December Worst Month for Collisions on Canada Roads: Allstate

The days leading up to the holidays, December 21, 22 and 23, had the highest number of collision claims, according to the annual Allstate Insurance Company of Canada Safe Driving Study released last week. December 25 (1,095) and January 1 (1,414), had the lowest number of collision claims.

The study, which examines the frequency of customers’ collision claims in Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario, shows that December 21 had the highest number of collision claims (3,150), followed by December 23 (3,108) and December 22 (3,082).

“With more drivers out on the roads rushing to parties, socializing, their minds racing with gift ideas and checklists of things to do over the holidays, they may not be paying as much attention to the road as they should be,” says Ryan Michel, senior vice president and chief risk officer for Allstate Canada. “While the study can only look at our data, we believe it’s important to share the trends we are seeing, in an effort to promote a national conversation about road safety.”

For the past 27 years, Allstate Canada has been a proud partner of MADD Canada’s annual Project Red Ribbon campaign, which runs this year from November 1, 2014 to January 5, 2015.

Looking at the frequency of collision claims by community, of the 50 included in the study Medicine Hat, AB had the lowest collision rate in the study (3.74 percent), while Ottawa, ON had the highest (6.73 percent).

Spruce Grove, AB, had the most significant reduction in collision claims frequency (-20 per cent), followed by Aurora, ON (-15 percent), Medicine Hat, AB (-14 percent) and Saint John, NB (-13 percent). The three communities with the greatest increase in collision claims frequency were Dartmouth, NS (29.00 percent), Halifax, NS (27.00 percent) and Brantford, ON (23.00 percent). A harsher than average winter in Nova Scotia last year, is believed to be a factor in that province’s increase in collision claims.

Provincially, Alberta had the highest collision claims frequency (5.66 percent), followed by Ontario (5.37 percent), Nova Scotia (5.25 percent) and New Brunswick (5.00 percent). Nova Scotia had the greatest increase in collision claims (19.6 percent), followed by Ontario (3.30 percent).

Visit http://www.allstate.ca/home.aspx for more detailed results as well as breakdowns by city and region.

Source: Allstate Insurance Company of Canada