MyChoice Data Shows Fewer Ontario Drivers Reported Speeding Tickets, While More Reported Having an Accident
It’s been a year since Ontario ended municipal speed-camera enforcement, and we wanted to take a closer look at the driving histories of people living in communities where the cameras operated. Have speeding-ticket histories become more common? Are more drivers reporting previous accidents? And do the citywide figures tell the same story as individual neighbourhoods?
There are good reasons to revisit these questions. Toronto’s June 2026 assessment found that the proportion of vehicles travelling at least 11 km/h above the speed limit at monitored former camera sites increased from 2.0% to 8.1% after enforcement ended. In Ottawa, Councillor Glen Gower reported that municipal monitoring showed speed-limit compliance falling from 87% before the shutdown to 41% twelve weeks afterwards. These findings provide an important backdrop to the debate over what should replace the cameras.
To examine another part of the picture, MyChoice, a leading insurance technology company that operates an insurance comparison platform, reviewed 68,720 auto insurance quote records collected between November 13, 2024, and October 30, 2026. We restricted the before-and-after comparison to 42,518 Ontario quote records, using two equal periods:
- Before: December 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
- After: December 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026.
Each period covers 304 days and the same calendar months, helping limit differences caused by seasonality.
We specifically focused on determining the percentages of drivers who reported having at least one police-issued speeding ticket on their record or having been involved in an accident when getting a quote from mychoice.ca. All driver information was analyzed in aggregate for privacy reasons.
We then examined municipal results and matched residential postal areas with confirmed former camera locations in Toronto, Ottawa and Brampton. This more detailed comparison contains 15,360 quote records across 109 postal areas.
Key Findings
- Ottawa recorded the largest increase in accident-history prevalence among the three focus cities. The percentage of drivers with accidents increased from 10.22% to 13.80%, a rise of 3.59 percentage points.
- Brampton’s accident rate increased from 9.74% to 11.33%. Its speeding-ticket rate remained relatively stable, moving from 3.59% to 3.49%.
- Toronto recorded a smaller increase in accident rates, from 9.10% to 9.91%, while speeding-ticket rates declined from 4.83% to 4.34%.
- Brampton’s L6P postal area stood out for increases in both speeding-ticket rates and accident rates. Speeding-ticket rates increased from 1.90% to 5.93%, while accident rates increased from 7.58% to 13.14%.
- The local picture was not uniformly negative. Toronto’s M1P and M2N postal areas recorded decreases in both speeding-ticket and accident rates.
How Driving Histories Changed in Municipalities That Had Speed Cameras
Ontario’s ban took effect on November 14, 2025, ending municipal automated speed-enforcement ticketing.
The following table compares selected municipalities for which we established a pre-shutdown camera count. It provides broader municipal context before the more detailed postal-area analysis.
| Municipality | Cameras before the November 2025 shutdown | % of Drivers with Speeding Tickets (Dec 1, 2024 – Sept 30, 2025) | % of Drivers with Speeding Tickets (Dec 1, 2025 – Sept 30, 2026) | % of Drivers with Accidents (Dec 1, 2024 – Sept 30, 2025) | % of Drivers with Accidents (Dec 1, 2025 – Sept 30, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brampton | 185 | 3.59% | 3.49% | 9.74% | 11.33% |
| Toronto | 150 | 4.83% | 4.34% | 9.10% | 9.91% |
| Ottawa | 60 | 5.93% | 5.28% | 10.22% | 13.80% |
| Mississauga | 22 | 3.44% | 4.02% | 11.05% | 11.49% |
| Oakville | 14 | 5.99% | 3.63% | 11.24% | 10.48% |
| Guelph | 12 | 8.90% | 9.46% | 10.27% | 13.51% |
| Barrie | 4 | 11.64% | 9.62% | 16.44% | 15.81% |
| Kingston | 2 | 6.76% | 4.76% | 12.16% | 14.67% |
Camera counts describe the reported inventory near the shutdown, rather than the number operating throughout the entire before period.
Accident rates increased in six of these eight municipal samples. Speeding ticket rates increased in only two: Mississauga and Guelph.
Aren Mirzaian, CEO of MyChoice, says the difference between the two measures stood out in Toronto, Ottawa and Brampton. “In all three cities, a larger share of insurance shoppers reported a past accident, even as a smaller share reported a speeding ticket. Ottawa saw the biggest shift: the share reporting an accident went from about 10% to nearly 14%. The postal-area results tell a more varied story. In Brampton, for example, the speeding-ticket rate barely moved citywide, but it more than tripled in the Castlemore area.”
A Modest Toronto Citywide Change Conceals Different Local Patterns
Toronto had 150 speed cameras before the shutdown. Its municipal quote sample showed speeding-ticket rates declining by 0.50 percentage points, while accident rates increased by 0.81 percentage points.
We matched 149 camera-location records across 73 postal areas. The mapped inventory accounts for one fewer location than the city’s reported 150-camera total.
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Toronto’s overall speeding-ticket rate fell, but the two measures moved in different directions across its postal areas. Malvern/Rouge saw both rates rise, while Dorset Park and Willowdale saw both fall.
