In studies of drivers in foggy conditions, a rather surprising result. When the fog got thicker, some drivers would actually drive faster. Furthermore, those drivers would claim they had not increased their speed.

Yeah, but even an American visiting Toronto has enough sense to stay the hell off of 401 during rush hour. Toronto is a grid city and alternatives abound. I started to say "stupid" American but then realized that I don't become stupid till I leave Ontario and cross over into Quebec :)

Come to Washington DC, the most retarded traffic circulation system in North America and see how long it takes to get to DC from the hinterlands of Virginia or Maryland. Oh, and you only have ONE road to choose from - if its blocked, bend over and "crack" open a jar of vaseline. Even if you have advance notice of a backup, there are no alternates. Toronto, on the other hand, has many alternates for any given route.

I think you're a little mistaken. Maybe for a dozen kilometres within the city core, the 401 can be circumvented...we even built a toll-highway specifically for that purpose...but if you're going anywhere else, there is no other option. The 400 series highways are main arteries in Ontario, there's really no alternative in many cases.

And when there is, it's usually a 50km/h speed limit road with stop signs every block...try driving 200km on that!