May 13 2024 - Speeding Down

 

We thought things would go faster and faster.  And speed limits have consistently risen since driving began.   Next door to us in St. Catharines, the speed limit is reducing to 40 km/hour in residential streets.  There are 1,300 signs going/gone up to let people in on the change. Even closer in Lincoln (aka Beamsville) the speed limit is going to be 40 km/h on local roads.   What about Grimsby?  Our approach to 40 km/hr is a speed camera in front of Park School on Main Street, taking pictures tfor speeding tickets for over 40 km/hr.  That's actually a regional initiative. Are we going to see 40 km/hr in Grimsby?  I don't see anything in the news so far. But we'll you on  the places to visit that are within 40 km of Grimsby - they include Niagara Falls, the Butterfly Conservatory, and Niargara-on-the-Lake.  You can get there on the QEW driving 110 km/hr.     This is from the archives - the 13th Street Winery Magnolia and blackberry greenhouse - turned into a watercolour print.

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July 23 2021 - Speeding into the Future

 

It seemed that the Jetsons were fulfilling our dreams about the speed limits for cars: 500 mph for the flying car in the series.  How optimistic!  It seems to go with the low work hours/days - one hour x 2 days a week. Another dream.  Cars and work:  we couldn't predict the future without including these two key areas.  Particularly speed limits as we definitely have an enduring fascination with "fastest ever" speeds.   In terms of how fast a car can go - our current fastest is considered to the the SSC Tuatara at 316 mph.   For land speed records, there is the ThrustSCC - a vehicle that has held the fastest speed record since 1997 going 1,227.9 km/h - that's 763 mph.  For wheel-driven, the Vesco Turbinator II was the fastest at 756 km/h and 463 mph.  In contrast, the highest speed limit in the world remains 160 km/h and applies to two highways in the UAE.  The U.S. did have some states without speed limits.  But a national speed limit was imposed, and there are speed limits in all US states now.  Germany is considered a country with no speed limit, due to the Autobahns having no speed limit. I am fascinated by what I find out about Canada.  One of those crazy google questions with hilarious answers/opinions relates to speed limits in Canada.  It makes sense that these answers come from Quora.com.  Quora.com is full of questions with answers that range from unrelated product ads, opinions from the barely literate, hate rants,  and then facts from self-claiming scientists and experts..  Here's the question:  Q Why do Canadian high-speed highways have such low speed limits? A1 Basically, Canadian high-speed highways have such low speed limits because government cares more about making money than the happiness of the people who drive on those roads. You always have the option to drive slower than the maximum. A2 This is the simplest answer I can give. In Canada, the roads are so good that you can easily drive over 160 KM/Hr. But the speed limits are often between 90 and 110. And you can get a ticket anywhere over 10 KH/Hr over the limit. The minimum fine starts at $249 and reaches $10000 when you reach 50 KM/Hr over the speed limit. This has been going on for a long time and has become a very good revenue source for the provinces. A3 They are probably reflecting the driving abilities of the average Canadian, and the fact that your distances are so vast, that higher speeds would tire you out and result in more accidents.  Our German Autobahns are faster (59%) of them with no speed limit, but our distances are short compared to yours. Driving fast soaks up your concentration. That's why they suggest you take a break every 2 hours on the autobahn (not any do, me included). A pretty flower today.  This is a Gaillardia with the common name Blanket Flower.