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…