You will be after watching this video.
Below is a video of a young biker flying down Victoria Highway at 299 KM/H. Watch and see if your heart starts to race as mine did as he recklessly veers in and out of cars and trucks, passing in between vehicles on the center line.
Fortunately the biker lived to post this video online. Others who try this stunt may not be so lucky.
Ontario’s Liberal government is flatly rejecting calls to raise the speed limit on the province’s 400-series highways.
The group stop100.ca wants the maximum speed on those highways increased to 120 or even 130 kilometres an hour, saying 100 km/h is one of the lowest speed limits in the world.
However, Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli says speed is a factor in 20 per cent of fatal car accidents in Ontario, so the province will not be increasing the highway speed limit.
He says the government “is not inclined in any way, shape or form to increase the speed limits on Ontario roads.”
Chiarelli also rejects suggestions that everyone already drives 120 kilometres an hour on highways, and says police are kept busy issuing tickets to drivers caught going that fast.
He says Ontario has the safest roads in North America and intends to keep that record by maintaining the current speed limits.
Ontario used to have a highway speed limit of 70 miles per hour — or about 112 km/h — but it was lowered during the 1970s energy crisis.
What It Is:
Kelley Blue Book is THE source when researching the value of a car. Enter some basic information on your car and you can learn an approximate trade-in value, as well as what they would sell for retail. This can help you to learn that:
Why It’s Cool:
When going into a major purchase like a car, it’s good to be ready with as much information as you can possibly have available to you. Having an approximate idea of what your car (and the car you want to buy) is worth will make it that much easier to negotiate and make sure this is the right purchase for you.
A while back (almost a year ago – wow!) I wrote an article about Cool Car Websites. This was a list of a couple of the cool auto-related sites that I have come across in my internet searches. Since then I have come across PLENTY more. As a result, I’m going to start a weekly feature. Each week I’ll add a new site auto-related site of the week for you all to check out!
What It Is:
AutoMD is a site where you can diagnose any issues you’re having with your vehicle with a few simple clicks. It will provide you with an approximate cost for the repair, and will even give you steps to follow to further diagnose an issue if need be. It’s also a great place to find out if there are any recalls or Technical Service Bulletins (or TSBs) on your car.
Why It’s Cool:
As someone who hates surprises, it’s nice to know what I’m getting myself into before I actually visit with my mechanic. Having an approximate number for what I’m looking at having done (even if it’s just a really rough ball park) makes things that much easier to stomach when I hear the final figures!
Another great purpose for this site is for research when you are looking into buying a car. Check and see what kind of recalls and TSBs have been released on the car you’re interested in, and even look at current owner’s comments and Q&A.
IAN LAW
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
It’s not too often you see our police doing something unthinkably unsafe or completely crazy, but on March 6th what I witnessed was totally thoughtless.
I was driving into Toronto from north of Scarborough down the York/Durham line. I turned west onto Steeles Ave. E. and into the glare of the setting sun. I had my sunglasses at the ready, but even with them on, my vision was compromised as the sun was quite close to the horizon and right down the road.
This section of Steeles Ave. is notorious for radar traps located on the north side or Steeles to catch westbound speeders as they traverse from Pickering into the City of Toronto where the speed limit drops to 60 km/h.
What happened next left me completely perplexed.
Naturally I was driving in the right lane when an SUV blew by me in the left lane. No big deal about that except as it started to disappear into the setting sun, I could just barely make out what looked like a pedestrian crossing in front of this speeding SUV.
Alas, as I slowed to compensate for the lack of vision and the strange events unfolding in front of me, I realized there was a police officer standing on the road facing these blinded drivers trying to wave over the speeding SUV. He was in a live lane, standing there as if invincible and directing a sun dazed driver travelling above the speed limit to pull over in front of me toward the shoulder of the road.
The officer was not wearing a safety vest of reflective material, which in those lighting conditions would not have mattered anyway. He was barely visible through the blinding sunlight.
This was not only dangerous to the officer but also dangerous to the SUV driver and myself since neither of us could make out exactly what the heck was happening on the road.
Was it worth the officers’ life and limb to stop that speeding SUV? Was there a quota the officer just had to make for that day that he would stay at that radar post until the wee hours of twilight?
