CANADA: Should highway speeds be increased?
Provincial police expect that question to be among those raised when they and transportation ministry officials report back to Premier Mike Harris with their road safety plan by early October.
Superintendent Bill Currie, regional ‘commander of the Ontario Provincial Police, thinks there could be some merit in looking into the question as Part of the force’s mandate to develop a road safety plan. “We’re not advocating raising speed limits on our highways but! think it’s an issue that will likely be discussed,” Currie said.
“There may be some areas where the speed limit could be raised and other areas where it shouldn’t. You might be able to do it in sections of Highway 400 but you’d be pretty hard-pressed to increase the speeds on Highway 401.
“With an average of 400,000 vehicles passing Highway 401 and Kecle St. now, how often do people ever get the chance to go as fast as 100 km/h?”
Currie said there may also be some merit in having minimum and maximum speed limits posted, similar to what motorists face when they travel Highway 20 between Montreal and Quebec city.
Ivor Nixon, the Canadian representative of the American based National Motorist Association, believes 400 series highways should have a maximum speed limit of 120 km/h and a minimum limit of 90 10 100 km/h.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 4, 1995
