Quebec roads are an extreme sport. Potholes yield to craters, into which I’m sure small dogs and dump trucks disappear; jaywalking is a national sport, since crosswalks are just ornamental; yellow lights means go faster lest the guy behind you, who’s also flooring it, land in your back seat; and speed limits are mere suggestions even less respected than on the Autobahn. So we have the accident/injury/death toll that goes with it.
Lately, politicians have been discussing the possibility of reducing speed limits by 10 km/h in the city. This will create more work for the poor, overworked blue-collar workers, require a slew of new, and probably overpriced, signs, and generate traffic all over the island as security perimeters are erected at rush hour around said workers diligently taking a break while being paid overtime before attempting the installation of said new signs.
Everyone knows that cops in Quebec do not give out speeding tickets for excesses of under 20 km/h, i.e. you can drive at 49 km/h in a 30 km/h school zone, 69 km/h in a 50 km/h normal city street, and 119 km/h on the highway. You can do this in full view of a traffic cop holding a radar gun. Heck, even the signs the government put up to dissuade speeders indicated the fines for 20 km/h speeding and above. You can claim your speed limit is X until you’re blue in the face, but if you enforce at Y level, then Y is your effective speed limit. It’s that simple, really.
If you want to slow people down, just CHANGE THE LEVEL AT WHICH YOU TICKET. No infrastructure required. Start ticketing at 10 km/h over the posted limit, and ENFORCE the darn thing. Changing speed limits is just numbers on signs. Enforcement levels means dollar signs and safety.
But it’s probably too simplistic for bureaucracy. Common sense need not apply.
Today in six: Quoth Peter: “Beware of strange orifices.”
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