Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) Data

Data Notes

• The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) maintains a database on every reportable motor vehicle collision that occurs in Ontario. The data are based on the motor vehicle accident report completed by the investigating police officer or staff at a Collision Reporting Centre.
• Three groupings of files are on the database: collision information (e.g., location, number of vehicles involved, road conditions), driver/vehicle information (e.g., driver’s age and condition, vehicle type), and if a collision results in injury, information about the persons involved (age, sex, position in the vehicle). The files are linked by a common identification number.
• Collision data are provided geographically by place of occurrence, not by the residence of the driver or injured person; however, the driver's Forward Sortation Area or FSA (first 3 characters of postal code) was made available for some years (1995, 1996). Residence was obtained by linking the drivers’ license file with the collision file and is based on the drivers’ place of residence on one selected day during the year.
• Analysis based on place of occurrence can be misleading since collisions may occur to people who do not live in that area, particularly if the area is frequented by tourists and commuters.

References and Resources

1. Ardal S, Berkowitz-Sandhu M, Woodward GL. Driver Residence Analysis of Motor Vehicle Collisions: A Discussion Paper on the Potential of MTO Data to Address Population Health Issues. Central East Health Information Partnership, August 2002.