As a resident of Huntsville, I feel compelled to raise awareness about a recurring issue that affects drivers in our community. For months, I’ve noticed Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers conducting frequent speed enforcement in a specific area along Highway 60 at the District Water Treatment Plant, where the speed limit abruptly transitions from 80 km/h to 70 km/h on a downhill stretch of road.
While I fully support efforts to promote road safety, the methods and frequency of enforcement at this location raise serious concerns. The OPP has been stationed here as often as three to four times per week, targeting drivers who are often traveling at 85 km/h in a 70 km/h zone—a minor infraction given the challenging conditions of the area. To make matters worse, officers are using unmarked vehicles parked sideways, hidden from sight, making it nearly impossible for drivers to anticipate their presence.
This practice feels less like a safety initiative and more like a strategy for revenue generation. The natural difficulty of slowing down on a downhill grade, combined with the abrupt change in speed limit and the lack of adequate warning signs, makes this location problematic for many drivers, including those who might otherwise drive responsibly.
Such tactics not only undermine the trust drivers place in law enforcement but also shift the focus from promoting road safety to punitive measures. This kind of enforcement creates the perception of entrapment rather than fostering safer driving habits.
As members of this community, we should be asking whether these efforts genuinely improve safety or if they simply exploit a challenging road design to issue tickets. Would better signage, more gradual speed transitions, or enforcement in areas with greater safety risks not be a better use of resources?
I urge local residents and officials to consider these questions and push for changes to enforcement strategies in this area. Public safety is paramount, but it must be achieved through fair and transparent practices, not by targeting unsuspecting drivers navigating an inherently tricky stretch of road.
Let’s start a conversation about this issue and work towards solutions that prioritize safety and fairness for all road users.
Sincerely,
Matthew Fuller
Huntsville
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Afterthought:
If I can’t appeal to the idea of adulting, consider the following.
There are at least 5 chemicals added to our water in gas, liquid, or solid matter, and other deliveries made to that WTP.
The next time you go over that rise, instead of a police car, you see a tanker of chlorine gas making a left hand turn (from a west to east direction). It is traveling at 10 km/h and is half way through its turn. If you are going over 85 km/h, where the *^%@ are you going to go?
If you have a secret death wish, could you at least find some compassion if the poor bloke who has to scrap your remains off the tarmac?
The people who make the laws of how fast you should go in any one area are smarter than you, not by virtue of a higher IQ, but simply because they have more information.
STOP SPEEDING!
Your arguments are supported by 4 flat tires!
You said the problem was for the driver traveling from east to west. The section from the vet clinic to the marina is flat and then there is a rise to the WTP. If you are traveling over 85 km/h coming over that rise you deserve to lose 3 demerit points.
Positioning a police car at the Kawartha Dairy and having it chasing errant drivers through that busy section is absolutely ludicrous.
Anyone who gets a ticket should accept responsibility for their actions, pay the fine, and learn a lesson from it. In my day it was called growing up, apparently now it is called adulting.
Thomas,
The analysis wasn’t meant to “justify wrongdoing” but to explain how natural forces affect vehicles on a downhill slope.
The key issue here is radar enforcement within 100m of a speed limit change at the bottom of a slope, where drivers have little time to adjust speed without disrupting traffic flow.
Placing the speed trap further down the road would allow drivers to compensate for the slope and speed limit change. For instance, a location like the Kawartha Dairy would better target drivers deliberately ignoring limits on a flat section with higher pedestrian activity.
This radar placement location seems less about safety and more about catching drivers in an unnecessary situation especially when coupled with unmarked vehicles, raising questions about whether the goal is truly safety or revenue and officers meeting their performance metrics.
The worst location to reduce speed is going down a hill. Move the zone to the approach of the hill. Allow drivers the chance to slow down before going down the hill.
To Matt Fuller’s response, your flawed physics is a lame attempt to justify wrong doing.
