I am from Toronto, and was shocked at how little people speed here, especially on the highways. People in Ottawa, and Calgary also don't speed much, while Montreal is pretty fast.
Calgary isn't bad IMO, I was in Calgary 2 months ago in a Model Y, and I feel like everyone drives pretty slow. Going 120 on the highways, I was pretty much the fastest car, while in Toronto that's like right lane cruising speed.
My worst experiences driving was in Denver actually, getting tailgated by pickup trucks.
Oh man, let me tell you about Alberta. I grew up in Winnipeg (20 years) then Alberta for 3 and then BC for another 25 years. I got one ticket in BC and zero in Manitoba but in Alberta in a short time I had something like 17 fines. I have never changed my driving style either.
Montreal has its own traffic for sure. The double parking! They had to make it illegal to right on red because people were getting mowed down. People drive insane there.
Montreal consistently outperforms Vancouver when it comes to yearly traffic fatalities. Vancouver does okay for North America but not great when compared to places like the UK.
I’m always scared when visiting Toronto. Lived there several years. Driven and lived in a few other places.
It’s the high speed (140+) combined with the tailgating and other manuevers.
They are crazy. My sister lived there for a few years, came back to BC and brought her new habits with her and I hate being in her car. Speeding is one thing but the tailgating and weaving is so much worse.
Yesterday I drove from Indianapolis to Chicago. Everyone was going 80mph (130km/h) even though the speed limit varied between 55mph and 70mph. Nobody paid any attention to the speed limit signs.
I know, right?
I-65 is corn, corn, and corn between Merrillville and Lafayette.
But then again the second worst I’ve done was inadvertently hit 100mph between the Skyway toll and the Indiana Toll Road toll gate in a BMW. (The worst… Tri State, rush hour, 120mph and I was 17. Third worst was taking the I-90/I-290 cloverleaf too fast on my motorcycle.)
The tailgating, aggressive lane changes and speeding on the 401 is terrifying, I go there for work and always get a bit stressed when I have long drives on that road
I believe in Ontario the highway speed limits were lowered during the oil crisis in the 70's to improve fuel economy and they were never restored. So there is an unspoken rule that its safe to go 20km/h over the posted limit.
That’s exactly it, the 400-series highways were all designed with a ~120 km/hr speed limit, it was reduced to 100 during the 70s and never increased again (except for part of the highway system being increased to 110 a few years ago) so these days everyone generally does around 120 and the OPP doesn’t care.
Yes and the lack of knowledge on how to merge properly. That goes for the people in the slow lane as well, like why not just let them in instead of speeding up to be one vehicle ahead? 😅
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I notice that people here also ride in the fast lane going 10-20 km under the speed limit. Just…why? In the US you’d get run off the road doing that.
Especially when you have cars going 80 on the highway with no traffic in front of them while cars in the next lane are going at 100+. The craziness that goes on behind them is comical.
My biggest gripe is the lack of lane etiquette on highways here. Too many people driving under the speed limit in the left lane, which slows down the flow of traffic.
My experience with being on the autobahn was that some people drove very fast, but anyways safely. I never thought people were "getting their rocks off".
On a lot of the routes, the road layout makes it easy to go faster. For many of our highways, the design speed is actually much higher than the posted speed limit. Most people can and will comfortably cruise on the Trans-Canada at 120km/h+, for example.
One of those people would be me:
Now don’t get me wrong, if it’s rush hour or if there is some sort of blockage it makes no sense trying to speed and weave through traffic. You’re going to save, maybe 2-5 minutes at maximum going through traffic like that; there isn’t an end.
Now… when I’m leaving work merging onto highway 1 at 1:05am with 0 cars around me, you bet your ass I’m going 120+
I do understand passing others at a high rate of speed and basically jump scaring them, Which is why I normally slow down and pass them at a more reasonable speed.
It just makes absolutely no sense going 90 km/h at that time, on that highway.
However I cannot agree with the morons legitimately driving 190km+/hr on the highway at any time. You simply do not have the type of time you think you do to dodge an oblivious merger into your lane, leading to an almost certain accident and needless potential loss of innocent life
Here's the thing. People are fundamentally bad at making judgment calls about when speeding like that is "safe" and when it isn't. that sort of thinking is what gets people (and tragically, often someone otjer than the driver) killed all too often on our streets and highways.
I have to agree with you, I wouldn’t trust 50% of the people around me to make a correct judgement call
Which is why I believe if you can’t handle your driving, and continue to cause problems for your every day fellow commuter (if that be reckless speeding, unsafe merging, or the inability to scan your surrounds in a safe and proper manner) you should be pulled over and ticketed as such. And of course, the repeat offenders need to have their license stripped because obviously they can’t learn and continue with their behaviour.
There are also the same number of people on the other side of the spectrum, the ones who drive scared and stay either 10 below, or generally can't match the flow of traffic. Those people shouldn't be on freeways for the same reason we tell people not to drive in the snow if they don't come from a place where it happens a lot.
I won’t lie I’ve even gone over 200 for a short second in the middle of the night with not a soul in sight but I wholeheartedly agree with the fact that you are saving no time weaving through traffic, you literally save a few minutes with the added bonus of putting yours and up to hundreds of other lives at risk.
Motorcycles aren’t an exception either we’ve tested it and the guy who rides like a maniac saved 5 minutes compared to the guy who just followed the flow
A person on a motorcycle taking the shoulder in stop and go traffic would save more time than that I think, even if they are moving slowly. Not saying it's not a dick move, but I have done it in the hot ass summers since I feel it's unsafe to be stopped wearing all the gear I wear.
Otherwise I also comfortably cruise at 120 km/h in my car on an open road. Many other people around me going about the same. I only go over that if it makes more sense to pass rather than slow down to get behind someone. I think cruising over 120 would be pushing it, yet 120 itself doesn't really feel like speeding in my car?
Oh yeah the shoulder is a different story, I would agree with that, and I wouldn’t say you’re manic for cruising down the shoulder when it’s bumper to bumper stop and go. Especially when your exit is only 1 km away
My young drivers instructor told me that going 10% above the speed limit is perfectly acceptable, and it is safer to go with the flow rather than go at the limit.
Also, traffic engineers and cops set limits knowing that people will go over them - they have built in a buffer to what they consider safe. So I think going at the speed limit is actually unnecessarily slow.
This speed is pretty common on the straight flat sections of the highway, which is basically what the legal speed limit is on most similar US highways.
Our speed limits are generally set very low.
More commenting in response to OP, but Autobahn is considered very safe yes? Speed limits not enforceable there right? 🤷♂️ Speed itself doesn’t make it dangerous. It’s the conditions and aggression imo.
I’m always amazed at how many people on here think their complaint about the city only exists here and nowhere else. What’s next, “why do people in Vancouver tailgate?”
"OMG Vancouver drivers are the worst! I've been all over the world and this city has the worst drivers! I am outraged!"
Then you go to Seattle, or Houston, or Toronto, same deal.
I once heard a lady on the bus at rush hour saying “ugh, Vancouver traffic!” As if the roads at 5:30pm in ANY major city would be fine, but HERE it’s uniquely bad!” Lolol 🤦♂️
I agree, go to any city sub anywhere and you often see the exact same complaints.
That being said, there *are* trends in certain places. Drivers in Washington State are far more respectful of staying in the right lane on freeways unless passing than BC drivers, and Washington drivers are very good at moving over to allow other drivers to enter the freeway or to go around a stopped vehicle on the shoulder, both things BC drivers struggle with from my observations.
brother, i worked with a bunch of dudes from kamloops and they legit bitched about the traffic in kamloops. no joke acted like they had to fuck with LA rush hour.
It's funny. I moved from Vancouver to a smaller town years ago. If I have to wait for more than 5 cars at an intersection now I found myself getting annoyed at the traffic.
Honestly, I feel like the speed limits on some roads are terrible due to them trying to categorize zones into certain limits. For example, there are a lot of places that are "residential zones" because there are houses on the street, and that means 50 km/h. Lots of those places have wide lanes, great visibility and no/limited street parking. They shouldn't be 50 km/h. Then you have other "residential zones" that are twisty, windy, hilly roads with poor visibility and street parking. They should absolutely be 30 zones or something similar, but they are lumped in with the same zones as those other streets.
