Christien

lol. Seriously, though, it's a like a voluntary tax, similar to the lottery. Nobody is forced to pay it, but they know there will always be plenty of people who will.

Jaak Lepson

How does that help when there are LOTS of ... how shall we say ... new Immigrants ... who decide that 70 kmh in lane 2 of a three lane highway is fast enough??? I always get stuck behind these folks. Now, using your logic ... the speed limit would be lower than 90 kmh ... and ... what about the trucks? It's bad enough that these suckers crash & burn at an alarming rate <I'd like to kick them up and down the highway when they close it at rush hour due to stupidity>???

Jaak Lepson

... with the Insurance Companies riding along as well ....

Christien

Ah yes, of course, how could I forget our good friends in the insurance industry.

"Now every new policy comes with a free shoehorn and a jar of vaseline!"

jumper5836

Was that just after they decreased the speed limit from 115 to 100 because of the Middle East oil crisis.

Jaak Lepson

Was on my way to a second date with a hottie with "large personel flotation devices" and was pulled over by the peanut plaza .... Sarge lowered it to 6 miles over the limit. Hey ... I'm careful out there ... PLUS ... I HATE PAYING MORE THAN I NEED TO!!!

jumper5836

I didn't mean decrease the speed limit, I meant the speed difference.
right now @100 km/h
95-140 is a 45 km/h difference

if we went to 120 km/h
115-140 is 25 km/h difference

The Roads get much more safer by decreasing the speed difference.

There shouldn't be any one on the road doing 70. If there is, they need to be banned from the road, there has to be a reason for someone going that slow but what ever reason it is. They don't belong on the road.

jumper5836

Back in those days the "large flotation devices" were real. So I can see how that may have been tempted u to speed.

Jaak Lepson

Where real ... not "memorex" ... and she let me "float" with them because of the ticket .....

Jaak Lepson

I urban areas eg. 401 through TO the limit should be 100 kmh. Out side of TO it should be 120 kmh due to the lack of on & off ramps. Same with the other 400 series highways. It's 110 in rural Nova Scotia ... makes for better traffic discipline ... (as I had stated in earlier posts.

In Quebec it is posted minimum 80 and max 100. This should be enforced strongly. Anyone doing less should be charged!!!

JDSStudios

In my own way of thinking:
Every lane should have its own speed limit.
Right lane=100 Km
Center lane=120 Km
Passing lane= no limit
Driver education should be required.

CDN_Wolf_eh

I always find it some what amusing when I'm driving out to Calgary ... all through northern Ontario ... the speed limit is set at 90 km/h ... and there OPP cruisers out and about ... normally I see one per hour.

Now once I cross the border into Manitoba ... the speed limit goes up to 110 km/h ... and the RCMP are no where to be seen ... the terrain and wildlife have not changed due to the change of provinces ... only the desire for tax revenues I guess.

In Alberta, the two-lane highways are set at 110 km/h vs our 80 km/h.

As I've stated before on other related threads ... our 400 series highways are designed for regular traffic to be able to safely drive at 150 km/h ... and a UofT study from a few years ago found that the majority of drivers felt most comfortable at 130 km/h.

100 km/h is not some magic speed limit that makes everything safe ... it was set there years ago during the original OPEC crisses of the 70's ... and at the time, the big boats that everyone were driving, operated efficiently at that speed ... now 30+ years later, we have had these things called "technological advancements" ... which have greatly improved gas mileage, and various safety devices, and driver aids ... most US interstates have increased their speed limits back to more reasonable levels ... it is time that Ontario does the same ... move it up to 130 km/h ... most soccer and hockey mom's are driving at that speed now anyway's!



Mark

CDN_Wolf_eh

Oh ... and the thing I really hate about this "Law" is the fact that people are found guilty and punished by the officer (that is only suppose to be laying the charge) without due process.

Our police are faliable, just as faliable as every other human being, maybe less so than our politicians that is why there are checks and balances in our justice system.

