"Not only did this year's campaign once again prove that any municipality, regardless of size, can make it to the Worst Roads list, but the more than 10,000 votes received reiterates that the state of infrastructure across the province remains a key concern for motorists," said Korey Kennedy, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for CAANEO.

From the North and East Ontario region, Timmins' Kraft Creek Road was voted to the Worst Roads list for the second year in a row, coming in at number four up from its fifth position on last year's total. Following its assessment of the roadway, the Ontario Road Builders' Association (ORBA) reiterated concerns raised by voters, stating: "The asphalt portion is atrocious and should be removed." And in eighth spot from the Clarence-Rockland area, Bouvier Road made its inaugural appearance on the list, which the ORBA referred to as being "a very poor road" in certain sections.

A regular on the Worst Roads list, Carling Avenue in Ottawa was voted to ninth place by road users. Despite ongoing road reconstruction along sections of Carling Ave., motorists continue to voice their frustrations with the state of this main thoroughfare.

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

This year's campaign highlighted the need for municipalities to share a portion of the gas tax revenue in order to support improvements to roads, bridges and highways. While the provincial government has charged a gas tax since 1925, a dedicated fund to assist with repairing municipal infrastructure is still lacking.

"Gas tax sharing is needed now to prevent the further deteriorating of our municipal roads and bridges. Predictable and sustainable funding will enable municipalities to better manage their road and bridge assets, thereby helping to minimize the long-term road repair bill," said Geoff Wilkinson, Executive Director of the Ontario Road Builders' Association.

Since the campaign commenced in 2003, 90% of all roads that have made the list in the past have been repaired, or are in the midst of being repaired.

CAA North & East Ontario provides emergency roadside assistance to Members, along with an extensive array of travel and insurance services designed to suit the individual needs, wants and expectations of our Members. Detailed information on the wide range of services and offerings available with CAA North & East Ontario can be found at caaneo.ca.

For more information, please contact:

An intensive research project underwritten by CAA partner, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, found that cognitive distraction is real. In other words, activities ranging from listening to the radio to engaging with text-to-audio software distract the brain from focusing on the road, even if physically drivers are doing what they should.

The research, released today, was conducted by a team at the University of Utah. They used medical technology and driving simulators to measure what actually happens inside the brain while drivers were asked to perform a range of tasks such as listening to an audio book. Research findings showed that reaction times are slowed, brain function is compromised and motorists often miss potential environmental cues such as stop signs, pedestrians or other cars while engaged in mentally distracting tasks."

Phase Two of the research will attempt an in-depth ranking of the danger level of the various mental tasks people do in cars, using the same ground-breaking way of measuring and comparing different types of distraction.

About CAA

CAA is a federation of nine clubs providing more than 5.8 million members with exceptional emergency roadside service, complete automotive and travel services, member savings and comprehensive insurance services. CAA also advocates on issues of concern to its members, including road safety, the environment, mobility, infrastructure and consumer protection.

For more information, please contact:

The online game and contest that offers a chance to win one of three trips for four to Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts has been played and shared over 60,000 times since its launch May 1.

The "CAA Leads the Way to Disney Parks Fun" sweepstakes continues until June 15 and is available online through all CAA clubs. The prize is three family vacations for four, including airfare, Disney Deluxe Resort accommodations, Park passes and more (see CAA.ca/summerfun for full details).

To be eligible, Canadians play a short, interactive game that shows them in a fun and innovative way the various products and services CAA has to offer to help families save money and travel with confidence - from roadside assistance to exclusive member benefits, insurance and travel planning. The game also features popular Disney icons and awards additional entries for social media sharing.

"This contest with its game format has proved to be wildly popular with our Members. We are seeing more and more participants coming back each day to play again and again to increase their chances of winning and we're looking forward to that level of engagement continuing right up to the June 15th deadline," said Brenda Kyllo, CAA National, Vice President of Travel. "Disney provides an outstanding vacation experience for the whole family and the popularity of the sweepstakes with CAA Members is testimony to how coveted a vacation at Disney Parks is."

