FRESH DRIVER FOLLIES
According to a recent study made by insurance comparison website, MyChoice, the 2022 changes to Ontario’s G license driving test has resulted in a 7.8 percent rise in accidents among new drivers.
In January 2022, Ontario first introduced significant alterations to the G road test in a move aimed at addressing the backlog of drivers waiting for their test as a result of pandemic restrictions.
These changes, made without formal safety evaluations or cabinet approval, involved removing elements from the test deemed duplicative such as emergency stops, three-point turns, parallel parking and driving in residential areas.
Two years after these changes were first enacted, MyChoice has conducted a study involving 4,800 Ontario G-licensed drivers to see the long term impacts on driving safety.
The company compared two groups, those who got their license at any point in 2022 with at least one year of driving experience; and those who got their license at any point in 2021 with at least one year of driving experience.
For each category in the study, 2,400 drivers were randomly selected from overall quotes completed on the MyChoice website. Here, the company specifically focused on the percentage of drivers involved in accidents for each period.
Initial findings reveal that after the test changes, the percentage of novice drivers involved in accidents increased from 9.59 percent to 10.34 percent, an overall increase of 7.82 percent.
HELPING HEALTHCARE
Myers Automotive Group, which includes several CARSTAR Myers locations and several car dealerships in the Ottawa area, has recently donated $2.5 million to The Campaign to Create Tomorrow at the Ottawa Hospital.
To date, this is Myers Automotive Group’s largest philanthropic donation, but the company has a long history of charitable contributions. With this most recent donation to the Ottawa Hospital, Rob Mews, co-owner of Myers Automotive Group alongside his brother Harry Mews commented that “it’s important for all businesses to help as much as they can, whether it’s donating money or donating time. You know, all businesses rely on the community for their success. And this is just a means of giving back.”
CRITICAL CONNECTIONS
On March 6, 2024 the School of Transportation at Centennial College hosted a hiring event to assist employers and students in connecting for future employment opportunities.
Specifically, the event was intended to help students reach out to potential employers and establish summer co-op opportunities as well as graduate employment for diploma students in the Automotive Service Technician, Parts and Service and Autobody programs. The event saw approximately 103 co-op students and 150 graduate students and alumni in attendance with 38 vendors from across the industry there for networking.
Collision Repair magazine reached out to Shawna Barnes, Cooperative Education Advisor & College Professor who stated that the event’s highlights were “seeing employers and students coming together, networking, [performing] on the spot interviews, and all of the collaboration between the vendors and the up-and-coming technicians.”
RECONSIDERING RATES
The Ontario government is considering changing the threshold for Property Damage Only (PBO) collision reporting from $2,000 to $5,000.
This change, if passed, will more than double the damage value required before a crash must be reported to police.
Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria originally told CTV News Toronto that the dollar threshold has remained stagnant at $2,000 since 2015. “We’ve heard some challenges that people have with respect to getting to reporting centres,” Sarkaria said. “As technology advances, as cars advance, we’ve also seen the price of vehicles increase, and many other factors that feed into that threshold of $2,000.” Currently, if a driver gets into a collision involving damage to public or private property, but no bodily injury, and the damage is under the threshold, they do not need to contact or register the vehicle with authorities.
In considering changing the threshold value from $2,000 to $5,000, the province has cited factors such as inflation and the advancement of car technology. Despite potential changes, drivers can always report a collision if the property damage is less than the threshold for mandatory reporting, the province stressed. The choice remains with the driver.
