Upon hearing why our government decided against photo radar in long overdue New Traffic Safety Act I wrote to all of them:
Dear elected government members -
Duh!!! I don’t quite understand why Doug Ford calls photo radar a "problem" because it is a source of revenue. Is that a stalling point for NS, too? Given all the squawking about deficits and noxious ideas about privatizing bridges it doesn't sound like a problem to me.
If people want to speed, run red lights (which I see daily), endanger other people, spend more on gas and produce higher carbon emissions, why shouldn’t they pay extra into the coffers to help cover the costs of emergency services, road maintenance, health care, lost work days and worse, and extra pollution.
According to Natural Resources Canada, driving a vehicle
with an internal combustion engine at 120 km/h burns 20 per cent more fuel than
driving the same distance at 100 km/h. An Ontario law that requires trucks to
install technology to limit their speed to 105 km/h was estimated to have
reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 4.6 megatonnes between 2009 and 2020.
This is not rocket science.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-speed-limits-climate-change-1.5684677
Nova Scotians routinely drive 140 + on our highways with little evidence of enforcement. Keeping to 100 or less in our not terribly powerful 2016 Honda Fit saves gas and - surprise - money. We experimented driving back from Canso on the old road and seldom going over 80. Amazing savings when you have the time (we are retired), and it was even relaxing - once we found the one gas station in the area. I lived through the Gas crisis and the lowered speed limits in the US in the 70's and survived. I do not need a car that can go over 140. Aside from our collective compulsion to move fast and break things, I don't know why other people do or why we even allow them on the road.
Elinor Benjamin, Grumpy Retired Librarian
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