Safety Review of Highway 407: Confronting Two Myths

Abstract

It often is alleged that highways built to standards are safe and that roads do not cause crashes, only humans do. These two myths were at the center of a public debate when a new, fully electronic, toll freeway was built in Canada north of Toronto. Before it was opened for use, the police raised doubts about the safety of its design. The minister of transport asked for a professional safety review. The safety review committee had to confront the aforementioned two myths. Some of its arguments and conclusions are reviewed. Once the myths are recognized for what they are, one is led to useful conclusions. For transportation professionals, the main conclusion is that merely designing to standards is not a sufficient safeguard.