Why is Ontario becoming the wild-west of roads and highways? | Page 5 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Why is Ontario becoming the wild-west of roads and highways?

nobbie48 said:
What does he do with the load when he gets to receiving five minutes after they close the doors?
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Part of the job is that sometimes the schedule doesn't work out, but if you can't get to a destination at least 30-60 minutes before they close, chances are you're not getting unloaded (unless you only have a few skids that they are desperately waiting for), so you find somewhere to park and call it a night.
I used to actually like it sometimes when this would happen to me when I was running long haul. It was an opportunity to actually stop and regroup. Have an actual sit down dinner somewhere. Have a decent shower. Do some laundry perhaps. Then head back to the bunk, maybe watch a bit of TV, and then get a good solid 8-10 hours sleep which was always appreciated.

Brian P said:
Don't ticket someone who runs a red light because there's a dump truck 5 metres behind their bumper, that isn't going to be able to stop.
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This comes back to spatial awareness. If I see a stale green and there's a truck 6 feet off my rear bumper, I'm slowing down well in advance in order to stay in control of the situation, not speeding up because of some feeling of "being pushed". This is all in peoples heads. Just don't go faster or rush......been doing it this way since I got my drivers licence, and every mile I've ever driven with a trailer behind me. I have never once had anyone run into the back of me yet. Funny how that works when a lot of people would have you believe that you'll get flattened if you don't go faster to keep someone off your bumper.
 
Maniac said:
Very few speed limit signs on autobahns in Germany… They manage fine.
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... except it's not that simple.

On the parts of the autobahn that I've been on, there are overhead sign boards indicating what the current restrictions are.

Approaching every junction ... 120 km/h. Other side of the junction ... Cancellation (no speed limit). Unless ...
Bad weather? 120. Or 100. Or 80.
Approaching a "stau"? 120 a couple sign-boards ahead, then 100 at the next one, then 80. Gives people time to slow down well in advance of the jam-up.
If you are driving a vehicle with its own restriction then that overrules. Trucks and buses have a label on them indicating what they're restricted to (typically 90 or 100). Trailer towing? 100. Right lane only except approaching a junction.
Don't be surprised if there is a speed camera on the backside of any restriction sign.

And you DON'T want the "polizei" to see you loitering in the left lane!

Vehicle inspections are taken seriously. All vehicles need a periodic TuV inspection ... and they are tough. Any modification beyond cosmetic, that might affect compliance with safety or emission standards, and you had better have the certificate showing that the aftermarket part that you installed conforms to standards.

And this is all on top of the process of obtaining a driver's license being much more costly and lengthy than it is here.
 
www.nature.com

Understanding Road Usage Patterns in Urban Areas - Scientific Reports

In this paper, we combine the most complete record of daily mobility, based on large-scale mobile phone data, with detailed Geographic Information System (GIS) data, uncovering previously hidden patterns in urban road usage. We find that the major usage of each road segment can be traced to its...
www.nature.com www.nature.com

www.npr.org

Don't Be A Slowpoke: Why Left Lane Driving Causes Traffic

If you've ever yelled at a slowpoke blocking your way on the left lane of a crowded highway, your anger is now justified.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
 
Brian P said:
On the parts of the autobahn that I've been on, there are overhead sign boards indicating what the current restrictions are.
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I recall approaching construction zones, 120, 100, 80, 60, and then seeing how everything was so very orderly, delineating posts preventing lane changes, safe curves, neatly arranged jersey barriers... Well planned... Then I thought of the construction work that was going on at the time on the QEW, the chicane just west of 427, the disaster on Eglinton, and so on...
 
Brian P said:
We (North America) have been doing intersections wrong. Roundabouts are usually a better choice than stop signs or signals. They force everyone to slow down and pay attention, but they don't force anyone to stop and sit there for no reason (e.g. red traffic signal with no cross traffic). They're not reliant upon electrical power to operate the signal lights.
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I spend a considerable amount of time in Northern Mexico, and was shocked and amazed how they setup road ways. At first I thought this was so rudimentary without many traffic lights etc. My thought was being 3rd world they didn't have the funds to support a sophisticated infrastructure. But when I started to drive around the cities I was amazed how elgant the system was without all these controlls in place. You could travel the entire city with only possibly 2 stops. Most roads had dividers along the middle, you had to use "returns" to get onto the other side (something I have seen adapted in southern Texas), and plenty of round a bouts, and secondary funnel roads to supply main roads.

After experiencing this setup, we've definaitly been doing things wrong. Unfortunately it's probably too late to adapt to another model, and they keep repeating the same bad design patterns with new construction.
 
timtune said:
Whoa dude. That's pretty broad and wrong. Put me in the happy slot.
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Lucky you :]

www.ctvnews.ca

Millennials and Gen Z leading the shift in the 'side hustle' economy, survey shows

An RBC survey says a new economy is emerging from the younger generations in Canada due to the increased cost of living.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca

www.iheartradio.ca

Affordability crisis: Why young Canadians are facing a 'huge' wealth gap

Young people's salaries in Canada aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, even when employed full-time; and the ability to afford city rents and home ownership is becoming a 'pipe dream' for many, according to a CTVNews.ca analysis.
www.iheartradio.ca www.iheartradio.ca

:)
 
PrivatePilot said:
Part of the job is that sometimes the schedule doesn't work out, but if you can't get to a destination at least 30-60 minutes before they close, chances are you're not getting unloaded (unless you only have a few skids that they are desperately waiting for), so you find somewhere to park and call it a night.
I used to actually like it sometimes when this would happen to me when I was running long haul. It was an opportunity to actually stop and regroup. Have an actual sit down dinner somewhere. Have a decent shower. Do some laundry perhaps. Then head back to the bunk, maybe watch a bit of TV, and then get a good solid 8-10 hours sleep which was always appreciated.
Click to expand...
Long haul spreads the pain but someone with a local delivery contract paying $XXX a run taking three hours return trip with a nine hour shipping / receiving window goes from three runs a day to two if he hits traffic problems. That's a big drop in income and his loan and insurance costs don't go down.