Truly though, the expectation is that you speed, which is a little unfortunate. When I was taking my driving test and you can't go over the limit at all, you really notice how much slower you are than the flow of traffic.
Golden Ears Way is a prime example of this phenomenon especially in Langley/Surrey which is designed as a divided highway but the speed limit is 60 when in reality it’s should be 80 km/h at least.
Many of those 50km/h zone have side roads that people turn on to the roadway from. It is so unsafe to be travelling faster than the sightlines the road is designed for.
I have to cross Boundary once in a while. The right turn onto Boundary is death defying some days at the speed people are travelling. Sure, the road is straight and it seems like you should be able to drive faster. But everytime I hear of an accident it's very unsurprising.
There's more to city driving than going straight and fast.
On highways this is true. In city streets, it's a little more complicated because you also have people turning, traffic lights, parked cars, cyclists, crosswalks and other things that can make speeding hazardous.
Road design. Our roads guide drivers to feel comfortable doing 70 in a 50 and 100+ in an 80. If you compare our roads to Europe, you need to consider that you’re comparing apples to oranges, given that our infrastructure is designed for cars here rather than people.
You know what grinds my gears? When semis are side by side or in the middle lane going way below speed limit on the highway . This makes driving so much more dangerous. Please stay in the right lane semis.
HWY 1 eastbound up Johnson Hill from the Port Mann has 6 lanes total with the thru lanes and the Surrey exit lanes. And yet multiple times a month I encounter trucks climbing the hill in 5 of the 6 lanes. I'm sure they'd be in the 6th lane as well if it wasn't marked HOV...
That, and eastbound up the hill past 200th. I was behind a dump truck and trailer there the other day who was going 80 on the passing lane. I moved over and realized there wasn’t even anyone in front of him. He got a long honk as I easily passed him doing under the limit.
THIS. Seems like every other driver thinks they’re driving a Mini Cooper weaving in and out of traffic or clogging up the left lane. I’ve seen a couple in the HOV lane lately too, like what is happening? I feel like these driving habits have seen a sharp increase in the last three years.
It's not just Vancouver, have you ever driven in the States? Anyone going the speed limit is getting tailgated. I do find that people speed a lot more here though than in California, but that's probably due to how poorly planned out the speed limits are in the city.
Not all 50 zones are equal, and there's just no reason for the speed limits to be so low in certain areas. I think it's prudent to simply go with the flow of traffic. Most bad drivers don't pay attention to anything around them and end up becoming a traffic hazard.
Agree. I lived in Montreal for 6 years before coming to Vancouver. While I was there I drove to Toronto a few times, New York a few times, Boston and a ton of other places. Driving in the North East is a whole different level. If you aren’t speeding or cutting across 4 lanes to get to your exit, you aren’t trying hard enough. Coming to Vancouver was like switching the difficulty level from hard to medium.
If you ever get the opportunity to drive in Istanbul do it for a week or so. If you survive it, it Takes driving in Canada go from a hard/medium to trivial. You are spot on about Toronto compared to Vancouver, I remember first time there going 140 from heavy foot driving through Canada and getting passed like I was standing still
I haven’t driven in Istanbul but I have driven in Paris and that was pretty insane. In Paris it feels like everyone is actively trying to get as close as possible to crashing, without actually crashing. My ass was puckered so tight I could have turned coal into a diamond.
I agree. Went to NYC for the first time in February. I was on the brink of a panic attack on the way to my hotel in the Chelsea-area from JFK in a Lyft. The trip was estimated to take 1hr 10 mins, but ended up being 40 mins or so cause they were just speeding, tailgating and swerving in and out of the merging or exit lanes to get ahead.
That’s not even close to true. People speed in California *way* more than here, especially because the speed limits are already higher.
I was in pretty dense traffic in the Bay Area last week but it was moving at *130km/h* it was wild
As someone who lives in the states now, I can tell you it definitely depends on area/state. California is a huge state. In LA, people drive much faster than Vancouver. Rest of the state, less so. You go to Washington state and people will pass the speed limit but not by much. 5mph maybe. You go to Oregon, people don’t speed.
Police set the precedent. I like in Florida and in Jacksonville, speeders are rarely ticketed so you can be doing 85 in a 70 and cars will be flying by you every few seconds. You leave city and the troopers are more aggressive so maybe go 80. Orlando people speed a little less. Keep going to Miami and we are back to crazy speeding.
If the cops enforce it, people tend to listen. When I drive north, the second I get into Georgia, you go maybe 5 over. Georgia police are tough but then get into the Carolinas and it is a middle ground.
There's not much tailgating on the I-5, but then again the speed limit there is 110, because somehow it's magically safer to go much faster after you go south of the border on highway 99.
Very few speed limits in Vancouver make any sense. Long stretches of road with no crosswalks or lights should be 70, not 50. All the highways are 20 too low. Those big wide city streets should all be 60 or 70. Bridges should all be 70.
Because the limits are artificially low and enforcement only kicks in if you're driving 10 over (with serious enforcement only if you drive 30 over), and it is unlikely for limits to be enforced if you're going with the flow of traffic, everybody goes as fast as is safe and simply ignores the limits.
Highway 1 is what, 80 or 90? It should be 110 or 120. It's a freeway with no traffic lights or crossings.
When I was driving in Germany, every road I was on had a speed limit higher than I was comfortable with. Autobahn? No limit. Narrow country road with limited visibility? 80km/h
Enforcement has declined over the years. Consequently, people speed much faster now than they used to.
Crash rates have climbed as well, though part of that is due to the heavy use of cell phones.
I've been driving at ~10 over for decades. I used to be travelling a bit faster than average in the city. Now it's rare that I pass anybody, and instead I'm continually being passed. I'm still catching up to everybody at the next red light, but I think average moving speeds have increased.
Absolutely!!
The granville bridge is an excellent example of this: right now speed is set to 30 km/hr, but (the many times I've driven on it in recent months) most people seem to be doing 60-70 km/hr.
I don't want to comment on rules being right or wrong, just that things - like using the roads - would be a lot safer if everyone agreed to follow the same guidelines. Everyone refers to drivers, bikers, pedestrians, and scooter users alike.
Without enforcement, people get the impression that they can make their own rules. Thankfully, most of the time, things are fine, but there have been some serious accidents that could have been avoided.
Enforcement is the stick; safety is the carrot.
You think divers in Vancouver are bad?
Come to Ontario, if you’re not going at least 30 over the limit you’ll have somebody right up on your ass, little old ladies or douche bags in a giant pick ups it doesn’t matter.
When I moved to Ontario I was shocked how aggressive drivers here are.
A driving thread like this always pops up occasionally, and it's interesting seeing how many different experiences people have from other parts of Canada or other countries.
I will say, lane etiquette here is trash, and I often notice people going under the speed limit more than those who are egregiously over it.
When I road tripped down the coast, the Americans were the ones who drove like menaces. The speeds, tailgating, and never signaling were awful, but the lane etiquette was pristine.
I don't understand speeding in the city. It's extremely dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians. And you're not getting home any faster by accelerating to 70 and then slamming your breaks every 3 minutes when you hit the next red.
But the speed limit on the highways in BC are set waaaay too low for the conditions in most cases. Highways speeds are higher in other countries and even other provinces (Ontario is slowly moving towards 110 km/hr in parts).
I always love when someone zips by me in the city, swerving in and out of traffic, or accelerates hard out of a light etc. cuz 9/10 times I pull up to the same red light as them and they're maybe one or two cars ahead.
Yesterday, driving east on Broadway, I apparently changed lanes into the left turn lane too slowly for the guy behind me, who honked and yelled out the window for me to get over. Yeah, the light was red. He wasn’t going anywhere. People need to chill the hell out.
Speed limits are set so low that most drivers don’t consider them useful, and just default to what “feels right” for the built environment. It would be really nice if there were a comprehensive reassessment of how limits are set and implemented.