Maybe Fantino finds the restraints of the justice system to ounerous ... and now he is setting the laws, rather than our elected officials.



Mark

GomobileR32

Hi Guys-

CDN_Wolf_eh was nice enough to IM me over in the VWVortex forum and let me know this was cross linked over here. I'm the O.P. and the guy who this happened to.

I certainly appreciate some of the sympathy posts here and as well over in the Vortex forum (it's also crosslinked in the Vette forum too) but that really wasn't the point of the thread. It was just a cautionary thread and also to blow off some steam.

Hey! Thanks for that!

Again, the thread wasn't to try and garner any sympathy. Too many people try and pass the blame or misplace anger when something like this happens. 'You do the crime, you do the time', simple as that. Having a good sense of humor about it is the only way to deal with it.

Honestly, I'm not even mad at the police officer. A new law was passed and his job is just to uphold it as best he can. Just a job. He was extremely proffessional and as courteous as he needed to be. Here's my gripe though with a few things...

I believe it does put a little too much power into one person's hands. While the officer is the best witness to the violation, he should be just that, a witness. Not the judge, jury and executioner at the same time. The fact that normal, due process is pushed aside is a tough pill to swallow. (We over here in the U.S. have to deal with that from a jackass President and Government enough already. LOL)

Besides losing the 'due process', the punishment seems to be a bit extreme for the 'crime'. This now being handed out by a patrol officer who may be in a bad mood, adrenallin pumpung from pulling someone over, or simply on a whim.

In my case, the officer followed the law to the letter. OK, so I have to just deal with it. But I am disappointed that he didn't use his 'descretionary' powers a little more keenly. If the law is in place to combat street racing, or stunt driving as he stated, then it was plain to see for him that neither of those were being done by me. I was simply travelling faster than the law permits (Yet, in the safest manner that speed can provide). Swerving in and out of traffic? Tailgating? Nope, wasn't doing any of that. It was plain to him that I was just a guy 20 miles from the border in a rush to get home. As I had stated also in the original thread, (and I usually don't like this sort of thing that people do to try and get off of tickets) I have PBA cards with friends and family police officers and I also tried to mention the purpose of my visit which was to see my brother on Veterans Day after a long deployment in Afghanistan (He's a team leader in the JTF2 and has it tough if anyone's familiar with what they do) The cop still didn't give in with any sympathy.

In my opinion, if I was an officer at that moment I would have handled it a bit differently.
Firstly, a radar detector ticket and a large fine are to be expected and given. That is something that is well posted at the border and there is no excuse. I do however think that ripping a built in radar detector unit from a vehicle that it's permanently installed into, and can't be put into the trunk as the law states, is a bit much. (especially in a vehicle that is registered in a region where it is perefctly legal to own one)...but OK, I'll deal with that.
Secondly, being that violator was from 'out-of-town' should be taken into consideration. While I don't feel ignorance to a country's laws is acceptable in the least bit, it's a brand new law and not exactly well publicized here in New York, so it would be tough for the violator, to know it. (My brother in Ottawa wasn't even aware of it) There is no such sign, warning or posting at the border crossing to inform of the new law either(at least not at the Thousand Island crossing)
Travelling 95 MPH (154 KPH) is fast. But it's not completely unheard of and even almost fairly common on an Interstate or large highway. Is that an excuse just because other people do it? No. But was it a ludacrous, dangerous speed for the roadway and conditions? Not really.
In the end, I would have just given a 4KPH less violation/ticket, a good tongue lashing and a stern warning.
Leaving someone stranded on the side of the road with small pets and bags from a weekend vacation is dangerous. Then to be told to clear out without a way of doing so is plain insulting. I don't feel it would have been any different if there were small children or family present.

This was/is an expensive lesson. I hope for all you sake's up in Ontario that there is a little relief from this law. I know I'll be VERY aware of my speed on my next visit. LOL

koenig911

Obey the law and everyone will be arrive alive. Relax and enjoy the scenery.

Immigrants are what makes Canada. So don't knock them.