With May and June being among the peak periods for wildlife collisions, CAA North & East Ontario is reminding motorists to exercise caution when driving this time of year.

"Collisions involving wildlife continue to remain high in communities throughout North & East Ontario, which is why our Club is again urging motorists to be vigilant when driving along local roadways and highways this spring season," said Tim Georgeoff, President and CEO of CAA North & East Ontario.

According to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), in 2007 there were 13,954 vehicle collisions involving a wild animal reported, though many more go unaccounted each year. The MTO also notes that on average a vehicle collision with wildlife occurs every 38 minutes in the province, and one out of every 17 motor vehicle collisions involves a wild animal.

CAA North & East Ontario advises all road users to be particularly cautious when travelling in rural areas, and pay special attention to yellow warning signs that have been posted to identify areas that have a history of wildlife collisions.

Here are some other tips for avoiding wildlife collisions:

• Constantly scan the roadway and its shoulders;
• Use high beams when possible and watch for the glowing eyes of animals;
• Brake firmly if you see an animal crossing or standing on the road; do not expect that the animal will move out of your way;
• Never swerve your vehicle suddenly to avoid an animal as this could cause you to lose control and head into oncoming traffic;
• Wildlife often travel in groups - if you see one, others may follow;
• If possible, avoid driving at dusk and dawn, which is when the majority of wildlife collisions occur.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided travel, Emergency Road Services, insurance, and advocacy for its Members. Visit caaneo.ca.

For more information, please contact:

While Toronto's Dufferin St. took the dubious first place honour on the Top 10 list, through its theme - "Help Pave the Way to Safer Roads" - the 2012 Worst Roads campaign reiterated that regardless of the size and location of the municipality, road users across the province share similar frustrations when it comes to crumbling infrastructure.

"With nearly 10,000 votes cast, this year's spring campaign saw the largest level of participation in the Worst Roads' history, which serves as proof that motorists across the province continue to be frustrated with deteriorating roads and bridges," said Tim Georgeoff, CEO and President of CAA North & East Ontario.

From the North & East Ontario region, Timmins' Kraft Creek Rd. made its inaugural appearance on the Worst Roads list, coming in at number five. Timmins was last on the Worst Roads list in 2007. Following its assessment of the roadway, the Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA) reiterated concerns raised by voters, stating: "There are a lot of bad rural roads in Ontario, but this two-lane horror is really bad - every kilometre of it."

No stranger to the Worst Roads list, Carling Ave. in Ottawa was voted into the seventh spot by road users. Despite ongoing rehabilitation work along sections of Carling Ave., motorists continue to voice their frustrations with the state of this busy roadway. As the ORBA stated in its assessment, "stretches of cracked and rutted pavement prevail - probably the construction involved with yearly maintenance work has also tried commuters' patience."

Several other communities from throughout the North & East Ontario region received nominations during the 2012 campaign as well, and some were only a few votes away from making it into the Top 10, including Hammond and Thunder Bay.

This year's Top 10 Worst Roads in Ontario are:

Since the campaign commenced in 2003, an astounding 90% of the roads that have made the list in the past have been repaired, or are in the midst of being repaired. CAANEO is hopeful that this positive trend of infrastructure rehabilitation will continue with the roads that have received recognition on the 2012 Worst Roads list.

CAA North & East Ontario, in concert with CAA South Central Ontario, CAA Niagara and the Ontario Road Builders' Association, would like to thank everyone who took the time to cast a ballot for the roadway they deem to be the worst in Ontario.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided travel, emergency road services, insurance and advocacy for its Members. Visit caaneo.ca.

For more information, please contact:

The competition takes place on Thursday, April 26, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Algonquin College's Transportation Technology Centre (Building S). Approximately 50 participants will be attending this event, which combines skill, knowledge evaluation and a dose of friendly competition.

"Once again, CAA North & East Ontario is extremely pleased to be able to sponsor this enjoyable and educational event for local students," said Tim Georgeoff, President and CEO of CAA North & East Ontario. "Unfortunately many local schools have had to eliminate their automotive programs due to budget constraints, and so this competition provides for a prime - and unique - learning opportunity for students who are considering careers in the automotive field."

Youth from five Ottawa-area schools - Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School; Notre Dame High School; St. Peter High School; St. Matthew High School; and St. Patrick's High School - will be participating in this annual challenge. In the morning, students will be tested on their theoretical knowledge of today's automotive systems with a written exam. Following that, at approximately 12:15 p.m., their practical skills will be put to the test in a "Pit Stop Challenge," where teams of two students will be timed as they change tires and conduct other auto repairs. These friendly competitions conclude with an awards presentation at the end of the day.

