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BC rolls back speed limits

Started by Hurricane Rex, November 09, 2018, 08:35:45 PM

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Hurricane Rex

Most of you have seen the speed kills your pocketbook video. A year after it was publushed, speed limits jumped on 1/8 of the highways. 1/2 of those have been rolled back and the speed kills crowd still doesn't seem to be satisfied. Plus the data they cite is fishy. Link: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018TRAN0187-002139#

LG-TP260

ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.


oscar

At least the 120km/h limit on BC 5 between Hope and Kamloops stays. On one segment reduced from 120 to 110km/h, on BC 97C, 120 seemed to me a little high for a twisty mountain freeway, as much as I like high speed limits.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

jeffandnicole

Quote
The top three contributing factors for segments with increased collisions are driver inattentiveness, road conditions and driving too fast for conditions.

But none of these have anything to do with speed limits.  Regardless if the speed limit is 20 or 120, you have to drive based on the conditions present.

bcroadguy


I didn't read the study, but according to some guy on Reddit (very reliable source lol), the statistics they used to justify the decreases included two of the worst winters in decades and actual travel speeds didn't change. The NDP government is obsessed with photo radar and speed cameras so it doesn't surprise me they would do this.

https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouver/comments/9uqki3/bc_government_to_roll_back_speed_limit_hikes_by/


jakeroot

#4
Quote from: bcroadguy on November 14, 2018, 03:26:26 AM
The NDP government is obsessed with photo radar and speed cameras so it doesn't surprise me they would do this.

Todd Stone was the best thing to happen to the MOT in years. Still apparently the only one who has any idea how speed limits work. That said, Trevena is from England, so you'd think her experience with high limits over there would reflect on her choices here.

Quote from: bcroadguy on November 14, 2018, 03:26:26 AM
I didn't read the study, but according to some guy on Reddit (very reliable source lol), the statistics they used to justify the decreases included two of the worst winters in decades and actual travel speeds didn't change.

According to the press release, travel speeds did not change (or decreased) on 14 of the 33 roads.

Duke87

They'll crunch whatever numbers they can to justify it but this stinks of being purely a political wind shift.

The previous Liberal government raised a bunch of speed limits in 2014. Now the current NDP government, formerly the opposition, is rolling this back.

Quote from: jakeroot on November 14, 2018, 03:44:02 AM
Todd Stone was the best thing to happen to the MOT in years. Still apparently the only one who has any idea how speed limits work. That said, Trevena is from England, so you'd think her experience with high limits over there would reflect on her choices here.

Unless there is a party line on this, in which case she'd be expected to follow it regardless of what she personally thinks.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

Hurricane Rex

One of the speed limits had its 85% speed go from 107 kph pre increase, to 90 kph post increase. The speed limit was raised from 80 to 90. Yet accidents rose. There is something different going on there than the speed increases. And do you know what the minister did on that road? THE SPEED LIMIT WAS DECREASED BACK TO 80!!!! They just out ODOTed ODOT (whom I've been a frequent critic of for using "distance from hospital" as an excuse to not raise speed limits from 65 mph to 70 mph among other reasons). This is going on my top 10 worst transportation decisions of all time fictional list (if I made one).

Also, the speed limit is 70 mph in the UK max (113 kph) so they are the lowest of the major European countries, except for Norway and a few IMO unimportant Eastern European Countries which have a 110 kph limit. Still, this decision confuses me, even more so after reading the Sense BC report. http://www.sense.bc.ca/2018/11/10/the-november-6-2018-rural-highway-safety-and-speed-review-our-analysis/

Something that isn't mentioned. I believe that BC 19 (island highway) has been rolled back to 110 kph. Another bad move.

LG-TP260

ODOT, raise the speed limit and fix our traffic problems.

Road and weather geek for life.

Running till I die.

jakeroot

Quote from: Duke87 on November 16, 2018, 06:37:21 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on November 14, 2018, 03:44:02 AM
Todd Stone was the best thing to happen to the MOT in years. Still apparently the only one who has any idea how speed limits work. That said, Trevena is from England, so you'd think her experience with high limits over there would reflect on her choices here.

Unless there is a party line on this, in which case she'd be expected to follow it regardless of what she personally thinks.

I never would have considered speed limits to be a party issue in BC, but that seems to be becoming the situation. Stone seemed furious with the UBC study that kick-started this roll-back, (IMO, rightly) claiming that the study was full of gaps: https://goo.gl/sv6WMe

Premier John Horgan was apparently "shocked" by the study; not sure if Trevena actually gave a statement prior to the official rollback.

Mods: if this is too much political talk, just say so and it'll stop (plz don't lock). Only bringing it up because it does seem to be the elephant in the room.

Quote from: Hurricane Rex on November 16, 2018, 10:30:12 PM
Also, the speed limit is 70 mph in the UK max (113 kph) so they are the lowest of the major European countries, except for Norway and a few IMO unimportant Eastern European Countries which have a 110 kph limit.

For motorways, yes. But in rural terms, it's right in line with the rest of Europe. ~97 km/h (60 mph) is the standard for all single-carriageway roads outside built-up areas; compare this to BC where many single-carriageway roads are often posted at 80 or 90 outside built-up areas. It was only recently that 100 zones were popping up on single-carriageway roads (Lougheed Highway near Hope, for example).

