TORONTO – November 27, 2013 — Allstate Insurance Company of Canada’s Quebec Safe Driving Study, released today, finds a third of all car collisions happen on Thursdays and Fridays. The study, which examines the frequency of customers’ collision claims in the province, shows that Fridays have the most collisions (16.4 per cent) followed by Thursdays (15.9 per cent). Sunday drivers are the safest, with only 9.8 per cent of collisions happening on that day.

While Thursday and Friday see the most collisions, the Allstate Canada study found that Quebec roads have in fact become a little bit safer overall in the past two years. Quebec customers insured by Allstate Canada had 1.2 per cent fewer collisions from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2013, than in the previous 24 month period. More information about the study can be found here . 

“We are encouraged to find that collisions are decreasing in the province, and we hope this trend continues,” says Saskia Matheson, spokesperson for Allstate Canada. “Many car collisions are avoidable, so reinforcing the message of safe driving is a priority for Allstate Canada.”

Matheson says that higher collision rates for Thursdays and Fridays may be as a result of more activity on the roads. “We may see more activity on Thursdays and Fridays because they are both commuter days and days when people are getting together or socializing after work. The other days of the week are likely to be commuter days or social days, but perhaps not both.” Matheson also points to driver fatigue at the end of the work-week as a possible contributor to the higher collision rates on these days.

Looking at the frequency of collisions by community, of the 10 included in the study from the province Chateauguay was found to have the lowest collision rate and is also the most improved community tracked in the study. Its collisions frequency rate fell from 7.51 per cent in the 2009–2011 period to 6.43 per cent in 2011–2013. This is a 14.42 per cent reduction in the frequency of collisions in the community.

Quebec regional findings

• The findings from 2011-2013 for Quebec communities:
  
  1. Chateauguay, 6.43 per cent
  2. Gatineau, 6.55 per cent
  3. Longueuil, 6.64 per cent
  4. Vaudreuil, 6.77 per cent
  5. Saguenay, 6.97 per cent
  6. Quebec, 7.44 per cent
  7. Dollard-des-Ormeaux, 7.45 per cent
  8. Terrebonne, 7.62 per cent
  9. Laval, 8.06 per cent
  10. Montreal, 8.60 per cent

• The three most improved communities are Chateauguay (14.42 per cent reduction in collisions), Dollard-des-Ormeaux (7.41 per cent reduction), and Longueuil (6.22 per cent reduction in collisions).

“We have conducted our Safe Driving study for five years in Ontario, and now twice in Quebec, and hope to generate discussions about what it means to be a safe driver. While the study only uses our data, we believe it’s important to share trends we are seeing,” says Matheson.
 
Visit LINK for more detailed results as well as breakdowns by city and region.

Attention Editors: Allstate Canada has also released a study that looks at collision data from customers in Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Release can be found here

Study Methodology