Seems like a lot of folks around here are looking for rifles again -- to
shoot at Premier Dalton McGuinty's trial balloon called Photo Radar. Some
have reacted as if the idea to resurrect remote speed control just came
roaring out of nowhere, but regular readers may remember that the Liberals
did mention a few months ago they would reconsider the technology.
Then Liberal
transportation critic MPP Pat Hoy said in Traffic Guru on Sept. 26, 2003,
"we believe photo radar should be reinstated on dangerous stretches of
provincial and municipal highways and streets. Of course, we think a
priority would be Carnage Alley [on Highway 401] between Windsor and
London where there were so many deaths." If the Liberals had made it a
prominent part of their platform, perhaps we could have debated the issue
during the election, but of course many politicians avoid bringing up
important policies while campaigning.
I certainly don't
remember the Harris Tories offering actual reasons for killing photo radar
during the 1995 election that first brought them to power -- they just did
it. Likewise, the Liberals have crudely made this trial balloon out of
cellophane and duct tape, allowing voters to think that the primary reason
for photo radar is money. That's brazen, taking one of the main criticisms
of the technology -- that it's just a cash cow -- and using it as its
chief (and only) selling point. What about the effects on safety? The
editorialists at the Toronto Star are convinced that photo radar has
worked in other jurisdictions, lowering overall speeds, although they may
need to hand over those studies to some of their automotive journalists.
The Ontario government
under the NDP produced one preliminary safety evaluation on photo radar in
January 1995, and while it showed dramatic changes in speed on some 400
series highways, a four month study is not exactly conclusive evidence. I
did hear rumours that a more comprehensive analysis had been completed but
not released by the following Conservative administration. After
submitting a Freedom of Information request last year, I was told no final
report exists.
However, one tally
seems to have made it to the offices of the premier -- apparently during
the short tenure of photo radar in Ontario, it hauled in millions of
dollars. The current cash-strapped government seems to be counting on the
fact that Ontarians are so against curing the province budget deficit by
raising taxes or cutting service that they will tolerate cud-chewing radar
cameras on our highways again.
It is interesting that
the trial blimp is not sporting a big ribbon with the words "Higher speed
limits." The premier could have also floated an offer of raising the speed
limit on provincial expressways to 120 kilometers an hour, in return for
motorist acquiescence on the cash cow thing. University studies show that
on the 401 (during good weather and relatively little congestion) almost
all drivers already exceed the limit of 100 km/h. So why not turn these
obvious miscreants into law-abiding citizens, while at the same time
snapping a picture of anyone who dares drive at 121 klicks an hour and
above?
The obstacles to this
seemingly fair deal are, sorry to say, more studies. When U.S. states
raised their maximum allowable highway speeds from 55 miles per hour in
the late 1990s, collisions increased. So far, I haven't found any
"counter-studies" that specifically show safety has improved because
drivers were legally permitted to drive at the speeds that the roads were
built for -- speeds that many were already travelling.
Let me know your views
at edrass@nationalpost.com or by fax at 416-322-7016.
Ed Drass, National
Post