M1B—Malvern/Rouge: The speeding-ticket rate rose from 5.22% to 8.00%, and the accident rate rose from 9.57% to 12.00%. (230 quotes before, 225 after.)
M1P—Dorset Park, Wexford Heights and Scarborough Town Centre: The speeding-ticket rate fell from 4.11% to 1.63%, and the accident rate fell from 12.33% to 8.94%. (146 quotes before, 123 after.)
M2N—Willowdale: Both rates fell, with the larger change in the accident rate, from 10.19% to 6.38%. The speeding-ticket rate moved from 1.85% to 1.42%. (108 quotes before, 141 after.)
Ottawa Faces The Largest Increase in Accident Rates
Ottawa’s location inventory allowed us to match all 60 camera locations to 26 postal areas.
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Ottawa had the largest citywide increase in the reported accident rate among the three focus cities. Barrhaven and the Hunt Club area both saw increases, even as their speeding-ticket rates edged down or fell.
K2G—Nepean, Merivale and Meadowlands: The speeding-ticket rate rose from 2.06% to 8.54%, and the accident rate rose from 7.22% to 9.76%. The speeding-ticket change represents two applicants before and seven after, so the percentage is sensitive to a small number of reports.
K2J—Barrhaven: The accident rate rose from 13.25% to 17.31%, while the speeding-ticket rate was nearly unchanged at 5.96% versus 5.77%. Barrhaven had seven mapped former camera locations, the most of any Ottawa postal area in our inventory.
K1V—Hunt Club, South Keys and Riverside South: The accident rate rose from 11.86% to 15.38%, while the speeding-ticket rate fell from 7.63% to 5.13%.
Ottawa’s road-safety concerns also extend beyond the insurance sample. On November 9, 2026, Ottawa Police reported 32 traffic-related fatalities arising from 23 fatal collisions during the year to date. A targeted weekend operation had resulted in 88 speeding charges among 101 charges issued. These figures demonstrate the continuing enforcement challenge, although they do not attribute those fatalities to the camera shutdown.
For residents and local journalists, the priority is to establish which former camera sites have received replacement measures and whether speed compliance has recovered. The insurance results identify residential areas worth examining; road-level monitoring is needed to assess conditions on individual streets.
The Citywide Average in Brampton Misses Increases in L6P and L6R
Brampton had 185 cameras when enforcement ended, according to its November 2025 municipal councillor update. It is the largest reported inventory among the municipalities included in our comparison.
We identified 177 distinct mapped location points across 10 postal areas. Eight of the reported 185 cameras could not be allocated through that inventory.
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Brampton’s citywide speeding-ticket rate was nearly flat, but Castlemore saw a rise in both measures. In Springdale, the most pronounced change was in the accident rate.
L6P—Castlemore and surrounding areas: The speeding-ticket rate rose from 1.90% to 5.93%, and the accident rate rose from 7.58% to 13.14%. L6P had 28 mapped former camera locations, the most of any Brampton postal area in our inventory.
L6R—Springdale and surrounding areas: The accident rate rose from 3.17% to 10.81%, a 7.64-percentage-point increase. The number of applicants reporting an accident rose from 7 to 24 in two nearly equal samples. The speeding-ticket rate changed more modestly, from 2.71% to 3.15%.
L7A—Northwestern Brampton: Both rates edged up. The speeding-ticket rate rose from 3.39% to 3.63%, and the accident rate rose from 8.47% to 9.24%.
What Is Replacing Speed Cameras?
The provincial government’s response has centred on infrastructure and conventional enforcement. Ontario established the $210-million Road Safety Initiatives Fund, with support for measures including speed bumps, raised crosswalks, roundabouts, higher-visibility signage and targeted police enforcement. Its stated position is that these measures can reduce speeds directly while addressing concerns about municipal camera fines.
The policy question is whether those replacements can achieve comparable results at the locations that need them.
Research published by Toronto Metropolitan University and SickKids in July 2025 found that automated enforcement reduced speeding vehicles by 45% at the studied Toronto school-zone locations, while vehicles travelling more than 20 km/h above the limit decreased by 87%. Those findings concern vehicle speeds and should not be presented as equivalent reductions in collisions or injuries.
What Drivers Should Take Away
The end of automated enforcement did not remove posted speed limits or the need to slow down around schools, crossings and residential streets.
For drivers wondering whether the end of camera ticketing will affect their insurance bill, Mirzaian points to how those fines were handled. “Camera fines went to the vehicle owner and didn’t go on the driver’s record, so ending camera ticketing doesn’t automatically lower your premium. A police-issued speeding ticket that results in a conviction, or an at-fault accident, can affect what you pay. How much depends on your driving record and your insurer.”
It also did not make all speeding penalties equivalent from an insurance perspective. Former camera penalties were issued to vehicle owners and did not affect driving records or carry demerit points. Driving convictions and at-fault claims, by contrast, can influence the risk profile insurers use when determining premiums.
Drivers should pay particular attention to changing speed limits and pedestrian activity along former camera corridors, allow additional stopping distance in poor conditions, and follow the signs currently posted.
Our findings identify areas that deserve continued scrutiny. The strongest next step is to combine these residential driving-history patterns with consistent road-level evidence, so communities can judge whether replacement measures are reducing speeding and preventing serious collisions.