We invite local media to attend this event in order to get a first-hand look at the impressive automotive skills of these talented young people.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided Travel, Emergency Road Services, Insurance, and Advocacy for its Members. CAA North & East Ontario continues to be the leading membership organization by recognizing and promoting its heritage and integrity in the community, while maximizing Members' value

For more information, please contact:

Commencing April 18, 2012, Drive You Home is a new benefit that provides CAA North & East Ontario Plus and Premier Members with the ability to use one of their allotted service calls per membership year for transportation to a safe location if they decide - for whatever reason - that getting behind the wheel of their vehicle could jeopardize their safety and the safety of other road users. Be it due to fatigue, illness, injury, drowsiness, compromised eyesight, stress, or alcohol consumption, CAANEO will tow the vehicle and transport the Member up to 25 kilometres.

Drive You Home is yet another way that CAANEO is striving to ensure the well-being of all road users, while also working to meet the needs and expectations of Members. As is the case with CAANEO's renowned roadside assistance program, calls for service under Drive You Home will be prioritized based on concerns for immediate safety.

"The safety of our Members and the general public is at the forefront of all our endeavours at CAA North & East Ontario," said Tim Georgeoff, President and CEO of CAA North & East Ontario. "We are proud to be able to introduce Drive You Home in an effort to mitigate the occurrence of avoidable injuries and fatalities on our local roadways."

This new free Plus and Premier Member benefit also reaffirms CAANEO's stance against impaired driving, which continues to be a key issue of concern amongst the Club's Members. Drive You Home joins an existing array of initiatives under CAANEO's advocacy portfolio that the Club has undertaken in recent years in an effort to eliminate impaired driving, including the sponsorship of many Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (R.I.D.E.) programs in municipalities throughout North & East Ontario.

A blackout period coinciding with the annual Operation Red Nose™ campaign will be put into effect every December regarding requests for Drive You Home service pertaining to intoxication, as a way to avoid interference with this valuable community service provided by this seasonal road safety campaign.

More information about Drive You Home can be found at caaneo.ca/driveyouhome.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided travel, emergency road services, insurance and advocacy for its Members.

For more information, please contact:

Now in its ninth year, CAA North & East Ontario (CAANEO) is proud to again be part of the campaign, which launches March 27, 2012 with the theme "Help Pave the Way to Safer Roads."

The Worst Roads campaign makes its return with a few changes, including foregoing the traditional Top 20 for a new Top 10 list, which will aim to give greater prominence to the roads that make the dubious final cut. With the campaign taking place in the spring this year, the change in season also provides an opportunity to highlight damaged infrastructure when it is in its worst state following the spring thaw.

"This is a campaign that resonates extremely well with our Members, the general public and politicians. We are confident that the recent changes will not only help garner more interest and bolster the campaign's overall success, but more importantly will encourage the senior levels of government to commit to providing long-term, sustainable funding in order to help repair Ontario's decaying transportation infrastructure," said Korey Kennedy, Manager of Public & Government Affairs for CAANEO. "We are encouraging motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike to cast their ballot and have a say in order to help raise awareness regarding Ontario's worst roads."

What isn't changing is the campaign's drive to have senior levels of government provide Ontario municipalities with long-term sustainable funding to repair damaged and aging infrastructure. Since the campaign's inception in 2003, more than 90 percent of the roadways nominated to the Worst Roads list have been repaired or are scheduled to be repaired in the near future.

Additionally, the campaign has proven in recent years that any municipality - regardless of size - can have a road deemed as one of the worst in the province. Nothing demonstrated this better than in 2010 when the small northern community of Sioux Lookout banned together to nominate a local roadway, Pelican Falls Road, which took first place in that year's Worst Roads list. Already, plans are in the works to have this road fixed after several First Nations communities came together to fund the repairs.

Residents in other communities throughout North & East Ontario have also had a strong voice in past years to ensure their damaged roadways are noticed, with Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Pembroke all having roads ranked among the worst in the province during the 2010 Worst Roads campaign. Plans have been made to improve many of these roadways, with construction already complete in some areas or about to get underway.

Road users can have their say once again by casting a ballot at one of the eight CAANEO Travel Stores or online at www.worstroads.ca, which provides access to a new voting portal that is integrated with Google Maps and real-time voting. The website will be live following the launch of the campaign on March 27, 2012.

