Highway travelers between Windsor and Toronto are able to move a little faster along Highway 401 as of Monday. The latest in a series of provincial speed limit increases has taken effect, raising the speed limit from 100 to 110 kilometres per hour along the stretch from Tilbury in the southwest to Toronto. “It’s actually pretty nice. I didn’t realize it until you just said it, but I do remember seeing 110 speed limit,” said driver Ken Moore, who stopped for a break at the ONroute stop on Highway 401 east at Ingersoll, Ont. on Monday. “The majority of the people on the highway travel at much higher speeds prior to the 110 increase,” said driver John Thomson, who also made a pit stop. While commercial transport trucks are already regulated with speed limiters set at 105 km/h, truck driver Manav says the new speed limit of 110 km/h gives truck drivers more breathing room. “Trucks are heavy loaded, you know. On the downhill sometimes you cannot push the breaks too hard. So that is a good change for us,” he said. Marco Beghetto, media spokesperson for the Ontario Trucking Association, calls for consistent enforcement for all highway users. “A portion of the truck population is abiding by the speed limiter rule at 105. A portion of the truck population is going to do what the cars are now allowed to do, which is a buck 20 plus. So yes, you’re going to have more vehicles doing a variation of different speeds, which I can see can be problematic,” he told CTV News. “Any increase in speed is not an invitation to drive even more at an excessive speed,” said Derek Rogers, media relations coordinator for West Region OPP. Rogers says the higher speed limit will not change their job of keeping roads safe. “Either driving too fast, or driving too fast for the conditions. So really, from an OPP perspective, it doesn’t change. Our focus is on responsible driving behaviour, and that focus remains in place,” he said. The final phase of speed limit increases for 2026 will take effect at the end of September. The changes cover 938 kilometers in total, with 89 per cent of the province’s highway network up to 110 km/h. “The people who are going to exceed by a lot are still going to do it. I don’t see it having changed a lot. Just people are not getting speeding tickets as much now,” said driver Dave Perrotta.
