O Canada! → Canadian → Canadian Chat > Why is the speed limit in Canada on highways only 100 kph?

Re: Why is the speed limit in Canada on highways only 100 kph?

As far as I'm concerned, as long as they keep the 105 speed limiters on transports, my 120km each way each day drive on 401 (where it's only 2 lanes each way) needs a speed limit no higher than 110 and it'll meet the 85th... the traffic has slowed so much since the speed limiters came on the trucks, that except for friday nights and sunday afternoons, almost no one goes over 115 now - most go 109-112. I drive with my cruise set at 110 to and from work each day and I only get passed by a few vehicles in 120km drive. So often 2 transports drive "side on" for 5-10 km (bound to happen when both of their limiters are set so close it's silly 104.9 km/hr vs 105 km/hr means it takes 15 minutes to cover the 100 feet they need to pass) where everyone is forced to go at 105, that in normal daily driving people don't go much faster than 110 or so now as all that happens is you catch up to trucks and have to wait forever to pass.

On the other hand there are MANY rural 2 lanes in central/eastern ON that need to be 90km/hr that it's not funny... even most US rural 2 lanes are 55mph (90kmh).

If you go down into the Southern US rural two lane highways are 120.

But yeah, Toronto is an entirely different beast. You could post at 110 in the GTA and it wouldn't be much of an issue. Outside of there and on the 407 anything less than 120 and you're turning the majority of drivers into law breakers.

even an RCMP officer wanted to ride fast on highway 1 and put the pedal to the metal...

"Const. Michael Milo Arbulic, 38, faces a charge of excessive speed under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving more than 40 kilometres an hour over the posted speed limit on Highway 1 while off duty on Feb. 14 this year.

In the summer, if you're driving back at night from Niagara Falls or the border along the QEW you'll notice that traffic is usually flying well above 120kph prior to hitting Oakville. I remember on one of my last trips a few weeks back I was doing about 125 in the middle and people were still flying past in the left lane.

I think speed limits are fine the way they are. There are too many bad drivers out there these days, and when it rains or snows people don't lower their speed as it is.

Also, most of your typical budget, family sedans don't hold the road too well over 130. Go over 130 and you'll feel the car start to dance around over every little bump.

We've heard about examples of much higher speed limits in the US. I wonder, are there examples of speed limits of 120 or more in high density metropolitan areas with frequent interchanges? Much of my objection applies to places like the 401 through the GTA or most of the QEW. Are there any examples like this in the US?

I can see raising limits on appropriate sections of the 401, for example between Belleville and Kingston, or London-Chatham. I don't necessarily disagree with that. I want to know if these comparisons to the US are "apples and apples".

Lets stick to 4 lane or more divided highways for now.

Gone: On the first page you posted about the MPH/KPH speeds way back when. Its funny for me, as I remember as a child in the 80's my father and uncle arguing over when the switch was made, and what the limits where. Thanks for bringing back a memory, because it was a good one. They fought for an hour, or so it feels like that in my memory.

I think the 400 series should stay at 100. Lets be honest, the unwritten limit is 120. I spend most of my working day zipping around the GTA. In 15 years, never had an OPP officer even look at me when driving the 120. I have seen some mornings around 6am, where people are driving 130+ into the city. If they set the limit at 120, you could do 130 before getting a ticket, in most cases, and 140 would barely be a ticket. I think those speeds, and the poor driving skills of a segment of people today, are a recipe for disaster.

I would rather see the OPP start enforcing unsafe driving laws, such as those who decide to merge with traffic doing 100, at 60-80. Seems lost on people, ramps onto a hi-way are like airport runways. Get your vehicle to the speed of traffic, and then merge safely. However, I am dreaming. Since, most times, I can travel from Whitby to the airport and never see an OPP car. I know sometimes, several days can pass before I see a copper on the hi-way, while working 10 hour days, driving the hi-ways. They just don't have the man power on the hi-ways.

Had my 16 year old out driving the other morning. He does okay, but he did quite clearly go through a red light at one point. Why? Because he was preoccupied with the speedometer making sure he wasn't going over 60kph.

I told him to not worry about the speed limit and just drive at a comfortable speed that felt right to him. Meanwhile, I await the $300 red light ticket in the mail caused by having a limit so low, a new driver was actually distracted from driving.
--
I'm a man, but I can change. If I have to. I guess.

»shaner38.blogspot.com/

My evidence is if you give someone an inch, they try and take a foot. Speeding tickets are not even issued until you are ten over the limit, so raising it to 120, means, a person can do 130.

All you are doing is making generalized assumptions as well. I love how you say those "breaking the law by driving safely today" Sorry, I drive for a living, a small minority of those breaking the law, are doing it safely. Very few of those pissed off Caravan driving dads have two hands on the wheel, both eyes forward, while ripping past me at 130.

I challenge you to show any truth to your statements, with accompanying empirical evidence. Until you do, its nothing more than an opinion like mine. Try laying off the I know everything attitude. It gets quiet annoying.

Not sure what was going on along the 401 through London yesterday but the OPP were like flies on shit. Saw at least half a dozen cars pulled over between just east of Airport Road and the Putnam scales.
--
"It's all coming down!!" - Mike Holmes

said by »www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=8401437 :

---

When the limit was posted at 75, UDOT said drivers averaged 81 to 85 miles an hour. But with the speed limit now at 80, the agency finds the average driver still does not go above 85.

UDOT also says it has not seen an increase in accidents along those two stretches.

---

1) Because our speed limits are set by politicians and not by qualified individuals

2) To make the limits so unreasonable that most people will violate them, which means that highway robbery is like shooting fish in a barrel

3) To make foreign transportation engineers laugh

4) To make our transportation engineers cry

5) To stop people from leaving the home, thus boosting our home entertainment industry

6) To create more congestion, which burns more fuel, boosts Alberta's economy and contributes to global warming, thus improving the weather up here

Should I go on?
--
If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.
—George Bernard Shaw

Re: Why is the speed limit in Canada on highways only 100 kph?

6) To create more congestion, which burns more fuel, boosts Alberta's economy and contributes to global warming, thus improving the weather up here

How is raising the speed limit going to relieve congestion? Congestion is caused by too many cars on our roads, or am I missing your point.
Going faster increases fuel consumption.

I mentioned variable speed limits earlier. They make sense in theory. Lot's of silly things make sense... in theory.

Ontario has had legislation to allow for variable speed limits for almost ten years now. They've just never been implemented as intended. Instead, the legislation ends up getting used in construction zones where a road contractor can change the speed limit (with proper legally-enforced white signs, not the orange signs that look like speed limit signs but have no force in law) based on the work being performed rather than requiring a regulation to be passed by cabinet each and every time they want it changed.

Actual variable speed limits are something I doubt we will see any time soon.