Automobiles of Ontario, Canada
Created | Updated Aug 19, 2004
Automobiles of Ontario, Canada
This Guide entry is designed to give a small inkling of automobile and traffic patterns to anyone who may be travelling in the the Province of Ontario in Canada. Specific automobile manufacturers are mentioned in this entry, but should not be taken as an endorsement to either purchase, not purchase, or destroy for insurance purposes, any of their products. While most of the statements made in this entry can be backed up by numerous drivers in Ontario, they are generalizations. In short, this entry does not necessarily say that all Chevrolet Chevette drivers are old and slow, or that all Minivan1 drivers are soccer moms.
Tractor Trailers
Also often known as a "Big Rig," "Lorry," or "18-Wheeler," these monstrosities of the road are responsible for the shipping of a great deal of fodder for societies both capitalistic and, well, whatever other form of economic system exists. There are many manufacturers that produce the Tractor portion of this tandem, with some examples below. There are many more companies that build the Trailer portion of this tandem, in fact, too many to even start to name below. In Ontario, two things are known about these vehicles. 1. You don't want to be in between two of these, either sharing your lane, or if you are being boxed-in2. 2. Around the turn of the 21st century there was either a spate of unsafe vehicle operators causing truck tires to whiz off of trucks into traffic, or the popular media had just found its topic du jour, and was incapable of reporting on anyting else. Here is a sampling:
Peterbilt
Concievably the finest trucks built in the world. While rare on the roads of Ontario, you still do see them at times. Often called the Cadillac of Trucks3, these are usually sleeper trucks that have berthing compartments behind the drivers position. Usually these contain a compacted kitchen suite, bath/washroom, and elaborate entertainment systems. The drivers of these rigs are generally the more experienced, and therefore, safer drivers on the road. They know how to use their turn signals, and are actually quite capable of being polite.
Freightliner
Perhaps not as nice as the above Peterbilt, the Freightliner is, nonetheless, a perfectly serviceable vehicle. They boast powerful engines, and many of the creature comforts of the most expensive models, but don't have the reputation of the old stalwarts. Consequently, the drivers of these lorrys are a bit rough around the edges, and might be the most dangerous. If you see one of these vehicles in your rearview mirror bare in mind that the driver might be out of their league with a truck the don't deserve, or bitter about not driving a Peterbilt. On the other hand, the driver might be an "up and comer," a fine, professsional driver with a safe future ahead.
Mack
One would think that with the Volvo Group taking over the production of these vehicles that their reputation might be improved. No such luck, according to Mack drivers in Ontario. As a general rule it might be wise to avoid these trucks all together. While a small portion of the operators of these rigs might be safe, sane, and capable of coherent thought, why take the risk?
This concludes the section about Tractor Trailers. Again, any comparisons or generalities are merely the product of numerous delusional Ontarians.
Coupes
Ontario has many open, flat, safe roads, usually unpatrolled by the OPP4 or other law enforcement bodies. Just about any testosterone crazed individual can be seen breaking the speed limit on 400-series highways5. However, a vast majority of the time, these megalomaniacs are driving two door vehicles, otherwise known as coupes. Here are a few:
Porsche 911
This vehicle comes in many flavours, such as Carrera, Turbo, and GT models. Generally these differences are not noticable to the average driver, and the temperment of the people behind the wheel of these vehicles is pretty much uniform. These cars were designed to go fast, and the drivers know it. Often a pedestrian driver can be camped out in the middle lane of the Highway 400 northbound (perhaps on the way to their cottage for the weekend), and have their nerves scared out of them as a Porsche screams by at something approaching mach 2. As far as safety is concerned, these drivers are generally pretty good.
Toyota Celica GT-S
In a vast majority of cases, this car would be called a Rice Rocket, and would generally be driven by a young, aggressive male, with far more money to spend on their car than they ought to. Many other cars would fit into this category, such as the Honda Civic, Mitsubishi Lancer, or the Subaru Impreza. There are a small portion of drivers in this category who are actually capable of piloting these vehicles safely. However, most drivers of these cars are more likely to swerve accross 8 lanes of traffic on a long-weekend and wreak havoc. Generally these drivers do not find it acceptable to travel at speeds slower than 150 kmh, despite the maximum posted speed limit of 100 kmh on major highways. Because mobile public address systems are not widely used, Rice Rocket drivers find the only way to tell you that you are going to slow is to tailgait your car endlessly. At times a successful response may be to allow these drivers to get as close to you as possible and then match speed with the vehicle to your sides.
THIS GUIDE ENTRY IS NOT YET COMPLETE 08/18/04
Thanks,
Lig.
