Our highway speed limits are outdated!
Why does a huge country like Canada not have a highway similar to the German Autobahn?
A little History of speed limits in Canada; on February 7, 1975 Canada imposed a 55 mph speed limit. In 1973, reacting to the ban of oil sales to the United States and other Western countries by 11 Arab oil producers, President Richard Nixon lowered the U.S. speed limit to 55 mph in hopes of conserving gasoline. An addition to a greater reserve of oil, a by-product of the mandate turned out to be a lower rate of highway automobile fatalities. Two years later, Canada followed suit in hopes of lowering their own rate of highway fatalities.
Today we can buy cars that are capable of well over 150 Km/Hr. In Ontario the fastest speed you can drive is 100 Km/Hr which is on our 400-series highways. Even so, everyone still drives at around 120 Km/Hr. It is not uncommon to see many driving at 140 Km/Hr. Under our current law, police have every right to pull these people over. However driving at 120 Km/Hr the police generally do not bother them. For this reason I see 120 Km/Hr the unofficial speed limit. Recently though, a new law has been passed that will have the driver’s licence suspended and vehicle impounded if they exceed 50 Km/Hr over the speed limit on any road. I would agree with that for cities and rural areas. In fact I would make it 30 over the limit in those areas. But on the 400 series Highways, the speed limit should have been increased instead. Like in the Gazette article, the problem with speed limits is that they are too low.
Posted By: Roberto Sebestyen
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