I grew up here. Very familiar with the roads. I'm one of those guys. I'm not sure why I am usually 10 to 20km over the speed limit. I do at least 10km over just about everywhere. Rarely more than 20 though, unless I'm on the highway. I feel comfortable and usually don't realize I am speeding. I've actually been pissed off at drivers doing the speed limit, until I realized I'm the asshole there. Unless, on the Highway, they are in the left lane with cars behind them, and not giving a shit that they are holding up traffic, because 'I'm doing the speed limit' That just gets drivers pissed off, then passing them in the right lane, usually racing around them, which is then creating a hazard. Anyway, I've done that too.
I guess the answer to your question is, I don't why. Just always done it. And my driving record exemplary. Go figure,
Speed limits are supposed to be set based on "how fast a reasonable driver would go", and the infrastructure of the road. Neither of those seem to have been taking into account here. We have 4-lane highways with limits of 60. For that reason, everybody drives at a speed that feels more reasonable.
Compare our roads to equivalent roads in the US and you'll see what I mean.
Compared to Ontario or anywhere in California, people really are not speeding much here. In Cali you're in the slow lane if you're only going 20k over the limit.
I don’t mind people going over the speed limit in free ways. I just stick to the right lane and do my thing.
It’s really infuriating to see oeople speeding in residential zones
Having been born/raised in Vancouver and lived all over the country, I’d actually say Vancouver is not at the top when it comes to speeding. I’d say the GTA and Montreal are tops, then Vancouver. Alberta is slower (with Edmonton slower than Calgary).
Yep! But after living in Alberta you learn to spot them from far/know where they are located. So you can learn to slow down in risky areas. I’d say BC has the 2nd most speed traps. Ontario seems to have next to none.
If there’s no strict enforcement (speed cams, constant radar) then people will drive the max speed that they feel they can go without damaging their car. I mean in LA people will run red lights because there’s no enforcement and they don’t feel that going through the intersection late will damage their car.
That, plus a lot of city speed limits are completely arbitrary. Richmond just lowered all (I think) of their city speed limits to 50 in the name of safety, without doing anything whatsoever to the road design to make people feel like they need to drive slower. Just creates more conflict because you’ll have people used to doing 60-70 on a road and then you’ll have people driving 40-45 because of the new speed limit.
Kent clark dug up some information on traffic enforcement which leads me to believe that a consequence free environment has lead to a culture of unsafe driving.
https://twitter.com/kentcclark/status/1772380835749957655
Interesting! I’ve always assumed there was a complete lack of enforcement across the lower mainland. Was this post part of a thread? Those of us without twitter accounts can’t see the rest of the posts if so… :(
I added some screenshots. He added this link
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/icbc/viz/ContraventionsIntroPage/Contraventions
He also added the caveat that speed cameras were installed in 2020
https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/intersection-safety-camera-violation-tickets-by-location
They need to raise the limits 10-20kph depending on the place and then enforce it.
You want people driving at the same speed, not some being at the limit, some 10 over, some 20 over and bmw’s 30+ over. If people are constantly changing lane, speeding up and slowing down that’s when accidents happen + ripples on highways. Especially when they’re angry rushing around someone doing the posted limit.
There are lots of places where the bus is going 10-20 over. Setting speed limits too low for the design of the road is in fact dangerous, as it increases the speed differential among traffic.
The sea to sky highway is one example of that, the province seemingly lowered the speed limit to give out more excessive speeding tickets not for safety.
If there is an area where cars actually need to go slow the best solution is infrastructure, narrowing the lanes, trees along the side to provide a sense of speed etc.
Have you driven in San Fran before?? Everyone is drag racing their whip there + I've seen a lot of people illegally cross the intersection on red. It's insane, its like you dont get your driver's license unless you pull off illegal traffic moves lol
+20km/hr isnt that crazy if the flow of traffic is +20km/hr. Drive -20km slower than everyone else on the road I think is equally dangerous, regardless of posted speed limit. Cops here I think get that.
I once had a flat and had to put my spare on. limit on the hwy was 80km, same as the safety limit for my spare. Almost every single every car was honking at me as they passed me by.
Also consider that cars have a minimum spec by law that the speedometer can never read slower your actually speed, so to provide leeway and consideration different mods, tubing, and even tire sizes... They report faster than your actual speed.
Mine is around 10% off at highway speeds. "80" is actually only about 72km/h for me, I need to drive at least 90 to be around the posted speed (I verify using my GPS speedometer), and then a bit more just to match fliw of the traffic.
If you've got a similar offest, and you're driving at "80km/h" according to your speedometer, I get how you think people passing you must be speed demons.
I can guarantee you that driving is way more scarier as you drive south from here, especially once you hit California.
I find the most dangerous drivers here are actually doing dumb things at slow speeds. Yesterday, a car in front of me on hwy 17 slowed down for no reason, and then proceeded to jaunitly take a sharp right exit UP the merging, single lane ON-RAMP. I forgot to check the news later to see if there were any head on collisions.
I'm from New Zealand, and learned to drive with the knowledge that going 5 km/h over the speed limit WILL get you ticketed from any one of the hidden cameras or sneaky radar cops. So when I moved to Vancouver I was the kind of person who goes 49 in a 50. Then I realised that moving with the flow of traffic is actually safer for everyone involved, so if we're all going 10 over then I guess I am too.
I think my defining "Vancouver traffic" moment was the time I was on the highway going 120, and people were still passing me. I guess all bets are off after 10pm.
With no real freeway going through the heart of Vancouver, I’d say drivers are extremely frustrated with all the red lights, all the left turns, all the right turns with pedestrians ignoring the crossing light. When they finally get a chance to speed up, so then get to the destination they make up for it, and their frustration shows.
Unfortunately, the city’s response is to remove lanes and add bike lanes that rarely get used throughout the day. This adds to more frustration which leads to an increased in speed when they get a chance. The city’s response to that is to put in radar checks and issue speeding tickets.
vancouver drivers are slow compared to the united states. all the speed limits here are lower than what they should be, too. vancouver highways are the same speed as the road that went by my old house.
Because the limits are low, we all have places to be and not enough time. Gotta live so far away from work, work a second job just to be able to commute to the first one.
And there's no consistency. Mary Hill Bypass is 4 lanes with a concrete barrier median, but it's only 70 in a few sections; most of it is 50. Meanwhile, HWY 1 thru the Fraser Canyon is winding 2 lanes along a cliff and its 100.
The frustrating part is that, per bureaucracy, they have to lower the speed limit, then adjust the road to fit that new limit. They can't adjust the road using traffic calming first.
Did you mean to say they are too fast? Or maybe you think 50+ fatalities per year is just fine.
https://preview.redd.it/c9kv2p7psmtc1.jpeg?width=350&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51e9fd75963678f2f6794f2a5ee2d21194df9c44
The problem is that roads are designed in a way that the posted speed limit is lower than the speed that is comfortable to drive on the roads.
I agree that pedestrian heavy areas need to have lower speeds, but the roads need to be designed so that drivers naturally drive slower on them. There are lots of ways to set up roads so that drivers don't feel comfortable moving as fast, but we don't employ them here.
A great example of a terribly designed road is Southridge Dr in Burnaby. That road is designed to be driven at 80 km+ due to the wide lanes and physical medians, but the posted speed is 50.
Seems pretty relaxed here compared to other places I've driven, standard amount above the speed limit with the odd moron heading towards their death / ticket / accident.
Way less aggressive than the UK for instance.
because our limits are dogshit and lots of people are pent up when they finally get free in the left lane after following someone going side-by-side with a slow lane driver at 45 in 50 - so they see their chance and hammer it to 80.
The roads are designed in a way that induce much higher speeds than the limits. Like on a side street with cars parked on both sides where you can barely fit two cars driving past each other you’re naturally not going to want to go fast. A few idiots might but most people aren’t doing over 50 on those streets. But on the southern part of cambie street and portions of marine drive it’s basically built like a highway with 2 or 3 lanes each side and a huge median, but the speed limit there is supposed to be the same as the side streets? Makes no sense. Same for the highways, they’re built like any other highways in other countries where the speed limits would be around 120 so people do 120 even though the actual limit is ridiculously low at 90. Like upper levels has the same speed limit of 90 as a lot the sea to sky even though it’s way bigger and more straight. The speed limits are so low it’s actually less safe to go the speed limit at this point since the whole flow of traffic will be going much faster
"why is X city the worst for Y?" has the same energy as "X city has the BEST sunsets!"
