Levis | A Conservative government would increase the maximum speed on Quebec highways to 120 km/h instead of the current limit of 100 km/h.
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This is what Eric Duhaime announced Saturday morning during a press briefing held at a rest stop in Lévis.
“We believe that it is time to trust Quebec motorists in order to increase this speed limit,” said the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), recalling that this is a commitment made by his political formation for a very long time.
According to him, “automotive technologies and safety have evolved a lot in recent years. The speed limit on Quebec highways should reflect this new reality.”
Photo Taieb Moalla
Conservative leader Éric Duhaime was accompanied by several of his candidates when he made his announcement Saturday morning in Lévis.
In a first reaction, the chief caquiste François Legault rejected the conservative proposal. “We are not considering that, I am not an expert, but I have the impression that the Ministry of Transport and people who know about it will see a risk of increasing accidents”, he argued. .
Geneviève Guilbault, outgoing Minister of Public Security, seemed more nuanced. “I think those are things that need to be thought about maybe a little bit more before doing that. Because as you say, there is a kind of unofficial tolerance zone. So if we put it at 120, is it going to be 140 after that?, she dropped. It’s something you need to think about further, before throwing it on the corner of the table. »
To support his remarks, Mr. Duhaime cited several examples, in Canada and around the world, where speed limits are higher than 100 km/h without this causing more accidents, according to him. One of the best-known examples is that of Germany, where there are absolutely no speed limits on certain motorways. “We notice that they often suffer even fewer road accidents than neighboring countries which have much lower speed limits,” assured the head of the PCQ.
Fuel consumption
According to CAA-Quebec data, driving at 100 km/h instead of 120 km/h consumes 20% less fuel. In the current context of rising gas prices, isn’t it paradoxical to push motorists to drive faster?
“Time is money too,” replied Éric Duhaime. There are people who are aware that if you can do 10 or 15 km more per hour, your 5 to 10 minutes – or 20 minutes when you go to Montreal – that you will recover, there are people who will enjoy it too. Yes, there is the aspect of gas mileage. But there is also the aspect of time that must be weighed in the balance at the economic level to know which of the two is the most profitable. »
More generally, Mr. Duhaime said he wanted to put “a slightly clearer barrier for everyone”, at 120 km / h, to put an end to the current “unsaid”. Currently, it is extremely rare for a motorist to receive a ticket for driving between 100 km/h and 120 km/h on the highways, he recalled.
– With the collaboration of Geneviève Lajoie and Marc-André Gagnon