I find in reicent years, the government creates more problems with legislation than it solves.


They have laws, that police other laws, to protect us from other laws to uphold the law.

I just love how they concentrate so much effort on boy racers and their cars. What ever happend to stopping organized crime? What about drug traffikers and dealers? I see **** like this car legislation as a distraction. Then the police get bored and enforce it because they arn't allowed to do anything.


How many people have accually seen a COP? (Constible on Patrol). I havent seen a cop walk the streets in 20 years.

 

Ontario Emissions & Street Racing legislation. Shitty place to own a 7

 

yeah yeah... 149 is ok, 150 they take your car... gee that's not fair... nobody should be driving anywhere near that much over the limit so at 149 consider yourself lucky. if they get you at 150, i have no sympathy for you.

i do understand the issue you have with this, and i don't agree that just because you mod your car you should be subjected to this stuff... and i'm sure there are some ***** cops out there who would like nothing better than to jam owners cause they don't like their modded cars. but for those they legitimately get doing 50 over then i think it's great that they **** you up for a week. you shouldn't be on the road. even if everyone else is doing 120, someone going 150 or higher is driving like an idiot to get around these slower people, and even if you think you are a great driver, lots of people out there are not and can put you in a bad spot quick.

if you don't like the speed limits, do something about it, legally.

 

Based on my father's experience, my guess is that the most common criminal charge is speeding.

 

just, kindof an FYI... I bet I've put 20,000+ KM on my 10AE at 150+km/h.
Zero incidents, Zero close calls... because it's not unsafe!

IMO going 75km/h in a 50 (residential area) is about 10x more dangerous than 160km/h on the ontariobahn. But the fine doesn't make it that way!

2k in fines should be handed out at no less than double the limit, or for an obviously at-fault accident involving personal harm to someone.

 

It is actually Mischief. A charge that leaves the arresting officer with a wide range of discretion. Speeding is a under the HTA but you're probably right were POA offences factored into the equation. My point being that too much discretion leads to abuse of process.

 

Another 100+ cars impounded this past weekend alone. Now those two brothers streetracing near brampton that killed two women this weekend... did this law deter them from their act? Nope.

 

what i don't get is (and the knowledgeable people please correct me if I'm wrong)

With the old laws you could still suffer these (or very similar) reprecussions, it just wasn't up to the officer at the time of the incident with a black and white setting (ie. 149km/hr = a fine, 150 = car towed + license suspesion) it was to be decided in court, yes? And it was more of a scaling situation as in more fines greater punishment? Now a first time offence of 50 over will get your car impounded, license suspended etc.

So whats the point in giving officers on the scene all the power?

 

had they been stopped before this happened, it would have saved those people, AND kept everyone else safe for another 7 days while these ***-clowns rode the bus.

and Terrh ... congrats on your apparent driving skill, but again... it's the slower moving person that does something you don't expect that is going to get you one day.

It's like those people with the dogs that say 'well he was always the most gentle dog' AFTER its bitten some kid on the face.

it only takes 1 time..


but yes... someone going 100 in a 50 should face stiffer punishment than 150 in 100... as they are also dealing with pedestrians, oncoming traffic etc...

both are still stupid in my opinion.

 

What should you do if you are doing 140 in the fast lane and guys start to try and race you? This happened to me recently here in TO and I just ignored them, but i'm sure if a cop saw that I would get reamed as well...

Obviously this law is NOT working.

 

so don't do 140... drive safely at 120 like everyone else, and it's not a 'fast lane' it's a passing lane... you shouldn't be driving in it at all unless you are passing someone..

 

^ no offense... but i think all enthusiasts do break the rules of the road, in the right place and time it is completely acceptable to me, just like the fb owner who died (forum member i believe?) earlier this year, he was having fun on a backroad and lost his own life...

i sometimes even go below the limit in cities, i just think there are to many risks that play a factor in crashes, but on country roads, its you.. and the car, and maybe some wildlife

 

This actually happens to me all the time in the Insight (no idea why). Not that I'm going 140, but if I am travelling in the left lane with traffic there's always some joker who thinks it's going to be cool to "race" the hybrid. Generally I just move over to the right lane and let the idiot be an idiot without me in the general area.

