ontario

Brampton is home to Ontario’s worst drivers

Brampton is home to Ontario’s worst drivers

Gary Grant ⋅ Motoring ⋅ , , , , , , , ⋅ No comments

TORONTO – November 22, 2010 — Allstate Insurance Company of Canada released today its second annual Ontario Safe Driving Study, which ranks Ontario communities based on Allstate Canada data over a three year period (2007–2010). According to the study, Belleville had the lowest frequency of car collisions in all of Ontario, while Brampton had the highest among the 50 communities surveyed. In addition to Brampton (No. 50), the communities with the highest frequency of collisions were all within a 45 minute drive of Toronto: Ajax (No. 49), Maple (No. 48) and Thornhill (No. 47). Toronto (No. 46) itself ranked better than these nearby suburban communities. Overall, Ontario drivers had a 2.2 per cent decrease in the frequency of collisions between the 2009 Ontario Safe Driving Study and the study released in 2010.

“Allstate Canada’s Ontario Safe Driving Study revealed a slight improvement in Ontario’s drivers,” said Tony Irwin, official spokesperson for Allstate Canada. “Governments should be asking themselves and the public what can be done in their communities to continue to improve the safety of our roads.”

In last year’s inaugural Ontario Safe Driving Study, which looked at Allstate Canada data from 2006–2009, St. Thomas placed as the safest driving community. In the 2010 Ontario Safe Driving Study, St. Thomas fell to number four on the list and also had a 33.8 per cent increase in the frequency of collisions—the largest increase of all ranked communities.

The Ontario Safe Driving Study ranks communities, as well as regions, in terms of car collision frequency to identify which communities have the safest drivers according to Allstate Canada data. The study spans a three-year period from 2007–2010 and also offers a comparison to the data from the 2009 study, which looked at results from 2006–2009.

Other highlights from Allstate Canada’s 2010 Ontario Safe Driving Study:
The two most improved communities in Ontario were Guelph and Georgetown. Guelph had a 19.4 per cent decrease in the rate of collisions and Georgetown saw a 12.4 per cent decrease. Innisfil and Thornhill, which both had a 10.8 per cent decrease in the rate of collisions, tied in third place for most improved.
With the exception of Belleville, which had a 2.8 per cent frequency of collisions, the five communities with the lowest collision frequency in the 2010 Ontario Safe Driving Study were all in southwestern Ontario. The communities were Welland (3.1 per cent), Woodstock (3.2 per cent), St. Thomas (3.4 per cent) and Amherstburg (3.4 per cent).
The three cities with the largest increases in the frequency of collisions between the studies conducted in 2009 and 2010 were St. Thomas (33.8 per cent), Bradford (25.6 per cent) and North Bay (10.4 per cent).

Chatham City Council Pledges Support for Navistar Workers

Chatham City Council Pledges Support for Navistar Workers

Gary Grant ⋅ Car industry news ⋅ , , , ⋅ No comments

CAW press release

CHATHAM, ON, July 2 /CNW/ – Chatham City Council has pledged its support to Navistar workers during a council deputation by CAW Local 127, representing workers at Navistar. The city council vowed to contact Navistar officials and urge them to get back to the bargaining table to reach a fair settlement, covering the hundreds of workers currently on lay-off.

Chatham city council unanimously adopted a motion supporting manufacturing jobs in Chatham-Kent, indicating that the Navistar plant is critical to the social and economical well-being of the community. The council will also encourage provincial and federal governments to get involved.

“This is a great boost to our members at Navistar,” said CAW Local 127 President Aaron Neaves. “After being out on lay-off for so long, it is easy to think that people, including elected officials, have forgotten about the difficulties facing Navistar workers and what this facility means to the community.”

Neaves thanked the city council for its support and city councilors to follow through on their promises.