I’ve lived here 48 years and frequently travel that stretch of road. There are many entrances and driveways along that stretch.
Quit your whining and just slow down, no one else seems to have a problem with this.
It’s not revenue grabbing, it’s fines to make people like you slow down for the safety of others.
I kinda remember Broderick Crawford from Highway Patrol.
Having lived east of Huntsville for 20+ years I drive that stretch almost every day. I’ve caught myself speeding in that zone but never ever got pulled over by OPP. They’re doing their job. Period. Oh and what downhill?? That minor slope from east to west is barely noticeable and being a cyclist too I absolutely know when going up or down a hill. Seems like some folks need to make a noise when life is too quiet??
It sounds to me that your definition of an ordinary law-abiding driver is someone who routinely drives over the speed limit. It reminds of a teenager who thinks it is okay to break a rule because everybody else is doing it. How sad!
Speed limits were created and are posted for a reason.
Driving speeds are often excessive on Hwy 60 which I travel regularly between Huntsville and Dwight.
I appreciate the use of radar monitoring on this stretch of highway.
Often in police speed monitoring, the officers come across many other scenarios such as drinking and driving, no insurance, possible criminal activity.
For this very reason, I applaud their diligence. It is part of their job description.
If you need to speed you have not allowed yourself enough time to reach your destination.
Slow down, obey the signs and enjoy the scenery. In doing so, you allow other drivers to be safe as well. Win:Win
Will respond to some comments here.
Downhill Aspect and Targeted Direction
The downhill section in question is for drivers traveling westbound from Grandview. To clarify, Mark and Brenda, if there is an uphill in one direction, the reverse direction will naturally be downhill. Police are specifically targeting westbound drivers on this stretch.
Impact of a 5% Slope on Speed
Assuming the slope westbound is 5%, drivers would need to brake below 70 km/h to counteract the increased acceleration caused by the downhill gradient. If brakes are released on a 200 m slope (the point from speed change to enforcement position), a car traveling at 70 km/h would naturally accelerate to approximately 88 km/h by the bottom. Forcing drivers to consistently brake to stay at 70 km/h risks impeding traffic flow and could even increase the likelihood of accidents due to unpredictable or excessive braking. What I’m implying here is that it is very easy to go over the posted limit without having a “heavy foot” as some imply.
Tickets for 15 km/h Over the Limit
There are claims that police are not pulling over drivers for being 15 km/h over the limit. This is incorrect. I’ve personally witnessed drivers being stopped for minor speed violations, having matched their speed while traveling westbound in recent weeks. Last Thursday evening witnessed a Walker Construction pick up get pulled over for following the flow of traffic at 85km/h.
Visibility of Police Enforcement
Shirley commented on police visibility. If the goal is truly to reduce speeding, officers could position themselves more visibly. Visible enforcement deters speeding more effectively than hiding in unmarked cars, which seems to prioritize ticket issuance over public safety.
Targeting Law-Abiding Citizens
Some have argued that these measures address stunt drivers or drunk drivers. However, regular, law-abiding drivers should not bear the burden for the actions of reckless individuals. If you observe dangerous driving behaviors, it’s more effective to report them to the authorities directly.
Enforcement Priorities and Resource Allocation
To those advocating for increased speed trap enforcement: do you believe our limited policing resources should be dedicated to issuing speeding tickets to ordinary drivers? With significant societal challenges like drug trafficking, car thefts, human trafficking, and financial crime, officers’ time could be better spent addressing these pressing issues.
Court System Impact
Additionally, speed trap tickets often clog the court system. Drivers frequently contest tickets due to their insurance impact, leading to significant costs for judges, administration, and officers appearing in court. These costs often exceed the revenue generated by the ticket itself.
Overall Conclusion:
Our policing resources could be better allocated to addressing serious crimes rather than focusing on “gotcha” speed traps designed to meet revenue targets or performance metrics. Instead of targeting drivers on a downhill slope where natural acceleration occurs, efforts should focus on improving safety and combating more impactful societal issues.
