Most of us have had the experience of travelling along a road a wee bit over the posted limit, and having someone blaze past as if we were standing still.
By most of us, it is about 83 per cent, according to Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) statistics from 2022. One might be inclined to suspect the remaining 17 per cent are the knuckleheads blazing past us.
Speeding is nothing new. However, there is a perception it has become worse since COVID.
Perhaps people got into some bad habits during the pandemic – roads suddenly had a lot less traffic, and police speed traps were few and far between.
Perhaps it is the recent hot weather we have been having. It puts people in the mood to get to where we are going as quickly as possible.
Perhaps, too, it is a result of more traffic on our roads. Again, we can blame COVID. This area has had a sudden influx of new residents, many of whom were fleeing cities for what they perceived as a healthier, safer environment, with a much lower COVID rate. They came, they saw, and they decided to telecommute and stay.
Rural roads designed for a modest volume of traffic are now hit with city-style issues – traffic jams, more frequent repairs and reconstruction projects so roads can accommodate more vehicles. Subdivisions are popping up like mushrooms, with accompanying traffic. And we still have the full range of rural traffic – everything from horse-drawn wagons to ATVs to massive cultivators, and, of course, deer.
Tempers flare. The once pleasant drive to work is now a nightmare of heavy trucks, frequent gridlock, honking horns and people risking life and limb – their own, and everyone else’s – to pass. The inclination is to floor it the moment there is a gap in traffic, sometimes with tragic results. The CAA states that speed-related collisions accounted for 16 per cent of fatalities on Ontario’s roads (2019 MTO stats).
Reality check time. The days of COVID lockdowns are long gone. Using the pandemic as an excuse for driving like they are in a bad remake of The Fast and the Furious, instead of heading to the local drive-through at lunchtime, does not cut it anymore – not that it ever did, in the eyes of the law.
Stunt driving – going 50 km/h over the speed limit, going 150 km/h anywhere in the province including on high-speed highways, or driving in a manner that prevents passing, causes the vehicle to go in circles or driving too close to another vehicle or object – can result in some of the toughest penalties in North America. These include an immediate 30-day licence suspension, immediate 14-day vehicle impoundment, a fine of $2,000-$10,000 and six demerit points upon conviction, for starters.
There are ways to combat the inclination to drive way over the speed limit.
One is to take a lesson from professional stunt drivers and actually look at the road and who else is on it – senior citizens out walking the dog, little kids going to the pool, people driving to or from work, and maybe a guy on a lawn tractor. All of them have the right to be there. That road is not someone’s personal speedway or Hollywood set.
Real Hollywood stunt driving takes years of experience, nerves of steel and amazing reflexes, not to mention high-performance vehicles in tip-top condition, safety gear, and a controlled environment. Those who do that sort of thing professionally would never dream of stunt driving while suffering from a major hangover. They certainly would not do it in a run-down pickup truck with wonky brakes, a cracked windshield, a radio blasting out something angry-sounding, a cell phone with an irate spouse on the other end, and no safety plan, especially on a bumpy road with odd-ball corners and random obstacles, some of which move.
Professionals plan ahead, and drive according to conditions. So should we. The main street at lunchtime can make a Hollywood stunt driving set look like a walk in the park.
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Pauline Kerr is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter currently working for Midwestern Newspapers. She can be reached at pkerr@midwesternnewspapers.com.
