Poor highway design sends drivers off course

Dec 12, 2009

Comments on this story (10)

Don't be so fast to `slow down, honey' Ian Law, Dec. 5

Ian Law is absolutely right! Slower traffic should be travelling in the right lane, period.

So why do we often see people driving slowly in lane No. 2 or even in the passing lane? It's possible that those law-abiding drivers are travelling at 100 to 110 km/h. However, they're afraid of the "right lane exits" monster, and to be on the safe side, they travel in lane No. 2.

Example: 401 eastbound collectors, just east of the Dufferin exit, where I have witnessed drivers who are forced at the last moment to switch two lanes in order to avoid exiting to Allen Rd. Sometimes, there are exits on the left. Example: 401 westbound collectors exit to Allen Road/Yorkdale.

The 400-series highways should have all exits on the right, never on the left. Exit lanes must be new lanes, allowing a driver who uses the right lane to drive from Windsor to Montreal without worrying about being forced to exit.

It has been many years since I have driven on European "autostrade," yet I do not recall ever encountering such cases as described above.

Sam Baron, Toronto

Ian Law's article mentioned the old slogan "Speed kills." It seems to me that before we worry too much about speed, we need to educate drivers about the proper use of lanes.

I've driven for more than 40 years in Canada and also extensively in the U.K. and mainland Europe, where overtaking on the inside or dawdling in the overtaking lane is forbidden and, more importantly, not done.

From personal observation, too many Canadians regard driving as a horizontal version of Tetris. Their objective is to close up any gaps ahead of them by jumping from lane to lane.

It defies all logic when a driver changes lanes to gain two car lengths only to find that the new lane is going slower than the one he has just exited and he has to jump back again.

I'm sure this contributes to the large number of fender-benders that plague our highways and possibly to more serious accidents.

Rob Barfoot, Toronto

Ian Law's column brought back a strong memory of my first professional driving lesson almost 50 years ago.

My father had taught me the basics of driving but then turned me over to a driving school run by a gruff, old, retired police driving instructor.

As I cautiously crept out of his driveway on my first lesson and crawled into the street, I was startled by the car leaping forward and smoothly inserting itself into the flow of traffic, followed by a sharp reprimand: "Always keep up with the flow of traffic!"

The old instructor had used his dual controls and countermanded my timid and unsafe attempt to insert his car into the traffic flow.

That lesson has stayed with me always and is just as relevant today, which is why I shudder when I see much slower drivers than the general traffic flow driving in the centre lane of a three-lane expressway.

David R. Filbey-Haywood, Pickering

Bias against automatics not supported by facts

The next owner of your vehicle is a real fusspot

Lorraine Sommerfeld, Nov. 21

There seems to be only one thing all motoring columnists seem to agree on. That is, automatic transmissions are evil.

It doesn't matter that automatics have been the more efficient of the two varieties since the late '90s. To become a writer for any self-respecting car mag, one must quote the mantra: manual good, auto bad.

The latest is Lorraine Sommerfeld, who sounds like my Grade 8 typing teacher who insisted we use manual machines, as it was good for the soul, even though no decent office had had a Remington for 10 years.

Please find some writers who are living in the real world and 21st century and not some Calvinist paradise.

Adam Wetstein, North York

Tailgater-busting tactic

up for modification

`Reverse overtaking' not such a good idea

Your View, Dec. 5

I thank Bengt Sormon and Chris Willson for responding to my Nov. 28 letter on the reverse-take-over tactic. Both bring up valid points.

So far, I had focused on the manoeuvre's main advantage to me, namely avoiding road rage at my steering wheel. I considered the tactic more imaginative than, say, slamming on the brakes or spraying the other driver with windshield wiper fluid.

However, Sormon may well be right that the tail end of my manoeuvre could invite road rage. "Doing nothing" won't work for me, but I will gladly modify my move: I will skip the glare-of-the-headlights element and return to the right lane later, when the tailgater is far ahead.

As mentioned, I am confronted with tailgaters about once a week. Maybe it's because I drive a classic car and people want a closer look. Or maybe they want to make me move to the middle lane and I am the one being educated – by them.

Evert Akkerman, Newmarket

Carmakers need to learn

we aren't Americans

Day Day in X1 utility turns loathing into delight

John LeBlanc, Nov. 28

John LeBlanc mentions that in Canada we won't be able to purchase the xDrive18d diesel model of the BMW X1 xDrive 28i. The reason is that "our diesel-hating friends in the U.S. won't like it."

The same irrational approach is why the hot new Mercedes GLK CUV is only offered with a 3.5-litre gas engine. Check Mercedes's German site (www.mercedesbenz.de) to see that Europeans get a four-cylinder diesel option with either manual or automatic transmission.

With 70 per cent of new vehicles in Europe being diesel-powered, why aren't they offered to Canadians? Similarly Toyota, Honda and Nissan have European diesel variant models, but they are not available in Canada.

When will those carmakers realize that the Canadian market is closer to the European than U.S. market? It's time they had Canadians heading up their operations in Canada who realize we aren't Americans, by a long shot.

Glen N. Tolhurst, Guelph

Cops should crack down on Harleys' thunder

Tough to limit motorcycle noise

John Johnson Jr., L.A. Times, Sept. 19

In my view, law enforcement should start protecting the general public from the loud noise of the Harley-Davidson motorcycles. I really don't know how such a big company or the riders of these bikes get away with this kind of violation that infringes on the general public.

Brian Pombiere, Guelph

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