Someone else mentioned it before, but I firmly agree; driving aids are making shittier drivers. Automatic transmissions, ABS, intuitive steering, cellphones, cruise control… They’re making shittier drivers. You don’t even have to pay attention while driving a modern car. The damn thing nearly drives itself. I’ve driven my friend’s Cobalt, it was a standard. Even though I was rowing gears, it still felt like I was driving a balloon. No road feedback, no sense of what the car is actually doing on the road. Now, I know I prefer to drive my coilover’d 240sx, mega-stiff sportscar, so I’m a bit biased, but still… Look at Europe, I would hazard that 80-90% of all the cars on the road are standard. Hence calling it “standard”… There are way fewer fatalities on the equally crowded, yet massively narrower and more technical roads of Europe than there are in any single major city in North America (I’m making these stats up, but I’m sure I’m not far off).
As for being on topic, I completely agree with those who said we need better driver training, and more stringent testing, as well as moderated control over these types of penalties. The fine for doing 150km/h on the 401, should NOT be the same as doing 100km/h in a residential 50km/h zone, or even a commercial area like downtown. The risk is nowhere near the same. Hell, if you do 100km/h on the 401, you’re more of a hazard than if you’re doing 150km/h.