Why didn’t the officer simply follow the SUV in his cruiser and pull the driver over in a safe place? It would have saved him from walking out into traffic.
This is not the first time I have seen police officers putting their lives in jeopardy to stop speeders. I wrote in Wheels back in 2004 about another dangerous situation on Hwy. 115 where the OPP officers set up a radar trap on the left shoulder of the highway over a hill. They would step out into a live lane of traffic to try to stop speeders doing 130 km/h. Unfortunately it took a collision caused by this action to get the police to rethink their unsafe strategy.
Sometimes it is not worth an unsafe stop to try to catch a speeder. Some thought as to the officer’s safety as well as that of the surrounding traffic needs to be considered before such bizarre acts take place. Some police activity must fall under the Occupational Health & Safety Act, right? There isn’t another vocation that would let a worker walk out into live traffic in those conditions.
If I or another citizen were to stand out in a live lane and wave at traffic in that scenario, we would be carted away for a mental assessment.
CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR
The limit for alcohol in Canada is 0.08; in Hungary it’s 0.00.
From speeding fines determined by your income to 15 years in jail for injuring someone in a highway construction zone, traffic laws vary significantly around the world — and even within Canada.
Even something as basic as the minimum age for obtaining a learner’s permit can vary greatly. For instance, in Kansas you only have to be 14 years old. In California, it’s 15½. Here in Ontario, you can get one at 16 but you have to be 17 in England and 18 in Italy.
Indeed, depending on which roads they choose to travel, motorists face a myriad of different laws legislating everything from smoking (in Ontario, it’s illegal to smoke in a vehicle when children under the age of 16 are present) to towing speeds (New Zealand limits cars to speeds of 80 km/h when towing a caravan or trailer), to impaired driving (zero tolerance in Hungary means a driver found to have consumed any amount of alcohol whatsoever can have their license revoked immediately).
So, how do some traffic laws in one jurisdiction stack up against another’s? To fuel the discussion, here’s a comparison of various driving laws from around the globe:
SPEEDING FINES
CANADA: Ontario drivers who are convicted of driving 50 km/h or more above the speed limit face a maximum fine of $10,000 (after having their car impounded for a week). Alberta’s maximum fine for speeding is $25,000.
ELSEWHERE: In Finland, speeding fines are calculated as a percentage of net income, with police accessing citizens’ income tax records via cell phone and issuing traffic fines on the spot. In 2004, multi-millionaire Jussi Salonoja was slapped with a fine of 170,000 Euros (more than $200,000) for driving 80 km/h in a 40 km/h zone.
Switzerland has a similar income-based speeding fine system.
IMPAIRED DRIVING/BAC
CANADA: The legal limit for Blood Alcohol Content is 0.08 (Section 253(b) of the Criminal Code). However, all provinces, with the exception of Quebec, also have sanctions for drivers who register a BAC of 0.05 to 0.08 (Saskatchewan starts at 0:04) plus all provinces have varying BAC restrictions for novice and young drivers.
ELSEWHERE: Lithuania — 0.04 mg/ml; Sweden, Noway, Poland — 0.02 mg/ ml; Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta — 0.0 mg/ml.
ROADSIDE TESTING
CANADA: Police are authorized to stop vehicles if they have grounds to suspect the driver has been drinking, to demand roadside physical sobriety tests and a breath sample on a roadside screening device, and subsequently to demand bodily substance samples.
For drivers suspected of drug-driving who fail the standardized roadside field sobriety test and a subsequent evaluation by a Drug Recognition Expert, a saliva, urine or blood sample can be demanded.
ELSEWHERE: In Belgium, France and Germany, drivers are screened for drugs with roadside saliva tests.
DRIVER REQUIREMENTS
CANADA: When stopped by police, drivers must produce their licence, vehicle registration and proof of insurance.
ELSEWHERE: In France, as of this coming July, all vehicles must carry a portable breathalyzer test kit along with the previously required luminous high-visibility vest (inside the vehicle – not in the trunk) and a red reflective warning triangle.
In Spain, drivers must have a spare pair of glasses (if required for driving), two red warning triangles, a spare wheel, a full set of spare light bulbs and a reflective jacket.
