What to expect with Ontario’s 110 km/h speed limit on highways

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When the Ontario government raised speed limits to 110 kilometres per hour on a series of major highways last week, Chris Klimek shrugged his shoulders.

“We have mixed emotions,” said Klimek, the director and founder of Stop100.ca. “Baby steps, too much of a baby step. We don’t take any extreme joy in this. It’s too little, too late.”

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Klimek’s organization has long advocated for raising speed limits even higher, up to 120 or 130 kilometres per hour on 400-level highways.

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The arguments include the fact car technology has improved significantly and that most people drive at those speeds anyway, routinely bending the law.

Anyone going the actual current 100 km/h limit on Highway 401 to Toronto is subject to being cursed at for creating a long bottleneck behind them.

“Safe drivers should not be criminalized,” said Klimek. “They should not be called lawbreakers when we drive at 120 or 130.”

It’s an intriguing discussion, to be sure.

Most polls of drivers support the need-for-speed position of Stop100.ca.

At the same time, studies have also shown that fatality rates rise significantly when speed limits are raised.

A comprehensive 2018 University of British Columbia investigation found that fatal crashes more than doubled in B.C. when the province increased limits to 120 km/h from 110 km/h in 2014. Accordingly, in 2019, the B.C. government went in reverse, lowering the maximum speed to 110 km/h on all major roadways, except for a short distance on the Coquihalla Highway.

So, where and when does Ontario’s new 110 km/h limit apply?

Officially, the new mandate kicks in July 12, but drivers in the east and west end of Ottawa have been experiencing the change for years.

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Pilot projects by the province — testing the jump to 110 from 100 — have been going on since 2019. That includes stretches of the 417 between Kanata and Arnprior and from Gloucester to the Quebec border.

Those two routes will now be permanently set at 110 km/h, along with the addition of a 70-km stretch of the 416 from Ottawa to Highway 401. Drivers headed east at the 401/416 junction will also see maximums raised to 110km/h until reaching the Quebec border.

There will be an uptick in the ceiling on several other stretches of the 401 between Kingston and Toronto and the 403 west of the provincial capital.

Much to the chagrin of Stop100.ca, the 400 from Toronto to Barrie and the 407 — the toll ring road north of Toronto that serves as a bypass around the busy 401 through the city — will not see an increase in the limit.

Klimek acknowledges that some highways are safer than others and contends that the 407 is a driving marvel, engineered with sightlines that should allow for higher speeds.

Have speed limits in Ontario fluctuated in the past?

When horses and buggies began disappearing in favour of cars, Ontario instituted a 15 miles per hour (24 kph) limit in 1903. Without speeding, it would have taken 18 hours to reach Toronto from Ottawa.

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The limit was upgraded to 25 m.p.h (40 kh/h) in 1923 and steadily increased to 70 m.p.h (110 km/h) in 1968. Due to safety concerns, the upper limit dropped to 60 m.p.h in 1976 and was fixed at 100 km/h when the metric system was adopted the following year.

What are the maximum speed limits elsewhere in North America?

The posted cap in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is at 110 km/h, while the maximum in the remaining provinces and territories is 100 km/h.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., speeds have crept higher and higher over the past 50 years.

The ceiling was at 55 m.p.h (88.5 km/h) following the 1974 Energy Conservation Act, but Congress approved a 65 m.p.h maximum in 1987.

In 1995, states were allowed to set their own limits and now, in 41 of the 50 states, the cap is at least 70 miles per hour (112.7 km/h). In Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana and Nevada, it’s 80 miles per hour (128.7 km/h).
And everything is bigger in Texas. The highest limit in North America is on the Pickle Parkway, connecting the Lone Star State cities of Austin and Seguin. Drivers can lawfully reach 85 miles per hour (137 km/h).

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That’s quicker than 30 per cent of the Autobahn, Germany’s well-known racetrack of a highway, which is subject to a 130 km/h limit. There are no speed restrictions — except for going too slow — on the other 70 per cent of the Autobahn.

What does the research say about increased speed and accidents?

Most of the extensive research has been done south of the border.

In 1984, the National Research Council concluded that there would have been “3,000-5,000 fewer highway fatalities” in the U.S. if the 1974 limits had been retained.

A major study of driving records by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety from 1993-2017 also revealed some harsh realities. The report said that 36,760 deaths would have been prevented if limits had not risen — including more than 13,000 on interstates and 23,000 on smaller roadways.

“People are moving a little bit faster, but there’s a downside,” said Joe Young, media director for the IIHS. “At higher speeds, there’s a shorter reaction time. And when a crash happens, it’s more severe. With more speed comes more energy. We would hope that policymakers would consider all that when they make changes.”

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Young says that with every five miles per hour (eight kilometres per hour) increase, “we have seen an eight per cent increase in fatalities on the high-speed roads.”

The numbers were even more alarming in the UBC study. “There was a 118 per cent increase,” said Jeff Brubacher, a co-author of the paper and now an emergency physician in B.C., specializing in drug-impaired driving and road safety research.

Brubacher echoes Young in saying that higher-speed collisions are potentially more dangerous due to the energy involved.

The UBC study acknowledged that driving in B.C. is somewhat unique, especially on mountain roads in tough winter conditions. Access to trauma care is also more difficult in more remote areas.

“Some of the rural highways are a challenge,” said Brubacher. “With more speeds, there’s more energy and it’s harder to avoid collisions.”

Still, the pro-speed advocates point to yet another analysis by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which looked at accident rates on three major interstates in Georgia, Michigan and Oregon beginning in 2018. Results from the 2023 report were mixed, concluding that “among sites where posted speed limits were raised, crash rates increased at some sites, but decreased at others.”

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Do driving habits change when speed limits are increased?

As much as Klimek is pushing for higher speed limits, he’s not in favour of drivers speeding up.

The argument is about having the law reflect the reality, pointing to a study that says the vast majority of freeway drivers in Ontario currently drive between 117-127 kph.

Traffic engineers have typically relied on the 85th percentile rule — the speed that 85 per cent of vehicles are travelling at or below — to determine speed limits.

“We’re not advocating for anyone to go faster,” he said. “We’re simply in favour of legalizing current safe behaviour.”

Young, however, says that intensive study throughout North America has shown that when speed limits are increased, drivers do push a little harder on the pedal.

On highways where the limits vary — such as the 417 and 401, where the caps will be alternatively 100 km/h or 110km/h— he says drivers don’t tend to adjust to the lower speed maximum.

“The key is enforcement in places where the speed is creeping up,” Young said.

Does the policing change with the new limits?

Typically, police don’t pull over drivers who barely exceed the speed limit, but “a motorist can be charged for speeding as soon as they exceed the posted limit,” according to Bill Dickson, media relations coordinator for the OPP East Region. “While officers can exercise discretion, the bottom line is that speeding is speeding.”

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Despite the change in upper limits on some 400-highways, stunt driving still applies to anyone exceeding 150 km/h.

Stunt driving also applies under the following conditions: 50 km/h above the limit on highways where the maximum is 80 km/h or higher and 40 km/h above when the limit is below 80 km/h.

There’s an escalating scale of fines depending on how excessive the speeding is. When speeding is less than 20 km/h over the limit, the charge is $3 for each excessive km/h. For instance, a driver going 129 km/h on a highway with a new 110 km/h ceiling will be charged $57. Speeding by 20-30 km/h is subject to a $4.50 per km charge. Get nabbed going 149 in a 110-zone and you’ll be out of pocket $175.50.

The existing rules for stunt driving remain the same, kicking in once a speed exceeds 150 km/h. Stunt driving also applies under the following conditions: 50 km/h above the limit on highways where the maximum is 80 km/h or more and 40 km/h above when the limit is below 80 km/h.

Stunt driving results in an immediate 30-day licence suspension, a 14-day vehicle impoundment, a fine between $2,000 — $10,000 and possible six-month jail term.

The rules for loss of demerit points: two points for exceeding posted limits by 16-29 km/h, four points for going 30-49 km/h above the ceiling and six points for hitting 50 km/h or more above the cap.

kwarren@postmedia.com
X: Citizenkwarren

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