Ontario highway speed limits to increase to 110 km/h, drawing safety concerns

Road safety advocates are raising concerns over Ontario's plan to increase highway speed limits, fearing it will exacerbate existing issues with speeding. By the end of summer, the speed limit on nearly 1,000 km of provincial highways will rise from 100 km/h to 110 km/h, as announced by Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria.

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Let’s be frank here, people are already driving over the speed limit. You’re travelling with traffic on the 401, let’s say, you’re going 120, no problem, that’s the regular speed. And if people are comfortable going 20 over, going to 110, are we now going to be comfortable going 130, 140?

Franca Pisani, co-founder of the Caledon Community Road Safety Advocacy Group, expressed apprehension, noting that many drivers already travel at 120 km/h on highways like the 401. "If people are comfortable going 20 over, going to 110, are we now going to be comfortable going 130, 140?" she questioned.

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The consequences need to be delivered to them rather than to us in a crash that’s now happening at 110 km/h or 120 km/h rather than at 90 km/h or 100 km/h. Because the faster you’re going, the harder you’re going to hit something.

The Ontario Safety League acknowledges that higher speed limits are theoretically safe but warns that in practice, combined with other infractions like impaired or distracted driving, increased speed becomes more dangerous. "The consequences need to be delivered to them rather than to us in a crash that’s now happening at 110 km/h or 120 km/h rather than at 90 km/h or 100 km/h," said Angelo DiCicco, president and CEO of the Ontario Safety League. He stressed that safety depends on behavior, road design, and enforcement, not just a number on a sign.

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A higher speed limit is not a licence to speed. Safety is about behaviour and [road] design and enforcement. It’s just not a number on a sign.

While the Ontario government claims the increase will help drivers reach destinations faster and safely, Pisani remains unconvinced about the impact on travel times. She suggested the funds allocated for this change could be better invested in making roads safer. Meanwhile, municipal police forces report increases in traffic violations related to speed and stunt driving, with some areas seeing significant rises in stunt driving charges.

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People are not going to be saving half an hour getting up to Wasaga beach on the 400 because now everybody’s going 110 when they’re sitting there in their car. I just find that that money could have been used better towards making the roads safer instead of faster.