I fully support the speed enforcement initiatives of the Ontario Provincial Police’s Huntsville Detachment!
When ticketed nine years ago almost immediately after I moved here to the deep south of Canada 🇨🇦, I was very professionally and fairly treated.
In regard to your specific COMPLAINT, unfortunately you have included several so-called ‘ALTERNATIVE FACTS’!
There is NOT A RAPID SPEED LIMIT CHANGE at that location near the Huntsville Water Treatment Plant. There is the standard warning sign posted several hundred metres ahead indicating that there will be a reduction from 80 km/h to 70 km/h!
At that location the Highway 60 is ‘going’ gradually uphill AND NOT DOWNHILL AS YOU FALSELY CLAIM!
AS long as your vehicle is not passing the OPP’s lidar/radar beam at greater than 80 km/h, you will almost never be ticketed unless there’s another instantly obvious infraction evident to our valiantly serving ‘first responders’!
I am very obviously of the opinion and belief that your complaint is almost entirely self-serving. It’s also spurious in my opinion!
Thank you for your consideration of an alternative viewpoint!
There is an old Dutch maxim that says “we are too soon old and too late smart.” What a good spot to flash that little tidbit. If you don’t want a speeding ticket, don’t speed! Seems simple enough.
You think the OPP are out to pump up the ole’ retirement fund, think again. Someone mentioned here that the ticket was for 15 over. If they popped you, you were doing that and more. Why mark your ticket down if they’re just in it for the money?
“Sorry sir. You were 30 over. Here’s your ticket. That puts me 4 minutes closer to retiring. Thanks.”
Shake your head. We all drive a bit too fast. Todays vehicles will ‘too fast’ too easy. I haven’t had a ‘speeding ticket’ since I was married 56 years ago. Don’t know what can be taken from that other than my lady seemed to demand me being there on time.
On the highway I generally set cruise at about 115 and sit back. There are freaks on all sides, but steel yourself and go with it. Or stay home. You aren’t drawing attention at 115 except from the pick-up snarling up your ass at 145 and needing to get past. Guess he/she isn’t married yet. And if either of us gets a ticket, it’s because we earned it.
Made a lot of late night runs up hwy. 11 back in the lacrosse days. One night after playing in St. Catherine’s, myself and 3 others were rolling home. My big Monarch would roll pretty good and I was 30 over when the bubble-gum machine flashed in my mirror. I shut down and pulled to the shoulder.
A young officer leaned in the window and I was ready to offer my wrists but he just grinned. He wasn’t as old as some of us. Some junior Broderick Crawford. The engine was ticking like crazy as the heat leaked away.
“Heard you were on your way.”
“Hunh?” Pretty sharp comment eh?
“Guy down the road said you blew by at about 90/95. Figured it was easier to just ‘radio’ you down. We have radio you know..”
“Yeah?” I’m having trouble with his sarcasm. And the motor was still ticking like crazy.
“That engine is awful hot.” It’s like it was finking me out there on that dark highway.
From the back seat came the comment “You’d be hot too if you’d travelled 90 miles at 90 miles an hour.” Then silence again.
I thought I should just go and get into the cruiser. But he just nodded and looked down at me.
“That so? Look. There’s no one out here tonight.” Can you believe there not being rolling traffic on Hwy 400/11 North?” You’re free to go. But understand.” There are other officers on duty tonight. They all know you’re coming now. Remember that radio we were talking about. Slow down”
If he had wanted, he likely could have retired right then. You can’t believe how much longer it took to get home at 60 mph. And peering in every dark spot to see if that other cop was lurking there in the shadows.
Matthew Fuller: “Transitions from 80 km/ hr. to 70”, “the challenging conditions of the area”, “I’ve noticed ——–enforcement in a specific area” and “slowing on a downhill grade”. Your words. You know they (OPP) are there! You seem to drive the road a bit, so you know the speed and conditions. Your driving skills and that big pedal on the floor should do the job.