CAA is a federation of nine clubs providing more than 5.8 million Members with exceptional emergency roadside service, complete automotive and travel services, Member savings and comprehensive insurance services. CAA also advocates on issues of concern to its Members, including road safety, the environment, mobility, infrastructure and consumer protection.

For more information, please contact:

Calling all green-thumbed nature lovers! On June 15th, Trees Ontario and local planting partners will host a free community tree planting event in North Bay.

Hosted in conjunction with supporting sponsor CAA North & East Ontario and partner Nipissing Botanical Gardens, the event will bring together families, community members and volunteers to take part in a half-day tree planting activity.

Participants will enjoy the chance to directly support their community in a local reforestation project and learn about the benefits of tree planting and green urban spaces.

The community planting activity will take place at North Bay Marina, located at 225 Memorial Drive in North Bay from 10 a.m. to noon.

The event is held rain or shine and participants are asked to bring a shovel, gardening gloves and a lot of energy! Trees Ontario and its partners will supply the rest - the trees, forestry specialists, mulch and snacks. Appropriate outdoor clothing, sturdy shoes (steel toe if possible), a hat and sunscreen are recommended.

For more information and/or to register to participate in the free tree planting event, please visit treesontario.ca.

About Trees Ontario

Trees Ontario, the largest not-for-profit tree planting partnership in North America, is leading efforts to strengthen Ontario's tree planting infrastructure by enhancing the capacity of its tree planting partners through financial support and professional development expertise, delivering landowner incentives through cost offsetting and educating the public through awareness campaigns and community workshops. Trees Ontario is the lead delivery agent for the government of Ontario's 50 Million Tree Program. The program significantly reduces landowners' costs of large-scale tree planting and boosts the number of trees planted across the province.

About CAA North & East Ontario

CAA North & East Ontario provides emergency roadside assistance to Members, along with an extensive array of travel and insurance services designed to suit the individual needs, wants and expectations of our Members. Detailed information on the wide range of services and offerings available with CAA North & East Ontario can be found at caaneo.ca.

About Nipissing Botanical Gardens

It is the dream of Nipissing Botanical Gardens to help develop North Bay into a park-like city, with a much greater tree canopy. We work towards that goal by educating the public, and identifying, preserving, and creating greenspaces, natural and cultivated, within the City of North Bay. Nipissing Botanical Gardens partners with the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority, the City of North Bay, Nipissing Environmental Watch, Nipissing University and individual volunteers to accomplish this goal. In 2004 North Bay City Council passed a resolution supporting the concept of the Nipissing Botanical Gardens.

For more information, please contact:

As thanks for helping with this cause, CAA Members will receive 10 CAA Dollars® for dropping off their old automotive battery.

Starting Monday, May 27 and continuing until Friday, June 7, pick-up service and drop-off locations will be provided for old and unused batteries in several municipalities throughout North and East Ontario.

Automotive batteries, also known as lead/acid batteries, contain 10 kilograms of lead, three litres of sulfuric acid, and a plastic case. More than 98% of these materials can be recycled and used to create new batteries. CAA North & East Ontario will ship all collected batteries to an appropriate recycling facility for processing.

"Storing unused vehicle batteries can pose a serious health and safety risk to people, animals and the environment, which is why CAA North & East Ontario encourages individuals to dispose of their unused batteries in an environmentally responsible manner," said Korey Kennedy, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for CAANEO.

The Great Battery Roundup is free to all CAA Members, the general public and businesses. In Ottawa and Thunder Bay, simply call 613-820-1400 or 1-800-CAA-HELP to have your old automotive batteries picked up at no charge. In Coniston, Sudbury, Dryden, Timmins, Parry Sound, North Bay, Pembroke, Renfrew, Kemptville and Cornwall, find a location to drop-off your unwanted automotive batteries by visiting caaneo.ca/gbr.

