Is it time for photo radar?

yes! let's catch those slow drivers

Given all the horrendous accidents and subsequent road closures on the 401 in Eastern Ontario in the past eight months, increasing the 400 series speed limits will be a tough sell. It might be easier to propose 80 km/h increased to 90 km/h, and 100 km/h to 110 km/h. Other provinces have these higher limits in place so you’re not proposing anything new.

On the 401 through Toronto it is easy to hit 130 and still be in a line of cars (outside of rush hour). Outside of the GTA the average speed drops down. For long distances I will use cruise control at 120 and go right past cops parked on the median and they do not blink an eye.

I believe that speed, excessive speed, is the major cause of accidents in Toronto. I also feel that people who are intimidated on the 400 series of highways and tend to drive too slow or do not keep up with the traffic around are a cause (or at least a contributing factor) to accidents as well.

On 80 kilometer roads it is normal to hit 100 and still have complete control of the vehicle, though I keep it around 95'ish.

I’d rather see more red light cameras.

With so many people using highways daily, I'm surprised there aren't more accidents. So it shows that people are collectively good drivers. If not, there would be accidents every 100 ft.

What really bogs down highway traffic is accidents in bad weather. It's already slower because people drive slower, but the number of accidents seem to go up (especially during snow and ice). So it shows those people are doing something wrong.... poor skills, speeding, no winter tires etc.... as there's lots of cars ditched.

There should be extra penalties for getting into accidents due to carelessness during poor weather.

When it's awful weather, people should not be driving fast like it's dry summer days.

I feel ÿou increase the speed limit, folks might drive even faster and break the new speed limits just the same.

I don't know how they can enforce this idea since it's subjective, but "during bad weather.... speed limits are reduced 30 km/hr"

Maybe this will make some speeders think twice about gunning it in icy weather.

Canadian highways are very civilized, compared to other countries. Even the more aggressive drivers within the city are pretty tame. Most accidents I see in the GTA are of the careless variety, people driving into slower traffic ahead. That's probably due to distractions within the vehicles. The biggest problem is congestion. Same roads with ever increasing volume. In 3-5 years the congestion within the city proper will really be something. As for the photo radar on the highway. Not without increased speed limit and fewer cops.

Maybe it's time to teach people how to drive as they do in Germany. Months in school, countless hour of drive in the traffic, rural area, highways, nighttime...etc. Minimum 1 hour long driving test. If you passed , repeat 12 months later to get the full licence. Cost lots of money but worth it.German drivers are really good. Same highway rules as there (except we need the speed limit) It would be great and 70% of the idiots will disappear from the roads within short time. Trust me! The outcome will be much better than any photo radar.

IRIS said:

Maybe it's time to teach people how to drive as they do in Germany. Months in school, countless hour of drive in the traffic, rural area, highways, nighttime...etc. Minimum 1 hour long driving test. If you passed , repeat 12 months later to get the full licence. Cost lots of money but worth it.German drivers are really good. Same highway rules as there (except we need the speed limit) It would be great and 70% of the idiots will disappear from the roads within short time. Trust me! The outcome will be much better than any photo radar.

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Sounds good on paper, but that would decrease revenue.

Problem with Canadian driver's licensing is that any idiot seems to get it no matter how lousy they are at driving.

Government wants that money.

How is photo radar going to catch all the chinese women in my area that go through the stop signs as though they do not exist?

I think we should have something similar to the Auto Bahn from Toronto to Buffalo. Speed limits are just way too slow!!

rhuarc29 said:

Why would photo radar help an unrelated (and oddly specific) issue?

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my point exactly!

HOLLYWOODG said:

I think we should have something similar to the Auto Bahn from Toronto to Buffalo. Speed limits are just way too slow!!

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Levels of driver training/knowledge would make this a death trap. Unless you're putting this suggestion forward as a Darwin-inspired way to thin the herd, in which case I'm all for it. I like taking the Lakeshore anyway.

As for photo radar, speeds are just a minor symptom of a major problem. Just about anyone who wants to drive is allowed, regardless of proficiency or regard for the laws and safety of others. People get into their cars, and it becomes a "me-against-the-world" fight to get from point A to B.

Photo radar? Fuck no!
We tried this before. It didn't work.

It's just a cash grab.

Bring it on

And sit back and laugh at the knobs who try to claim they were only going with flow of traffic when they get their tickets

Ontario highways are not designed for high speed... at least higher speeds than we have now. They also do not have the quality necessary for high speed driving. Look at Germany at the quality of their motorways: designed to speed.

The signage for exits is not consistent. You're driving along and the sign ahead says both right lanes exit, with the rightmost being mandatory. A little further down, another lane opens up, and in what you thought was a mandatory exit lane becomes non mandatory. But you changed anyway before that, needlessly. And then another place, sign says right lane exits, but you figured that last time you changed for nothing, and don't change, then you realise you're stuck exiting because another lane didn't open up.

Too many people in Ontario don't know how to drive. Most cruise in the centre lane. Nobody in the right lane, except those smart enough to realise that they can travel faster in the right lane because there's nobody there. Plus, too many GTA drivers lack courtesy; they close the gap when you've signaled your intention to change lanes. In the winter, as the visibility drops, people don't slow down, and then get surprized when they see another vehicle ahead they can't avoid because they couldn't see far enough. Other countries have variable speed limits for when the visibility goes down, or when there's an accident ahead. But Ontario won't do that unless they re-invent the wheel again.

A big problem is those young punks in the low riding hondas and other fancy cars, zig-zaging at high speed, typically on the 410. Police should be present in unmarked cars, giving tickets for other than speeding, such as careless driving, unsafe lane changes and following too close. But I guess that's not as lucrative as radar traps.

Photo Radar is just a license to speed for those who can afford it. You don't lose demerits in case of a photo-radar ticket.

Ontario highway engineers (the ones who design highways), are idiots.