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Here are the cheapest 2024 vehicles in each segment

Nothing's really inexpensive anymore, but in every segment there's one that undercuts everything else, and I have a list of them over at Driving.ca.

What were the most disappointing cars I drove in 2023?

So Driving.ca asked all the reviewers for their favorite cars they'd driven in 2023, and you can find mine here; but we were also asked for our most disappointing ones of the year. What were mine? Have a look at the story!

These are Canada's cheapest vehicles for 2023

Vehicles are getting increasingly expensive, and not everyone wants to spend that much. If you're on a budget, I've rounded up six of the cheapest vehicles in Canada over at Driving.ca.

Can you get a ticket if you don't clean snow off your vehicle?

Can you be fined for not cleaning snow off your vehicle in Canada? You can, but the law doesn't quite state it that way. Find out how it works in my feature story at AutoTRADER.ca.

Do you understand right-of-way?

Here's an interesting tidbit: the law doesn't give you the right of way; instead, it dictates when you have to yield it. Do you know what to do at a four-way stop, in a roundabout, or if there aren't any traffic signals? Find out in my "How It Works" column at the National Post (Driving.ca).

Today's rant: When you're turning right, LOOK to the right!

If your head turns to the right, you should be turning it that way, every time you make a right-hand turn. And far too many drivers don't, and so far too many pedestrians and cyclists get hurt. See what I'm talking about in my rant over at AutoTrader.

How It Works: Traffic Calming

Municipalities don't just depend on cops with radar guns to slow vehicles down. There's a whole science of traffic calming, which uses such devices as speed humps, traffic circles, and even the use of "street furniture" to get drivers off the throttle. Find out more in my "How It Works" column at the National Post.

You don't fix traffic congestion by building more roads

It can actually make it worse, according to expert Jeff Speck. And the very design of our roads makes them very hazardous for drivers and pedestrians. Find out more in my "How It Works" column at the National Post.

Do you believe these nine driving myths?

Do you think you should never move vehicles after a crash? That the middle lane is the "driving lane"? Or that you should always be polite on the road? If you do, check out my list of nine driving myths over at AutoTrader.

In the news: Snow closes driver testing ...

It's a rather unpleasant day in the Greater Toronto Area today: wet snow, rain, and some wind to blow it all around. I've been out running errands, and while there is a fair bit of slush on the roads, it's not as bad as it looks. Traction is actually pretty good, especially if you have winter tires.

But while I was waiting at the dentist's office for my appointment, I watched the news report on television. Driving tests in the area have been cancelled today.

Yes, you heard that right. There's some snow in the air, there's some slush on the ground, and so it's too nasty for the next group of drivers on our roads to be out there. Say what? This is Ontario. This is Ontario in winter. It snows here. And if you can't safely drive in Ontario in winter in the snow, you are a hazard on the road to yourself and other drivers.

We should be testing drivers in snow, and if they get their licenses in summer, it should be conditional on them coming back in the bad stuff (or on a skid pad if necessary) and proving they can handle it just as well as they can handle dry pavement. Closing up shop just because there's snow on the ground? Hell, why not just test them on a video driving game, and give them a license based on that?

Germany's Autobahn: What it is, and what it ain't ...

I've recently returned from eight glorious vacation days in Munich, batteries recharged and with plenty of weisswurst (literally now) under my belt.

The first question most of my friends asked was, "Did you drive on the Autobahn?" When pressed, I discovered that most of them thought it was a single stretch of road, speed-limit-free, as if you'd stretched a Formula 1 track out straight and let everyone have at it. Which it isn't. (And the answer to the question is no, I didn't. I have on other trips, but this time it was entirely shoe leather and a couple of subway rides, which I find far more relaxing. It also allowed me to enjoy the nectar pictured here more often.)

Here's how it works. It isn't "The" Autobahn, as if it's a single road - the name translates to "motorway" and refers to Germany's national highway system. Saying you drove in Germany on the Autobahn is the equivalent of saying you drove in the U.S. on the Interstate.

