[Thanos]

Had to floor it up to 150 kph just north of Calgary. They wouldn't let me in the right lane so I had to Blues Brothers it up the left lane to make my exit. Coincidentally the only reason I'm up this early is to attend a safety class.

[DrCaleb]

Thanos Thanos:

Had to floor it up to 150 kph just north of Calgary. They wouldn't let me in the right lane so I had to Blues Brothers it up the left lane to make my exit. Coincidentally the only reason I'm up this early is to attend a safety class.

I've said before my friend, I sometimes instruct a High Performance driving school in the spring - and that kind of driving on public roads is so incredible dangerous. People think they can handle that kind of speed, but after instruction they realized that they really had no idea what they were doing.

I'll be marshalling a 20 hour endurance race on a closed race track, and I bet none of them will reach those kind of speeds, even though the cars are built to handle it.

Leave earlier and obey the limits! I don't want to read about you or anyone else in the news!

[Thanos]

It was a one-off moment. Kind of a squall when a half dozen come flying off one ramp and others are trying to get in place to make the next ramp. No one ever lets anyone in so powering past and thtough seemed more logical than fighying for a dpot. Typical Calgary rush hour, nothing more.

[andyt]

Yeah, I've seen a couple of trucks actually sideswipe each other because neither would give way.

Another solution of course is to get in the right lane earlier so you don't have to fight to get in. Can't count the number of times some numbnuts just has to pass me then cut in ahead of me and slam on the brakes instead of just pulling in behind me in the first place.

I'll drive fast some times, but I use my head. Look a few cars ahead to anticipate what's happening, slow down if traffic thickens up, don't sit on somebody's bumper doing 120 (or any speed) etc. Can't count the number of numbnuts that want to tailgate me in the fast lane even tho there's a line of cars ahead of me, and a line of cars to my right. Idiots.

[BartSimpson]

andyt andyt:

I don't think Canadians are good enough drivers for this. The Island HWy seems to hae a lot of crashes already. The Coquihalla has many cars struggling to even do 110, the current speedlimit, on the way up, and has yahoos that think they have to do the speedlimit no matter what the road conditions. Traffic already often does more than the limit, so now what, people will average 140? I've driven back on Hwy 1 on a long weekend doing 90 mph (as it was in those days) to just keep up with traffic.

Too bad, the Island Hwy is a nice, scenic road - should slow traffic down, not speed it up. Relax and enjoy the drive.

Oddly enough, increasing speed limits makes roads safer for two reasons:

1. People tend to use a road at the speed the road feels safe for. The Germans know this and part of why they don't have speed limits in some areas is because this practice generally reduces the difference in velocity between drivers who use the road the way it was designed and those who obey speed limits.

2. The perception of safety that a lower speed limit provides is shown to lull some drivers into complacency. Higher speed limits cause more drivers to pay closer attention to what they're doing. I'd fathom to say that on a straight highway that you would be a safer driver at 150kph than you would be at 80kph when you may not fully focus on your driving.

[Zipperfish]

andyt andyt:

I don't think Canadians are good enough drivers for this.

That's a rather silly statement. Hsve you ever been outside of Canada?

[andyt]

I've driven the autobahn. NOthing safe about it - the speed diff between the passing lane and the right lane can be insane, and we know speed diff is a big problem. People tailgating at 150+. They have horrific accidents, saw one happen just in front of me then behind me as a mercedes spun out in the fast lane - hate to see how many cars piled into that one. The only thing that saves them is that they have to pass very stringent driver exams, including on highway driving, and have very rigorous vehicle inspections, so the cars are safe. In Canada we have neither. We have the dawdlers who think they're the only ones on the road, the road warriors who think they're immune and everything in between. The two hwy 5 roads they want to increase are mountain roads with curves and steep hills. I think 110 is plenty. The Island Hwy gets all kinds of tourists and if I recall has lots of exits, I think 110 is plenty there too. I hope they at least keep stats about the accident rate and if it goes up significantly they lower the speed again.

[BartSimpson]

Andy, perhaps you should avoid the rigors of life and just stay home.

[martin14]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

If any vehicle with a 'P' rated tire exceeds

??

Why would you put such cheap shit under your ass ?


My winter tires are rated "H", or 210 km/hr

Summer tires are always "V", 240 I think.



And no, I don't buy tires at Costco or Zellers.

[martin14]

andyt andyt:

I've driven the autobahn. NOthing safe about it -

Bullshit.

[N_Fiddledog]

Hyack Hyack:

Marine Drive is still 50 kph, Marine Way varies between 50 and 90kph.

I would nominate that stretch for dumbest speed restriction in North America.

The other one is the stretch from Chilliwack to Cache Creek. Hope they're adjusting that one. I doubt it though. The speed traps along that stretch are too productive in helping the cops fill their quotas (oh yes, they do too). I know I've bought a few donuts for Canada's finest.

[DrCaleb]

martin14 martin14:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

If any vehicle with a 'P' rated tire exceeds

??

Why would you put such cheap shit under your ass ?

My winter tires are rated "H", or 210 km/hr

Summer tires are always "V", 240 I think.

And no, I don't buy tires at Costco or Zellers.

Most people don't know what tire codes are, they just buy what they can afford. So they get 'M' or 'P' rated tires, because they don't know any better.

My truck has 'LT' Light Truck 'F' rated load range, M+T summer, and SL M+S for winter.
My car had 'Z' speed rated tires, 'AA' traction, 'A' for temperature. Basically, street legal slicks.

[BRAH]

Hyack Hyack:

herbie herbie:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

About time. One of the things I always tweak on is driving up to the Peace Arch at 70mph (112kph) and then leaving it at 80kph.

Count your blessings. I swear they'll make you get out and push your car through every tunnel and across every bridge in Vancouver soon.
Did they increase Marine Drive to 80 or 90 like it SHOULD BE? Or is it still a 50 kmh ticket trap?

Marine Drive is still 50 kph, Marine Way varies between 50 and 90kph.

Are you referring to Marine Drive in White Rock? That's a cruising strip in the summer for people with classic cars and Volkswagens.

[N_Fiddledog]

BRAH BRAH:

Hyack Hyack:

Are you referring to Marine Drive in White Rock? That's a cruising strip in the summer for people with classic cars and Volkswagens.

He is not, but I got nailed there one time too. What is it? 30 K or something, right? Slow. I know that much.

It might be a fine speed for an American Graffiti homage on a Sunday afternoon or early one summer evening, but what kind of dead head cop really expects you to be going pushing speed when you're alone on the road at 3 in the morning?

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Most major highways in Canada with the 100km/h speed limit are hold-overs from days past when cars weren't near as well engineered. Most highways in Canada should be at least 120 becasue that's the speed most everyone is traveling anyways.

Passenger car tires are only designed for 130km/h. Approaching that speed, they will degrade and wear faster. If any vehicle with a 'P' rated tire exceeds 130km/h for an extended period, especially in summer, expect to see more tire blowouts and catastrophic accidents.

Highways might accommodate those speeds, but cars and people might not be able to.

According to Wikipedia, P rated tires are safe to 150 km/h.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code

Still, anyone who approaches that speed with those tires is taking a chance. I used to go 125 or so on the QE2, but since I've mellowed with age, I turn on the cruise and set it to 110 km/h.