So they don't have to a) yield merging traffic ..... b) slower truck traffic ... c) deal with faster left lane traffic ..... so middle lane cruising it is.
I don’t mean inside the GTA where there is frequent merging traffic. That at least makes some sense to me.
I mean outside the GTA where exits are 10km apart and the right lane is empty as far as the eye can see. West of the GTA where the 401 is 3 lanes, the right lane is the least populated lane. Middle lane campers make all faster traffic overtake in only one lane whereas they ought to be in the right lane leaving two open lanes for faster traffic to overtake.
Big trucks historically were good for lane discipline but now they’re just as bad as everyone else. Big trucks camp in the middle lane just as often as cars.
Middle lane campers make all faster traffic overtake in only one lane whereas they ought to be in the right lane leaving two open lanes for faster traffic to overtake.
Uh... yes it does, the problem is there are no specific penalties for not following those laws. Maybe its time to give some teeth to the rules for cars and motorcycles.
That section is NOT left lane specific. It merely says right lane, it is meant for a two lane roadway, not multi lane highways such as the 401. When I asked the poster to post, (when he said the HTA contains a section which is left lane specific, IE the BC or Washington State laws). You can't because there is NO such section in the HTA, because the bureaucrats at MTO haven't drafted one, and the Legislature has not passed such a law.
Again if as proposed earlier the "left hand lane hog" is doing 105, there is absolutely NOTHING that can be done legally, that will result in a conviction. It is merely poor etiquette, but NOT illegal.
Read back through the forum, there are 2 sections in the HTA R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 147 (1) and R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 132 (1).132 (1). There are no specific penalties for these rules.There are also several new entries governing commercial vehicles on 400 series highways. There is a $110 penalty for these new rules.
That section is NOT left lane specific. It merely says right lane, it is meant for a two lane roadway, not multi lane highways such as the 401.
Again if as proposed earlier the "left hand lane hog" is doing 105, there is absolutely NOTHING that can be done legally, that will result in a conviction. It is merely poor etiquette, but NOT illegal.
To me, there is nothing in that section that changes when it is a 2 or 3 lane road. It says stay as far right as possible if you are going less than the "normal speed".
Now, as I said before, the cop could lay that charge on a car going 105 and argue that it was going less than the "normal speed", but it would be a hard fight in court and I can't see it happening very often. A much cleaner law from the politicians could help get more vehicles through our limited capacity roadways while making it safer for all.
Read back through the forum, there are 2 sections in the HTA R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 147 (1) and R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 132 (1).132 (1). There are no specific penalties for these rules.There are also several new entries governing commercial vehicles on 400 series highways. There is a $110 penalty for these new rules.
NONE of those are LEFT lane specific regulations, IE the BC and Washington state laws which were written to address being in the left lane while NOT passing other vehicles.
Those sections are all designed to be utilized on either 2 lane roadways or to address other situations.
If the driver in the left lane is driving at 105 Km/h while pacing next to a vehicle in the center lane which is also doing 105 km/h NONE of those sections stated are applicable, and none would result in a conviction in court. As someone who enforced the HTA and spent thousands of hours in court, I do have a small inkling of how each section is interpreted by JP's
Unless the MTO sends left lane specific regs to the legislature, the guy/girl doing 105 in the left lane can sit there ALL day long and nothing can be done legally about it. Doesn't mean an officer can't pull them over for a "chat" which is effective in getting them out of the left lane for a short period of time. But they can pull away from the stop and go back to their normal driving habits.
To me, there is nothing in that section that changes when it is a 2 or 3 lane road. It says stay as far right as possible if you are going less than the "normal speed".
Now, as I said before, the cop could lay that charge on a car going 105 and argue that it was going less than the "normal speed", but it would be a hard fight in court and I can't see it happening very often. A much cleaner law from the politicians could help get more vehicles through our limited capacity roadways while making it safer for all.
EXACTLY, the term "normal speed" is purposely, (as are most terms in the HTA), vague. Therefore, VERY unlikely to result in a conviction = not worth the officer's time to stop the vehicle to go to court only to lose the case. All the accused has to ask is "how far over the speed limit am I supposed to go officer" JP tosses the case.
That is why I have stated repeatedly the bureaucrats, have to draft a law, send it to legislature, similar to BC and Washington, then an officer could do something about it. They may not enforce it heavily in BC, but Washington State troopers DO enforce their law VERY consistently. Just ask many drivers from BC who get ticketed for it...lol
E
Unnecessary slow driving prohibited
132 (1) No motor vehicle shall be driven on a highway at such a slow rate of speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic thereon except when the slow rate of speed is necessary for safe operation having regard to all the circumstances. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 132 (1).