Or you make it like you are going to accept the "challenge" and take off, only to slow down and move over to the right lane. I like doing this in the RX-7. Goose the turbo a little, maybe gain 5-10 KM/H in speed, then immediately signal, slow down and move to the right lane.

 

LOL

Yeah, sometimes at lights in the TII I would have a guy beside me giving me a nod, or revving his engine etc. I just rev or nod back and whe nthe light goes green.......................slowly creep forward at a snail's pace

 

"drive safely at 120 like everyone else"

We obviously don't have the same commute. This morning southbound on the 404 ninety percent of the vehicles between Davis and Stouffville roads were travelling between 130 and 140...

And they're aren't enough police on the road to catch everyone. I don't think I've ever seen a marked cruiser during my commute of the last year and a half.

On another note I just returned home from the 10th anniversary of the Petit Le Mans just outside Atlanta. I drove 3500 km's over 4.5 days and was only disappointed in drivers behaviour ONCE. It was so refreshing to have 99% of the drivers on the road with me working together and mindful of each others existence. And at least the speed limits in most states are realistic, typically 120km/hour.

 

Public opinions...

http://www.thestar.com/Speakout/Voices/article/265011

 

I agree wholeheartedly. I'm currently fighting what i believe to be a bogus ticket in my SRT-4. I received a speeding ticket for 108 in an 80. I got a verbally abusive officer who snatched my licence and registration out of my hand, and proceeded to berate me over it. I'm a high school teacher on my way to work, and i get chewed out because it's "people like [me] that are going to cause a head-on crash... and then what is [his] family to do?" I kid you not. Apparantly he clocked me at 108, as he put it, "in an S-bend". It was 15 degrees outside and raining, on a farm road.

I'd be curious to know what the effective range on their cruising radar is, since he waited until the last second when he finally saw my car before he flipped on the cherries... and the funny part was, it was so slick (which is why i couldn't have actually been speeding) that he locked up his cruiser and almost tossed it in the ditch.

Apparantly this officer 'transferred' from peel region to where i am due to constant complaints, and i have it on good authority that he has been known to fabricate evidence. He hunts down workers in sporty cars as they come out of honda every day. And this is the type of person that has the 'authority' to take my car and my license, potentially earning me a street racing conviction and jacking my insurance through the roof, if i can even get insurance afterward?
Unreal!

 

Hey, we just had another street racing death in Brampton, although they're not calling it street racing offically yet. Two assclowns were racing up hwy50 in their beemer and audi, and wiped out the mothers of 2 families that were travelling together in an grand am. Caused a 7 car pileup!
My condolences go out to the families.

I must say though, for all of this talk about taking down 'modified' cars, it doesn't seem like it's the tuner/modder crowd that's causing the destruction.

just my $.02

 

I'm guessing you are joking, or have never driven in a big city.

Why don't they crack down on people who change into the onramp merging lane, pass everyone, and then merge back into the slow traffic. I'm sure this is a part of the slowdown at a lot of interchanges.

 

racerjason.. i get on the 404 at Stouffville Rd and this morning (7:35) we were all going about 120 until just before Elgin Mills where, as usual, it almost grinds to a halt... lucky if I hit 65 all the way to Hwy7.

nik... Toronto isn't that big i guess.... i used to drive like an ******* like everyone else, then one day i decided to stick in the right lane except to pass and stayed with the flow of traffic and i found i was nowhere near as stressed when i got to work, and it didn't take me any longer... and i save some gas...

i don't agree at all with targeting a car just because it looks modded, but the bottom line is, if you stay with the flow of traffic (WELL WELL below 150) then you won't have much trouble.

i would bet that the majority of people in high speed crashes (racing or otherwise) would blame someone else (usually going at a much lower speed) for the accident..

 

There's definately times when speeding is a wasted effort. But during non-peak hours it does shorten the long trips on 400 series highways; these highways should have higher limits. I would like to see some stats or something showing how many accidents occur at speeds >140, >120, and < 100. Accidents are much more a function of dangerous manoevers, adverse weather, or lack of driver attention than purely speed.

On opposing traffic highways I find the best strategy is to stick to 20 over, and just pass agressively when slow traffic is encountered. This is where this 50 over law is really a problem, passing slow trucks on opposing traffic highways.

 

Here is a good example...based on HOV lanes but the idea is the same... cars moving much faster mixing with slower moving vehicles...

