LETTERS: Advice for the overhead message boards

RENE JOHNSON/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Jim Kenzie has some ideas for pixel board sign messages along the 401 that would be somewhat different than the information presented above.

On Aug. 30, I made a solo round trip from Burlington to North Bay and back, travelling on the 400-series highways and Highway 11. The eight hours on the road allowed me to reflect on traffic and driving, and in particular those lovely new overhead message boards that are filled with what I consider meaningless drivel.

I attach my suggestions for messages on these signs. If motorists responded, I predict fatalities and accidents would be halved and traffic flow greatly improved.

“Manage all 360 degrees of space around you, not just forward.”

“Don’t hesitate to change lanes to maximize your 360-degree space.”

“Help others to manage the 360-degree space around themselves as well.”

“When exiting, slow down on off-ramp, not the active lane.”

“When merging, speed up on on-ramp, not the active lane.”

“Avoid clustering, spread out.”

“If you are passed on the right, move over.”

“Don’t use centre lane to cruise in — it’s the worst disruptor of flow.”

“If passing, clear quickly then move over.”

“Don’t brake unnecessarily at night — avoid brake light contagion.”

“Don’t let your cruise control take you into a tight spot.”

“Try to use your gas pedal before your brake.”

“Unless you want to be an airbag paraplegic, keep feet off the dash.”

Steve Holman, Burlington

Innocent accident victims deserve compensation

Re: Get ready for changes to auto insurance, Joel Cohen, Aug. 28

Joel Cohen of the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association got it wrong when he wrote “another reason the (insurance) system needs fixing is because of skyrocketing litigation costs.”

He needs to get the facts straight. For the past several years, claims for bodily injury, for which injured accident victims are entitled to sue, have remained consistent and predictable.

I further challenge Mr. Cohen to find a shred of evidence to prove that court settlements are inflated or “outrageous.” He needs to understand that when someone is seriously injured in an auto accident — and that could be any one of us at some point in the future — their lives are irreversibly changed. They often require extensive treatment and rehabilitation services in order to return to a semblance of a normal life.

To suggest that these claims are “outrageous” is not just wrong, it’s offensive.

Mr. Cohen needs to understand that innocent accident victims face significant hurdles before they can ever seek damages for their pain and suffering.

Ontario is unique in Canada, and likely the world, in that claims for pain and suffering are subject to a double whammy of a “verbal threshold,” which means that innocent accident victims are not entitled to receive anything at all for pain and suffering unless they can prove to a judge that their injuries are both permanent and serious. Then, the small minority of claims that meet the threshold are subject to a $30,000 deductible, meaning that the insurance company simply doesn’t pay the first $30,000.

Here in Ontario, we continue to face significant restrictions on access to justice and, shamefully, those rights were not restored in this latest round of auto insurance changes.

Much has been written about the role of fraud. It is incumbent upon the insurance industry to first show reliable evidence to support the allegation that fraud is largely responsible for any increases.

Second, if there is in fact rampant fraud, insurance companies together with government and stakeholders like OTLA and the Ontario Bar Association should take vigorous action to address it, so that consumers are not faced with increased premiums and/or diminished protection!

Consumers need to know that while the industry as a whole has cried poor, some insurers have experienced healthy profits in auto insurance.

Auto insurance affects us all. We owe it to consumers not to make off-the-cuff, baseless and irresponsible comments without fully understanding the scope of the problem and the underlying systemic issues in the industry which tend to exacerbate the problem.

Dale Orlando, President

Ontario Trial Lawyers Association

Burlington

Motorists are subsidized by $25 billion per year

Re: The privilege of drivingMark Richardson, Aug. 28

I entirely agree with what Mark Richardson says about the privilege of driving on “our network of smooth roads.”

However, I request that he provide the evidence that “we paid for them.”

I have seen and heard these words far too often, but have yet to see any empirical studies stating that it is true.

Ontario Ministry of Transportation road capital and operating expenses amount to about $2 billion each year. While provincial gas taxes do generate almost $2.5 billion annually from Ontario drivers, the vast majority of these funds end up in the general revenue account where they are used for programs other than transportation.

The Auditor General’s 2009 Annual Report states that licence and vehicle fees do not cover the cost of the services being provided (for example, OPP traffic enforcement expenses of $189 million are not calculated as an expense) — even though the government has the statutory obligation to do this where user fees are concerned.

At the local level, approximately $3 billion is spent on roads each year. The City of Toronto annually postpones $300 million-worth of repairs to its $10-billion road network. In 2009, a $100 billion list of “shovel ready” road maintenance projects was submitted to the federal government’s stimulus program by Ontario municipalities.

Why would they have drawn up this list if we had already paid for our roads?

The simple fact is we haven’t.

Indeed, according to Transport Canada, motorists are subsidized to the tune of $25 billion a year when it comes to road building and maintenance — this does not include the $9 billion in environmental costs (emissions, noise) or the $62.7 billion subsidy in direct and indirect costs associated with automotive crashes (almost $18 billion in Ontario).

We haven’t even considered the $6 billion in GTA economic losses due to traffic congestion caused by ever-escalating demand for a scarce resource — our roads.

With all these externalized and subsidized costs, it is time to pay directly for the existing roads we travel on, just as we do when we take a plane, transit trip, train or ferry.

Fully priced road networks and parking fees (using GPS) would be the most effective way forward to shift travel demand and reduce the need for new, costly infrastructure. If we must drive, we pay for the privilege when we do — and have a quicker trip in the process. If we choose a different mode, no pay required.

If we take this sustainable path, we won’t leave such a huge infrastructure and environmental deficit to the next generation.

And that would not only be a privilege — that would be RIGHT!

Martin Collier,

Founder, Transport Futures

Toronto

Write to wheels@thestar.ca, or mail to Your View, Wheels, Toronto Star, One Yonge St. Toronto, Ont. M5E 1E6. Include full name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for length.

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