Sault ranks best in Northern Ontario for safe driving

The Sault is the safest city in Northern Ontario for driving, according to a newly-released national survey.

Allstate Insurance Company of Canada released the results of its annual Safe Driving Study last week, and Sault Ste. Marie’s ranking has risen from it's 2013 ranking of 21st in the nation.

This year the Sault placed 18th out of 81 communities across the country and placed best in Northern Ontario.

Tony Bossio, Northern Ontario media representitive for Allstate, says the Sault’s rise in rankings came despite a 9-percent rise in collision claims frequency over results from previous years.

The results of the survey are released as part of an awareness campaign, Bossio said they are not used to raise or lower insurance rates.

“We want to create awareness that a lot of these collisions are preventable. With the winter weather coming up, December and January are our busiest months for collisions,” said Bossio.

Allstate says the top four causes of collision from this year's survey were:

According to the survey, the safest days of the year to drive— with least chance of having a collision — are January 1, July 1 and December 25.

Allstate cites December 23, December 21 and November 19 as the days of the year most likely for people to have collisions.

Sault Ste. Marie was able to climb the ratings despite a 9-percent increase in collision claims frequency because communities such as Belleville — which had previously been rated 11th — had a 36-percent increase and finished 27th.

Sudbury, North Bay, Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie all ranked within the top 30.

“We are all from Northern Ontario here and we know things may be a little bit different. Our winter weather can be more severe than in other parts of the country,” said Bossio.

He added people should give themselves more time to get where they need to go during the winter months.

(FILE PHOTO)