Driving in Canada – Recommendations, Tips and Tricks
Find Your Car in Canada
26. There nothing difficult in understanding the peculiarities of local traffic regulations. All drivers, actually, need to do is to pay attention to road signs. There are large boards near the entrance to every town. These boards provide drivers with the following information: current speed limits, acceptable maneuvers at crossroads and one-way roads, and the amount of penalties for each types of violation.
27. There are also electronic scoreboards at the entrances of major highways. These scoreboards display current conditions of roads, traffic congestions, and service areas. The scoreboards may also display alternative routes in case of large traffic jams.
28. Drivers, who plan to travel in Ontario, should not forget about an important feature of local crossroads. In many crossroads traffic lights are located after the intersection. This is quite unusual for motorists who are used to stop at the traffic lights.
29. Lane markings also have their own peculiarities. For example, a single solid yellow line may be crossed only in case there’s a need to turn to another street or to a yard. When overtaking, it is forbidden to cross this line.
30. If there is a reserve lane, marked by the dashed and solid double-marking, then cars that move straight are prohibited to occupy this lane. This part of the road is designed only for cars that move out of a yard or make a left turn.
31. Determining, whether it is a lane marker, is not difficult if taking into consideration the color of the marking. As a rule, white markings are made between the lanes and the edges of a road. Yellow markings are present at the center of a road. Quite often, there are reflectors of corresponding colors instead of the standard color markings.
32. If you see a police car with flashing lights behind your car, it should be considered as a demand to move to the edge of the road and stop. Do not go out of the car, this is prohibited. Simply lower the side window and wait for a police officer to come, and then follow his/her instructions.
Hints on Car Hire in Canada
When choosing a car for your Canada trip, don’t forget to check and compare the franchise amount (indicated in the rental conditions) for all cars considered in your selection. The franchise may vary from 200 to 2000 euro/dollars even for cars of the same class. A thorough comparison will allow you to choose the option with the lowest franchise.
During your booking, we will offer you to take a full coverage of the franchise ('No Risk' or 'No Excess' package). If you book a car without full coverage, it is recommended to take it at the pick-up time - this will substantially reduce your financial liability in Canada for the whole rental period.
During your car pick-up in Canada, do not forget to check what to do in breakdown-, accident- or theft-cases. Most of our offers include 'Breakdown Assistance' package. Besides this, every rental office would be happy to assist you with this package.
Prior to the car return, please check your voucher for the fuel conditions. If it is indicated that a driver shall return the car with a full tank, do not forget to refuel it on the way back, this will save you from additional charges at the rental office.
If you are looking for a car hire in Canada, we advise you to check OrangeSmile.com actual rental offers. Just use the orange search form at the top. We guarantee that you would not be able to find better rates anywhere else!
33. In British Columbia, there are the most rigorous penalties in the country for driving in a drunken state. While in some provinces the maximum permitted level of alcohol in blood is 0.8 ppm, and all a driver with such a level can get is a warning, in British Columbia even a level of 0.5 ppm will certainly bring big problems to the driver.
34. Northwest Territories are distinguished by a rather unique structure of roads. Many trails have been built here in snow and ice, and this fact explains the presence of a number of features in local traffic regulations. The province of Nunavut is one of the most disorganized in terms of road access. The total length of its roads it is less than 1,000 kilometers.
35. During first two months in the country foreign drivers are allowed to use their national driving licenses. However, the presence of international driver’s permit is also required. When this period is over, drivers are obliged to get the local driving license.
36. It is important to mention that child seats can be installed only at the back seat of a car. Only children older than 12 years are allowed to be transported in the front seat (the age may vary for different provinces).
37. Many roads have limitations that are familiar to European drivers, so when driving, motorists are often recommended to look around and control the “blind zone”. Many drivers may consider such a peculiarity of driving in Canada rather unusual, but that is a necessity on local roads.
38. If there is a sound of police sirens or the alarm of fire or medical services, simply follow the following rule. Change the lane, moving as close to the right edge of the road as possible, and stop. Driving can be resumed only after cars of the abovementioned services pass your car by.
39. Many roads have completely no markings that prohibit turning. If there are no flower beds, borders, or prohibitory signs on the designated section of a road, then it is possible to turn around, but only in case it does not interfere with pedestrians and other participants of traffic.
40. One can rarely hear the sound of heavy braking at a red traffic light on local roads. The reason for this fact is that in addition to main traffic lights crossroads are usually equipped with warning traffic lights. Their flashing signals warn drivers that they will already have no time to pass the crossroads, so it is safe to slow down.
41. The maximum allowed number of passengers in a car is equal to the number of seat belts. When moving, all the passengers must fasten seat belts, and passengers who ignore this rule will face a large fine.
42. Pedestrians can cross roads even in the places that are not specifically designed for crossing. In Canada, such a behavior is permitted, and all the cars have to stop and wait until pedestrians leave the road.
43. All cities in Canada are equipped with a large number of paid parking lots. There are both parking lots on surface and underground. Parking rules on free parking lots are quite complex. They can be read on special signs, installed in front of each parking lot. It is worth noting that the minimum fine for wrong parking is 20 Canadian dollars.
44. A large part of highways is free in Canada. Toll highways always have a back-road, by which it is possible to reach the place of destination free of charge.
45. There are a lot of cyclists on local roads, and this fact greatly complicates the traffic. Motorists should always control the situation. Quite often drivers of two-wheeled vehicles can move in the “dead zone”, so it is simply impossible to see them in the mirror. It is also worth considering that during the “rush hour” it may be very difficult to ride to a big road from a small street - the flow of traffic is very dense at this time.
46. If a driver has stopped at the crossroads and is about to turn, by no means the wheels of his car must be oriented in the direction of the turn. Such precautions have been added in order to prevent a car from being thrown to the opposite lane or to the sidewalk in case of a back strike.
47. One will see cars of different price levels on the roads of Canada. In large cities, it is possible to see modest cars that cost $200 and luxury cars, the price of which is a thousand times more than the price of budget cars. The climate in some regions of the country is quite severe, and so in winter many roads are richly covered with a variety of chemicals. Of course, this fact inevitably affects the “health” of cars.
48. Local drivers are distinguished by quite a relaxed driving style. They will never show aggression towards slow moving beginners. Quite often, cars that move on large roads slow down in order to give way to cars that turn from small roads.
49. On some roads there are special lanes for cyclists. Other types of transport are not permitted to use these lanes. If there are no special lanes for the two-wheeled transport, cyclists move along the main traffic flow. They are considered full-right participants of traffic.