Who are the worst drivers in Canada? Where do they come from? Where do they live?
Right now, it’s a bit of a mystery; well, a lot of a mystery. In Canada, we don’t like to categorize bad behaviour by region or city. We don’t mind singling out individuals. There used to be a television series called Canada’s Worst Driver. I never liked the show because I felt it trivialized the lethal nature of driving. After all, there was never a show called Canada’s Most Careless Shotgun Owner.
In the United States, they aren’t shy about calling out bad driving by city. Last January, California-based legal firm Lemon Law Experts released the most annoying driver behaviours in America. Researchers interviewed Americans in 40 cities in an effort “to learn where drivers in the U.S. are exhibiting the most annoying behaviors behind the wheel.” Cities were given an “Annoying Driver Score” out of 100.
They categorized bad drivers into three main categories:
- “Most Annoying” – Distracted by mobile phones, changing lanes without signaling, speeding, making prohibited U-turns
- “Most Aggressive” – Tailgating and road rage confrontations
- “Rudest” – Rude gestures or yelling
Miami was the worst in all three categories.
Miamians have the worst “Annoying Driver Score” with 98.5. Las Vegas (92.37) comes in second and Nashville (91.03) third.
Cars drive through a commercial area, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami.Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press
The least annoying drivers are found in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
Miami is the “Most Aggressive,” followed by Philadelphia and Nashville. Miamians are also the rudest, with Sacramento and Nashville a close second and third. Lemon Law Experts also ranked the “Most Entitled Drivers” (Miami, New Orleans, Las Vegas) and the “Most Obnoxious Parkers” (Miami, San Franscisco, Los Angeles).
I’m intrigued by Lemon Law’s survey results. They prove you can denounce drivers by city. Surely some Canadian law firm can do the same for our proud country. Perhaps if I tap into our current burst of nationalism, it will encourage them to do so. “Canada is not for sale! Vancouver drivers are just as bad as they are in Miami! Keep bad driving in Canada Canadian!”
The problem is that driving is a little like making love, no two people do it exactly the same and there are a billion different ways to do it wrong. You could say that Torontonians are the worst drivers in Canada. They are certainly some of the rudest. They execute some of the most wild and outlandish moves on the highway. At the same time, it takes a certain skill to drive in a city where the traffic is so terrible – terrible on a global scale. You need to be a good driver to parallel park downtown during rush hour as other drivers honk and scream at you, cyclists whizz around and pedestrians jaywalk.
Statistically, the city of Brampton, northwest of Toronto, scores poorly. Allstate Canada’s 10-year study of their policyholder’s collision claims found Brampton had the worst average collision frequency rate in the country at 7.1 per cent (a dubious honour shared by Scarborough and North York).
Brampton drivers also pay the highest car insurance premiums in Ontario, according to a 2023 Ratesdotca report.
This may not be because they are worse drivers. Fred Lazar, an associate professor of economics at York University, told the Toronto Star, “Their jobs are likely to be a long distance from where they live. And there’s really dreadful public transit (in Brampton); it’s not an option.”
Vancouver, where traffic congestion is out of control, is in the running for worst drivers. A 2018 study by the German online automotive part retailer kfzteile24 ranked Vancouver as the worst major city in Canada to drive. Calgary was chosen as the 10th best city in the world to drive and Montreal was 13th.
Montreal’s ranking has me wondering about the folks at kfzteile24. Montreal is a treacherous, pothole-infused, one-way construction-zone driving maze with a parking system that feels as if they stole it from the show Squid Game. The Daily Hive recently reported that Inrix, a transportation analytics company, declared Montreal has the worst congestion in Canada. But congestion, potholes and the design of a city are the driver’s fault. Although, they can make drivers worse.
I don’t know how long this will take, but I’ll start my “Quest for the Worst” in Montreal. From Pont Champlain to the Décarie Expressway, I’ll drive. To me, from them with failing hands they throw the torch.
If our law firms and insurance companies won’t categorize and call out the worst drivers in Canada, The Road Sage will attempt it. I will discover how “mauvais” the driving is in the biggest city in La Belle Province.
Montréal. C’est là où je vais commencer. Look for a report next week.