And as Broderick Crawford growled at the end of every Dragnet episode, “Don’t leave your blood on the highway. Take it to the Red Cross.”
And as that young cop told me in 1965, “Slow down.”
Matthew,
If you claim that you were picking up speed on a downhill descent, you must be starting your run at Home Depot and running 2 red traffic lights.
If you walked, lived, worked, or owned a business along this busy stretch of highway you would have a vastly different view of the situation.
Entrapment? The only things trapping you are a heavy foot, and total lack of concern for your fellow citizens. Maturity is not measured by a chronological age. A mature individual takes responsibility for their actions, and considers how those actions affect other people.
Fines are meant to educate and hopefully cause people to change their errant ways.
I applaud the efforts of the police to deal with this problem. There must be days where they want to go home and beat their head against the wall, with all the stupidity they have to put up with.
After the statistics of the police presence at the WTP have been gathered, I hope the powers that be see the need for a third traffic light at the intersection of Fairyview Drive and the new condo development on the south side of the highway.
Drivers: just remember if you drive like a scud missile, you will end up like one in self destruction and collateral damage. If you live, can you live with the results of your actions?
I agree 100 %. It’s a revenue grab not sure safety solution. All wrong in a free democratic society. Has all the wrong police vibes to it. Rise up against it people
Speeding is speeding….
Thanks for letting us know that the Ontario Provincial Police are doing their job! And Thanks to all the Officers who are out there making our roads safer!
Not just revenue for or police force! Did you know that a minimum infraction ( ie 74 klm in a 60 , no points off your licence, is a 15 percent car insurance rise across the agencies. Now that’s a totally unfair money grab. 💰
I’ve traveled good old Highway 60 for many years, since before it was reconstructed back in 69. Believe it or not it used to take nearly and hour to get from Dwight to Huntsville prior to reconstruction. In the 70’s things were a bit more wild with regard to speed and it was easy to get to town in just 15 minutes. Of course there was less traffic and no stoplights.
I have to note that virtually NOBODY follows the speed limits on this road these days. If you don’t do between 90 and 100 in summer you get run over by a train of cars, all bumper to bumper and just waiting to pass you anywhere they think they can, yellow line markings mean nothing to these folks.
I also note that the speed of traffic goes UP as soon as you hit the 4 lane part on the way into town. This even though the speed limit actually drops as the letter writer points out.
The other thing I have to note is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the stoplights at Canal Road. I’ve seldom seen so much rubber left on a highway as at this intersection and this tells me that something is not right here. The light is on a curve which does not help.
It would be vastly better to eliminate this light and add a piece of road parallel to 60, through the now closed golf course and use just the one set of lights at Grandview. At least these are on a straight section of road and having two sets of lights so close together, not synchronized, is just a poor way to do this.
The drop to 70 speed limit is a good idea, given all the development on the area close to Huntsville, maybe even 60 would be better as far out as Huntsville Marine but this is another issue we have created by a lot of development in this area. The MTO’s (I think misguided) plan to make 60 4 lanes all the way to highway 35 will not help anything and will cost a lot of money and will more or less destroy the village of Dwight too.
Years ago when in driving school and in an OPP defensive driving class, it was stated that the safest way to drive was to “follow the traffic”. I’ve always tried to do this as long as I end up less than 20 k over any posted limit. I remember one trip in the USA where the interstate limit was posted at 55 mph but everybody was doing close to 80 mph. This did not feel safe as my good old Detroit block of iron was never designed to drive safely at 80. This was an extreme.
We forget also the fact that when I first started driving I mistakenly assumed that the speed limit meant that under good conditions that speed was “safe” on that stretch or road. This is not actually what it means. All it really means is that a bunch of “officials” set that limit and not much else. The “safe” speed will vary greatly with traffic and weather and may be quite a bit higher than posted or a lot lower. As government officials like to say when pressed for an answer about anything, “it depends”.
