This is a general comment on…

This is a general comment on the proposed three-lane, or as it's called by the government "2+1" test strip of Highway 11, north of North Bay.

It's about time that this type of highway became common in Ontario. Our roads are polluted with tractor trailers, mostly carrying hard cargo that doesn't need rush service and should be carried by rail instead. These trucks run at full speed any chance they get. They tailgate persistently, giving the autos in front almost no chance of survival when a hard stop is required. They pass in dangerous circumstances and seem to regard the highways as their personal competition field.

I have many, many hours on the highways between Ottawa and Timmins, and have almost lost my life several times over the last fifty years. Having commented on the trucks, I should also comment on passenger vehicles. They seem to be better, but they also do stupidly dangerous things.

My perception of the problem is that the things causing the harm on our highways are;
1) tailgating in anticipation of passing by autos,
2) tailgating by impatient truck drivers who want to go as fast as their speed limited trucks will go,
3) automobile drivers who are unable to maintain a consistent speed on the highway, causing traffic to bunch up behind, (unable to match a set speed) and causing frustration behind. This frustration inevitably causes someone to pass , often in a bad place and time.

I have watched Europe install 2+1 divided highways with envy, knowing that were we to do this we would save lives and injuries, reduce fuel consumption and increase average traffic speed safely.
In addition to this there are a couple of other things needed, and that includes allowing drivers to pass without having to worry about the OPP sitting at the end of passing lanes, picking off people who are just trying to get ahead of the drivers who are unable to maintain constant speeds.

Despite the actions of our politicians in creating "racing laws" that in my opinion unconstitutionally punish Canadian citizens in advance of a fair trial, I have seen very little evidence in almost fifty years of driving that "speed" is the trouble on our highways. In fact, to my eye, the opposite is true. The drivers who speed up & slow down, and who drive below the traffic speed on major roadways are a major problem. They are never seen, never tracked and never charged for being the root cause of the accidents that happen when the frustrated drivers, several vehicles behind them try to pass on roads that do not allow for it. Our driving schools teach how to parallel park, how to park on a hill, how to signal a turn, how to do a three point turn, etc. All these are low speed actions. I have yet to see a driver training vehicle out on a highway teaching drivers how to stay 6, 8, 10 car lengths behind so as to get a better line of sight before passing. I have yet to see a driver training car teach that getting to passing speed before crossing the line reduces your time in the opposite lane and gets you out of the oncoming traffic much more quickly. They teach "defense' and while that is necessary, they don;t seem to teach how to accomplish maneuvers "quickly and safely at a higher speed".

We need these 2+1 roadways NOW. We also need "passing speed" allowances. We need new drivers to be trained at the speeds that will kill them, not at parking speed. We also need our commercial drivers to be trained to ONE standard across the country, NOT provincially, and every commercial drivers, wanting a Canadian truckers license should be required to take all the same training, regardless of whether or not they are already licensed in another territory or country ..... period.

This facebook link is just one event I have experienced in my fifty years on the roads ::

https://www.facebook.com/100010801294057/videos/866662283703807

cheers