In recent years, Ontario drivers have become concerned that the province's roads are becoming less safe. They are confident they know the main reasons why this decline in road safety has emerged, but what’s more, they’ve also got great ideas about what to do about it.

That’s why, as part of a wide range of ongoing activities the organization carries out to increase road safety, CAA has recently published a report on the nuts and bolts behind the road safety concerns of Ontarians, as well as the solutions drivers believe will make the biggest impact in reducing collisions on provincial roads – including a province-wide road safety strategy.

Why road safety matters

The report is based on a survey of 1,500 drivers that CAA conducted in March 2026, covering many aspects of road safety and how it can be improved.

“We wanted to understand how drivers perceive road safety, how they are personally impacted by serious collisions, where they believe responsibility lies and whether they support a stronger and more coordinated provincial response,” says Lauren Fisher, manager of government relations at CAA South Central Ontario.

“We’ve found there’s a large gap between what people think the province should be doing and what they believe it’s doing. Our research clearly shows Ontario drivers are looking for visible and coordinated leadership on road safety, including the creation of a Provincial Road Safety Strategy (PRSS).”

Road safety survey findings

When asked in the survey to identify the greatest risks to road safety in Ontario, respondents overwhelmingly pointed to the choices that drivers make behind the wheel. They listed the top three road safety risks to be distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding or aggressive driving.

Poor road infrastructure or maintenance were flagged as lesser risks, followed by poor road design and inadequate enforcement of traffic laws.

The survey also found that serious collisions have impacted many Ontario drivers, often in negative and lasting ways. In the last three years alone, over one third of Ontario drivers, or someone close to them, have been personally involved in a serious collision.

“Given Ontario's current licensed driver base of almost 12 million people, this translates to about 4.1 million who’ve been directly or closely affected by at least one serious crash,” says Fisher. “And as anyone can imagine, the effects of these collisions can be devastating. There is typically serious injury to drivers and others, psychological distress, loss of income during recovery, increased insurance costs, and in some cases, debilitating long-term physical injury and pain, or even loss of life.”

The survey also shows that road safety is a pressing issue for Ontario drivers, with a large percentage of survey respondents— 43 percent— believing the roads they travel have become less safe over the past three years.

The perceived response to road safety leaves just over a third (37 percent) of respondents saying they believe that Ontario has a well-coordinated, province-wide road safety plan. In parallel, 71percent believe the provincial government should prioritize road safety.

Inside a future province-wide strategy

CAA has been promoting the creation of a PRSS for several years, and these survey results confirm that over three-quarters of Ontario drivers also want this put in place. Seventy-six per cent of survey respondents support the creation of a PRSS to reduce collisions, injuries and fatalities.

After researching different approaches to improving road safety, CAA supports the Safe System Approach, a comprehensive process that identifies overlapping measures as crucial to eliminating preventable injuries. CAA for its use in the PRSS.

“This framework was developed in Europe and is focused on preventing human death from collisions,” Fisher explains. “It’s based on the fact that people make mistakes and on the belief that those mistakes should not lead to death. The Safe System therefore involves anticipating mistakes by designing and managing road infrastructure to keep the risk of a mistake low, and when a mistake leads to a crash, to minimize the impact on the human body so that the collision doesn’t result in a fatality or serious injury.”

In its goal of zero traffic deaths, there are six principles that underpin the Safe System Approach. The main one is that deaths and serious injuries from collisions are unacceptable. The others recognize that people make mistakes, the human body is vulnerable, responsibility for safety is shared, safety is proactive, and redundancy is crucial. To achieve zero collision deaths, this framework focuses on maximizing five layers of protection that all work together: safe drivers, safe vehicles, speeds and roads, and, as mentioned, responsive post-crash care.

Fisher adds that stakeholder feedback has validated the Safe System Approach as a practical and effective way for reducing road fatalities and serious injuries. She says that by pairing a clear vision with concrete, achievable actions, it offers a roadmap that can unite partners around shared road safety goals.

And while the recent survey shows that awareness of the Safe System Approach is not yet high, with only a quarter of respondents reporting initial familiarity, after a brief explanation was provided to them, 83 percent support the Approach and 73 percent believe it could be effective in Ontario.

Solutions for safer roads

Survey respondents were also asked for specific actions the province should take to improve road safety. They listed a wide range of solutions that together could have a large collective impact.

Deterrents is one solution. About half of the respondents want fines and other penalties for traffic violations to be significantly increased. About 40 percent say a higher visible police presence would help improve road safety.

Incentives can also play a role. About half the survey respondents believe lower insurance premiums for those with fewer or no collisions would help to improve road safety.

Equipping people with more information about roads can help too. About 40 percent of respondents say laws should place more emphasis on driver and road user education. And about half want more road safety to be taught in elementary and high schools.

In the end, Fisher notes that most collisions are avoidable. “They are not accidents,” she says. “There is always a cause. From the survey, we know that Ontario drivers understand this. The biggest risks they identify — distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding or aggressive driving — these behaviours are choices. We all have a responsibility to contribute to road safety and if we all avoid risky behaviours, the impact will be huge.

“No-risk driving becomes the norm and the number of collisions drops — and along with that, the effects of collisions are avoided, whether those are financial costs, chronic pain for the rest of our lives, or living with the memory of seriously injuring or killing someone.”

Readers who want to delve into the entire survey can click here (find other CAA research reports at this link as well, on topics including distracted driving). You can also read the federal report Canada's Road Safety Strategy 2035+.

Meanwhile, CAA is actively working for the creation of a PRSS as soon as possible.

“We’re encouraging stakeholder discussions with CAA and others, especially those with collision data such as Ontario hospitals, insurance companies, police and more,” says Fisher. “The total picture with all available data, including CAA survey results, will make the best case for the realization of a provincial strategy. Together we’ll make Ontario roads safer for all.”

CAA South Central Ontario has been advocating for better road safety in Ontario and across the country for over a century, from the CAA School Safety Patrol® program to seatbelt laws and the inclusion of tow truck drivers in Slow Down, Move Over legislation.

To learn more about CAA’s advocacy work on the Provincial Road Safety Strategy, visit caasco.com/advocacy/provincial-road-safety-strategy.

CAA reminds our valued Members that up-to-date information on road conditions, construction, collisions and road closures is available by downloading the Ontario government’s free Ontario 511 app. It includes an easy-to-use map view and a “drive mode” that provides hands-free audio alerts.