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/02/292.asp

i'm not saying i think the current limits are good, just that there is no reason to go 50km over them, and it's much safer when everyone is going about the same speed.

 

I have to disagree. The root cause of the problem is a poor driver instruction system and many drivers that should not be operating a motor vehicle at all. I travel to England fairly often and I drive while there. Despite being on the opposite side of the road, I find the driving experience infinitely more relaxing because of the caliber of drivers I am sharing the road with. They all acknowledge the traffic around them, make way for faster traffic and don't pull into the fast lane forcing another motorist to brake excessively. It is a very difficult test to pass with the majority of people failing on their first attempt. You are not only taught how to physically control a vehicle but the rules of the road and how to be courteous while on the road. In North America the fact that we are allowed to pass on both sides is just ridiculous and has been the reason for the majority of close calls that I have witnessed. I rarely overtake on the inside but with drivers here not moving out of the way there is no choice. I wouldn't mind my tax dollars being spent on teaching current and prospective drivers how to drive safely on the highway. The 50 over rule is doing nothing to make the roads safer but rather an additional tax on drivers coupled with the erosion of civil liberties.

The Autobahn has a wide range of speeds travelled on it and the below quote speaks to the fact that speed differential is not necessarily a factor in increased accidents.

Autobahn Accident Record
The overall safety record of autobahns is comparable to other European motorways, and generally motorways are considered safer than other road types and despite the high traffic density comparably low. A 2005 study by the German Interior Ministry indicated that motorway sections with unrestricted speed have the same accident record as sections with speed limits. The only identifiable source of traffic risks in connection with speeding have been high-powered, light trucks that came up within the last 15 years and as their used by courier services (e.g. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and trucks alike). Over the years they were only capable of speeds comparable to heavy duty trucks, but since manufacturers began to build in significantly more powerful engines they attain speeds of up to 180km/h. This led to a significant portion of fatal accidents being caused by such vehicles due to the driver overestimating his or the cars ability to cope with sudden and heavy braking, side-winds etc.

 

i totally agree with you... but until we retrain every driver on the road, we have to deal with the reality of what we have here.

this is what i am saying.... you might be a great driver and right at home on the autobahn, but it's just plain UNSAFE to drive that way here the way everyone else drives. the speed differential makes the accidents WORSE.

 

yeah the speed differential makes things worse. An easy way to fix that would be to raise it to something normal and sane. Hell, the limit was 113km/h in the 70's, back when, well, all the cars were made in the 70's, complete with their **** tires and **** suspension technology.

The problem with the law is that it takes away your right to a fair trial, and the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing. They take your car on the spot, no appeal, no nothing. . so even if you get off the ticket, you still get fucked for at least $300 of impound fees and $300 worth of rental car.

It takes my 10AE about 3 seconds to go from 80km/h to 130km/h passing someone. If there's oncoming traffic or whatever, I'm not going to hang out in the left lane all day passing them (which now is also illegal, so how do I pass!), I'm going to use the gas pedal.. it's easy to break 160+ passing, which probably takes another second of WOT. Up to a $10k fine, just for going 50 over the limit, is pretty ridculous.

And sometimes, the flow of traffic, is alot more than 120.

I drove from here to ottawa last winter (about an 800km trip) left around midnight, and got to ottawa at about5AM... (and I stopped once for gas on the way!) do the math on the speed of that one. I didn't overtake more than 2 or 3 vehicles the entire trip.

of course doing 50 over the limit CAN be dangerous, but it isn't always. I wouldn't go 150 in traffic, say, on the shoulder while the driving lanes are backed up, or when the flow is 40-50km/h, or in retarded toronto daytime traffic, etc.. but in the middle of the night with my headlights lighting the distance as far as I can see, and noone else around, or in the daytime when the flow is 135+ anyways, it's not all that dangerous.


I actually found myself accidentially in violation of this tonight, in the rain. They changed the speed limit on the edge of the small town I live in to 50km/h from 80km/h (the moved it out about 1km).. so when I was leaving town at 100km/h (in what I thought was an 80!) I was actually in a 50 zone, nothing but fields all around me, and if there had been an officer there, perhaps I would've gotten to walk home in the rain. Sure, before it still would've been a (hefty!) ticket, but it wouldn't have been $2k and lose my car for a week.