In an article last month from InsuranceHotline.com, Bradford was listed as one of the worst cities for driving in Ontario.
The D grade received was based on several factors, said Anne Marie Thomas from InsuranceHotline.com
The ratings were based on three categories: 1 - those who have been in collisions, 2- those who have tickets and 3 - those who have one of each.
“We took all of that data, generically and anonymously from 2018 and 2019, we ranked them by city and postal code,” said Thomas.
Bradford came in 24th out of 60 for having the most collisions, third for the most tickets, and second for having both accidents and tickets.
Thomas says they were quite surprised with the results of the data.
“It could be that Bradford is just more honest,” she suggested. All the information collected was volunteered by potential customers when entering their information for obtaining a quote.
“It could be a number of things, too. When I look at cities with higher numbers of collisions and tickets, the top 10 are in snow belt areas, so is it possible these are weather-related?”
She added, “It’s possible your roads are patrolled better and people get caught more frequently."
Thomas admitted, “We were surprised by the results, to be honest. It didn’t shake out the way I thought it would once we sliced and diced the data."
InsuranceHotline.com came up with the list to make drivers in Ontario more aware of tickets and convictions, and how they can affect insurance premiums, Thomas said.
“One speeding ticket could increase your premium by five percent. And an accident could increase your premium by over 30 percent,” she said.
Driving and traffic in Bradford has been a hot-button issue with residents and council for quite a while.
In Bradford’s Traffic Committee meeting on Aug. 27, concerned residents in the open forum portion of the meeting expressed their frustration with speeders.
One resident, Frank Naso suggested implementing a “Slow Your Roll” campaign, which would involve signage on residential lawns asking drivers to slow down. His suggestion was approved by the committee, and will be brought forward to the next town council meeting, on Sept. 3.
“It’s a growing community that is drawing in people from different communities across the GTA, and there’s commuters driving through residential areas like they’re still on the highway,” said Naso.
“I think it’s a very good idea,” said South Simcoe Police Sgt. David Phillips about the campaign idea.
Naso originally suggested profits made from the signs should be donated to local parks, but Phillips said he would rather the money go back to the community, for something like a street BBQ to help neighbours get to know one another better.
“Maybe that will make them think twice about blowing past Joe’s house on the corner, because now they know Joe,” he said.
“We need to kind of get back to being a community of one versus a community of individuals.”
Among other issues brought up at the Traffic Committee meeting were improper use of roundabouts, motorists who blow through stop signs, and parking in no-parking zones. The next Traffic Committee meeting will take place on Oct. 24.
This was the first year InsuranceHotline.com has issued a Best and Worst list, but not the last. They are planning to do it again next year.
“I am really interested to see how next year’s lists pan out,” said Thomas.
To see the full list of best and worst cities, check out the article here.
