Alberta, the Raising Highway Speed Limits of vast plains and long corridors like the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (QEII), has long been defined by highway travel. For decades, the maximum posted speed limit on the province’s premiere divided rural highways has been 110 kilometers per hour. Now, that number is on the verge of a significant change.
The Alberta government is actively considering an increase, proposing to raise the speed limit on select, high-quality divided highways to 120 kilometers per hour (km/h). This proposal, currently undergoing public consultation and review, has opened a passionate debate, pitting the desire for reduced travel times and economic efficiency against critical road safety and insurance cost concerns.
This authoritative, in-depth analysis explores the engineering rationale behind the proposed 120 km/h limit, reviews the compelling results from the public survey, and critically examines the potential real-world impact—including lessons learned from similar speed limit changes in British Columbia and the undeniable role of physics in collision severity.
Aligning Posted Speeds with Engineering and Reality
The movement to increase speed limits in Alberta is driven by two primary arguments: the concept of “design speed” and the reality of current driver behavior.
The Concept of Highway Raising Highway Speed Limits
Highway infrastructure, particularly modern, multi-lane divided highways like the QEII (Highway 2), the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1), and sections of Highway 16, is built to precise engineering specifications.
Designed for Safety at Higher Speeds: Transportation officials and engineers acknowledge that large sections of these modern, divided, non-urban highways were actually designed with a “design speed” often in the range of 120 to 130 km/h. This refers to the maximum continuous speed a vehicle can safely travel, assuming ideal conditions (good weather, low traffic), based on factors like:
Road Curvature and Sightlines: How sharp the curves are and how far drivers can see ahead.
Lane and Shoulder Width: Generous dimensions that enhance driver comfort and safety margins.
Median Separation: The division between opposing lanes, which virtually eliminates the risk of head-on collisions.
The Government’s Argument: The core argument for the change is to match the posted speed limit with the highway’s actual engineered capacity. As Premier Danielle Smith noted, if the road is built and rated for 120 km/h, the limit should reflect that.
The 85th Percentile Rule and Driver Behaviour
Proponents of the increase argue that the current 110 km/h limit is obsolete because it fails to reflect how drivers already travel.
Prevailing Speed: Traffic monitoring data indicates that the “prevailing speed” (the speed at which most people naturally and comfortably drive) on these major divided highways often sits between 120 km/h and 125 km/h.
Reducing Enforcement Disparity: By raising the limit to 120 km/h, the government aims to reduce the enforcement disparity where drivers are ticketed for speeds they perceive as safe and reasonable. Supporters contend that setting limits closer to the 85th percentile speed (the speed at or below which 85 percent of drivers travel) improves traffic flow predictability and allows law enforcement to focus resources on the truly egregious speeders (those traveling at 140 km/h or higher).
Public Opinion and Targeted Highways for the Pilot Project
The Alberta government launched an online survey to gather feedback, and the initial responses indicate strong public support for the change.
Strong Public Support and Truck Lane Restrictions
Survey Results: Early results from the public consultation showed that a vast majority of respondents—around 72 percent—supported the proposal to raise the speed limit to 120 km/h.
Commercial Vehicle Restrictions: An even higher number, 96 percent, supported restricting heavy commercial trucks to the right lane except when passing on multi-lane highways (three or more lanes). This measure is designed to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, and enhance safety by minimizing the speed differential between fast-moving cars and slower, heavier trucks.
Highways Targeted for Review and Trial
The proposal is explicitly focused on divided rural highways and excludes urban areas and ring roads. The corridors under review include major economic and commuter arteries:
Queen Elizabeth II Highway (Highway 2: Calgary-Edmonton corridor)
Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1)
Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16)
Highway 3 (Lethbridge corridor)
Highway 4
Highway 43 (Grande Prairie corridor)
Highway 63 (Fort McMurray corridor)
The government plans to implement a mini-trial or pilot project on a section of the QEII (Highway 2) in the spring of 2026 to collect real-time data on driver response and overall traffic flow before considering a wider rollout.
The Undeniable Trade-off: Safety, Physics, and Insurance Costs
While the desire for efficiency is strong, the most critical concerns revolve around the laws of physics and the resulting increase in collision severity.