Over the course of the next four weeks, the campaign, which is sponsored by CAA North & East Ontario, CAA South Central Ontario, CAA Niagara and Ontario Road Builders' Association, will travel to communities throughout the province to reiterate the importance of making concerns about decaying infrastructure known. Voting ends April 24, 2012.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided Travel, Emergency Road Services, Insurance, and Advocacy for its Members. CAA North & East Ontario continues to be the leading membership organization by recognizing and promoting its heritage and integrity in the community, while maximizing Members' value

For more information, please contact:

Launching April 1, 2012, Bike Assist is a new benefit that will allow for CAANEO Members to use their allotted annual service calls for roadside assistance should they encounter a problem with their bicycle and become stranded. Under this new service, CAANEO will transport the Member and the bicycle home or to another safe location of the Member's choosing.

"Be it from a flat tire on your car or a broken chain on your bike, CAA North & East Ontario understands that being stranded is frustrating, which is why we are proud to be able to introduce Bike Assist to provide additional peace of mind for our Members," said Ken Dumont, Vice President of Marketing for CAANEO.

Just as our renowned roadside assistance already does, Bike Assist will provide coverage for Members 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This benefit is free for our Members and available anywhere we provide roadside assistance throughout Ontario

Bike Assist is one more way that CAA North & East Ontario is helping to ensure the safety of all road users. Recognizing that the number of cyclists on local roadways has increased dramatically in recent years, CAANEO has made a concerted effort to take into account and acknowledge the needs of our Members who frequently cycle by expanding upon our various green initiatives and bicycle safety endeavours. Most notably, CAA has been involved with conducting the Watch for Bikes initiative; hosting the national symposium Changing Lanes: Improving the Bike-Car Relationship on Canada's Roads; and issuing several media releases annually concerning how motorists and cyclists can safely co-exist on roadways.

Following the launch of Bike Assist on April 1, more information about this innovative program, including what types of bicycles are eligible for service, will be available at www.caaneo.ca/bikeassist.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided travel, emergency road services, insurance and advocacy for its Members. Visit caaneo.ca.

For more information, please contact:

CAANEO reminds everyone to plan ahead if they are going to celebrate the luck of the Irish this weekend by having a designated driver, making use of public transportation or calling a taxi in order to get home safely.

"Every week, CAA North & East Ontario serves thousands of Ontarians in addition to out-of-province travellers," said Todd Beavis, Managing Director of Marketing for CAANEO. "Joining this initiative provides the necessary tools to allow for more individuals within our territory to engage with us."

eSSENTIAL Accessibility is committed to bringing organizations together with the common goal of empowering the disability community. With eSSENTIAL Accessibility, CAA North & East Ontario is helping to connect a greater amount of visitors to the automotive, travel and insurance information they need.

By clicking the eSSENTIAL Accessibility icon located on CAANEO's website (www.caaneo.ca), visitors can access the online tools they need to navigate the Web more easily. These tools are available to the more than two million Canadians who have difficulty typing, moving a mouse or reading a web page. eSSENTIAL Accessibility empowers users with dexterity limitations that arise from a variety of conditions including stroke, paralysis, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's disease. It also helps individuals who have difficulty reading because of literacy deficiencies, limited English proficiency, dyslexia, or mild visual impairment.

"Almost one in five Canadians are living with disability," said Simon Dermer, Managing Director of eSSENTIAL Accessibility. "CAA North & East Ontario recognizes the importance of serving this demographic properly. By taking part in the initiative, they are joining a growing number of forward-thinking enterprises creating economic and social value by factoring people with disabilities into their planning."

eSSENTIAL Accessibility helps Ontario organizations meet standards in customer service, employment and communication as mandated by the Communication Supports directive of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005. We all benefit from greater accessibility given the contributions, involvement and spending power of people with disabilities. For more information and to see the eSSENTIAL Accessibility application in action, please visit www.caaneo.ca.

About CAA North & East Ontario
For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided travel, Emergency Road Services, insurance, and advocacy for its Members. CAA North & East Ontario continues to be the leading membership organization by recognizing and promoting its heritage and integrity in the community, while maximizing Members' value.