Prior to the campaign's kick-off, CAANEO will be hosting a special Great Battery Roundup event on May 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Individuals are invited to stop by the CAA Member Experience Centre in Orleans (2026 Tenth Line Road) to drop off their old automotive and marine batteries, as well as have their vehicle's battery tested for free and any automotive questions addressed by a CAA Automotive Expert.

For every battery collected through the Great Battery Roundup, CAANEO will donate funds towards a community tree planting event with Trees Ontario (www.treesontario.ca), who are aiming to plant 10 million trees a year by 2015.

CAANEO reminds individuals of the dangers that can stem from handling an automotive battery. Take care to protect yourself by wearing gloves, long sleeves and safety glasses, and ensure batteries remain upright and in a plastic, leak-proof container during transport. Keep sparks and flames, including cigarettes, away from batteries at all times as this could cause them to explode.

CAA North & East Ontario provides emergency roadside assistance to Members, along with an extensive array of travel and insurance services designed to suit the individual needs, wants and expectations of our Members. Detailed information on the wide range of services and offerings available with CAA North & East Ontario can be found at caaneo.ca.

For more information, please contact:

Most recently the Club's vice-president of operations, Ms. Hlusko commenced her new position at CAA North & East Ontario (CAANEO) on April 30, 2013, following an extensive role as acting President and CEO during the recruitment process.

"With the appointment of Ms. Hlusko to the position of President and CEO, the Board of Directors for CAA North & East Ontario is delighted to be able to boast having an individual with an unparalleled commitment to innovation and integrity at the helm of our Club," said Jack Campbell, Chair of CAA North & East Ontario's Board of Directors. "Ms. Hlusko brings a wealth of experience to the role from her tenure thus far at CAANEO, and I am confident she will help position the Club to achieve growth and success amongst all of our business areas, while also upholding our organization's long-standing commitment to providing our membership with best-in-class service."

Ms. Hlusko joined CAA North & East Ontario 11 years ago and during that time has been a valuable member of the organization's senior management team, having overseen the Club's Corporate Services, Travel and Automotive Services departments. Under her leadership as vice-president of operations, CAANEO achieved a significant milestone when its Automotive Services department ranked first for satisfaction amongst all 56 CAA and AAA clubs for the longest consecutive stretch in the association's history.

"I am extremely proud to be a part of the phenomenal team we have at CAA North & East Ontario, who take pride in everything they do to serve our Members," said Ms. Hlusko. "I look forward to working with our internal and external partners as we seek to enhance what a CAA membership provides to our Members, be it through new CAA Rewards™ partners, Member-exclusive travel products or new ways to interact with us. I am committed to reaffirming to our membership why it has never been a more exciting and rewarding time to be a CAA Member."

CAA North & East Ontario provides emergency roadside assistance to Members, along with an extensive array of travel and insurance services designed to suit the individual needs, wants and expectations of our Members. Detailed information on the wide range of services and offerings available with CAA North & East Ontario can be found at caaneo.ca.

For media inquiries, please contact:

The competition takes place on Thursday, May 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Algonquin College's Transportation Technology Centre (Building S), 1385 Woodroffe Ave., Ottawa. Approximately 60 students from local high schools will be attending the event, which combines skill, knowledge evaluation and a dose of friendly competition.

"CAA North & East Ontario is proud to once again sponsor this fun and educational event," said Korey Kennedy, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for CAANEO. "As many high schools have had to eliminate automotive programs due to budget constraints, this friendly competition provides an opportune - and unique - learning experience for students who are considering careers in the automotive field."

Youth from six Ottawa-area schools - Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School; Notre Dame High School; St. Peter High School; St. Matthew High School; St. Paul 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 current automotive systems with a written exam. Following that, their practical skills will be put to the test in a "Pit Stop Challenge," where in teams of two the 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.

CAA was the only Canadian non-governmental group invited to attend the signing ceremony in Tallahassee, the state capital, a recognition of our efforts on this issue. Auto Club South Inc., representing the interests of CAA, was the only witness at hearings at the Florida legislature on the repeal bill, and spoke strongly in favour of jettisoning the IDP law. CAA's actions on this file included representations to the Governor and other top state lawmakers urging that the law be amended to exempt all Canadians.

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

CAA North & East Ontario is a non-profit membership organization, providing travel, emergency road services, insurance and advocacy for its Members. Visit caaneo.ca.

For further information, please contact:

Now in its tenth year, CAA North & East Ontario (CAANEO) is proud to again be part of the campaign, which launches May 1, 2013 with the theme "Help Pave the Way to Safer Roads."

"This campaign provides an opportunity for the public to inform their elected officials that they are concerned about the substandard infrastructure that plagues their respective communities," 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 deteriorating roads."

Coming out of a winter season that resulted in the development of an unprecedented amount of potholes, there is no shortage of roadways across the province that are eligible to make this year's Worst Roads Top 10 list. But the Worst Roads campaign is not just about potholes; road users who have experienced incidents related to pedestrian and cycling safety, congestion, improper signage, and poor visibility are also encouraged to provide feedback.

The campaign is again seeking to have senior levels of government provide Ontario municipalities with long-term sustainable funding to repair damaged and aging infrastructure, which ultimately has a negative impact on the environment, road safety and costs to road users. While the Ontario government has charged a gas tax since 1925, a dedicated fund to assist with repairing municipal roadways and bridges is still lacking.

Road users can have their say by casting a ballot online at www.worstroads.ca, where individuals can view in real-time the roads that are receiving the most votes across the province. The website will be live following the launch of the campaign on May 1, 2013.

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 the Ontario Road Builders' Association - will travel to communities throughout the province to reiterate the importance of making concerns about decaying infrastructure known. Voting closes May 31, 2013.

CAA North & East Ontario is a non-profit membership organization, providing travel, emergency road services, insurance and advocacy for its Members. Visit caaneo.ca.

Media contact:

The repeal comes after interventions from CAA, other stakeholders and thousands of Canadian drivers caught unaware by the IDP law, which came into effect with no notice. CAA applauds the government of Florida for repealing the law, a process that ended today when Gov. Rick Scott signed the repeal bill.

"Effective immediately, Canadians in Florida can go back to doing what they have always been able to do - drive with peace of mind in the Sunshine State using their provincial driver's license," said Jeff Walker, CAA Vice President of Public Affairs. "CAA is pleased that the voices of its members and others were listened to by state officials, and that the state of Florida has removed any uncertainty."

Florida lawmakers have admitted they never intended to include Canadian drivers under the law, which made it illegal to drive in Florida without a license issued by a U.S. state. The repeal process took several weeks and multiple votes in the Florida legislature. Governor Scott's signature marks the official repeal.

CAA was the only Canadian non-governmental group invited to attend the signing ceremony in Tallahassee, the state capital, a recognition of our efforts on this issue. Auto Club South Inc., representing the interests of CAA, was the only witness at hearings at the Florida legislature on the repeal bill, and spoke strongly in favour of jettisoning the IDP law. CAA's actions on this file included representations to the Governor and other top state lawmakers urging that the law be amended to exempt all Canadians.

When the law came to light in mid-February, Florida officials reacted to pressure from CAA and others within hours and said the state highway patrol would not enforce it pending a review. But it was unclear if all local law enforcement would follow suit, some Canadians were refused car rentals, especially in the first few days, and insurance companies would have been within their rights to refuse to honour policies in the event of an accident.

CAA is a federation of nine clubs providing more than 5.8 million Members with exceptional emergency roadside service, complete automotive and travel services, member savings and comprehensive insurance services. CAA also advocates on issues of concern to its members, including road safety, the environment, mobility, infrastructure and consumer protection.

For further information, please contact: