General Road and Highway Discussion

[SammyOES]

You mean that you think the majority of drivers are traveling the speeds they’re traveling with no regard to where the limit is set? And would drive 120 or 130 km/h whether the limit were 100 or 120?I’m not sure if I agree with that or not.
 
I really wonder why most people are driving the speeds they are on the 400-series. I’ve asked a few when the topic as come up, and the answer is usually a variation of “everyone drives about that; it’s safest when everyone goes the same speed.” Which is true, but then who is deciding that “everyone” should drive 120? Someone must be choosing to drive these excessive (in relation to limits) speeds, and setting that speed as the one for everyone else to follow.
 
I agree with your other points about enforcement and changes to the definition of stunt driving so we don’t suddenly experience motorists driving 169km/h at risk of only a modest fine. Most commenters here seem to be in favour of robust enforcement, as unlikely as it will be to happen. The most interesting part to me is whether you’re right about the actual speed of travel changing or not. I think it will, but I’m not sure by how much. The pilot the province is proposing will be interesting to see.

Here’s my thinking. If we accept that going less than 135km/h is very unlikely to get a ticket and that the majority of people are doing less than 135km/h for reasons other than the speed limit (like you say).

It’s likely that a part of it is personal comfort and road design. People are comfortable driving different speeds. Lots of people would choose to drive less than 150km/h even if they were told they could on an open road.

Part of it is probably related to that and a certain herding aspect that happens around the speeds that a large enough people choose to drive.

And part of it is probably anchored by the speed limit. If you have a group of cars and trucks at the speed limit than most people will be inclined to pass them at an incremental speed that they’re comfortable with (and not blow by them).

The first two factors won’t be affected by a speed limit increase. The last factor would be. So there are obviously a ton of factors at play here and it’s not clear how they all interact with each other and the set speed limit.