SPEED LIMIT ON ONTARIO'S 400-SERIES HIGHWAYS WAS 112 KM/H (70 MPH) FORTY YEARS AGO!

NO! The purpose of this initiative is not to increase speeds on our roads. It is merely to legalize our current safe driving patterns which contribute to safe Ontario roads (one of the safest in North America according to the MTO). 120-125 km/h is widely agreed to be a safe speed for our roads - most officers confirm that by not ticketing drivers below those speeds. We therefore believe that 120 km/h (130 km/h outside metropolitan areas) should be the law!

Since most vehicles today travel between 120-140 km/h we want to legalize such speeds and give drivers as well as police officers clearer rules to follow. We want to put a PROPER/REASONABLE number on speed limit signs instead of an artificially low limit that requires a wide tolerance to allow the roads to operate at speeds for which they were designed for.

Speeds of 120-140 km/h are widely practiced not only in Ontario, but in most industrialized countries around the world today. France, Austria and Switzerland are just a few examples of countries with very comparable highways and safety standards to ours that have had a 130 km/h speed limit for decades.

Not all officers allow speeds up to 120 km/h. Some will ticket drivers for lower speeds. This only adds to confusion and lack of clarity, and most importantly - unnecessary slamming on one's brakes when they spot police.

Even though 120-140 km/h prove to be globally agreed safe speeds, some drivers are afraid of braking the law. This frequently creates a situation where the left lane is blocked by a driver moving at 110-115 km/h out of fear of getting ticketed (that driver correctly thinks he is already driving fast and 'has a right' to be in that lane). This contributes to unnecessary risky situations on our roads - other drivers trying to pass on the right or tailgating the 'slow' driver.

Both drivers and police deserve to have clear rules to abide by - instead of an unspoken, widely varying tolerance range we have today. The speed limit should be reasonable and the tolerance more predictable.

Speeds ranging from 120-140 km/h are the current reality on many of our 400-series roads. Drivers do not speed for the sake of speeding and do not always exceed the limit by 20 km/h as some may believe. When the majority of drivers significantly exceed the posted speed limit, they're not showing reckless or irresponsible behaviour, but rather a strong desire to drive at the speed that's in line with the quality and design of the road and weather conditions (this is quite easily verified by observing the drivers willingly slow down to well below the speed limit in heavy rainfall or snowy/icy conditions).

Given a reasonable speed limit legislation, one established in accordance with technical specifications of the road, the majority of drivers will simply find themselves in compliance with the new law, rather than continuing to significantly exceed it. The vast majority of motorists on no-speed-limit sections of the German Autobahn cruise at 130-135 km/h, despite being able to legally drive at 150, 200 or 250 km/h.

The unfounded logic stemming from the assumption that "at the limit of 120 km/h everyone will drive at 140 km/h" would suggest that with a speed limit of 140 km/h "everyone would do 160 km/h" and with the limit of 180 km/h, "everyone would do 200 km/h". This is quite clearly false.

The reason our speed limit is currently exceeded by a significant amount, and drivers accused of "always breaking the limit by at least 20 km/h", is due to the current speed limit being unrealistically low and not matched to the quality and design of our roads.

Speeds reaching 140 km/h are already very frequently practiced on our roads today. Most of our highways are designed for and very capable of such speeds - which is confirmed by the great safety statistics.

Speed limit is not a minimum permitted speed. Current rush-hour driving conditions frequently do not allow reaching the legal speed limit and this situation will not change. On clear, non-congested roads, drivers will be able to legally drive at 120-130 km/h.

Ministry of Transportation claims Ontario's roads are some of the safest in North America and the statistics confirm this. This is attributed to the very drivers who are so frequently criticized. Clearly, Ontario drivers deserve much more credit for contributing to such safe roads. While they could undoubtedly display a better lane etiquette (left-lane passing only or lane change signalling) such behaviour could be more strictly enforced by the Police.

With a 120-130 km/h speed limit, motorists' driving habits will not need to change (since most drivers today don't drive below 120 km/h anyway). They can continue to drive at the same speed they currently are. This means their cars will burn exactly the same amount of gas. Those who drive more slowly can continue doing so safely in the slower, right lane. It is a personal choice of the motorists at what speed to drive.