Brampton is home to Ontario’s worst drivers
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).