Quebec Cracks Down on Road Safety
After a speeder killed toddler Bianca Leduc while she was playing in her baby-sitter’s backyard in a residential neighborhood west of Montreal, the Quebec government has decided to rush through the mother of all traffic safety bills. CTV reports the details: hand-held cell phones will be banned, the legal BAL (blood-alcohol level) drops from 0.08 to 0.05 (bringing it inline with other Canadian provinces), those caught under the influence will have their license suspended for three months (up from one month), 15 intersections will get red light cameras, all new drivers will have to take driving lessons and operate under probationary permits (not just those under 25), speeding fines in residential zones will double, license points for speeders will double and there’ll be a new offense called “major speeding” (which leads to an automatic license suspension).
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My favorite is the "fake" freeway. On the west side of Calgary there are several of these where you would swear you are on a freeway, but the limit is like 40km/hr. To add to the trick, they don't do a good job with the speed limit signs at all. They got my wife speeding on one of those traps, boy was she mad. And yes, the road could easily handle 90km/hr. Luckily she wasn't going that fast.
I quite frequently drive from London, Ontario to Montreal, and when I cross the Quebec border I feel like I have just pulled on to a track. In Montreal you really don't want to be the first one to stop at a red light, chances seem pretty good of being rear ended. My wife is from Montreal and learned to drive there, I don't know how she never gets caught here in London for her rolling stops, although I suppose it contributes to the longevity of her brakes. As she has said the way she learned to drive, road signs in Montreal are just general guidelines.
Montreal is the first city I have driven through and witnessed road rage fights. One trip through, and witnessed 3 fights. People started by yelling at each other, cutting each other off etc, and it escalates to both cars pulling over and the drivers going at it. It was a bizarre trip for sure, and have never seen anything like it anywhere else I have driven. Jersey may have bad drivers, I have driven through many times, but I have yet to see a fight break out at the side of the highway (of course that might be a gun thing)
Congratulations on The Truth about cars in publishing content that helps make a difference. You have just gotten a new fan :-) Every time a wreckless driver takes the life of an innocent victim, most of us are appalled and outraged. We point a finger at wreckless driving, drunk driving, speeding... We accuse laws, drivers, parents, society, tv, hollywood... Who's responsible? Who's to blame? What if we decided to take responsability rather than point of finger? What if you could personally take part in preventing the next tragedy?..right here, right now... in the next fifteen minutes...by simply opening your mind to an alternate way of viewing the problem, by being imputable and taking a few minutes to make a difference... To view the full article visit http://johnsmilesinitiative.blogspot.com/2007/11/little-bianca.html and hopefully take a few minutes to save some lives.