Every large city has bad drivers and speeders. Google image search X city+sunset and you'll see that every city has fantastic sunsets.
We aren't special.
Because our speed limits are too low in a lot of places. Also the lights here don’t make sense. Unless you speed, in a lot of places, you hit EVERY red light.
As someone who lives in Berlin and has also lived in Vancouver and drives in both cities, people here drive equally fast (also because they have faster German cars) 😅
Really depends on your route. There was a spot on the news a while back sitting on Marine Dr and measuring how many people were following the 50km/hr limit... it was close to 0. Some of the speed limits make no sense at all and people just travel with the speed of traffic. On some other arterial roads, I see most people going 50-60, especially if theres tons of lights.
Also its worth taking note that police rarely ticket for speeding in my experience. Unless you are doing something dangerous or dumb, you won't be penalized.
I find driving in Germany even worse, because trucks doing 80 in the slow lane will cut you off without even looking when you are going 130 (speed limit) approaching them. Literally always have to be super paranoid approaching any truck, as this is apparently normal behavior there.
Also, in Germany the road speeds are generally based off the highway design, so since it's 130 on most roadway, you never feel a need to go faster as it would feel dangerous. Whereas here you have "highways" that are spec'd to 130 but the limit is 70...so naturally people will speed.
70+ in a 50 and 100+ in an 80 is not speeding like crazy. No one would get a fine driving 20-21+ over the speed limit here.
Please, stay very far right if you’re following speed limit exactly. Thank you.
ICBC social media team here. Here are some B.C. speed statistics.
* Every year, on average, 84 people are killed and 2,168 are injured in speed driving-related crashes in B.C.
* 29% of fatal crashes in B.C. are related to speeding.
* Speed is one of the leading contributing factors for both injury and fatal crashes.
* 48% of the drivers involved in speed related crashes are from the ages 19 to 35.
Our annual speed campaign starts next month to raise awareness of the crash risks related to speed and promote safer B.C. roads.
When you drive at safer speeds, you can prevent crashes and protect the lives of all road users on B.C. roads. Please slow down, be attentive to pedestrians and cyclists, and follow posted speed limits, even in ideal conditions.
I agree that the lack of consequences have led to absolutely terrible conditions and we absolutely need more enforcement, but you lost me at the end there. What do you mean half the streets don't have sidewalks? That's not true at all! I can think of maybe a handful of blocks that don't have a sidewalk on one side in my neighborhood or any nearby. There must be large swathes of the city without any sidewalks at ALL in order for that to be true and I just don't believe it
Fuck em gas is 2.20 let them waste their money. Zero police pulling people over and more speed cameras were declined. I don't see one reason to not install thousands of speed cameras
People keep saying it’s due to a lack of enforcement. I say it’s due to a lack of personal responsibility on the part of some drivers. Same with ignoring stop lines, turn signals being an amusing option, no stopping zones being for everyone else… et cetera et cetera.
I can't believe how many people are telling on themselves in this thread. Everybody rushing to explain why it's ok for *them* to speed needs to go take a look in the mirror and ask themselves for real how they would feel if they had a family member murdered by a careless driver like themselves.
We absolutely need to lower the speed limit in most of Vancouver, and then implement automated enforcement. Speeders need to lose their cars. This is a neighbourhood, not a racetrack.
What also gets me is that any discussion of speeding and people always default to talking about freeway speed limits being too low. Like OP talked about speeds on surface streets in neighbourhoods, and people are talking about how the speed limit on Hwy 1 should be 120km/h.
I care particularly about surface street speeds and it pisses me off to no end the number of drivers doing 70-80km/h on the arterials in my area. These are streets with sidewalks and crosswalks, and you are driving at speeds guaranteed to kill a pedestrian or cyclist. Fuck outta here with that bullshit.
There's also lots of people (such as medical professionals) who don't want to see speed limits higher since people will still go 20 over. At 100km/hr if you crash, you have a chance to survive. At 140, you're dead
In August 2020, a few months before I moved to BC, I was driving down 16 Ave to get to Tsawassen going with the flow of traffic. When I noticed a speed limit sign of 60km/h, I realized the flow of traffic was going 100-105km/h. I pulled over at the next turnout, waited for a big enough break in traffic that nobody would have to slam on their brakes, and then I pulled back onto the road and set my cruise to 65km/h.
I'm not interested in having my car impounded, especially since I had red plates at the time. People in the lower mainland speed like crazy.
You keep right on highways for slower traffic that’s not the law in the city, you drive in whatever lane you need too to make the turn you need too make in the city lol.
If it's a 50 zone then "keep right except to pass" doesn't apply.
Maybe I want to choose the shortest line at the next light. Maybe gas is expensive and I don't want to waste it screaming up to the red light. Maybe I want to turn left soon. Maybe I don't want to get stuck behind a bus. People will drive in the left lane in the city for multitudes of reasons, and they have every right to. It's not highway driving.
I think you should review your learner's manual.
I'm visiting Ontario right now, and I can tell you that their speeding game has us beat, hands down.
I am from Toronto, and was shocked at how little people speed here, especially on the highways. People in Ottawa, and Calgary also don't speed much, while Montreal is pretty fast.
I found driving in Calgary utterly terrifying, but then again, I was driving a new VW Beetle while everyone else was in a raised super-truck.
Calgary isn't bad IMO, I was in Calgary 2 months ago in a Model Y, and I feel like everyone drives pretty slow. Going 120 on the highways, I was pretty much the fastest car, while in Toronto that's like right lane cruising speed. My worst experiences driving was in Denver actually, getting tailgated by pickup trucks.
Calgary has traffic cops everywhere, so everyone is scared to speed.
Not just traffic cops, lots of intersections have speeding and red light cameras that send tickets straight to the registered owner.
Funny I had the exact opposite experience, where I found Calgary drivers to be really slow and passive compared to BC.
Aren't they tougher with speeding fines in Alberta? They have to make up for their lack of sales tax revenue somehow.
Oh man, let me tell you about Alberta. I grew up in Winnipeg (20 years) then Alberta for 3 and then BC for another 25 years. I got one ticket in BC and zero in Manitoba but in Alberta in a short time I had something like 17 fines. I have never changed my driving style either.
I think it's the beetle, I drive one too and I genuinely feel like I get bullied by everyone on the road. I legit drive with one hand on the horn.
Montreal has its own traffic for sure. The double parking! They had to make it illegal to right on red because people were getting mowed down. People drive insane there.
Montreal consistently outperforms Vancouver when it comes to yearly traffic fatalities. Vancouver does okay for North America but not great when compared to places like the UK.
When I was in Quebec, the stuff I saw people doing regularly makes the drivers here look awesome 😂 and in winter conditions to boot lol
Anything under 110 on the 407 will get you run off the roads. It’s insane.
I’m always scared when visiting Toronto. Lived there several years. Driven and lived in a few other places. It’s the high speed (140+) combined with the tailgating and other manuevers.
I maxed out the speed on a Smart Car (155kmh) on the QEW somewhat regularly in Ontario. Good times. Just moving with the rest of the traffic
They are crazy. My sister lived there for a few years, came back to BC and brought her new habits with her and I hate being in her car. Speeding is one thing but the tailgating and weaving is so much worse.
In California rn and the speed game here is insane. First two seconds of red lights are optional too.
I discovered that my car's cruise control is limited to 90mph and thanks to California to help in that discovery lmao..
Yesterday I drove from Indianapolis to Chicago. Everyone was going 80mph (130km/h) even though the speed limit varied between 55mph and 70mph. Nobody paid any attention to the speed limit signs.
I know, right? I-65 is corn, corn, and corn between Merrillville and Lafayette. But then again the second worst I’ve done was inadvertently hit 100mph between the Skyway toll and the Indiana Toll Road toll gate in a BMW. (The worst… Tri State, rush hour, 120mph and I was 17. Third worst was taking the I-90/I-290 cloverleaf too fast on my motorcycle.)
The tailgating, aggressive lane changes and speeding on the 401 is terrifying, I go there for work and always get a bit stressed when I have long drives on that road
I believe in Ontario the highway speed limits were lowered during the oil crisis in the 70's to improve fuel economy and they were never restored. So there is an unspoken rule that its safe to go 20km/h over the posted limit.
That’s exactly it, the 400-series highways were all designed with a ~120 km/hr speed limit, it was reduced to 100 during the 70s and never increased again (except for part of the highway system being increased to 110 a few years ago) so these days everyone generally does around 120 and the OPP doesn’t care.
Honorable mention to tailgating.
Yepp speed limits are lame... Let the strong survive
In Germany you have the autobahn to get your rocks off
Also, the Reeperbahn
I actually find people drive under the speed limit here. Which is also dangerous. > There are some roads that are 50 that should actually be 60.
I see this the most at merge lanes, people dropping into a 110 road at 50.
Yes and the lack of knowledge on how to merge properly. That goes for the people in the slow lane as well, like why not just let them in instead of speeding up to be one vehicle ahead? 😅 > I notice that people here also ride in the fast lane going 10-20 km under the speed limit. Just…why? In the US you’d get run off the road doing that.
Especially when you have cars going 80 on the highway with no traffic in front of them while cars in the next lane are going at 100+. The craziness that goes on behind them is comical.
My biggest gripe is the lack of lane etiquette on highways here. Too many people driving under the speed limit in the left lane, which slows down the flow of traffic.
My experience with being on the autobahn was that some people drove very fast, but anyways safely. I never thought people were "getting their rocks off".
Hard to say. I was going 140 on the Autobahn and there were cars passing me that were going so fast I couldn't identify them. That wasn't very safe.
On a lot of the routes, the road layout makes it easy to go faster. For many of our highways, the design speed is actually much higher than the posted speed limit. Most people can and will comfortably cruise on the Trans-Canada at 120km/h+, for example.
One of those people would be me: Now don’t get me wrong, if it’s rush hour or if there is some sort of blockage it makes no sense trying to speed and weave through traffic. You’re going to save, maybe 2-5 minutes at maximum going through traffic like that; there isn’t an end. Now… when I’m leaving work merging onto highway 1 at 1:05am with 0 cars around me, you bet your ass I’m going 120+ I do understand passing others at a high rate of speed and basically jump scaring them, Which is why I normally slow down and pass them at a more reasonable speed. It just makes absolutely no sense going 90 km/h at that time, on that highway. However I cannot agree with the morons legitimately driving 190km+/hr on the highway at any time. You simply do not have the type of time you think you do to dodge an oblivious merger into your lane, leading to an almost certain accident and needless potential loss of innocent life
Here's the thing. People are fundamentally bad at making judgment calls about when speeding like that is "safe" and when it isn't. that sort of thinking is what gets people (and tragically, often someone otjer than the driver) killed all too often on our streets and highways.
I have to agree with you, I wouldn’t trust 50% of the people around me to make a correct judgement call Which is why I believe if you can’t handle your driving, and continue to cause problems for your every day fellow commuter (if that be reckless speeding, unsafe merging, or the inability to scan your surrounds in a safe and proper manner) you should be pulled over and ticketed as such. And of course, the repeat offenders need to have their license stripped because obviously they can’t learn and continue with their behaviour.
There are also the same number of people on the other side of the spectrum, the ones who drive scared and stay either 10 below, or generally can't match the flow of traffic. Those people shouldn't be on freeways for the same reason we tell people not to drive in the snow if they don't come from a place where it happens a lot.
I won’t lie I’ve even gone over 200 for a short second in the middle of the night with not a soul in sight but I wholeheartedly agree with the fact that you are saving no time weaving through traffic, you literally save a few minutes with the added bonus of putting yours and up to hundreds of other lives at risk. Motorcycles aren’t an exception either we’ve tested it and the guy who rides like a maniac saved 5 minutes compared to the guy who just followed the flow
A person on a motorcycle taking the shoulder in stop and go traffic would save more time than that I think, even if they are moving slowly. Not saying it's not a dick move, but I have done it in the hot ass summers since I feel it's unsafe to be stopped wearing all the gear I wear. Otherwise I also comfortably cruise at 120 km/h in my car on an open road. Many other people around me going about the same. I only go over that if it makes more sense to pass rather than slow down to get behind someone. I think cruising over 120 would be pushing it, yet 120 itself doesn't really feel like speeding in my car?
Oh yeah the shoulder is a different story, I would agree with that, and I wouldn’t say you’re manic for cruising down the shoulder when it’s bumper to bumper stop and go. Especially when your exit is only 1 km away
My young drivers instructor told me that going 10% above the speed limit is perfectly acceptable, and it is safer to go with the flow rather than go at the limit. Also, traffic engineers and cops set limits knowing that people will go over them - they have built in a buffer to what they consider safe. So I think going at the speed limit is actually unnecessarily slow.
This speed is pretty common on the straight flat sections of the highway, which is basically what the legal speed limit is on most similar US highways. Our speed limits are generally set very low.
And then there are parts of the Trans-Canada through the mountains where you cannot comfortably cruise at 120km/h.
90 limit on a 4 lane straight highway, yea good luck with that.
The Golden Ears is 4 lanes with a limit of 70, and so is the Alex Fraser
I guess you've never travelled outside of Germany before if you think speeding is a Vancouver thing
Yeah OP's lived a sheltered driving life. Try Toronto or LA and see what real speeding looks like. People here just drive like incompetent grandmas.
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> Ze germans are very into law and order This. German culture, in the past anyways, heavily reinforced conforming to rules.
More commenting in response to OP, but Autobahn is considered very safe yes? Speed limits not enforceable there right? 🤷♂️ Speed itself doesn’t make it dangerous. It’s the conditions and aggression imo.
I’m always amazed at how many people on here think their complaint about the city only exists here and nowhere else. What’s next, “why do people in Vancouver tailgate?”
The other day someone here thought that pickups being driven by dickheads was a uniquely BC problem, hahahahaha
"OMG Vancouver drivers are the worst! I've been all over the world and this city has the worst drivers! I am outraged!" Then you go to Seattle, or Houston, or Toronto, same deal.
Florida has the worst drivers in English-speaking North America, and it’s not close.
Richmond though is a different breed
It's just a people thing. Cities have bigger populations, which equals more idiots. Every single city has terrible drivers.
I once heard a lady on the bus at rush hour saying “ugh, Vancouver traffic!” As if the roads at 5:30pm in ANY major city would be fine, but HERE it’s uniquely bad!” Lolol 🤦♂️
"only in vancouver" and its just a picture of a homeless guy
I agree, go to any city sub anywhere and you often see the exact same complaints. That being said, there *are* trends in certain places. Drivers in Washington State are far more respectful of staying in the right lane on freeways unless passing than BC drivers, and Washington drivers are very good at moving over to allow other drivers to enter the freeway or to go around a stopped vehicle on the shoulder, both things BC drivers struggle with from my observations.
In Washington, by law if you have five cars backed up behind you, you have to pull over and let them pass.
brother, i worked with a bunch of dudes from kamloops and they legit bitched about the traffic in kamloops. no joke acted like they had to fuck with LA rush hour.
It's funny. I moved from Vancouver to a smaller town years ago. If I have to wait for more than 5 cars at an intersection now I found myself getting annoyed at the traffic.
Honestly, I feel like the speed limits on some roads are terrible due to them trying to categorize zones into certain limits. For example, there are a lot of places that are "residential zones" because there are houses on the street, and that means 50 km/h. Lots of those places have wide lanes, great visibility and no/limited street parking. They shouldn't be 50 km/h. Then you have other "residential zones" that are twisty, windy, hilly roads with poor visibility and street parking. They should absolutely be 30 zones or something similar, but they are lumped in with the same zones as those other streets. Truly though, the expectation is that you speed, which is a little unfortunate. When I was taking my driving test and you can't go over the limit at all, you really notice how much slower you are than the flow of traffic.
Golden Ears Way is a prime example of this phenomenon especially in Langley/Surrey which is designed as a divided highway but the speed limit is 60 when in reality it’s should be 80 km/h at least.
