Safety

Money Saving Tips for Hybrid and Non-Hybrid Owners

Whether you own a hybrid, are thinking of buying one, or don’t have any such plans, you can save some substantial coin (and help save the environment) by driving like a hybrid owner.

For a leisurely autumn drive, a morning commute, or a bread & butter trip from point A to point B, here are six ways you can use your hybrid – or lessons learned from hybrid driving styles – to your advantage:

Make Your Own Roadside Emergency Kit for Under $50

While there’s no denying that you should have a roadside emergency kit (not just a First Aid kit) in each vehicle you own, there’s some debate as to whether it’s cheaper and more effective to buy a
pre-made kit or put one together yourself.

Scared of going homemade? You might be surprised to find there are many benefits to making your own Tupperware-enclosed contingency plan.

Check out our parts list below for putting together a complete roadside emergency kit for less than $50*

5 Tips for Kid-Friendly Road-Trips

Vacations with kids can be a roller coaster. And while the destination is often well-worth the journey, the journey itself can be a dream or a nightmare.

The thought that you can actually control (or at least moderate) things in the back seat on your next road trip may sound like the stuff of miracles, but it just might be possible, after mastering the following five aspects of life on the road.

12 Types of Idiot Drivers

If you’re cruising down the road and unlucky enough to face something like this - or if you’re really unlucky, that - and still live to tell the tale, then you’ve probably had a conversation soon after with your co-pilot (or yourself) about types of bad drivers.

While we don’t want to see any of these folks on the road, we also don’t want to become any of the following stereotypes:

Eastern Ontario’s Most Dangerous Roads (and What Makes Them So Dangerous)

Highway patrol officers are known for holding that there are more dangerous drivers than dangerous roads.

Want some cold-hard evidence to that effect? In 2009, a report from the Eastern Ontario Health unit revealed that 61% of car accidents in that region of the province happened on dry roads, 62% in broad daylight, 75% in clear weather and 98% on roads in perfectly good condition: http://www.eohu.ca/_files/reports/report58.pdf

While roads are certainly more dangerous to people when they are on those roads, certain roadways in Eastern and Northern Ontario see more people hurt and killed than others.

9 “To-Do’s” Before You Drive This Winter

You’re driving down a single-lane highway alone at night: On to your windshield and under your tires, snow is blowing and swirling over the ice-patched road. Just before every turn and bend, you wonder: Am I safe?

It makes sense to dust the white stuff off your roof and windows each drive in the winter, and get in early for a seasonal maintenance package. But beyond a simple check-up, there are many more things you should do for your car as the unforgiving cold approaches.

8 Mindsets to Stop Road Rage in its Tracks

According to TD, up to a third of driving fatalities in Canada happen as a result of aggressive driving, ranging from speeding to tailgating to disobeying traffic signs to failing to yield the right-of-way.

For the record, the top 5 types of aggressive driving in Canada, according to Meloche Monnex Insurance, are:

1. Tailgating (or flashing high-beams)
2. Passing on the shoulder (this one surprised us the most)

7 Lifesaving Techniques You Learn In Defensive Driving Courses

On winter’s chilly, perilous roads, it’s important to have more than just the basics of safe driving. Advanced or defensive driving techniques – rather than simply reactionary driving – empower you to avoid danger by anticipating it.

Taking an accredited defensive driving course can help keep you safe, in spite of others’ unpreparedness. In some cases, doing so can also decrease your insurance premiums (in Alberta, taking such a course can even eliminate demerit points off your licence…no such luck yet in Ontario though.)

Tips For Avoiding Wildlife Collisions

According to a 2006 Globe and Mail article, you are 4-5 times more likely to die in a car crash than by homicide. While many types of car crashes can easily be avoided (don’t speed, stay off the Berry, don’t drink and drive, etc..) run-ins with wildlife are a little trickier to steer clear of.

What are the risks?
Though the odds of actually dying from hitting a large animal on the road among those who get in an accident are around 0.05% in Ontario, your odds of being in any sort of accident with a large animal average around 1% or about 14,000 such accidents reported per year.

The exact figure for residents of the municipality of Ottawa-Carleton, for example, is 1.14% per person and 2.1% per vehicle.

The Top 12 Most Dangerous Highways in Canada

Whether it is potholes, traffic congestion, or deteriorated pavement, many of Canada’s highways are in serious need of improvement. The following is a list of headlines about the top 15 most dangerous highways in Canada: