Cars in Toronto: Kill or be Killed

Direct quote from a co-worker who is into cars:

"I drive the 407 all the time. Before the new penalties the average speed was about 150 . Since they brought in the penaltes, the average speed instantly dropped to 120 or so"

Sounds like the law is working as intended!

I hate being passed to my right, especially when I'm trying to get into the rightmost lane to exit the highway. People moving slowly in the left lane AND the center lane are a real problem, but I think the bastards that want to puch through at 130-150km/hr are the real problem.

Girl hurt in hit-and-run accident
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/275114

I lost a cousin and aunt to a high-speed accident. There is no excuse for going 150. None. Yes, the speed limit should be raised where reasonable to 115 or 120, if only to stop everyone from breaking the law. As for left-lane drivers, it's not really a valid complaint in the Toronto area, where there are too many exits and entrances on both sides and too much traffic to make for consistent flow. It's a more valid point in inter-city driving.

"it's not really a valid complaint in the Toronto area, where there are too many exits and entrances on both sides and too much traffic to make for consistent flow"

Have to call BS on that - the problem with the right line is no one knows how to merge. If people merged at the speed of traffic and didn't start slowing until they were off on the exit ramp there would be no issue. If people just "zippered" at merge points everything would move smoothly.

I can't tell you how many times I've been driving on a highway, in the Toronto area with the two right lanes COMPLETELY open and the left one jammed with cars.

I am always fascinated to see people chime in on all the inconsistencies of other people's driving. Though, I doubt that much will ever likely change.
As someone who depends on being able to get around by car much of the workday, I have taken time to notice people's driving patterns and then compared them to the person I see behind the wheel or out as a pedestrian (though of course, not because i was stalking them).
I found that, of the few cars that I witnessed driving 'questionably', where I could then view the driver, then see them park and walk; i noticed:
- those drivers who take up the middle lane, drive 10 or more km/h below the speed of traffic, leave 20+ car lengths ahead of them for safety(?), and merge in from an on-ramp at 25 km/h below the speed of traffic; are typically hunched 'intensely' over their steering wheel or barely able to see over it, and then, when out and about as a pedestrian, are also very slow, hesitant, and seemingly unable to move through heavy crowds easily. As corroboration, I notice almost all of my 'older' relatives are like this (both in driving and walking);
- those drivers who weave through traffic and are able to somehow slip ahead of a vehicle when there is barely a car-length of gap (all at high speed), all seem to have one hand on the wheel and have this maniacal sean penn look on their face (whether they are wrench jockeys or bay street investors), They then park in a handi-cap spot, in an unloading zone, or at some ridiculous angle that makes it difficult to park nearby. They leave their car by either looking around to see if anyone is watching them and/or with a defiant glare. Walking near them, one notices that they have a rushed (or defiantly slow) pace with a decided chip-on-their shoulder aura.
I know that many would say that I am deliberately generalizing, but in all honesty, the personality categories are so clear - a person's personality seems to relate directly to their driving style.
My point is that while there is this wide variety of personality types, you will consequently then have a wide variety of driving styles. And.. since efficient flow of traffic depends on everyone driving similarly and consistently, and since this is not the case, we will always have traffic tie-ups and other problems. I think that that is why the 407 is usually so much better, there is a smaller variety of personality types (and fewer hesitant and overly-cautious ones).

Burn cars, not oil!

Hate to bring up this cliche BUT... the Autobahn in Germany. Though I think this may no longer be the case AND of course they have their heavy German cars, they typically drive (or drove) 200 k/h without any problem, of course when there is an accident it is big. But the point is, you can drive 150, 130, or more realisticlly, 120 without any problem if you obey some etiquette. Living in Europe at the moment I find that European drivers (for the most part) follow a certain driving etiquette which is severely lacking in Toronto, and which is why every morning there is huge traffic back-up because someone couldn't merge properly. I have said this before, but I think the police should really target the root of the problem which is making fatal driving errors, rather than minor speeding infractions (ie; people going 120-140, anything above is kind of ridiculous and unsafe unless you're out on an open country road). If people were aware that merging unsafely, passing on the right, driving slowly in the passing lane, weaving through traffic and TALKING ON CELL PHONES were as dangerous or more dangerous than speeding and illegally parking they would also stop.

Impounding cars going over 150 is the best thing they could do, there is no excuse for this recklessness.
Personally I'd lower the number to 130 as well as introduce impounding to anyone doing over 70 kph within the city.

Aaron:

Yes a serious blow to our rights. The officer in question does not have to prove to anyone that I was going over 150 in order to impound my car on the spot. I have no option of due process like i would if I were issued a fine/court date.

I'll spare you a list or slippery slope arguments.

Well..it happened to me. I was doing 139 because i was late to pick up my date on Valentines. I got pulled over and told that i was doing 152. My jaw dropped because i knew i had never crossed 140 and i had been watching the speedo religiously, as i always do. The officer, who was in an unmarked grey pacifica, not in uniform, told me that he had been following me and paced me at that speed. I told him i had never crossed 140 and he basically said take it up in court. Then he drove off and some other officer wrote me the ticket as my truck was impounded. My date was left out on the street without a cellphone because i never showed up. I was 80km from home when this happened, on the side of the highway. I have no problem with the police impounding cars going over 150, but when they totally lie and impound cars not going that fast because they are trying to prove a point, then that is an infringement of my rights. I have to fly out west on Sunday. I have no driver's license for a crime i did not commit. I have no right to contest. Since when did Ontario start aligning with Nazi Germany standards?