This is just a bit of experience to consider when picking your driving speed.
By way of comparison, I used to do a lot of flying. Now with a plane there are speed limits too. They are not set by police and politicians though. When the plane manufacturer says there is a “Stall speed” or a “most economical cruise speed” or a “never exceed speed”. these are different than you will ever see in a car because these speeds are set by the physics of flight (God himself maybe) and you break these limits at your peril, which may come very quickly and finally in some cases. A pilot pays very close attention to speed as in this case it is not a cat and mouse game with the cops. These speed limits determine if you live or die.
I drive along highway 60 regularly. The signage hasn’t changed in over 30 years. If people are new to the area, they should be watchful of signage. If they were driving through a ‘community safety zone’ they’d need to read and heed the sign or chance being ticketed, so their brakes are applied – not rocket science, not a scam to get more revenue, just the law being enforced. Same thing should happen where ever there is a change in speed limits – they are posted for a reason, and they need to be heeded. I’ve seen people fly past me heading east, on Hwy 60 once they get past the 70 km/h zone. Clearly the OPP Officer posted at the 70 km/h zone, needs a partner posted 10 kilometers east catching the ones doing 100 km/h and over.
The OPP are doing a great job. The also catch cars full of drugs and guns along highway 60. They are doing their job. It is the people driving the speeding cars that are providing the revenue – not the OPP officer pulling them over. They are just trying to keep them from speeding into a zone where families are turning into Kawartha Dairies, Restaurants, Gas Stations, etc.
Don’t want a ticket? Read (the sign) Heed (the limit) Don’t SPEED!
The police are suppose to hide. That’s how they catch law breakers. If you are not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about. Glad to know they are doing their job.
I heartily diasgree with you. Driving downhill is also inherently much more dangerous, so you should slow down ahead of time. Where the police choose to enforce speed limits is up to them, and I hope they do more and more of this – as well as cracking down on dangerous driving (tailgating, weaving). From my observations they tend to crack down hard in certain areas for a decent amount of time and then move on. I also believe that they should focus on places where speeding is a higher risk – like school zones, high-accident prone areas, etc. but a downhill section in the winter is also dangerous.
I completely agree.
Regardless we should be using logic and fairness. The logic that cars have brakes and speeding tickets fix pot holes is wrong!!
I live on hwy 60, and very few people do the speed limit, in fact their speed is usually over 90. How do you know what speed these drivers were doing when caught on radar. Personally I’d love to have photo radar along the 60 corridor. The money town would bring in could hopefully get them to do road repairs.
Fyi, too many people have lost their lives due to dangerous driving in that area and no, MANY people go 120 in an 80 (and evn in a 70)…iv seen it SO many times!
Id say, dont break the law and You wont get a ticket lol
The cops sit there becaus theyr catching a TON of people speeding and putting others at risk and I thank thm!
I cant believ you wrote in to the paper just becaus got busted…and lets be real, if YOU hadnt you wldnt have written in😆
They dont bother with peopl doin 10 or 15 over so wht were YOU actually doing ma’am??
Iv seen people doin almst 120 in tht same area!!
Iv also had people pass me out on Brunel right in a school zone (supposed to be 40) and theyr ripping arnd doing 80!
We hav a real problm in Muskoka with speeding and drunk/drug driving and Im glad the cops are doing their job!
I completely agree. The OPP should be using resources to promote road safety and not engage in revenue collection.
Cars have brakes. It’s pretty simple to slow down on a down hill. And there is no way that they are stopping people going 15 over! That may be what your ticket says, but you were lucky and the officer gave you a break by reducing your ticket.
Don’t speed, the reason the OPP are there is due to the constant abuse of the posted limit.
There is no excuse for speeding.
I only wish they would spend as much time out on Highway 11 nd Highway 141 in Utterson.