The Physics of Crash Severity
The relationship between speed and crash severity is direct and exponential. This is the cornerstone of the opposition from safety advocates, including the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) and MADD Canada.
Impact of 10 km/h: Raising the speed limit from 110 km/h to 120 km/h means that in the event of a crash, there is more energy to dissipate. This translates into:
Longer Stopping Distance: The distance required to stop from 120 km/h is significantly longer than from 110 km/h, reducing a driver’s time to react and avoid a hazard.
Higher Injury Risk: Higher impact speed reduces the effectiveness of vehicle safety features like airbags and crush zones, sharply increasing the likelihood that a collision will result in a fatal or severe injury rather than a minor one.
Lessons from British Columbia’s Experience
The most immediate comparison comes from Canada’s west coast, where British Columbia (BC) raised speed limits to 120 km/h on certain rural highways, including the Coquihalla, in 2014.
The Rollback: Research following the change found a significant and alarming increase in crashes. Studies indicated that on the affected roads, fatal crashes rose by 118 percent and total injury claims increased by 30 percent. BC was forced to roll back many of the increases in 2018.
The Warning: Safety experts warn Alberta to proceed with extreme caution, noting that simply raising the limit based on design speed is insufficient if driver behavior and enforcement are not also addressed. As police noted, raising the limit to 120 km/h may simply result in the faster group driving at 130 km/h or 140 km/h, negating any safety benefit.
The Threat of Higher Insurance Premiums
Alberta already contends with some of the highest auto insurance rates in Canada. Insurers base premiums on the frequency and severity of claims.
Increased Severity, Higher Costs: Even if the frequency of collisions does not increase, more severe collisions lead to higher payouts for bodily injury and more totaled vehicles.
Analyst Warnings: Insurance industry analysts have warned that a 10 km/h increase in speed could translate to a significant rise in injury-claim severity, which would inevitably be reflected in higher insurance premiums passed on to Alberta consumers.
Addressing the Infrastructure and Environmental Challenges
Beyond immediate safety, the speed limit increase must be considered in the context of infrastructure maintenance and environmental goals.
Infrastructure Gaps and Local Safety Concerns
While the QEII may be suitable for 120 km/h, the consistency of the entire network is a factor.
At-Grade Crossings: Local authorities, such as the Town of Okotoks, have raised strong opposition to the increase on sections of Highway 2 (QEII) that still feature at-grade intersections (crossings without an overpass/interchange). They point out that higher speeds dramatically increase the risk and severity of collisions involving vehicles turning left across traffic, urging the province to complete necessary interchange construction and median closures before any speed increase is implemented.
Vehicle Wear and Tear: Higher sustained speeds lead to increased wear on road surfaces (asphalt) and vehicle components (tires, brakes, engine). This subtle but real increase in maintenance costs for both the government and vehicle owners is often overlooked in the debate.
Fuel Efficiency and Emissions
Driving at higher speeds significantly degrades vehicle fuel economy and increases Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
Aerodynamic Drag: Fuel consumption typically increases sharply above 90 km/h because the engine must overcome exponentially greater aerodynamic drag. A sustained cruise at 120 km/h is less fuel-efficient than at 110 km/h, resulting in higher operating costs for consumers and a larger environmental footprint for the province’s transportation sector.
The Responsible Path Forward
The proposal to raise highway speed limits to 120 km/h in Alberta is highly popular with drivers who value efficiency, but it must be approached with extreme caution. The government’s plan for a pilot project on the QEII in 2026, combined with rigorous monitoring, represents the most responsible way forward.
Before any widespread implementation, the provincial government must prioritize:
Safety Upgrades: Completing intersection improvements and median closures on critical, high-volume corridors like Highway 2.
Data-Driven Decisions: Waiting for the full, non-biased safety data from the pilot project, specifically analyzing fatal and severe injury rates, not just travel times.
Enforcement Strategy: Developing a clear, enhanced enforcement strategy to manage the cohort of drivers who will inevitably push speeds to 130 km/h and above.
Ultimately, the choice facing Alberta is whether the modest time savings (less than 10 minutes on the Calgary-Edmonton trip) are worth the proven risk of increased collision severity and higher societal costs in insurance and healthcare. A thorough, data-driven, and safety-first approach is the only way to modernize Alberta’s highway network responsibly.