The relevant wording would be SLOW. If you are doing the limit, it won't be considered slow by the law. I think when those cars all blocked the highway by going 100 next to each other, they were impeding due to multiple vehicles in concert. One car doing it on their own isn't breaking the law, just being an idiot.
I don’t mean inside the GTA where there is frequent merging traffic. That at least makes some sense to me.
I mean outside the GTA where exits are 10km apart and the right lane is empty as far as the eye can see. West of the GTA where the 401 is 3 lanes, the right lane is the least populated lane. Middle lane campers make all faster traffic overtake in only one lane whereas they ought to be in the right lane leaving two open lanes for faster traffic to overtake.
Big trucks historically were good for lane discipline but now they’re just as bad as everyone else. Big trucks camp in the middle lane just as often as cars.
It doesn't matter that there's no merging for 10km stretch, still at some point there will be, and people are lazy beings. Not speaking about occasionally running into a traffic slower than themselves. Camping it in middle lane keeps them from interfering with traffic on the right or left .....
It doesn't matter that there's no merging for 10km stretch, still at some point there will be, and people are lazy beings. Not speaking about occasionally running into a traffic slower than themselves. Camping it in middle lane keeps them from interfering with traffic on the right or left .....
If the driver in the left lane is driving at 105 Km/h while pacing next to a vehicle in the center lane which is also doing 105 km/h NONE of those sections stated are applicable, and none would result in a conviction in court. As someone who enforced the HTA and spent thousands of hours in court, I do have a small inkling of how each section is interpreted by JP's
I think you are reading into my original rant more than you need to, I was not blaming the OPP for this, my question could have been answered by "the OPP will ticket when there is legislation allowing for it".
I wasn't faulting the OPP for not writing tickets, I was just wondering if/when anything would be done to help curb road rage. It's not getting better, it's getting much worse.
NONE of those are LEFT lane specific regulations, IE the BC and Washington state laws which were written to address being in the left lane while NOT passing other vehicles.
Those sections are all designed to be utilized on either 2 lane roadways or to address other situations.
If the driver in the left lane is driving at 105 Km/h while pacing next to a vehicle in the center lane which is also doing 105 km/h NONE of those sections stated are applicable, and none would result in a conviction in court. As someone who enforced the HTA and spent thousands of hours in court, I do have a small inkling of how each section is interpreted by JP's
Unless the MTO sends left lane specific regs to the legislature, the guy/girl doing 105 in the left lane can sit there ALL day long and nothing can be done legally about it. Doesn't mean an officer can't pull them over for a "chat" which is effective in getting them out of the left lane for a short period of time. But they can pull away from the stop and go back to their normal driving habits.
Most highways in Toronto are the wild west. I spend enough time on them that at least once a month I witness something so incredibly stupid that I call *OPP and report it - varies from people driving 160-180+, to people driving with NO lights on in the pitch black dark, pulling trailers with dangerous loads (or the ever popular no lights), erratic/dangerous driving, etc.
Almost always NOTHING happens.
It's discouraging to see that even when you call in someone who could very possibly cause a death a few kilometers up the road that basically nothing happens - makes me wonder if it's worth even calling anymore....and accordingly, expecting the OPP to be bothered with things like lane hogs is simply never going to happen when they can't even be bothered to deal with more serious things.
I support the police, but I will admit, the lack of any highway enforcement in this province is a joke.
As for how I deal with it, I don't get my panties in a twist. Deep breath, deal with it, go around them when I can....drive on. It's not worth getting yourself in a twist over the stupidity of others.
I agree 100% .... but I am not shocked. Imagine how much it will get worse with all kind of auto-pilot gizmos. The middle lane will be totally clogged with drivers and their hands-off .... I have yet to see a system which will move them to the right lane .... LOL
Keeping the car in the lane with a safe distance, yes, maybe better at it than most GTA drivers. But it will do nothing in regards to the issue discussed here. I have never seen a demonstration of a system which will promptly move the car to the slower right lane.
Keeping the car in the lane with a safe distance, yes, maybe better at it than most GTA drivers. But it will do nothing in regards to the issue discussed here. I have never seen a demonstration of a system which will promptly move the car to the slower right lane.
A simple if/than/else programming statement is all that’s necessary for them to favour the right hand most available lane whenever it’s free and viable. Pretty sure existing self driving cars do exactly that.
You mean self-driving, like prototypes running in test modes? Or you are referring to L2/L3 auto-pilots? At any rate, I have never seen a demonstration where any Lx, will change lane to the right, because it's too slow. I have seen some videos where the prototype changed a lane, but it was in city multi-lane settings, traffic crawling ... hardly the settings we are discussing here. The impression left was that the car was trying to change lane because it saw opening in the other lane and thus moving a bit quicker. Not because it was too slow ....
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