Ministry of Transportation: the arrogance continues…

Photo: Inhabitat

We all know that the car hating automatons at the Ministry of Transportation and OPP love to harass drivers across Ontario in the name of safety and environmental protection. But why make things difficult for a green cause?

Marcelo Da Luz, a Toronto environmental activist, drove his solar-powered car for more than 38,000 kilometers, including two trips to the Arctic Circle. He was, however, forbidden by the Ontario government from driving his car on Ontario roads, the only jurisdiction where he faced such a prohibition. When the geniuses at MTO told him he couldn't drive, he used a special harness to pull the 250-kilogram car from Niagara Falls to Toronto and then Ottawa.

Marcello and his hand-built car set a number of records, including the world distance record for a car powered entirely by the sun. "I want to inspire people to take ownership, to take responsibility on the individual level to do what we can to help the environment," Mr. Da Luz said. Obviously the cement heads at MTO, with our car hating Transportation Minister Chiarelli at the helm, disagree.

Ontario Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli not a car guy.

It was a sad moment for me when I read Toronto Star’s interview with our Transportation Minister Chiarelli. Right in the beginning he stated that he was not a car guy. Cars, according to our dear Minister, are transportation devices designed to take people from point A to point B.

I don’t think we’ve ever had a car guy as a Transportation Minister. Heck, I don’t think any of the dummkopfs at MTO were ever car guys. Our speeding obsessed traffic cops don’t seem to behave like car people either. From the way they control, design and police our traffic, it seems they don’t even read their own reports that offer plenty of data indicating their priorities are mostly wrong. My observations from more than 29 years of driving in this province simply don’t match the conviction data in the Road Safety Annual Report available on the MTO website.

The vast majority of convictions related to HTA are for speeding and administrative offences.

To me this has little to do with safety.

When Mr. Chiarelli was asked about the currently discussed speed limit changes, he kept repeating “speed kills” to the reporter, refusing to acknowledge the disconnect between speed limits and speeds at which people actually drive.

It’s like these people lived in a different world. My recent trip from Toronto to a cottage near Perry Sound would have been a good experience for the dear Minister if he was only willing to pay attention. 95% of cars moved at a comfortable 120 – 130 km/h. The biggest problems were the people following too close and slow moving drivers blocking the passing lane. Convictions for these offences in the Report? Only a small percentage for following too close and none for blocking the passing lane.

Bravo, Herr Minister! Bravo! God help us all with people like that in charge…

2013 Nissan Altima

The new Altima is not only a looker. "Taking a family sedan canyon carving is like wearing sweat pants to a bar: You’re not anticipating any action. Surprise. The Altima keenly sliced in and out of corners." Overall comfort and room are very good, but steering and brakes remain relatively weak.
We've got the new Sonata, Optima, Passat, Camry and the Altima now. We're waiting for the new Accord and Mazda 6 to see who the champion is in the mid-size segment. Traditionally, we are leaving the domestics out of this, although the new Fusion and Malibu could change this.

Car and Driver: 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL Test

2012 Hyundai Accent

 

 

Hyundai has been has been building interesting cars lately. At least from the design point. The Accent hatchback looks great inside and out. A driver's car it isn't, however...

 Autoweek: 2012 Hyundai Accent SE

Traffic enforcement: Cops continue to be obsessed with "speeding".

Source: Ontario Ministry of Transportation  Table 7.2: Motor Vehicle Convictions Related to the Highway Traffic Act, 2008
Convictions	Number
Equipment	25,210
Administrative*	185,185
Seat Belt (Driver & Passenger)**	59,153
Other Non-Pointable Convictions ***	84,423
Speeding	780,152
Other Pointable Convictions (2–4 pts)	135,341
Other Pointable Convictions (5–7 pts)	13,312
Driving While Suspended	13,394
Total	1,296,170

* Non-moving, weight, vehicle registration, licence renewal, etc.
** Failure to wear seat belt convictions registered against passengers over 16 are no longer included.
*** Now includes some out-of-province convictions.