Ontarians are raising concerns about driving along Highway 401, with many calling the freeway unsafe and riddled with reckless drivers.
In a Reddit thread posted earlier this week, a user described the highway as a “death trap” after witnessing dangerous driving behaviours on their way to visit family.
“It’s scary how unsafe that highway is,” the user wrote on the platform.
“People swerving in and out of traffic, accelerating and braking hard, for absolutely no reason! I was seething at how many close calls I saw on the road today, and that was before the snow even started.”
The user appealed to the public forum for advice on navigating the highway system, especially for dodging 18-wheeler trucks and large SUVs, and Ontario drivers didn’t hold back on their thoughts.
“I find it to be very challenging, mentally, trying to be defensive all the time. But that’s driving in Ontario now,” one user said.
Another user recounted a time where they witnessed a woman erratically driving near London, Ont., saying the driver constantly sped up and slowed down, then swerved back and forth between lanes before almost colliding into the back of a trailer truck.
“She finally moved over, I took a quick look like maybe she’s falling asleep or having a medical emergency,” the user wrote. “Nope. She was eating.”
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Director of Safer Roads Canada, Mark Wilson, acknowledged that trucks can be hazardous on all Ontario highway systems, and says the non-profit organization calls for better education and training for commercial truck drivers.
“Unfortunately, there are some schools that are not properly training drivers but they are still able to obtain their licence. The majority of truck drivers are very professional and very safe, but unfortunately there are some who should not be on the road,” Wilson said to Now Toronto in an email statement on Wednesday.
While navigating massive and sometimes unsafe trucks on the highway system can be a hassle, Wilson also says reckless car drivers are often a significant part of the problem.
“Drivers travelling at high speed are the root of the problem and often reckless and speeding drivers can cause serious crashes but they can also contribute to slow downs at busy times. They are also a serious hazard for commercial truckers,” he said.
Wilson is calling for better technology to enforce consistent and safe speeds on the road, something that can be quite difficult for police to tackle manually. He highlights average speed cameras, a resource sweeping jurisdictions around the world, such as in the United Kingdom, where speed is monitored over a longer distance.
“The driver is picked up at a point and then again kilometres down the road. If they cover the distance too quickly they are penalized. It is a very fair system and evens out the flow of traffic and most importantly makes the roads safer,” Wilson explained.
“Ultimately, we need to create an environment on our roads that helps drivers do the right thing and also removes the reckless and dangerous drivers from our roads.”
OPP RESPONDS TO HIGHWAY CONCERNS
Many Reddit users also complained about the lack of enforcement from Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on Highway 401, many saying they hardly ever see any cruisers on the freeway.
“There is basically no police presence on the 401 anymore,” one user said.
“I commuted from downtown to Whitby every weekday for 3 years and can’t even count on one hand how many times I saw OPP cruisers doing radar…or even present at all,” another user said.
“People know they can do whatever they want without getting caught.”
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt ensures that police are strategically distributed along the highway system. He says that so far in 2024, 370 deaths caused by road accidents have been investigated by the OPP across the province, while 767 impaired driving charges have been laid.
“We’re certainly out there on the roads, responding to calls, doing proactive patrols targeted to enforcement, education and making sure that people are aware of the situation,” Schmidt said to Now Toronto on Wednesday.
In 2023, OPP laid 304,258 charges under the Highway Traffic Act, a provincial legislation that regulates the classification of traffic offences.
Schmidt urges drivers who see others committing reckless behaviours on the road to call OPP at *677 immediately.
“We can’t be everywhere all the time, but we certainly do want people to understand that they can call the police when they see problems,” he said.
