This is an unaffiliated request

Speed Traps Open

City Wide Toronto, ON Show on Map Hide Map
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Reporter

(Guest)

Issue ID:

462839

Submitted To:

Community

Category:

None

Viewed:

483 times

Neighborhood:

Toronto

Reported via:

http://www.thestar.com

Reported:

on

Description

So you got a ticket in one of Toronto's many fishing holes. Welcome to the real world. But you're the Fixer and you want to do something about it, great! You understand that the problem is a difference between posted speed and design speed/85th percentile, a good start. But to fix it you need to understand the whole cycle:

- Nimbys complain to their Councillor about people driving faster than the speed limit on a nearby street;
- Politicians vote to lower the speed limit even further because it’s an easy way to pretend to do something and win votes;
- Cops discover yet another new fishing hole and set up shop;
- Cops/City make money from speeding fines;
- Insurance companies use these minor convictions as an excuse to dramatically increase premiums, with no actual increase in costs;
- Government and the insurance industry mount “speed kills” campaigns to justify their revenues and encourage more Nimbys to complain about speeders.

As a result, roads become less safe because of a greater speed differential between the 85th percentile and the few people who actually pay attention to ridiculously low posted limits.

So how do you fix the problem? Setting posted speed limits at the design speed is the theoretical solution, but this would be extremely time consuming and politically impossible.

Instead the Star and the Fixer should try to break this cycle by encouraging Council to vote to direct all revenues from traffic violations to some worthy cause, say transit improvement. This would still be politically correct, but it would remove the police financial motivation. It would also be hard for the Police to object, because it would show that their real motivation is dollars, not safety, as they like to profess.

Will this completely resolve the problem? No. People are generally lazy, and the police are people too. It’s much easier for police to lay a charge by sitting at a fishing hole rather than going after unsafe lane changes, left turns in front of oncoming traffic, break and enters, motorcycle thefts from condo garages, etc, etc, etc. Speeding convictions in court are also easier to secure, as they rely on technology instead of the judgement of the officer. And the Police assess their effectiveness on case closure rates. All that being said, removing the financial motivation will still be a huge step forward.

We know the Star likes a cause, especially if it involves the Police. Good luck, fight the good fight, and keep us posted.


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