'Political' speed laws are a big part of the problem

The recent rash of fatalities on Highway 400, at least two of which apparently involved racing, and one that took the life of an Orangeville-area passenger, has led to demands that action be taken to reduce the instances of dangerous driving.

Among the suggestions we've heard are installation of speed governors on the cars of those convicted of speeding, photo radar on the 400-series highways, and stiffer penalties for dangerous driving.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Michael Bryant says he already has power to impound and destroy "souped up" vehicles that are designed solely or primarily for racing and warns that the power will be used.

There's little or no doubt that the public wants to see an end to such lethal driving and would dearly love to see at least as much lifesaving success as has been achieved in the mandatory use of seat belts.

And yet despite a move by Queen's Park to impose stiffer penalties for drivers convicted of street racing, this reckless and irresponsible driving behaviour continues unabated.

Clearly, much more must be done, including massive fines and mandatory jail terms for anyone convicted of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and especially heavy penalties in cases where deaths occur.

Ontario already has the toughest laws against street racers in Canada. This spring, the maximum fine was raised tenfold, to $10,000 from $1,000. But if $10,000 won't deter drivers, fines for repeat offenders should be raised to a level that would make some would-be racers think twice before jamming the accelerator to the floor.

What's really needed is a fresh approach aimed at developing a real consensus within the driving public. The theme of the campaign should be "Go with the flow," the objective being to reduce the need for anyone to pass, particularly on two-lane roadways where unsafe passing is no doubt the greatest single cause of fatalities.

Unfortunately, there's one huge impediment to achieving such an objective: Ontario's political speed limits.

As matters stand, we suspect that fewer than 5% of Ontario drivers obey the posted speed limits on our highways. The other 95% know full well that most of the limits really have little to do with actual road conditions or safety, and a lot to do with politicians seeking to curry favour with local residents who want to discourage traffic by converting country highways into urban streets.

Earlier this month, Caledon OPP reported that its "high miler" of the week was a woman driver who was clocked doing 112 km/h on a two-lane, asphalt-topped rural highway.

In most Canadian provinces, such highways are provincially owned and have posted speed limits of 90 or 100 km/h. Assuming the weather was good and the traffic light, anyone caught doing 112 km/h might get a ticket, but might also get off with a warning.

However, in Caledon, most of the rural highways are municipally owned and have urban speed limits. In this case, the legal maximum was 60 km/h and the charge therefore was 52 km/h over the limit.

As we see it, the only way we'll ever achieve "consensus driving" in Ontario will be to take the setting of speed limits out of the hands of local politicians by instituting uniform standards based on actual road conditions and the speed chosen by the majority of drivers.

Currently, the most serious offence a driver involved in a deadly crash can face is criminal negligence causing death, which carries a maximum sentence of life, which normally means seven years' imprisonment before becoming eligible to seek parole. But that maximum sentence is rarely, if ever, imposed in fatal crashes, and drivers convicted of street racing or other forms of dangerous driving too often get off with a veritable slap on the wrist.

Only last month, two young men got off with house arrest for killing a cab driver when they raced up Toronto's Mount Pleasant Road at speeds up to 140 km/h. (The maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing death, to which they pleaded guilty, is 14 years.)

Racing of the sort we have been witnessing ought to lead to loss of the right to drive for at least 10 years, along with a massive "victim surcharge" to provide some recompense to victims' families.