CAA’s 2023 Worst Roads Survey: Hamilton Tops The List, Again

According to CAA’s Cost of Poor Roads in Canada report from March 2021, the average driver incurs an extra $126 in expenses each year (per car) due to poor road conditions. That’s over $1,250 over the 10-year lifespan of a car. The cost varies by province and is highest in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, but even in provinces with well-maintained roads, drivers pay over $600 over the life of their car. Together, poor roads cost Canadian drivers a total of $3 billion annually in higher operating costs.

What’s more, while only 15% of Canada’s 1.04 million kilometres of roads are rated poor (108,464 kilometres) or very poor (48,409 kilometres), these roads are responsible for the bulk of those extra operating costs.

These costs include increased fuel consumption, faster tire wear, higher repair and maintenance costs and faster depreciation.

Many factors cause roads to deteriorate, including age, weather conditions, heavy traffic and inadequate maintenance. According to Statistics Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey (2018), 34% of Canadian highways were built between 1970 and 1999 and 26% between 1940 and 1969.

But roads in Canada have to contend with a particularly harsh element: The cold. Canada’s freeze-thaw cycle, whereby temperatures fluctuate above and below the freezing point, wreaks havoc on our roads. First, moisture from snow or rain seeps into the cracks in the road. Then the water freezes and expands, causing the pavement to heave upward. As temperatures rise, the ice melts and the pavement returns to its normal level, leaving potholes that get worse as cars drive over it.

The cost of potholes and rutted roads is clear to any driver who has ever faced expensive repairs due to a damaged vehicle. According to CAA-Québec, the most common types of pothole damage are loss of a hubcap, a damaged tire, a bent or broken wheel, wheels knocked out of alignment, damaged suspension components, bent steering parts and damaged shock absorbers.

Signs of pothole damage could include your car pulling in one direction, dents in your tires or rims and sustained low tire pressure.

While the amount of damage varies according to the make and model of your car, the diameter of your tires (the smaller the diameter the more severe the impact), your driving speed and the size of the pothole (longer potholes cause more damage), here are some approximate repair costs:

While car insurance varies across Canada due, in part, to a mix of public, private and hybrid insurance systems, there are two kinds of mandatory coverage required by all provinces:

• Third-party liability. This insurance pays for damage you cause to property, injuries you cause to others and legal defence costs if you’re sued. Minimum coverage amounts vary; for example, Ontario requires $200,000 minimum coverage while Nova Scotia requires $500,000 minimum.
• Accident benefits. This insurance pays for medical costs, rehabilitation and financial compensation if you’re injured in a collision.

Your policy might also include the following:

• Collision or upset coverage. This coverage pays for the cost of repairing damage to your car following a collision with another car or if you hit another object, like a guardrail.
• Comprehensive insurance. This coverage pays for theft and damage due to fire, hail, flooding, vandalism, falling objects and animal strikes—for instance if you hit a deer.
• Specified perils: This coverage pays for specific perils listed on your policy.
• All perils: This is the most comprehensive (and expensive) coverage as it combines collision or upset and comprehensive coverages.
• Direct compensation property damage (DCPD). With DCPD coverage, your insurance company pays for repairs to your car when you are not at-fault for a collision. It’s mandatory in Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Quebec and Alberta.
• Uninsured automobile: This coverage protects you (and your family) if you are injured or killed by a hit-and-run driver or an uninsured motorist.

If you only carry the minimum amount of insurance required by your province, you most likely won’t be able to claim for any reimbursement should your car sustain extensive damage by a pothole.

However, if you choose to carry collision insurance, you can make a claim to help cover damages.

What Is Collision Insurance?

While collision insurance pays to repair your car after an accident, it also covers damage caused by a collision with an object, such as a pothole. Similar to comprehensive insurance, it’s typically optional coverage (except in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where it’s mandatory), meaning you will have to pay extra to add collision insurance to your auto insurance policy. However, if you don’t have collision insurance and you drive into a pothole and your tire ruptures or your wheel gets bent, you’d likely have to pay for the damages yourself out of pocket.

Keep in mind that if you have a car loan or lease, your lender or leasing company will most likely require you to have collision insurance.

You will also need to pay the deductible first, which is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance coverage kicks in.

What Does Collision Insurance Cover?

Collision insurance covers car repair bills if your car is damaged by the following events:

• A car crash with another vehicle
• A car crash with an object, such as a fence, pole, guardrail or pothole
• Another car crashes into your vehicle, such as a hit and run
• Your car rolls over

What Collision Insurance Doesn’t Cover

Collision insurance does not cover:

• Damage to another person’s car
• Injuries
• Hitting a deer or other wildlife
• Weather-related damage to your car, such as hail or flood damage
• Car theft
• Repairs to an object you crash into, such as a fence or pole

If you want coverage to repair or replace your car for problems such as car theft, flood, fire, hail, falling objects (like a tree branch) and collisions with animals, you’ll need to buy comprehensive insurance. Comprehensive insurance is usually sold with collision insurance and typically required if you have a car loan or lease.

How Much Does Collision Insurance Cost?

The average annual cost for collision insurance in 2020 was $178.72, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s “2022 Facts of the Property and Casualty Insurance Industry in Canada” report. This is in addition to your mandatory third-party liability and accident benefits coverage.

Unless you live in Saskatchewan or Manitoba, collision insurance is optional, meaning you don’t have to buy it if you don’t want to. However, with the average cost of repairing pothole damage starting at $300, collision insurance might be a good investment if you have an expensive ride and put a lot of kilometres on your car each year, or if daily driving takes you across some of Ontario’s worst roads.