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To: Minister of Transportation Glen Murray

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Dear Minister of Transportation MPP Glen Murray, I urge you to legitimize our safe driving practices and reward Ontario drivers with a reasonable speed limit which reflects travel speeds of the majority on our 400-series highways. Please support speed limits of 120 and 130 km/h (outside of metropolitan areas) to match them with those found in over 60 jurisdictions worldwide (listed below). My call to you is backed by a clear majority of people in Ontario: 70-85% (three independent media polls referenced below). Our group - www.stop100.ca currently has over 20,000 identified supporters who are asking for your help and leadership to represent the interests of the majority and to end the repressive and unreasonable speed limit of 100 km/h once and for all. We want to drive freely and legally on our world-class highways, with full focus on the road. We are tired of driving in fear of arbitrary and random police enforcement, harsh penalties, insurance rate hikes and most of all - feeling like criminals while constantly watching medians and shoulders for police. Increasing divided freeway speed limits (safest types of roadways) has no effect on fatality rates. Multiple countries and jurisdictions have recently done the same with no fatality rate increase. I can direct you to the scientific research which clearly confirms that fact. The 85th percentile speed setting methodology clearly states that properly set speed limits (not arbitrarily and with no scientific basis like the current 100 km/h) guarantees the least number of collisions between vehicles. This, in turn, equals less crashes and fatalities. Most jurisdictions on Earth have found the safest freeway speed limits to be around 120-130 km/h. Our drivers, however, are subject to harsh penalties for travelling at those very safe and widely practiced speeds! Please find the reference below. Utah, Kansas, Netherlands and Denmark have raised their freeway speed limits and saw no significant change in the fatality rate. In most cases, it actually went down. In Utah, the authorities have observed no change in the number of fatalities and an 11-20% drop in vehicle crashes following the speed limit increase from 75 to 80 MPH (120 to 128 km/h). Similar results were observed in Denmark when the speed limit was changed from 110 to 130 km/h and Kansas after a change from 70 to 75 MPH (112 to 120 km/h). Reference to the sources below. If you have any doubts whether to support and act on my request, ask yourself a simple question: If any one of the provincial 400-series highways were cloned and a new one built by its side, with the original one left at 100km/h and the clone at 130 km/h... which highway would you take? Please support my request and do not preserve the current speed limit from 1976 any longer. *) Media polls based on about 15000 votes showing strong support of 70-85% of citizens: http://www.torontosun.com/poll/should-the-speed-limit-be-raised-on-ontarios-highways http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2013/09/03/poll-question-do-you-think-the-speed-on-hwy-401-should-be-increased http://autos.sympatico.ca/auto-news/13603/ontario-turns-down-130-km-h-limit-proposal *) List of over sixty jurisdictions worldwide posting 120 and 130 km/h speed limits: http://www.stop100.ca/poster4.jpg *) 85th percentile scientific speed limit setting methodology http://stop100.ca/ite-speed-zoning.pdf (from the Institute of Transportation Engineers) http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/szn/determining_the_85th_percentile_speed.htm http://www.sense.bc.ca/speed-kills/ *) Utah Department of Transportation via Salt Lake Tribune - decrease in road accidents and deaths http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54927666-90/areas-higher-limits-mph.html.csp *) Denmark - Higher speed limits reducing accidents on rural roads - The Copenhagen Post http://cphpost.dk/news/higher-speed-limits-reducing-accidents-on-rural-roads.8662.html