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

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

PrivatePilot

PrivatePilot

Ironus Butticus
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Is it just me or are things really going all to hell in a handbasket here in Ontario due to an absolutely terrible lack of basic highway enforcement?

Having been able to get back into the USA this summer again I was once again reminded how downright civil their roads are compared to ours.
People generally follow the speed limits or reasonably close. They don't drive like **********. There aren't cars with blackout licence plate covers driving like idiots because they know nobody can report them, or motorcycles with plates that are flipped up at 80 degree angles.

People still have some basic levels of patience. Maybe not a super duper amount of courtesy...but at least patience.

The same could be said for Quebec in many ways.

Why in this the case? They actually have feckin' police enforcement.

Here in Ontario it really feels like the police, particularly the OPP, have just given up. Honestly, WTF.

Virtually very day I'm on the 401 for work. The percentage of drivers out there who seem to think the roads belong to them or the rules just don't matter is getting insane. Without fail every day I see the following within the first 15-30 minutes on the 401:

1- People flying along at 140-150+ without a care in the world.
2- Traffic weavers just driving like general **********. Not surprisingly often BMW or riceburner drivers, but there's also no shortage of regular cars as well.
3- On the long open stretches of the 401 people just being oblivious, or intentional idiots. Left lane hogs either just not realizing what they're doing, or worse yet, intentionally doing it playing "traffic police" because nobody is allowed to go faster than them doing 100kph exactly in the fast lane.
4- Crotch rocket riders playing street Rossi's. Usually with no licence plates or plates flipped up at basically 90 degrees so they're invisible. And we've seen a lot in the last 3-5 weeks how that ends up for many of them.
5- Backroads drivers who are just insane. If you're dare doing anything less than 100-110 in an 80 zone, I'm sure we've all experienced the nuts people who will almost ride your licence plate losing their mind behind you until an opportunity to pass prevents itself, safe, or often...not. And then they rush up behind the person in front of you and start it all over again.

I could go on and on.

And there's no freakin police to be seen almost anywhere on our roads as a matter of routine anymore. Yeah, they have their big "blitzes" and such, which they often announce (worse yet, WHY?), and maybe once every few months I'll see an OPP sitting in the middle of the 401 somewhere, but that's almost useless anymore given the advent of Waze where people know several kilometers ahead that they're sitting there.

However, elsewhere...there's actual police out there. Regularly. And not only just sitting in the middle of the highway or on the shoulder waiting for easy picking, but actually running with the flow of traffic and picking off the idiots. And traffic isn't insane because of it because they know there might actually be a real actual consequence to their actions. Here in Ontario? Yeah, you could probably drive for years or even decades like a total douche and never have any consequence whatsoever.

/sorry, needed to vent.
 
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It just started burning my ass recently. Coming home from Port Perry last night after dropping off a relative I was doing 90 in the 80 zone coming down Simcoe. Some douchenozzle in a black Dodge pickup truck was literally losing his mind behind me and then proceeded to pass on a blind corner risking a head on collision just to get around me. Because I was doing only 10 over.

An this isn't an isolated thing. It's virtually routine now.
 
When I get one of those guys my up my a** I slow down to the posted limit. If you're gonna rear end me no sense in doing so at high speed.
 
Bang on PP.

It was bad before Covid but crazy now. I figure everyone is p***** about something. People with money don't have anything to spend it on. People without it can't afford basics. In the middle of flipping a house in a crashing market, yeah take it out on the road.
 
Driving around New York or New Jersey didn't seem much different then around here. Florida, well that was something all together different.
Overall yes drivers are more courteous and just plain get it in good ol USA.

It was bad before the Pandemic hit. Once the traffic numbers were lower, the idiots thought they had free rein, and ramped up the idiocy, and nobody is doing anything about it, no enforcement what so ever. Recently I was in the far left lane behind some other cars, clipping along nicely on the 401 in GTA, and this joker comes behind me and tries to pass me on the shoulder!! WTF? really.
@timtune has the right idea, just slow down and make them get away from you.

Basically typical Canadian politics, our elected are working tirelessly, but the results don't indicate they are.
You should be able to contact whomever is in charge and let them know and see something get done, but they will only listen and do nothing (just my impression). So here we are... 🤷‍♂️

All you can do is drive defensively and not let it get under your skin.
 
