Study ranks Brantford most dangerous city for driving

A recent study has ranked Brantford the most dangerous city for driving in Ontario.

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The study, conducted by MyChoice, an insurance comparison site, draws from collision and ticket data collected from more than 100,000 insurance quotes since 2020.

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The study employed a methodology based on the weighted averages of accidents and infractions with a 70/30 importance ratio, creating a scoring system of zero to five, said Vitalii Starov, vice president of growth at MyChoice.

Brantford scored the lowest – 0.7 out of five — among the cities that were part of the study. Starov said the company “sorted to only include the cities that had a sample size of over 1,000 quotes/drivers in order to be as representative as possible.”

“Brantford not only leads in the percentage of traffic tickets issued but also in the number of accidents,” said Starov.

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Brantford Police Services statistics show in 2020 there were 1,808 collisions referred to the Collision Reporting Centre, located in the Brantford police station, or investigated by officers. That compares to 1,872 collisions in 2021 and 2,243 in 2022.

From January to Sept. 30 of this year, collisions totaled 1,702, up 138 from the same period last year.

Starov said the data for Brantford used in the study included 1,320 drivers getting quotes for insurance since 2020 who reported 200 accidents (15.15 per cent) and 240 violations (18.18 per cent).

Robin Matthew-Osmond, communications manager with Brantford Police Service, said information related to tickets couldn’t be retrieved.

Following Brantford, the study lists the other most dangerous cities to drive as Ajax, Kingston, Bolton, Burlington, St. Catharines, Barrie, Windsor, Hamilton and Kitchener.

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On the other end of the spectrum, Toronto was ranked the most safe city to drive in Ontario, followed by other cities in the GTA, including Richmond Hill, North York, East York and Whitby.

“I think it might surprise some people to see big cities like Toronto on the list of the safer ones to drive in, but if you factor in traffic and the number of drivers versus accidents, it makes sense,” said Starov. “We hope that people will take note of this study and will be more careful on the road, even if they are driving in less urbanized areas.”

Sylvia Collins, who has been a driving instructor in Brantford for 40 years, said she was surprised by the study results.

“I do know there are some excellent drivers in this city and there are others that are not so excellent,” she said. “I don’t think the drivers in Brantford are necessarily worse than anywhere else, but I know there are specific areas that everyone could improve.”

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Leaving adequate space between vehicles, slowing down, and putting away phones and other devices while driving are simple ways to make driving safer, said Collins.

As chair of the Neighborhood Alliance of Brantford, Collins worked with the City of Brantford to roll out a “Slow Down” sign campaign to raise awareness in neighborhoods about the risks of speeding.

“Traffic has gotten much worse over the years since I started teaching in the ’80s,” Collins said. It’s now much more aggressive, faster and there is less patience for new drivers. I know there is a lot more concern in the neighborhoods about speeding cars and lack of caution in areas that are more residential, have parks and are near schools.”

“I would be very pleased if the general population took their driving habits seriously. No one is perfect but consistently working to improve means that, over time, you will improve.”

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