Nissan LEAF Eligible for $8,500 Incentive in Ontario

Nissan LEAF Eligible for $8,500 Incentive in Ontario

Gary Grant ⋅ Car industry news ⋅ , , , , , ⋅ 1 comment

Nissan Canada press release

Mississauga, ON – June 18, 2010 – At a press conference today in Toronto, Ontario’s Transportation Minister, the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, announced provincial incentives to promote electric vehicles in Ontario. With these incentives, Nissan LEAF – the world’s first mass-marketed all-electric, real world car – will be eligible for the maximum incentive of $8,500.

“We are extremely pleased the Province of Ontario has taken this important step to promote zero-emission mobility and solidify its commitment to a greener Ontario,” said Mark McDade, Director of Marketing with Nissan Canada. “As manufacturers ramp up production of electric vehicles, incentives like this are an important way to ensure they can compete with traditional internal combustion engine vehicles that already have the cost benefits of mass production.”

The provincial incentives will range between $5,000 and $8,500, depending on the size of the battery the vehicle uses. With a 24 kwh battery, Nissan LEAF is eligible for the full amount.

“At Nissan our goal is to be the leader in zero-emission mobility and with the Nissan LEAF, we are well on our way,” added McDade. “Nissan LEAF is a car built for the real-world with comfortable seating for five, lots of cargo space and industry-leading technology, which will be offered at an affordable price. Those who choose zero-emission mobility will not need to compromise.”

Nissan Canada recently launched the consumer website www.nissan.ca/LEAF and to date, over 2,500 Canadian “handraisers” have signed up to receive news related to the Nissan LEAF.

Nissan LEAF will be available in the United States, Japan and parts of Europe later this year and will arrive in parts of Canada by the end of 2011. Mass-marketing of Nissan LEAF will begin in 2012.

  1. Neil Reeve: These incentives will really pay off. With over 30,000 pre-orders globally, this cash incentive is just the icing on the…

Ontario Subaru dealer cleans up the neighborhood on Earth Day

Gary Grant ⋅ Car industry news ⋅ , , , , , , ⋅ No comments

One of the greatest challenges any car dealer faces is showing their community that their staff are real people who care about their neighbors. Davenport Subaru in Orillia was hard at work yesterday, proving their pride in their town. Staff went out on the town to celebrate Earth Day by cleaning up. It looks like they had some fun while collecting a bunch of garbage! Well done.

What did your dealer do for Earth Day?

Photo courtesy of Subaru Canada on Twitter.

Why do we have green flashing lights?

Gary Grant ⋅ Driving safety ⋅ , , , , , ⋅ 5 comments

As some of our readers may know I live in a small town on southern Georgian Bay. This article is directed at Ontario drivers or those who visit Ontario.
We, in rural Ontario, are serviced by Volunteer Fire Departments. Even many larger towns and small cities have volunteer firefighters. These communities do have some full time professional firefighters but also rely on volunteers. As an example Orillia, a city of about 30,000 has only two manned trucks with full timers. One in each of their 2 halls. They have more equipment but rely on volunteers to man them.

The majority of rural Townships are a 100% volunteers or may have a full time Chief and or a fire Safety Inspector. They do not usually man the trucks.
My Township has 4 fire halls but not one is staffed. Three are in small towns (800 to 1200 people) and one is in the country.
For some strange reason the Government in Ontario does not allow volunteer fire fighters to use red lights on their private vehicles. They have flashing green lights. Even this is relatively recent. They are also not supposed to even speed when responding to an emergency. Most police officers use common sense, but not all.
More

  1. Gary Grant: Not surprisingly, as a city guy I did not know this. Surprisingly, as I look through my daughter's Ontario Driver's…

  2. George TheCar: A perfect reason for putting it on-line. On-line is informations version of "just -in-time!" Although they try some have not…

    • Gary Grant: George, the ironic thing about the OPP twitter account is that the one listed in CTV's article WAS NOT the…

  3. St 6 Port Carling: Great article. I wish more people knew to pull over when they see us coming.

  4. George TheCar: Why are school busses driving around with flashing white or blue lights mounted at the back of the bus?