About eSSENTIAL Accessibility
eSSENTIAL Accessibility makes online environments instantly accessible to individuals with physical disabilities. It's a virtual wheelchair for websites that empowers users with dexterity and visual limitations that arise from a variety of conditions including stroke, paralysis, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and Parkinson's disease, among others. Moreover, it also helps those who have difficulty reading because of literacy deficiencies, limited English proficiency, dyslexia, or mild visual impairment. Organizations feature the eSSENTIAL Accessibility icon as part of a Disability Community Involvement Initiative sponsored by March of Dimes Canada. The symbol displayed on websites acts as a clickable icon through which assistive technology can be downloaded free of charge. eSSENTIAL Accessibility does not ensure conformance with World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). For more information visit www.essentialaccessibility.com.

For more information, please contact:

• No one enjoys having vacation plans suddenly interrupted. Before you leave, have your vehicle serviced at a CAA Approved Auto Repair Service (AARS) facility to make sure it is in top condition. It's also a good idea to clean the interior and exterior of your vehicle in order to remove excess salt, sand and dirt that accumulated during the winter months
• Be prepared and plan your route in advance. Also, make sure to always travel with a fully charged cell phone and an emergency road safety kit. Keep in mind that under Ontario's distracted driving law it is illegal to talk, text, dial or type using a hand-held cell phone or other hand-held communications device while driving. If a phone call on a hand-held device must be made, have a passenger make the call or wait until you are able to find a safe place to get off the road.
• Many roadways will be congested with car-loads of families eager to get to their own March Break destination. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time for your travels and monitor the weather forecast before leaving.
• Though road trips provide families with a chance to spend quality time together, you will also be in close quarters for the duration of your travels. Help keep arguments at bay and everyone content by packing a variety of games and activities that will appeal to everyone's interests.
• While you won't need your passport if you're staying in the country, ensure all of your passengers have valid identification in case of an emergency. For those who will be vacationing in the United States, remember that everyone travelling with you must have a valid passport
• Whether with an adult or alone, all children travelling abroad must have a valid passport. Other documentation may be required to allow the child entry into another country, such as: a birth certificate; any legal forms pertaining to custody agreements; a parental letter of consent if a child is travelling with one parent, neither parents or alone.

Still deciding what to do during your March Break adventure? Check out some of the great offers available for CAA Members:

• Buy your attraction tickets before you get to the gate and save. CAA North & East Ontario offers special Member pricing on tickets to many popular theme parks. Visit your nearest CAA Travel Store or caaneo.ca/travel to learn more.
• Get the most out of your March Break travels; stop by a CAA Travel Store to pick up maps and TourBooks to find the best places to visit, eat, and stay at your destination.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided travel, Emergency Road Services, insurance, and advocacy for its Members. CAA North & East Ontario continues to be the leading membership organization by recognizing and promoting its heritage and integrity in the community, while maximizing Members' value.

For more information, please contact:

It's the law to slow down and move over when approaching a police cruiser, fire truck or ambulance that is stopped along a highway with its red or blue lights flashing. A Private Member's Bill is now hoping to add tow trucks to that list.

On Monday, March 5, 2012, Simcoe North MPP Garfield Dunlop reintroduced his Private Member's Bill, the Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Roadside Assistance Vehicles), 2012.

If passed, Dunlop's Bill would amend the Highway Traffic Act, Section 159 (2 & 3) to include tow truck operators and police department support vehicles with flashing amber lights to the current list of roadside assistance vehicles.

"A simple amendment to Ontario's Highway Traffic Act will help protect the 4,500 tow truck operators in Ontario, like similar legislation in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and 39 U.S. states," explained Dunlop.

"At CAA North & East Ontario we believe that everyone deserves a safe place to work, which is why we are calling for changes to the Highway Traffic Act that would undoubtedly help to reduce unnecessary injuries and fatalities," said Korey Kennedy, Manager of Public & Government Affairs for CAA North & East Ontario. "The inclusion of tow truck operators in the Slow Down, Move Over Legislation will not only acknowledge the dangers these drivers face on a daily basis, but will also increase the safety of all motorists."

In January of this year, a tow truck operator was struck and killed by a vehicle while changing a tire along the side of Highway 3 in southern Ontario, reiterating the fact that busy highways can be a dangerous place to work. This unfortunate and tragic incident highlights the dire need for the Highway Traffic Act to be amended in order to better protect tow truck operators.

"I hope that all parties will support me on this very important safety initiative, which will provide the protection that these workers deserve," added Dunlop.

CAA North & East Ontario encourages all motorists to slow down and move over whenever possible when you see anyone along the side of a highway.

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Automobile Association has provided travel, Emergency Road Services, insurance, and advocacy for its Members. CAA North & East Ontario continues to be the leading membership organization by recognizing and promoting its heritage and integrity in the community, while maximizing Members' value.

For more information, please contact: