Dangerous driving increasingly common in Ontario: CAA survey

Article content

How safe have you felt on the roads lately? Would you say it’s more or less safe than before? Well, if you feel like your local highways are a little less orderly than last year, you’re not alone. 

Article content

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Dangerous driving increasingly common in Ontario: CAA survey Back to video

Now, it could be due to pandemic traffic patterns returning to normal, but according to a recent survey conducted by DIG Insights for CAA South Central Ontario (CAA SCO), more Ontario drivers report witnessing dangerous driving this year than last. Some 98 per cent of Ontario drivers say they’ve seen questionable driving habits in 2022, up from 95 per cent in 2021. 

The survey also suggests that six per cent fewer drivers feel safe on Ontario’s network of 100-km/h highways. Most (or about half) of these feelings of motoring malaise stems from witnessing other drivers speeding, but other reasons listed in the survey include aggressive driving, distracted driving, and unsafe lane changes.

“Ontario police services continue to report significant amounts of speeding, stunt, and aggressive driving. Although the pandemic amplified the awareness, the issue was growing well before that,” says Michael Stewart, CAA SCO’s community relations consultant for Government and Community Relations. “Drivers need to be mindful of driving to the posted speed limit, because speeding isn’t worth the risk of a collision, fine or penalty.”

Article content

And it’s not just people pointing their fingers at each other, either—many drivers admit to breaking the rules themselves, with 58 per cent fessing up to driving dangerously, 43 per cent admitting to speeding, 17 per cent owning up to distracted driving, 8 per cent saying they’ve changed lanes unsafely, and six per cent admitting to aggressive driving.

The rise in unsafe vibes comes after the provincial government introduced new legislation in 2021 under the MOMS Act, stiffening penalties and lowering barriers for dangerous driving infractions. But there’s still plenty to watch out for on roads, and not just including photo radar traps, which one in three Ontario drivers says they try to avoid by taking alternate routes and which 43 per cent of drivers say they speed up after passing.

Stewart has this advice for motorists to encounter unsafe driving on Ontario roads. 

“If you do come across a speeding or aggressive driver, the best thing you can do is stay calm, focus on your driving and do not engage with the other driver,” she says. “If possible, drivers should safely pull over and call 911 if someone is driving erratically or you believe their behaviour could be an immediate danger to others.”