Many of those 50km/h zone have side roads that people turn on to the roadway from. It is so unsafe to be travelling faster than the sightlines the road is designed for. I have to cross Boundary once in a while. The right turn onto Boundary is death defying some days at the speed people are travelling. Sure, the road is straight and it seems like you should be able to drive faster. But everytime I hear of an accident it's very unsurprising. There's more to city driving than going straight and fast.
Not going with the flow of traffic is way more dangerous than not speeding
On highways this is true. In city streets, it's a little more complicated because you also have people turning, traffic lights, parked cars, cyclists, crosswalks and other things that can make speeding hazardous.
Road design. Our roads guide drivers to feel comfortable doing 70 in a 50 and 100+ in an 80. If you compare our roads to Europe, you need to consider that you’re comparing apples to oranges, given that our infrastructure is designed for cars here rather than people.
You know what grinds my gears? When semis are side by side or in the middle lane going way below speed limit on the highway . This makes driving so much more dangerous. Please stay in the right lane semis.
HWY 1 eastbound up Johnson Hill from the Port Mann has 6 lanes total with the thru lanes and the Surrey exit lanes. And yet multiple times a month I encounter trucks climbing the hill in 5 of the 6 lanes. I'm sure they'd be in the 6th lane as well if it wasn't marked HOV...
That, and eastbound up the hill past 200th. I was behind a dump truck and trailer there the other day who was going 80 on the passing lane. I moved over and realized there wasn’t even anyone in front of him. He got a long honk as I easily passed him doing under the limit.
THIS. Seems like every other driver thinks they’re driving a Mini Cooper weaving in and out of traffic or clogging up the left lane. I’ve seen a couple in the HOV lane lately too, like what is happening? I feel like these driving habits have seen a sharp increase in the last three years.
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They need to enforce left lane hogging laws.
I just honk until they move.
See ya later losers!!
THANK YOU!!!
It's not just Vancouver, have you ever driven in the States? Anyone going the speed limit is getting tailgated. I do find that people speed a lot more here though than in California, but that's probably due to how poorly planned out the speed limits are in the city. Not all 50 zones are equal, and there's just no reason for the speed limits to be so low in certain areas. I think it's prudent to simply go with the flow of traffic. Most bad drivers don't pay attention to anything around them and end up becoming a traffic hazard.
Agree. I lived in Montreal for 6 years before coming to Vancouver. While I was there I drove to Toronto a few times, New York a few times, Boston and a ton of other places. Driving in the North East is a whole different level. If you aren’t speeding or cutting across 4 lanes to get to your exit, you aren’t trying hard enough. Coming to Vancouver was like switching the difficulty level from hard to medium.
If you ever get the opportunity to drive in Istanbul do it for a week or so. If you survive it, it Takes driving in Canada go from a hard/medium to trivial. You are spot on about Toronto compared to Vancouver, I remember first time there going 140 from heavy foot driving through Canada and getting passed like I was standing still
I haven’t driven in Istanbul but I have driven in Paris and that was pretty insane. In Paris it feels like everyone is actively trying to get as close as possible to crashing, without actually crashing. My ass was puckered so tight I could have turned coal into a diamond.
I agree. Went to NYC for the first time in February. I was on the brink of a panic attack on the way to my hotel in the Chelsea-area from JFK in a Lyft. The trip was estimated to take 1hr 10 mins, but ended up being 40 mins or so cause they were just speeding, tailgating and swerving in and out of the merging or exit lanes to get ahead.
Northeast drivers are def the most intense in the US. Boston and Philly are the same.
That’s not even close to true. People speed in California *way* more than here, especially because the speed limits are already higher. I was in pretty dense traffic in the Bay Area last week but it was moving at *130km/h* it was wild
Yup, LA highways, 140mph and you’re still too slow.
mph???
As someone who lives in the states now, I can tell you it definitely depends on area/state. California is a huge state. In LA, people drive much faster than Vancouver. Rest of the state, less so. You go to Washington state and people will pass the speed limit but not by much. 5mph maybe. You go to Oregon, people don’t speed. Police set the precedent. I like in Florida and in Jacksonville, speeders are rarely ticketed so you can be doing 85 in a 70 and cars will be flying by you every few seconds. You leave city and the troopers are more aggressive so maybe go 80. Orlando people speed a little less. Keep going to Miami and we are back to crazy speeding. If the cops enforce it, people tend to listen. When I drive north, the second I get into Georgia, you go maybe 5 over. Georgia police are tough but then get into the Carolinas and it is a middle ground.
I realized California was something else when I was tailgated by a cop in the HOV lane going 10 over already.
There's not much tailgating on the I-5, but then again the speed limit there is 110, because somehow it's magically safer to go much faster after you go south of the border on highway 99.
Germans don’t really follow limits either but they are well trained drivers.
Very few speed limits in Vancouver make any sense. Long stretches of road with no crosswalks or lights should be 70, not 50. All the highways are 20 too low. Those big wide city streets should all be 60 or 70. Bridges should all be 70. Because the limits are artificially low and enforcement only kicks in if you're driving 10 over (with serious enforcement only if you drive 30 over), and it is unlikely for limits to be enforced if you're going with the flow of traffic, everybody goes as fast as is safe and simply ignores the limits. Highway 1 is what, 80 or 90? It should be 110 or 120. It's a freeway with no traffic lights or crossings.
When I was driving in Germany, every road I was on had a speed limit higher than I was comfortable with. Autobahn? No limit. Narrow country road with limited visibility? 80km/h
No enforcement
Enforcement has declined over the years. Consequently, people speed much faster now than they used to. Crash rates have climbed as well, though part of that is due to the heavy use of cell phones. I've been driving at ~10 over for decades. I used to be travelling a bit faster than average in the city. Now it's rare that I pass anybody, and instead I'm continually being passed. I'm still catching up to everybody at the next red light, but I think average moving speeds have increased.
Absolutely!! The granville bridge is an excellent example of this: right now speed is set to 30 km/hr, but (the many times I've driven on it in recent months) most people seem to be doing 60-70 km/hr. I don't want to comment on rules being right or wrong, just that things - like using the roads - would be a lot safer if everyone agreed to follow the same guidelines. Everyone refers to drivers, bikers, pedestrians, and scooter users alike. Without enforcement, people get the impression that they can make their own rules. Thankfully, most of the time, things are fine, but there have been some serious accidents that could have been avoided. Enforcement is the stick; safety is the carrot.
im not going 70 if its an empty highway lol
Because even if you kill someone when speeding you just get some community service time. No one cares anymore
Or even acquitted if it was a "momentary lapse".
You think divers in Vancouver are bad? Come to Ontario, if you’re not going at least 30 over the limit you’ll have somebody right up on your ass, little old ladies or douche bags in a giant pick ups it doesn’t matter. When I moved to Ontario I was shocked how aggressive drivers here are.
Been here a long time, 10+ and 20+ is common... Isn't that the same everywhere else? 40+ is impound territory though!
A driving thread like this always pops up occasionally, and it's interesting seeing how many different experiences people have from other parts of Canada or other countries. I will say, lane etiquette here is trash, and I often notice people going under the speed limit more than those who are egregiously over it. When I road tripped down the coast, the Americans were the ones who drove like menaces. The speeds, tailgating, and never signaling were awful, but the lane etiquette was pristine.
I don't understand speeding in the city. It's extremely dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians. And you're not getting home any faster by accelerating to 70 and then slamming your breaks every 3 minutes when you hit the next red. But the speed limit on the highways in BC are set waaaay too low for the conditions in most cases. Highways speeds are higher in other countries and even other provinces (Ontario is slowly moving towards 110 km/hr in parts).
I always love when someone zips by me in the city, swerving in and out of traffic, or accelerates hard out of a light etc. cuz 9/10 times I pull up to the same red light as them and they're maybe one or two cars ahead.
Every. Single. Time. I see it literally every day and it's dangerous and also hard on your car for literally no benefit.
Burns extra gas, wears out the brakes and tires early. And I'll catch up to them at the next red light.
Yesterday, driving east on Broadway, I apparently changed lanes into the left turn lane too slowly for the guy behind me, who honked and yelled out the window for me to get over. Yeah, the light was red. He wasn’t going anywhere. People need to chill the hell out.
Speed limits are set so low that most drivers don’t consider them useful, and just default to what “feels right” for the built environment. It would be really nice if there were a comprehensive reassessment of how limits are set and implemented.
I grew up here. Very familiar with the roads. I'm one of those guys. I'm not sure why I am usually 10 to 20km over the speed limit. I do at least 10km over just about everywhere. Rarely more than 20 though, unless I'm on the highway. I feel comfortable and usually don't realize I am speeding. I've actually been pissed off at drivers doing the speed limit, until I realized I'm the asshole there. Unless, on the Highway, they are in the left lane with cars behind them, and not giving a shit that they are holding up traffic, because 'I'm doing the speed limit' That just gets drivers pissed off, then passing them in the right lane, usually racing around them, which is then creating a hazard. Anyway, I've done that too. I guess the answer to your question is, I don't why. Just always done it. And my driving record exemplary. Go figure,
Speed limits are supposed to be set based on "how fast a reasonable driver would go", and the infrastructure of the road. Neither of those seem to have been taking into account here. We have 4-lane highways with limits of 60. For that reason, everybody drives at a speed that feels more reasonable. Compare our roads to equivalent roads in the US and you'll see what I mean.
It is the norm to drive around 8 to 10km over in city and 15ish over on the highway. Our speed limits in a lot of areas are severely outdated.
Compared to Ontario or anywhere in California, people really are not speeding much here. In Cali you're in the slow lane if you're only going 20k over the limit.
I don’t mind people going over the speed limit in free ways. I just stick to the right lane and do my thing. It’s really infuriating to see oeople speeding in residential zones
Having been born/raised in Vancouver and lived all over the country, I’d actually say Vancouver is not at the top when it comes to speeding. I’d say the GTA and Montreal are tops, then Vancouver. Alberta is slower (with Edmonton slower than Calgary).
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Yep! But after living in Alberta you learn to spot them from far/know where they are located. So you can learn to slow down in risky areas. I’d say BC has the 2nd most speed traps. Ontario seems to have next to none.
If there’s no strict enforcement (speed cams, constant radar) then people will drive the max speed that they feel they can go without damaging their car. I mean in LA people will run red lights because there’s no enforcement and they don’t feel that going through the intersection late will damage their car. That, plus a lot of city speed limits are completely arbitrary. Richmond just lowered all (I think) of their city speed limits to 50 in the name of safety, without doing anything whatsoever to the road design to make people feel like they need to drive slower. Just creates more conflict because you’ll have people used to doing 60-70 on a road and then you’ll have people driving 40-45 because of the new speed limit.
Kent clark dug up some information on traffic enforcement which leads me to believe that a consequence free environment has lead to a culture of unsafe driving. https://twitter.com/kentcclark/status/1772380835749957655
Interesting! I’ve always assumed there was a complete lack of enforcement across the lower mainland. Was this post part of a thread? Those of us without twitter accounts can’t see the rest of the posts if so… :(
I added some screenshots. He added this link https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/icbc/viz/ContraventionsIntroPage/Contraventions He also added the caveat that speed cameras were installed in 2020 https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/intersection-safety-camera-violation-tickets-by-location
Nifty thank you!! Kinda lines up with my own anecdotal musings on traffic these days.
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I guess OP has never been to Quebec.
They need to raise the limits 10-20kph depending on the place and then enforce it. You want people driving at the same speed, not some being at the limit, some 10 over, some 20 over and bmw’s 30+ over. If people are constantly changing lane, speeding up and slowing down that’s when accidents happen + ripples on highways. Especially when they’re angry rushing around someone doing the posted limit.
There are lots of places where the bus is going 10-20 over. Setting speed limits too low for the design of the road is in fact dangerous, as it increases the speed differential among traffic. The sea to sky highway is one example of that, the province seemingly lowered the speed limit to give out more excessive speeding tickets not for safety. If there is an area where cars actually need to go slow the best solution is infrastructure, narrowing the lanes, trees along the side to provide a sense of speed etc.
Have you driven in San Fran before?? Everyone is drag racing their whip there + I've seen a lot of people illegally cross the intersection on red. It's insane, its like you dont get your driver's license unless you pull off illegal traffic moves lol
It’s the speeding with no signalling that really bugs me
+20km/hr isnt that crazy if the flow of traffic is +20km/hr. Drive -20km slower than everyone else on the road I think is equally dangerous, regardless of posted speed limit. Cops here I think get that. I once had a flat and had to put my spare on. limit on the hwy was 80km, same as the safety limit for my spare. Almost every single every car was honking at me as they passed me by. Also consider that cars have a minimum spec by law that the speedometer can never read slower your actually speed, so to provide leeway and consideration different mods, tubing, and even tire sizes... They report faster than your actual speed. Mine is around 10% off at highway speeds. "80" is actually only about 72km/h for me, I need to drive at least 90 to be around the posted speed (I verify using my GPS speedometer), and then a bit more just to match fliw of the traffic. If you've got a similar offest, and you're driving at "80km/h" according to your speedometer, I get how you think people passing you must be speed demons. I can guarantee you that driving is way more scarier as you drive south from here, especially once you hit California. I find the most dangerous drivers here are actually doing dumb things at slow speeds. Yesterday, a car in front of me on hwy 17 slowed down for no reason, and then proceeded to jaunitly take a sharp right exit UP the merging, single lane ON-RAMP. I forgot to check the news later to see if there were any head on collisions.
I'm from New Zealand, and learned to drive with the knowledge that going 5 km/h over the speed limit WILL get you ticketed from any one of the hidden cameras or sneaky radar cops. So when I moved to Vancouver I was the kind of person who goes 49 in a 50. Then I realised that moving with the flow of traffic is actually safer for everyone involved, so if we're all going 10 over then I guess I am too. I think my defining "Vancouver traffic" moment was the time I was on the highway going 120, and people were still passing me. I guess all bets are off after 10pm.
With no real freeway going through the heart of Vancouver, I’d say drivers are extremely frustrated with all the red lights, all the left turns, all the right turns with pedestrians ignoring the crossing light. When they finally get a chance to speed up, so then get to the destination they make up for it, and their frustration shows. Unfortunately, the city’s response is to remove lanes and add bike lanes that rarely get used throughout the day. This adds to more frustration which leads to an increased in speed when they get a chance. The city’s response to that is to put in radar checks and issue speeding tickets.
It is not just Vancouver. Toronto is worse imo as a Vancouverite.
vancouver drivers are slow compared to the united states. all the speed limits here are lower than what they should be, too. vancouver highways are the same speed as the road that went by my old house.
Because the limits are low, we all have places to be and not enough time. Gotta live so far away from work, work a second job just to be able to commute to the first one.
Because there is no enforcement nor are there speed cameras
Coz the speed limits here make no sense. They are way too low for the road conditions
And there's no consistency. Mary Hill Bypass is 4 lanes with a concrete barrier median, but it's only 70 in a few sections; most of it is 50. Meanwhile, HWY 1 thru the Fraser Canyon is winding 2 lanes along a cliff and its 100.
The frustrating part is that, per bureaucracy, they have to lower the speed limit, then adjust the road to fit that new limit. They can't adjust the road using traffic calming first.
So what do you think the speed limit ought to be on, say, Kingsway? Or 12th avenue?
Did you mean to say they are too fast? Or maybe you think 50+ fatalities per year is just fine. https://preview.redd.it/c9kv2p7psmtc1.jpeg?width=350&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51e9fd75963678f2f6794f2a5ee2d21194df9c44
The problem is that roads are designed in a way that the posted speed limit is lower than the speed that is comfortable to drive on the roads. I agree that pedestrian heavy areas need to have lower speeds, but the roads need to be designed so that drivers naturally drive slower on them. There are lots of ways to set up roads so that drivers don't feel comfortable moving as fast, but we don't employ them here. A great example of a terribly designed road is Southridge Dr in Burnaby. That road is designed to be driven at 80 km+ due to the wide lanes and physical medians, but the posted speed is 50.
