Ontario wants your thoughts on regulating tow trucks
After years of people complaining about the tow-truck “industry” (they’re the folks who charge you $300 to hook up your car and then $10 a kilometre to take it to a repair facility where they get a kickback for dropping it off and the meter then starts running on what’s called a “storage” fee), the Ontario government appears to be getting ready to do something about it.
The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services announced this week that the government is seeking feedback from motorists on issues such as:
Payment options available when you need a tow truck;
Information that towing and vehicle storage businesses should include on invoices;
Notification of where a vehicle will be taken for storage;
Transparency regarding prices and other information, including whether a tow truck business should tell consumers when they are getting a financial reward or incentive for towing a vehicle to a particular storage or repair shop.
If you want to have your say, go to ontario.ca/towingsurvey and fill out the survey.
Personally, I think there should be a standard hookup fee, a standard fee per kilometre and the tow-truck operator should take your vehicle where you want it to go. Resource centre to focus on car-wildlife collisions Here’s a statistic that will make your head spin.
It is estimated that there are 45,000 collisions in Canada each year between vehicles and wildlife at a cost of roughly $45 million.
Sadly, it isn’t always the animal that loses. Between 2001and 2010, 296 people in Canada were killed as a result of collisions with animals.
Insurance company State Farm and the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) have partnered to create the Wildlife Roadsharing Resource Centre in an effort to reduce the number of incidents on our roads.
Said Robyn Robertson, president and CEO of the centre, in explaining why the project was undertaken: “The consequences of collisions involving vehicles and wildlife are underestimated and profound . . . A better understanding of these collisions, and more importantly, partnerships to deliver effective mitigation strategies to prevent crashes, are much needed to help reduce the direct and indirect financial costs to Canadians."
The centre is a web-based resource for researchers to share knowledge and for motorists to learn techniques to avoid a collision with wildlife.
Simple to navigate, the site also teaches visitors how to deal with animals on the road, what to do if a collision can’t be avoided and what to do after the fact.
Fall is the worst time of year for vehicle and wildlife interaction, as animals begin their winter migrations.
It’s also mating season for many large animals, who may also be trying to avoid hunters.
Dusk, which is arriving earlier by the day, is the most dangerous time of day.
For more information, go to wildliferoadsharing.tirf.org and make sure that the other drivers in your family do, too. Extended vehicle warranties offered directly to consumers Anyone who has ever purchased a car, new or used, from a dealership has been on the receiving end of a pitch to buy an extended warranty. Some of these warranties are backed by the new car manufacturer, while others are aftermarket products.
A new company based in Toronto aims to change that by offering warranties directly to consumers. Umbrella Warranty, which is backed by the Aviva Group of Companies (a name that some consumers will recognize from insurance dealings), say their warranties will protect drivers against mechanical breakdowns on vehicles that are under 13 years of age and have less than 200,000 kilometres.
Will they? Visit umbrellawarranty.ca to find out. Why does it cost more for car licence in south? Last week’s item about the rather sneaky increase in Ontario’s licensing fees not only drew the ire of readers but also raised the question: Why does it cost less than half as much to license a car in Northern Ontario compared with Southern Ontario. MTO spokesman Ajay Woozageer has an answer.
“There are several reasons that Northern Ontario residents pay reduced vehicle licensing fees. Operating costs for all types of vehicles are substantially higher in the north, as are transportation costs.
“A small population, thinly spread over a large area and a more extreme climate are further contributing factors to an economic disparity between the north and the rest of Ontario.”
I am no economist, but having spent years in the service side of the auto industry, I say these excuses are nonsense. Yes, the price of gasoline this week was about $1.16/litre on average compared with $1.03 or so in the GTA, but what does it cost to park from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Ka- puskasing compared with downtown Toronto?
The folks up north got those breaks back in the ’40s and ’50s when it really was a wilderness. That is no longer the case. Google hires industry exec to lead autonomous project Internet giant Google has taken great strides in developing selfdriving cars in recent years, yet the project remains somewhat of a novelty because of the unconventional company behind it.
Clearly, Google is more than serious about bringing autonomous vehicles to market and has taken a big step forward with the addition of a proven automotive executive to lead the team.
Google has hired John Krafik, who was the president of U.S. online auto shopping portal Truecar until last week. Krafik, an engineer, spent 14 years leading the development of Ford’s truck and SUV divisions. The executive moved to Hyundai in 2004, eventually becoming CEO and president of Hyundai’s American operations. Freelance writer Gary Grant is a regular contributor to Wheels. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.