It also isn't entirely free of speed limits. The overall recommendation is 130 km/h, and when you get close to towns there are strict limits, which can go as low as 60 km/h if there's construction or very foul weather. Trucks, buses and cars pulling trailers are limited to 80 km/h. Only when you see specific signs are you in an area where you can travel to your heart's content, and even then, there are relatively few cars that whizz past you at 200+, mostly German and Italian sports cars. Which they do on the left, because Germans are smart enough to obey the drive right/pass left rule (and they can get hit with a hefty fine for passing on the right).

The roadway is in impeccable shape, the cars are well-maintained and the drivers are trained, and it can be a real joy to take a high-performance car along the no-limit stretches to see what it will do. But that's next time. This time around, walking speed was more than enough for me.

NHTSA's camera proposal: More Band-Aids on an untreated wound

In the news: the U.S. government is proposing a ruling that would require all vehicles 10,000 pounds and under to have a device that expands the view behind the vehicle. NHTSA says that it "believes automobile manufacturers will install rear-mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays to meet the proposed standards." Short of hiring someone to sit on the bumper and call out when he sees something, or making the entire rear end out of glass, I can't imagine what else NHTSA "believes" the automakers would use.

The ruling, if it goes through (and does anyone think it won't?) will require all vehicles to be compliant by the 2015 model year. It's one more mandated device in a list of devices NHTSA requires. Some really are good ideas as far as mandatory requirement goes, others questionable: seatbelt buzzers, airbags, tire pressure monitoring systems, anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control. This latest proposal stems from a situation where a man backed over his two-year-old son in the driveway. Children, who are generally small enough that they're hidden behind vehicles, make up a disproportionate number of such fatalities. (Why elderly people, who are slower but usually taller than children, make up the second-largest group is harder to figure out.)

But as NHTSA plunges forward with its ruling, it also says, "drivers must remember that no technology can, or should, replace full attention and vigilance when backing up." And that's the key to all of these mandated devices: NHTSA is putting on Band-Aids when it should be treating the festering sore under them.

Simply put, we are nations of bad drivers, and neither the U.S. nor the Canadian government is willing to really put some teeth into the issue and start at the beginning. I can look on utility poles in the city and see sheets of typing paper advertising driving schools that guarantee I'll pass my test, starting at just $99. I don't even need to go to driving school before showing up for my examination (in fact, I never did). I never need to go to any advanced driver training once I've passed my test (and it was only when I did get advanced training that I realized I hadn't been a good driver).

As the participants on Canada's Worst Driver prove, it is possible to get a legal driver's license without actually being able to drive. I have a friend who drove a total of eight blocks and had to back up once in order to pass her test and get her license. And unless you do something catastrophic in a vehicle, or live to be 80 and reach mandatory retesting, you'll never be asked to prove your ability again.

If NHTSA and other government agencies really wanted the roads to be safe, they would put as much concern into safe drivers as they do into safe cars. They would tighten up licensing regulations, set limits on who is qualified to teach, set strict minimum requirements for ability, and require drivers to learn about car control, which is not the same as learning just enough to pass the exam.

The agencies would crack down on cell phone use -- you'll never convince me that allowing just-as-dangerous hands-free calls wasn't due to lobbying on the part of automakers and electronics companies that had sunk so much money into on-board Bluetooth -- with serious penalties, rather than the $155 slap on the wrist that drivers face in Ontario. They would crack down on coffee shops and burger joints that let drivers pull up to a window and then head out to the street with food and drink in hand. And they would pay attention to the single most important safety item on any vehicle: its tires. Mandate winter tire use and pull cars off the road when they have insufficient tire tread.

 On the other hand, maybe NHTSA is working toward safer roads with all these mandates. Once cars are filled with all of the required electronic devices, they'll be so expensive that no one will be able to afford one, and we'll all be on public transit where we won't be able to smash into each other.

 

Women Drivers: Check out the site!

Women talking to women about cars: that's the idea behind Women-Drivers.com, a site that includes car reviews by women, information on vehicles, driving tips and safety information. You can find it by clicking here.

A whole new meaning to Super Bowl ...

Did you know there's a map of the public toilets on the highways across Canada? It's put out by The Powder Room, a national education program for people with overactive bladders, but when you're out there in the middle of nowhere with several cups of coffee sloshing around inside, any bladder can be overactive.

And if you're like half the population and lack exterior plumbing, simply stopping by the side of the road isn't always a viable option. You can find information on the map by clicking here.