Someone Was Charged For Driving Too Slowly On Highway 401 & Here's Why It's Actually Dangerous
While you might think speeding would be the reason someone would pick up a ticket while driving on Highway 401 in Ontario, in one recent case, it was actually the opposite.
Over on Twitter, Toronto police Constable Kirk Papadopoulos shared an update about a "dangerous" incident from March 31.
According to his tweet, a driver was charged for "slow driving" while travelling at 60 kph on Highway 401 in a 100 kph area.
"Driving too slow on HWY can be dangerous due to increased risk of accidents, impaired traffic flow, raised chance of rearend collisions," Papadopoulos warned. "Crucial to retain a safe reasonable speed & use hazard lights when slower than flow of traffic."
\u201cDrivercharged-Slow Driving Hwy401\n60km in 100km \nDriving too slow on HWY can be dangerous due to increased risk of accidents, impaired traffic flow, raised chance of rearend collisions \nCrucial to retain a safe reasonable speed & use hazard lights when slower than flow of traffic\u201d— PCPapadopoulos (@PCPapadopoulos) 1680291283
According to the Ontario Highway Act, "no motor vehicle shall be driven on a highway at such a slow rate of speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic thereon except when the slow rate of speed is necessary for safe operation having regard to all the circumstances."
A charge can result in gaining two demerit points.
On Twitter, many praised the officer for drawing attention to the problem.
"Lol need more of this enforcement because I feel like every time I’m on the 401 or DVP, there’s someone driving 70-75km when there’s no traffic and you can easily go with the flow," said one person. "Most GTA traffic is due to people not going with the flow and causing bottlenecking."
In 2022, an OPP officer called out slow driving in a different situation.
Sgt. Kerry Schmidt noted that people driving in the left lane unnecessarily can result in bottlenecking and road rage.
"I would see a single vehicle all by itself in the leftmost lane and not moving over," he explained. "Even though there was plenty of opportunities for these vehicles to move into the middle lane or right lane to allow other vehicles to pass on the left."
Schmidt said the courteous thing to do is move over to the right lane when another motorist is overtaking.
Stay safe on the roads, folks, and do the right thing!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