In Germany, motorists must have a warning triangle with them as well as a first aid kit.
DISTRACTED DRIVING LAWS
CANADA: All provinces and territories except Nunavut have distracted driving laws. Most prohibit use of hand-held cell phones, electronic communication devices and entertainment video displays. Alberta also specifically forbids grooming, writing and reading while driving.
In Ontario, there is a $155 fine but no demerit points. Nova Scotians receive a $164.50 ticket for a first offence and up to a $337 ticket for subsequent offences. In Saskatchewan, the ticket is for $280 and they tack on a $60 victims’ surcharge and 4 demerit points.
ELSEWHERE: In the United Kingdom, drivers are prohibited from using a hand-held mobile phone, or similar device. Also, a passenger is prohibited from using a hand-held mobile phone while supervising a provisional (learner) driver.
In Portugal, all cell phone use is banned while driving, including hands-free ones.
NEW DRIVERS
CANADA: In British Columbia, new drivers must first display a red L (learner) sign, then a green N (novice) sign in the rear window (inside or outside) or elsewhere outside the vehicle, at the back. Motorcyclists must have it on the rear of their machine or on the back of their clothing.
ELSEWHERE: In France, new drivers must display an “A” disk on their vehicle for 2 years. In New Jersey, drivers under the age of 21 holding a learner’s permit or probationary license must display a detachable red decal on the front and back license plates.
In Australia, the use of coloured probationary driver plates is mandatory, although rules differ slightly depending on the state.
SENIOR DRIVERS
CANADA: In Ontario, drivers aged 80 years and over must renew their licence every 2 years and complete a vision test, a multiple-choice rules of the road/signs test and a Group Education Session.
ELSEWHERE: In Illinois, drivers over 75 must take a road test to renew their licence. In Japan, all drivers over 70 must display a “momiji mark” on the front and back of their vehicle.
FINES AND DEMERITS
CANADA: Ontario doubles fines (but not demerits) for offences in community safety zones and construction zones when workers are present.
ELSEWHERE: In Michigan, a motorists can be fined $7,500 and jailed for up to 15 years for killing or injuring a worker in a construction zone. In Australia, during holiday periods and long weekends, double demerit points apply for speeding, seatbelt and impaired driving and helmet-related offences.
IAN LAW FOR WHEELS
New blind spot warning systems help alert the driver when another vehicle is in their blind spot by using radar sensors to inform the driver via a symbol on the wing mirror. But such systems can’t detech a car changing lanes from two lanes away.
Today’s auto manufacturers seem to be tripping over themselves to be the first to introduce the latest and greatest gizmos designed to make driving safer and easier. Now you can order up a car equipped with more cameras, radar systems and sensors than a spaceship.
It appears the more electronic gadgets they can offer motorists, the more sales automakers can generate.
But does all this new technology help or hurt drivers?
BMW invited me to drive one of their amazing 2012 650i Coupes. They were eager to show off their latest driver “safety” technology they refer to as Active Blind Spot Detection, Active Cruise Control and Lane Departure Warning system.
On my test drive with the 650i Coupe, I was instructed to set the Active Cruise Control on a following distance that I was comfortable with. I simply steered the BMW as the cruise control either sped up or slowed down the BMW to maintain the desired gap to the vehicle in front.
However, when the vehicle in front of me exited the highway, the BMW increased speed to retain the pre set gap to the next vehicle in front. Unfortunately, it put the BMW into the blind spot of the vehicle in the next lane and held it there. That is a danger zone to be in and any good driver would avoid that. This system however, did not recognize and adjust for that.
Active Cruise Control uses radar sensors at the front of the vehicle to permanently scan the road ahead. As the BMW approaches a slower vehicle, Active Cruise Control automatically reduces power and gently applies the brakes, holding the BMW at the pre-defined distance to the vehicle ahead.
This following distance is set in seconds, not in metres, so that a safe reaction time is always available, relative to the current speed. When the lane ahead becomes clear, Active Cruise Control automatically increases the BMW’s speed to the preferred cruising speed. Touching the accelerator or brake pedal deactivates the system.