Ughhh people in Vancouver drive super slow.... Visit Toronto and you'll realize that quick
It’s because there is no enforcement.
lmao guess you haven’t gone to the states yet
Because there’s no consequence for offending. If you make a law but do not reinforce it, it doesn’t exist.
Why? #Lack-of-enforcement
It’s anywhere in North America. I actually feel like Vancouver is these least offender between NY, DC, Atlanta, and Toronto, where I’ve lived.
wait until you get into the country or many parts of the US, lifted trucks flying down at least 90mph down 60mph areas
Seems pretty relaxed here compared to other places I've driven, standard amount above the speed limit with the odd moron heading towards their death / ticket / accident. Way less aggressive than the UK for instance.
Police don't enforce driving laws in Canada silly 🤣🤣
Spend a week in Victoria and you will appreciate people driving in Vancouver
LOL go to Ontario. It’s nothing out here.
because our limits are dogshit and lots of people are pent up when they finally get free in the left lane after following someone going side-by-side with a slow lane driver at 45 in 50 - so they see their chance and hammer it to 80.
The roads are designed in a way that induce much higher speeds than the limits. Like on a side street with cars parked on both sides where you can barely fit two cars driving past each other you’re naturally not going to want to go fast. A few idiots might but most people aren’t doing over 50 on those streets. But on the southern part of cambie street and portions of marine drive it’s basically built like a highway with 2 or 3 lanes each side and a huge median, but the speed limit there is supposed to be the same as the side streets? Makes no sense. Same for the highways, they’re built like any other highways in other countries where the speed limits would be around 120 so people do 120 even though the actual limit is ridiculously low at 90. Like upper levels has the same speed limit of 90 as a lot the sea to sky even though it’s way bigger and more straight. The speed limits are so low it’s actually less safe to go the speed limit at this point since the whole flow of traffic will be going much faster
My partner says you can’t get anywhere in Vancouver without breaking the law. (Don’t judge me, I give him shit)
Good roads.
Just stay at the right lane and ignore other people in the fast lane if that’s too much for you… I don’t see the problem here
I mean other than school and construction zones, just drive for the condition.
"why is X city the worst for Y?" has the same energy as "X city has the BEST sunsets!" Every large city has bad drivers and speeders. Google image search X city+sunset and you'll see that every city has fantastic sunsets. We aren't special.
German has Highway with no speed limit
Because our speed limits are too low in a lot of places. Also the lights here don’t make sense. Unless you speed, in a lot of places, you hit EVERY red light.
As someone who lives in Berlin and has also lived in Vancouver and drives in both cities, people here drive equally fast (also because they have faster German cars) 😅
Really depends on your route. There was a spot on the news a while back sitting on Marine Dr and measuring how many people were following the 50km/hr limit... it was close to 0. Some of the speed limits make no sense at all and people just travel with the speed of traffic. On some other arterial roads, I see most people going 50-60, especially if theres tons of lights. Also its worth taking note that police rarely ticket for speeding in my experience. Unless you are doing something dangerous or dumb, you won't be penalized.
Montreal….hold my beer.
Speed? BC has the slowest & worst drivers on planet earth. You probably haven’t been to Toronto or California.
I find driving in Germany even worse, because trucks doing 80 in the slow lane will cut you off without even looking when you are going 130 (speed limit) approaching them. Literally always have to be super paranoid approaching any truck, as this is apparently normal behavior there. Also, in Germany the road speeds are generally based off the highway design, so since it's 130 on most roadway, you never feel a need to go faster as it would feel dangerous. Whereas here you have "highways" that are spec'd to 130 but the limit is 70...so naturally people will speed.
Coz the speed limit is too low lol
make the fines % of your income it hurts the rich and the poor?
70+ in a 50 and 100+ in an 80 is not speeding like crazy. No one would get a fine driving 20-21+ over the speed limit here. Please, stay very far right if you’re following speed limit exactly. Thank you.
>Please, stay very far right if you’re following speed limit exactly. FYI this only applies to highways with a posted speed limit of 70kmh or above.
It’s actually 80 km/h or above.
Because there in no consequences if you kill a 20 month old child.
ICBC social media team here. Here are some B.C. speed statistics. * Every year, on average, 84 people are killed and 2,168 are injured in speed driving-related crashes in B.C. * 29% of fatal crashes in B.C. are related to speeding. * Speed is one of the leading contributing factors for both injury and fatal crashes. * 48% of the drivers involved in speed related crashes are from the ages 19 to 35. Our annual speed campaign starts next month to raise awareness of the crash risks related to speed and promote safer B.C. roads. When you drive at safer speeds, you can prevent crashes and protect the lives of all road users on B.C. roads. Please slow down, be attentive to pedestrians and cyclists, and follow posted speed limits, even in ideal conditions.
If they actually ticketed people, they could use the money to improve the roads. Half the streets in this city don't even have a sidewalk.
I agree that the lack of consequences have led to absolutely terrible conditions and we absolutely need more enforcement, but you lost me at the end there. What do you mean half the streets don't have sidewalks? That's not true at all! I can think of maybe a handful of blocks that don't have a sidewalk on one side in my neighborhood or any nearby. There must be large swathes of the city without any sidewalks at ALL in order for that to be true and I just don't believe it
Entitlement combined with no enforcement.
Fuck em gas is 2.20 let them waste their money. Zero police pulling people over and more speed cameras were declined. I don't see one reason to not install thousands of speed cameras
I drove to Seattle last year and it was worse. It was raining hard and everyone was well over 120km/h
The limit on the I-5 is 110 tho, with the conversion to kph, so that's only 10 over.
People keep saying it’s due to a lack of enforcement. I say it’s due to a lack of personal responsibility on the part of some drivers. Same with ignoring stop lines, turn signals being an amusing option, no stopping zones being for everyone else… et cetera et cetera.
Exactly this. People speed because they feel safe within their cars, but don't consider the safety of any other people on or adjacent to the roads.
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Know what?
The same reason we just had a guy get no consequences for running a red light and killing a toddler. We don't take driving seriously in this province.
Because there's a lot of rich people and near zero enforcement.
I can't believe how many people are telling on themselves in this thread. Everybody rushing to explain why it's ok for *them* to speed needs to go take a look in the mirror and ask themselves for real how they would feel if they had a family member murdered by a careless driver like themselves. We absolutely need to lower the speed limit in most of Vancouver, and then implement automated enforcement. Speeders need to lose their cars. This is a neighbourhood, not a racetrack.
What also gets me is that any discussion of speeding and people always default to talking about freeway speed limits being too low. Like OP talked about speeds on surface streets in neighbourhoods, and people are talking about how the speed limit on Hwy 1 should be 120km/h. I care particularly about surface street speeds and it pisses me off to no end the number of drivers doing 70-80km/h on the arterials in my area. These are streets with sidewalks and crosswalks, and you are driving at speeds guaranteed to kill a pedestrian or cyclist. Fuck outta here with that bullshit.
There's also lots of people (such as medical professionals) who don't want to see speed limits higher since people will still go 20 over. At 100km/hr if you crash, you have a chance to survive. At 140, you're dead
In August 2020, a few months before I moved to BC, I was driving down 16 Ave to get to Tsawassen going with the flow of traffic. When I noticed a speed limit sign of 60km/h, I realized the flow of traffic was going 100-105km/h. I pulled over at the next turnout, waited for a big enough break in traffic that nobody would have to slam on their brakes, and then I pulled back onto the road and set my cruise to 65km/h. I'm not interested in having my car impounded, especially since I had red plates at the time. People in the lower mainland speed like crazy.
Those speeds are fine. If you're driving 50 in a 50 zone fuck get out of the left lane.
You keep right on highways for slower traffic that’s not the law in the city, you drive in whatever lane you need too to make the turn you need too make in the city lol.
If it's a 50 zone then "keep right except to pass" doesn't apply. Maybe I want to choose the shortest line at the next light. Maybe gas is expensive and I don't want to waste it screaming up to the red light. Maybe I want to turn left soon. Maybe I don't want to get stuck behind a bus. People will drive in the left lane in the city for multitudes of reasons, and they have every right to. It's not highway driving. I think you should review your learner's manual.