ErmineNotyours

#8
Quote from: oscar on November 09, 2018, 09:45:30 PM
At least the 120km/h limit on BC 5 between Hope and Kamloops stays. On one segment reduced from 120 to 110km/h, on BC 97C, 120 seemed to me a little high for a twisty mountain freeway, as much as I like high speed limits.

The 120 km/h of Trans Canada between Hope and Kamloops was the highest legal speed limit I have ever encountered and driven, as 120 km/h = 72 m.p.h.  Later on that same trip in 1999, I sped past a photo radar setup, and saw the flash.  I wondered if they would issue international tickets, and so far they haven't.

Edit: maybe it was 110, because I remember that it translated to 72 mph.

jakeroot

Quote from: ErmineNotyours on December 14, 2018, 11:56:32 PM
Quote from: oscar on November 09, 2018, 09:45:30 PM
At least the 120km/h limit on BC 5 between Hope and Kamloops stays. On one segment reduced from 120 to 110km/h, on BC 97C, 120 seemed to me a little high for a twisty mountain freeway, as much as I like high speed limits.

The 120 km/h of Trans Canada between Hope and Kamloops was the highest legal speed limit I have ever encountered and driven, as 120 km/h = 72 m.p.h.  Later on that same trip in 1999, I sped past a photo radar setup, and saw the flash.  I wondered if they would issue international tickets, and so far they haven't.

As far as I know, there hasn't been a 120 limit in Canada for thirty or forty years. Are you saying you saw a 120 limit in 1999?

oscar

Quote from: jakeroot on December 16, 2018, 08:59:01 PM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on December 14, 2018, 11:56:32 PM
The 120 km/h of Trans Canada between Hope and Kamloops was the highest legal speed limit I have ever encountered and driven, as 120 km/h = 72 m.p.h.  Later on that same trip in 1999, I sped past a photo radar setup, and saw the flash.  I wondered if they would issue international tickets, and so far they haven't.

As far as I know, there hasn't been a 120 limit in Canada for thirty or forty years. Are you saying you saw a 120 limit in 1999?

I can't confirm it for 1999, but I definitely saw 120 signs in 2016, on both BC 5 and BC 97. The release in the OP confirms that since then the 120 limit on BC 5 was retained, while 120 was reduced to 110 on BC 97 (and part of BC 19).
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

jakeroot

Quote from: oscar on December 16, 2018, 09:28:26 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on December 16, 2018, 08:59:01 PM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on December 14, 2018, 11:56:32 PM
The 120 km/h of Trans Canada between Hope and Kamloops was the highest legal speed limit I have ever encountered and driven, as 120 km/h = 72 m.p.h.  Later on that same trip in 1999, I sped past a photo radar setup, and saw the flash.  I wondered if they would issue international tickets, and so far they haven't.

As far as I know, there hasn't been a 120 limit in Canada for thirty or forty years. Are you saying you saw a 120 limit in 1999?

I can't confirm it for 1999, but I definitely saw 120 signs in 2016, on both BC 5 and BC 97. The release in the OP confirms that since then the 120 limit on BC 5 was retained, while 120 was reduced to 110 on BC 97 (and part of BC 19).

Right, right. I believe prior to the fuel economy-related rollbacks in the 70s, Canada had some higher limits (75 perhaps?) but not until BC's increase a couple years ago did Canada again see 70MPH+ limits. AFAIK, BC's highest limit in 1999 was 110.

ErmineNotyours

Quote from: jakeroot on December 16, 2018, 08:59:01 PM
Quote from: ErmineNotyours on December 14, 2018, 11:56:32 PM
Quote from: oscar on November 09, 2018, 09:45:30 PM
At least the 120km/h limit on BC 5 between Hope and Kamloops stays. On one segment reduced from 120 to 110km/h, on BC 97C, 120 seemed to me a little high for a twisty mountain freeway, as much as I like high speed limits.

The 120 km/h of Trans Canada between Hope and Kamloops was the highest legal speed limit I have ever encountered and driven, as 120 km/h = 72 m.p.h.  Later on that same trip in 1999, I sped past a photo radar setup, and saw the flash.  I wondered if they would issue international tickets, and so far they haven't.

As far as I know, there hasn't been a 120 limit in Canada for thirty or forty years. Are you saying you saw a 120 limit in 1999?

Upon looking closely at my speedometer this weekend, I realized that 72 mph = 110 km/h, so 110 was probably the speed limit I encountered in 1999.

1995hoo

You seem to be confused. 110 km/h is more like 68.35 mph. 120 is a tick under 75 mph, roughly 74.5 mph.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

jakeroot

Speed Kills Your Pocketbook 2 has been rolled out by Chris Thompson, creator of the original SKYP video. It looks at several of the issues above, and addresses several new very important issues, such as mobile phone usage (which has been on the crack-down in BC like I've not seen anywhere else). He, and SenseBC, certainly seem to be onto something with their research. I can only hope that this second version gets as much press as the first version:

https://youtu.be/amS2sqZNOas

KEVIN_224

Pavement Patty? What happened to Mile Marker Marcy? :P



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