Return To Respectability

Today, after 6 long months, I can finally drive my other car again. As you may recall, I was dropped by my insurance company and had to go to the high risk auto insurance brokers for coverage. For 6 months I paid $2300, the equivalent of a years worth of insurance for two cars, and I wasn't allowed to drive my other car, you can read all about it here.

Well after 6 months of stopping at every stop sign, driving the speed limit and obeying all the rules of the road, I have managed to make it back to the land of regular everyday auto insurance and I couldn't be happier.

I'm not sure if it was because I worked out a deal with my insurance company when they dropped me that I'm back with them at the same rate that I was before they dropped me, but when I called around to get other quotes it was like I was still a high risk driver. No one wanted to deal with me and I would of had to stay with the high risk broker for another $2300.

Make no mistake about it, dealing with insurance companies suck. But it appears there are some that are better then others, and mine appears to be one of them. I was put back on my original policy without any penalty.

And what did I learn from this experience?

When you drive the speed limit and obey all the laws, it really opens your eyes to the fact that everyone out there drives like a maniac. When you come to a complete stop at a stop sign or slow down when the light turns yellow instead of speeding up, you realize obeying the laws are mere suggestions for most Toronto drivers.

That being said, police really don't seem to care. Instead of going after the real offenders, they prefer to set up speed traps and wait for you. If you know where they sit, and everyone does, you can avoid the ticket. All my tickets came in places that were known spots for getting tickets. If I had being paying better attention, or knew about these locations before hand I could have avoided each ticket. Yes I broke the law, but the cops didn't come after me, I went to them, by driving into their traps.

Which all means that if you aren't careful you can find yourself where I was in the blink of an eye, on the outside looking in. They say that driving is a privilege, not a right and that may be true, but in Toronto it is also a cash grab that can end up costing you huge.

Believe me on that.