Should Ontario increase highway speed limits?

Alberta will test 120 km/hr speed limits on their highways, but should Windsor-Essex do the same? CTV’s Robert Lothian reports.

Only a few years removed from increasing the speed limits on sections of 400 series highways, some drivers in Ontario want to see it taken a step further.

Following the announcement of a “mini trial” in Alberta to raise the speed limit to 120 km/h on select routes, Windsor’s Robert Saunders is among those who want Ontario to follow suit.

“I just got back from a trip to Europe, and they drove a lot faster there. The Autobahn in Germany is much, much faster, and so I find the speed limits here are definitely a lot slower,” Saunders told CTV News.

Along certain stretches of the 401, including from Windsor to Tilbury, the speed limit is set to 110 km/h.

Using the 401 sparingly, Saunders feels an additional 10 kilometres will only make the drive smoother.

“I like to make time if I have to go to Toronto. I wouldn’t mind if it were a 120, to tell you the truth,” Saunders said.

Alberta’s decision will impact select rural divided highways, chosen by the province.

At the Ontario Safety League, president and CEO Angelo DiCicco believes the decision to change speed limits must be based on research.

Factors such as collision rates, speeding tickets, and other incidents, he says should be the driving factor in any new policy.

“I think there is an appetite for a majority of Ontarians that would favorably consider an increased speed limit on some expressways, which were clearly defined,” DiCicco said.

CTV News reached out to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation for comment on the prospect of a speed limit increase but did not receive a response.

Regardless of which direction the province steers, the Ontario Safety League wants to see more education on the rules of the road.

Despite being introduced as far back as 2019, DiCicco believes some Ontarians would be surprised to learn the province increased the speed limit on highways in recent years.

If changes were introduced, the league president would want assurances that stunt driving legislation is not changed.

“The Ontario Safety League would be strongly against changing or giving more latitude to the stunt driving threshold being changed from 150km,” he said.

Alberta’s speed limit pilot program was fueled by a public survey that showed 68 per cent of respondents supported the increase.

In the eyes of Chris Lewis, a retired OPP Commissioner and CTV News’ Public Safety Analyst, the proposal is unwise.

“I think the idea is crazy, to be honest. There’s no research whatsoever that I’m aware of that shows increasing the speed limit results in less deaths and injuries,” Lewis said.

As the speed limit goes up, Lewis believes drivers will be more inclined to hit the gas and remain 10 to 20 km/h above the limit.

He says at times, certain highways are already short on patrols, and the increase will only further strain resources.

“They can’t have cars out on the highway night and day in all cases, because they have other demands and often not enough resources to meet them,” Lewis added. “So, this would put another strain on them, and without a doubt, people are going to lose lives that wouldn’t have lost their lives otherwise.”