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Are you ready to tackle to the hardest thing you’ll do this week?

“I hate it when people drive UNDER the speed limit.”

“He was doing the speed limit in the left lane!”

“I’m late, and this idiot is driving 10 under!”

There’s at least a 50 percent chance you’ve said or thought one of those things while driving your car. How do I know?

Well, according to a 2024 survey by the Canadian Automobile Association, 50 percent of Canadians admit to regularly driving above the posted limit. And one-in-five admit to regularly exceeding the limit by a great deal.

Speed limits are a funny thing. We know what they’re called. We clearly see the “maximum allowable speeds” posted on our roadways. Yet psychologically, we see these “limits” as “targets.” Or even “minimums.”

And we drive at or above them, always. Sometimes even when we don’t want to… (have you ever white-knuckled it down a rainy, dark or snowy highway, just trying to meet the “limit?”)

And while it’s certainly not cool to brag about driving drunk, high or otherwise safety-compromised (“I didn’t even buckle my kids in!“)—how many times have you boasted about fast driving? (“Four hours? I can do it in three!“)

Speed limits are designed by engineers with far more knowledge of road safety than you—yes, even you, the world’s best driver! And they’re backed by clear measurables:

Driving even 10 km/h over the speed limit can increase the chances of a collision by 60 per cent. For pedestrians, a collision at 30 km/h gives them a 90 percent survival rate; at 50 km/h—it’s 10 percent.

And at 40 km/h, a driver has a 100-degree field of view. At 70 km/h—still below highway speed—that narrows to just 65 degrees.

And think about highway limits—if it’s safe to drive 110 km/h mid-day how fast is safe at midnight?

Can’t be the same, can it? When your forward vision is reduced by more than 50 percent?

So I have a challenge for you: drive the speed limit.

Just for one week. Everywhere you go, stick to at or below the posted limit.

And see what happens to you. Honestly, part of me doesn’t want to ruin the surprise.

Bad news: you won’t be treated well by your fellow motorists. To say the least.

Good news: your drive times will remain essentially the same and your fuel mileage will increase.

It may even change your entire perspective on driving.

(Oh, and if you’re going to take issue with people driving in the left lane… well, legally, if they’re doing the speed LIMIT, it shouldn’t matter, should it?)

Have fun, and let me know how it went.