1965356

I have been driving for 30 years and it's always been that your driving record was used to help make up the premium. What century are you talking about

PPo

Photo Radar at intersections in Toronto already exist. I would support the increase of Photo Radar at intersections to deter the behavior of idiots running red lights at high speed... I do believe that the value is to reduce the number of accidents that involve serious injury.

However, a photo radar van on the 401 or other highway with open stretches of road is just a cash grab. There is no question that as a society today we can safely travel at 120 - 140km/h on most dry stretches of major highways in Ontario.

If you want photo radar, put it in the left lane, and ticket the people travelling at 99km/h or less.

It's crazy that our speed limits are so low, and now they are thinking about photo radar... It hope it doesn't get to the point where I will sell my car, take Uber everywhere, and only own race cars because I can't enjoy driving in the public.

Toronto Motorsports Ranch - A private race track, condo, and housing development for those who hate public driving. (Building it on the Eastern Downtown Toronto wasteland south of the Gardiner)

Imo000

What intersections in TO have photo radar?
Why would you want to ticket drivers that drive under the speed limit on the 401?

theiceman

i think he is confusing photo radar with red light cameras , technically the same thing but we are talking about different things here. I have not heard from anyone on any thread here that is against red light cameras that would catch those morons trying to floor it through a yellow or just plain feel they are in too much of a rush to stop at reds.

Ronan

I have zero problem with red light cameras, but they have the right to do that now.

PPo

As Iceman said, and I stand corrected, I should have said red light cameras, not photo radar.

I don't mind if you are in the far right lane and driving slower... but please do not hold people back in the far left lane by going 99km/h or less. This morning I followed a goof up the DVP going 60km/h in the left lane, the same speed as the car beside him... just be considerate of other drivers who want to drive the speed limit. I do believe that many accidents could be avoided if slower drivers either stayed to the right, or off the highway altogether. I also believe the speed limit should be increased.

Imo000

All the 400 series highways have a design speed of 140km/h. Normally the posted speed is 10-20km/h lower than that so and majority of the drivers will drive at the speed the road/highway is designed to. So if you feel the speed limit limit on the 400 series should be higher, you are right.....they were designed and built for faster than their posted speed limits. Artificially lowered speed limits only turns law abiding drivers into criminals. Does nothing for lowering speeds as driver dive at speeds they feel comfortable and not what is posted.

theiceman

I think ( and someone correct me if I am wrong) there is actually a law on the books that says you must pull to the right to let faster traffic pass. If that is the case the guy doing 100 in he fast lane is actually breaking the law if he is holding up traffic.

Additionally I think we all agree in general that aggressive driving is people wanting to go faster than the general flow of traffic. So in essence these same people in the fast lane are creating an aggressive driving situation.

if everyone pulled over like in Europe

1. There would be no passing on the inside.
2. There would be far less aggressive driving in traffic as lanes would be clear
3. Police would get there share of speeders shooting down the passing lane.

everybody wins , but for some reason there is resistance in this country to "encourage" motorists to stay out of the passing lanes.

Christien

I disagree on a number of these points. First and foremost, there's a HUGE difference between aggressive driving and driving faster than the general flow of traffic. I usually drive faster than the typical flow, but I'm anything but aggressive. I don't tailgate, I don't change lanes without signalling and looking, I don't pull into spaces in another lane that don't still leave adequate room both in front of and behind me, I don't change more than one lane at once.

Left lane wieners are only a small part of the problem, and, in my opinion, more of a nuisance than a safety issue. Most of the aggressive driving I see is people weaving in and out of lanes very unsafely because the general flow of traffic is slow due to volume. Our highways are over-congested - when that happens, you're just not going to get there any faster by driving aggressively, plain and simple.

We need:
1. better, more educated drivers
2. less traffic by a) improving inter-city public transit for commuters and b) widening highways.

PPo

I am serious with this question, because I believe the answer is not as obvious as we may think:

Will an increase in the speed limit of a highways like the 401/400/427 have a positive impact on congestion?

theiceman

well Christien you have made my point for me, if the passing lanes were open none of your points would happen.

And the police need to educate like I said in the last paragraph.

and as far as infrastructure goes , when was the last time you took the bus ? there is an excellent transit system in Hamilton , but I bet you still jump in your car. Its a part of our culture.
yes I think widening the highway would help , but whats the point unless you take the waste out of the system first .
Treat it like a Lean problem. Why add more lanes when there is plenty of space in the current ones. what makes you think extra lanes wouldnt be taken up by people doing 60

Imo000

No if the volume of traffic remains the same. Most of these highways around the GTA are at capacity and this brings down the speed so, increasing the speed limit will do nothing for congestion. The solution is either less traffic or add more lanes.

Christien

I mean improving inter-city transit. It takes me 45-75 minutes to get downtown Toronto by car, depending on traffic. It takes me at minimum 75 minutes to get to union by public transit, and that's if I drive or get a ride to the go station, plus then whatever time it takes to get where I'm going by ttc. It'll cost me almost $25 for that, vs $5-10 for parking and $5-10 for gas. Why would I ever take transit?

P0rsch3F113

Ontario Highway Traffic Act
Vehicles or equestrians overtaken
(2) Every person in charge of a vehicle or on horseback on a highway who is overtaken by a vehicle or equestrian travelling at a greater speed shall turn out to the right and allow the overtaking vehicle or equestrian to pass. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 148 (2).

wc11

The problem with socialist Toronto is that they'd rather punish those in cars to try and get them out rather than build a descent transit system that offers a real viable cost effective option.
But the jobs for life clowns at city council are too busy with their pet projects.
And the public sector unions don't make it any easier.
Interesting look at another countries transit today.

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/02/23...-ours-to-shame