On curves, it uses data from the Dynamic Stability Control to calculate whether the cruise speed needs to be adjusted and to determine whether vehicles in the radar’s field are in the same or a neighbouring lane. It cannot adjust for a change in road conditions or weather.
BMW warns that this system is not intended to serve as an autopilot. If sudden deceleration is required, the driver is alerted by a warning sound and visual message.
The BMW Lane Departure warning system uses special cameras to warn the driver through a vibration in the steering wheel if they are deviating from their lane.
As I was changing lanes on the 404, I noticed the Blind Spot Detection was not warning me of any danger. But my shoulder check revealed a vehicle changing lanes from two lanes away into the lane I wanted. The technology had not picked up on that dangerous situation, but my driving technique did.
The concept behind the “Active Blind Spot” system is to warn the driver when another vehicle is in their blind spot by using radar sensors to inform the driver via a symbol on the wing mirror if there is a vehicle in their blind spot. As soon as the driver uses the indicator to change lanes, they are warned by a flashing LED signal and vibrations.
When I asked the technicians at BMW if this system was capable of detecting a vehicle changing lanes from two lanes away into the BMW’s blind spot, the answer was “No, it can’t”.
My concern with this technology is drivers will rely on the sensor to check their blind spot. They will stop doing their “shoulder check” simply because they believe they have a system doing that for them. A shoulder check is always needed especially on multi-lane roads to look for that vehicle changing lanes from two lanes over.
It worries me that drivers will now believe that since they have Blind Spot Detection they no longer need to check their blind spot for themselves.
With Active Cruise Control and Lane Departure warnings, they can let the technology warn them when they get too close or begin to stray out of their lane.
The less involved drivers are in their driving, the more distracted they will become. With computers doing more and drivers doing less, I’m concerned we’re going to see more crashes caused by distracted driving.
With computers checking the driver’s following distance and warning if they drift out of their lane, why bother to look up when they can divert their attention to other things like checking their Facebook or Twitter? After all, these systems will warn the driver of impending danger.
Should we continue with these band-aid solutions of making vehicles more technologically advanced to make up for lack of driving skills or should we treat the disease and improve driving training and testing since it is the driver who causes the crashes?
The answer here is obvious.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Mathieu Fortin created a Facebook page and posted this photo of himself with his girlfriend Emy Brochu, who died Jan. 18 when her car slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer truck as it merged with traffic near Victoriaville, Que.
NELSON WYATT – THE CANADIAN PRESS – MONTREAL
A series of heart-wrenching text messages is being used by the boyfriend of a car accident victim to warn people to pay attention when driving.
Mathieu Fortin has created a Facebook page to get the word out in memory of Emy Brochu, who died Jan. 18 when her car slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer truck as it merged with traffic near Victoriaville, Que.
Brochu had sent Fortin a couple of loving messages before her last one, which was a series of XXXXs, indicating kisses.
The next set of messages, which Fortin posted on Facebook, have him telling her that he wants to “hear her beautiful voice” but then growing fearful after he hasn’t heard from her in a few hours.
“Is everything going well, my love?” Fortin wrote. “I’m a bit worried.”
Provincial police did not immediately attribute a cause to the accident — although they said they were looking into the possibility of a distraction, such as a cellphone.
“The police investigation showed the use of a cellphone while driving was the cause of the accident,” Fortin wrote on Facebook. “This conclusion came as a shock because during the tragedy, I was in a discussion with her.”
Fortin says that reading the last messages shatters his heart into a million pieces.
He urges people to learn from his story.
“An accident can happen quickly,” he writes. “I hope every time you look at your cellphone while you’re driving, you think of Emy and those who loved her.
“At what time is a text or an email more important than life itself? At what point is something on your phone more important than the people that you love?”
Fortin describes Brochu as a joyful, determined woman who had a wonderful future ahead of her.
He urges his friends to pass his message onto others, warning them to consider that they might run over a child crossing the road if they’re not looking out.
Fortin’s message received a slew of responses from friends expressing their sympathy and promising to pass it on.
2011 was an eventful year for the auto industry. With all of the weather-related disasters that struck and the economy issues, here is a brief list of those that had the most impact on the auto industry this past year:
Slashing prices and accepting any and all offers! Hurry in to Prime Motors of London today!