Had very similar thoughts PP after coming back from PA a few weeks ago. Riding on the freeways there, NO ONE cruises along in the left lane. Unless they are really moving which means they are passing everyone anyways. But at least they can! Cross back into Ontario and it’s just arrogant, lazy, or aggressive driving.
At one point on the QEW there are upwards of 4-5 lanes and there is someone going the speed limit in each one. This forces those who want to go faster to start doing the slot car thing which includes passing on the right and all other sorts of dangerous and unexpected behaviour.
Meanwhile cops around here sit in transition zones and try to nab people dropping from 80 to 50. Because that’s where the problem lies apparently.



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One has to wonder, how many drivers/riders are dirty - no insurance or licence, stolen plates (or no plates) and figure they have nothing to lose ?
 
Drove to the Falls yesterday. Bro in a dually hauling a 18x8 enclosed trailer @ 109 in the passing lane (limit is 110) with people trying to get past him in the center/right lanes. Camped there the entire time from Stoney Creek to St. Catharines. When they first increased the limit on that stretch of the QEW the lane discipline improved dramatically, then it gradually regressed (devolved?) back to "normal". When asked about his thoughts on the devolution theme in their music now that it's been 40 years, Mark Mothersbaugh replied "I knew it was going to happen. The only surprise is how quickly."
 
I drive all across Canada for work...

Alberta? The speed limit -IS- the limit... more than 5-7 over, and you're talking to the RCMP or local cop.
Quebec? Super aggressive drivers, and fast - yet very well mannered. I often am pulling a trailer, in Ontario I have to push in; in QC, I put my signal on, and a hole appears for me.

Ontario needs more enforcement, for sure - I'm friendly with a few OPP officers; how thin they are spread is insane... there may be 5 cars on for ALL of Niagara region (basically everything south of the Burlington Skyway - so QEW, 420, 406, 3, and more...) - and if there's a decent accident, that could have 3-4 of those cars in one spot.

More training, more emphasis on the rules of the road, and more enforcement... Speeding, aggressive driving, and my personal pet peeve, the HOV lane - would go a long way.
 
Too much enforcement of speed limits that are too low, and next to no enforcement of anything else, and here we are. You can be as stupid as you want, but as long as you are puttering along slowly, it's all fine.

Main problem locally is people not stopping when making right turns at intersections when there is a stop sign or red traffic light, and blowing through stop signs (like the one I can see from the front of my house).
 
It's out of control, getting worse, without any attempt to deal with the worsening situation.

PrivatePilot said:
Here in Ontario? Yeah, you could probably drive for years or even decades like a total douche and never have any consequence whatsoever.
Click to expand...

True. It's a lot worse around the GTA, perhaps anywhere within 2-3 hours of the GTA. Between London and Sarnia last weekend, didn't see much wrong. Alberta is much better.

My 11 years in Toronto - personally witnessed a girl in her 20s get run over and killed crossing on a pedestrian green, two major hit and runs, multiple red light / stop-sign runs, countless wrong way on one-way streets, countless cars driving on dedicated street car lanes, handful of cars driving on bi-directional dedicated bicycle lanes...

Best I could do as an individual was to be extra vigilant as a pedestrian, wear bright or reflective clothing at night and put safety/crash rating of a vehicle as a top priority when looking to replace existing. And listen to lofi / jazz / chilled music instead of heavy metal while driving lol...
 
Brian P said:
Main problem locally is people not stopping when making right turns at intersections when there is a stop sign or red traffic light, and blowing through stop signs (like the one I can see from the front of my house).
Click to expand...
I'd often have lunch on a bench in a parkette on Soudan Ave. near my old office at Yonge & Eglinton, and watch the cars slow down at the all-way stop sign there. Many kids, babies in strollers in the area for the little playground in the parkette. Maybe 75% rolling stop, 15% full stop, 10% treat it like a give way.
 
Agree with all of the above!
Seems to me that the more expensive and bigger the vehicle, the larger the sense of entitlement.

Does the driver's country of origin matter?
Probably, if the country where they initially got licenced and where standards were lax.

Met a tow-truck service operator who had been just three months in the country and now is licenced to drive and deliver roadside assistance. It took me longer to work my way through the graduated licence system, don't know what is out there in terms of driver certification now.
 
