When it comes to driving accidents, the community of Thornhill is the province’s worst according to a recently released study. Allstate Insurance’s “Ontario Safe Driving Study” ranked communities and regions by examining the frequency of car collisions.
The study spans a three-year period form 2006 to 2009, calculating the number of collisions per 100 cars in communities across the province. Thornhill’s rate of 6.6 claims per 100 cars was the highest among the 49 mentioned communities. Neighbours to the north in Richmond Hill fared little better, finishing five spots behind Thornhill, with a rate of 5.9 claims per 100 cars.
“[The study] shows that communities in the Greater Toronto Area have collision rates more than twice as high as some other Ontario communities,” said Tony Irwin, manager of external affairs at Allstate.
Comparatively, communities with similar populations to Thornhill, such as Chatham and and Thunder Bay had much lower rates at 3.4 and 3.7 respectively. For one local councillor, the report did not carry a lot of weight.
“I don’t think there’s any fair comparison,” said Coun. Alan Shefman. “This is a large, urban municipality with a commuting population.”
“The reality is I drive here every day, and I don’t feel any less safe in Thornhill than I do anywhere else,” he added. Shefman said that he receives a lot of feedback from residents regarding traffic concerns in the community.
He said the feedback usually falls into one of two categories: traffic volume on major arteries and poor driving on residential streets. Coun. Sandra Yeung Racco echoed Coun. Shefman on the volume of resident feedback related to driving concerns. “I can tell you the traffic issue seems to be the biggest issue,” Yeung Racco said.
Yeung Racco agreed with Shefman that a comparison of Thornhill with other communities is problematic. “They don’t have as much of the industry,” she said. She added that the report was prepared by an insurance company using accident claims reports and not a traffic engineering study. The remedy for the area’s vehicular problems lies in alternative transit options, not more roadways, Shefman said. “The real resolution is rapid transit that is easily accessible,” he said.
