltplanet.ca/ON/hwy_4...ct19_24x16.jpg

[Dengler Avenue]

Why unfortunate?

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

Continuing with my weekend long photo-dump, I present these photos taken from Major Mackenzie Drive over the 400. These were taken late in October and feature the construction that is ongoing to widen the 400 with (unfortunately in my opinion) HOV lanes:

When are they planning on adding lanes north of Major Mack? It looks like they have the bridges in place to go as far as Aurora Rd.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

When are they planning on adding lanes north of Major Mack? It looks like they have the bridges in place to go as far as Aurora Rd.

80 km/h zone = construction happening right now

I’m more so wondering why no HOV lane between Highway 7 and Finch Avenue. Converting the existing left lane into one will do.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by swimmer_spe

When are they planning on adding lanes north of Major Mack? It looks like they have the bridges in place to go as far as Aurora Rd.

The construction between Major Mack and King Road is supposed to finish this year in 2020. North of that, probably within a few years between here and Hwy 9.

I'd rather the Hwy 400 corridor just receive general purpose lanes than HOV lanes to be honest.

Given that carpooling rates continue to drop in the GTA, I'm not of the opinion that carpool lanes are actually changing behvaviour in a meaningful way.

[Dengler Avenue]

I wonder if having 4 carpool lanes instead of 2 changes things up. Right now, in the HOV lane, if there’s a slow poke in front, no one can go fast (and by and large most feel guilty crossing the solid white line). One encourages carpooling by having people stuck in general purpose lanes watch those in HOV lane zoom by.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

I wonder if having 4 carpool lanes instead of 2 changes things up. Right now, in the HOV lane, if there’s a slow poke in front, no one can go fast (and by and large most feel guilty crossing the solid white line). One encourages carpooling by having people stuck in general purpose lanes watch those in HOV lane zoom by.

The high price of gas encourages carpooling -- if cutting your fuel costs by 50% isn't enough of an incentive then a few extra minutes probably aren't going to cut it either.