Road design, safety and Vision Zero

[ijmorlan]

I wonder if speed limits would be more effective if they gave a range. And I don't mean Quebec's silly 60km/h minimum speed on the freeway. I mean on Fischer Halman Rd having a sign saying speed 50-60km/h

Interesting. I’ve often thought that different speeds for different lanes on the 401 might even make sense, although there are probably so many practical problems it’s not really worth doing.

On a related note, I have a question about the left lane of expressways. Clearly, slower traffic should not be using those lanes; and generally, they are for passing slower traffic. That being said, how fast do I have to be going before I have no obligation to move over for those moving faster? In principle, with the de facto speed limit being the de jure speed limit, as long as I’m going at the speed limit, I don’t see how I can have an obligation to move over — it doesn’t make sense to say that I have to actively accommodate those who are breaking the law.

In the actual situation, I recall seeing TV news items in which the police themselves clearly indicated they think people have an obligation to move over. But up to what speed does that apply? What if I’m going fast enough to pay a $25 fine? A $75 fine and 3 demerits? A $180 fine and 4 demerits? Be subject to roadside vehicle impoundment? I mean at some point the faster (illegally fast) driver simply has no entitlement at all to be accommodated by others, even under our vague socially determined limit system.