I assume a dump truck is basically a dirt taxi with the same problem.

I understand the economics but I still want to live.
 
If you want to do a cannonball run to barrie, now is the time. Someone on the highway in barrie called for police assistance. Closest opp unit is south of aurora. No wonder driving sucks. Your chance of getting caught is minimal.

I still think we pay cops far too much and would be better served at half the compensation and double the officers.
 
GreyGhost said:
If you want to do a cannonball run to barrie, now is the time. Someone on the highway in barrie called for police assistance. Closest opp unit is south of aurora. No wonder driving sucks. Your chance of getting caught is minimal.

I still think we pay cops far too much and would be better served at half the compensation and double the officers.
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Look at the budget Toronto has for police...
$1,100,604

Too much
 
Georg3__ said:
Look at the budget Toronto has for police...
$1,100,604

Too much
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And some districts have two cops working at night. When each one is paid so much (>>100k less than five years in), you cant have enough people working nor enough budget. People constantly bang the danger drum and i have problem providing every cop with a seven figure insurance policy. Ranks will be full with similar candidates at half the comp.
 
sburns said:
I spend a considerable amount of time in Northern Mexico, and was shocked and amazed how they setup road ways. At first I thought this was so rudimentary without many traffic lights etc. My thought was being 3rd world they didn't have the funds to support a sophisticated infrastructure. But when I started to drive around the cities I was amazed how elgant the system was without all these controlls in place. You could travel the entire city with only possibly 2 stops. Most roads had dividers along the middle, you had to use "returns" to get onto the other side (something I have seen adapted in southern Texas), and plenty of round a bouts, and secondary funnel roads to supply main roads.

After experiencing this setup, we've definaitly been doing things wrong. Unfortunately it's probably too late to adapt to another model, and they keep repeating the same bad design patterns with new construction.
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Roundabouts
I have been on the roads in other countries where roundabouts were included in the road pattern. Traffic flowed smoothly around these.
Here, for some reason there are hesitations, stops and ignorance about right-of-way and the roundabouts become obstacles!

Another example of traffic flowing without excessive road control, is the traffic in Vietnam.
No pedestrian crossings and the occurrence of pedestrian fatility is rare.
Granted that speeds there are far below ours, but then their traffic volume surpasses ours.

The above is not true of all Asian destinations.
The country with the second largest population in the world, comes to mind.
 
I have noticed that folks seem to be more susceptible to being drawn in to bad driving behavior than they were before this mess started. One flyer goes by suddenly everybody is playing pole position.
 
GreyGhost said:
And some districts have two cops working at night. When each one is paid so much (>>100k less than five years in), you cant have enough people working nor enough budget. People constantly bang the danger drum and i have problem providing every cop with a seven figure insurance policy. Ranks will be full with similar candidates at half the comp.
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I've heard that Vancouver might be f-d after some attempted defunding, and changes to police procedures.
 
Baggsy said:
I've heard that Vancouver might be f-d after some attempted defunding, and changes to police procedures.
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Explain more? Just taking money out of police budget is a complete loser idea for everyone. Their needs to be thought and a plan on how to better use money.
 
sburns said:
I spend a considerable amount of time in Northern Mexico, and was shocked and amazed how they setup road ways. At first I thought this was so rudimentary without many traffic lights etc. My thought was being 3rd world they didn't have the funds to support a sophisticated infrastructure. But when I started to drive around the cities I was amazed how elgant the system was without all these controlls in place. You could travel the entire city with only possibly 2 stops. Most roads had dividers along the middle, you had to use "returns" to get onto the other side (something I have seen adapted in southern Texas), and plenty of round a bouts, and secondary funnel roads to supply main roads.

After experiencing this setup, we've definaitly been doing things wrong. Unfortunately it's probably too late to adapt to another model, and they keep repeating the same bad design patterns with new construction.
Click to expand...
Similar in Dubai. It's basically impossible to have a head on collision there - logically planed roads with middle dividers everywhere.
 
Drove to the office today for a team lunch. About 60km total. Saw the following:
-multiple blatant red light running
-two close calls in roundabouts - one that if I hadn’t braked hard would have resulted in an accident

And the kicker:
-stopped at rural stop sign at t-intersection - single lane - guy in front was turning left and I had my right signal on with my car in an obvious position that I would be going right, but didn’t want to block the person in front of me’s view…trying to be courteous, when a young puke in a mini-van flies up on the shoulder beside me and rolls through the stop and blasts off. He did a right turn - in a non-lane beside the person (me) turning right.

Wild West?
The Wild West was likely safer.

 
GreyGhost said:
If you want to do a cannonball run to barrie, now is the time. Someone on the highway in barrie called for police assistance. Closest opp unit is south of aurora. No wonder driving sucks. Your chance of getting caught is minimal.

I still think we pay cops far too much and would be better served at half the compensation and double the officers.
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Cut their pay and they'll have more vehicles towed.

More seriously, police shouldn't be fund raising. Instead of policing for profit they should, instead of writing tickets, be giving hour long roadside lectures on safe and efficient driving.
 
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