I like how more drivers are environmentally conscious by not using their indicator lights and saving energy these days. It’s a good job I acquired psychic abilities in the last few years so I can read minds and know where they are going to go without them having to use those useless blinky things.
 
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PrivatePilot said:
Is it just me or are things really going all to hell in a handbasket here in Ontario due to an absolutely terrible lack of basic highway enforcement?

Having been able to get back into the USA this summer again I was once again reminded how downright civil their roads are compared to ours.
People generally follow the speed limits or reasonably close. They don't drive like **********. There aren't cars with blackout licence plate covers driving like idiots because they know nobody can report them, or motorcycles with plates that are flipped up at 80 degree angles.

People still have some basic levels of patience. Maybe not a super duper amount of courtesy...but at least patience.

The same could be said for Quebec in many ways.

Why in this the case? They actually have feckin' police enforcement.

Here in Ontario it really feels like the police, particularly the OPP, have just given up. Honestly, WTF.

Virtually very day I'm on the 401 for work. The percentage of drivers out there who seem to think the roads belong to them or the rules just don't matter is getting insane. Without fail every day I see the following within the first 15-30 minutes on the 401:

1- People flying along at 140-150+ without a care in the world.
2- Traffic weavers just driving like general **********. Not surprisingly often BMW or riceburner drivers, but there's also no shortage of regular cars as well.
3- On the long open stretches of the 401 people just being oblivious, or intentional idiots. Left lane hogs either just not realizing what they're doing, or worse yet, intentionally doing it playing "traffic police" because nobody is allowed to go faster than them doing 100kph exactly in the fast lane.
4- Crotch rocket riders playing street Rossi's. Usually with no licence plates or plates flipped up at basically 90 degrees so they're invisible. And we've seen a lot in the last 3-5 weeks how that ends up for many of them.
5- Backroads drivers who are just insane. If you're dare doing anything less than 100-110 in an 80 zone, I'm sure we've all experienced the nuts people who will almost ride your licence plate losing their mind behind you until an opportunity to pass prevents itself, safe, or often...not. And then they rush up behind the person in front of you and start it all over again.

I could go on and on.

And there's no freakin police to be seen almost anywhere on our roads as a matter of routine anymore. Yeah, they have their big "blitzes" and such, which they often announce (worse yet, WHY?), and maybe once every few months I'll see an OPP sitting in the middle of the 401 somewhere, but that's almost useless anymore given the advent of Waze where people know several kilometers ahead that they're sitting there.

However, elsewhere...there's actual police out there. Regularly. And not only just sitting in the middle of the highway or on the shoulder waiting for easy picking, but actually running with the flow of traffic and picking off the idiots. And traffic isn't insane because of it because they know there might actually be a real actual consequence to their actions. Here in Ontario? Yeah, you could probably drive for years or even decades like a total douche and never have any consequence whatsoever.

/sorry, needed to vent.
Click to expand...
Meanwhile, I just was informed that someone I know, was just charged with stunt driving today.
I do agree with you though. Around where I live, I rarely ever see a cop. Can be months between sightings.
 
jc100 said:
I like how more drivers are environmentally conscious by not using their indicator lights and saving energy these days. It’s a good job I acquired psychic abilities in the last few years so I can read minds and know where they are going to go without them having to use those useless blinky things.
Click to expand...
This can drive me nuts, espcially when you are waiting at a intersection wanting to say make a right, and you are waiting for that last num num to get throught it, but guess what, they are making a turn at the intersection with no indication.....
 
sburns said:
This can drive me nuts, espcially when you are waiting at a intersection wanting to say make a right, and you are waiting for that last num num to get throught it, but guess what, they are making a turn at the intersection with no indication.....
Click to expand...
N6OzYyGl.png
 
sburns said:
This can drive me nuts, espcially when you are waiting at a intersection wanting to say make a right, and you are waiting for that last num num to get throught it, but guess what, they are making a turn at the intersection with no indication.....
Click to expand...
If I understand it, in Ontario using a turn signal is only RECOMMENDED to clarify intentions when your actions may create confusion to another driver.

If traffic is really slow and a driver from a side street or mall is trying to get in or across traffic I try to make space for them only if they are using their turn signal.
 
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