Summer is when a lot of new Ontario drivers get their first real road time, and it is also when the roads get busiest and least predictable. Long weekends, construction, cyclists, and low evening sun all pile on at once. None of it is hard to handle once you know what to look for. Here are the summer hazards worth having on your radar.<\/p>\n
Ontario does most of its road work in the warm months, so orange signs, lane shifts, and reduced limits are part of summer driving. Slow down when you see them, watch for workers, and remember that fines for speeding in a construction zone are higher when workers are present. Lanes can close with little warning, so leave yourself room to merge early rather than at the last second.<\/p>\n
Warm weather brings out cyclists, pedestrians, and people on scooters, often in places you would not expect. Give cyclists at least one metre when passing where it is safe, check your blind spot and mirror before opening a door, and treat every crosswalk as active. New drivers tend to focus on cars and miss the smaller, slower road users. Those are the ones that get hurt.<\/p>\n
Holiday weekends mean heavier highway traffic and longer drives than a new driver may be used to. Plan stops, keep a safe following distance in stop-and-go traffic, and do not push through when you are tired. Drowsy driving slows your reactions in a way that feels a lot like being impaired, and the highway is the worst place to find that out.<\/p>\n
Low morning and evening sun can wash out signals, brake lights, and pedestrians in an instant. Keep sunglasses in the car, use your visor, and keep your windshield clean inside and out, because a dirty windshield turns glare into a wall of white. If you genuinely cannot see, slow down until you can.<\/p>\n
A clear afternoon can turn into heavy rain in minutes. Wet roads are most slippery in the first few minutes of rain, when oil lifts off the surface. Ease off the accelerator, increase your following distance, and turn on your headlights so others can see you. If rain is heavy enough that you cannot see, pull well off the road and wait it out.<\/p>\n
Every one of these comes down to the same core skills the G1 test is built around: scanning ahead, keeping space, and adjusting to conditions. Build them now and they serve you all year. If you are still working toward your licence, FreeG1<\/a> has free practice questions, every Ontario traffic sign, and full mock exams to get you there.<\/p>\n Keep reading:<\/strong> winter driving<\/a> and wet-weather driving<\/a>.<\/p>\n