Like its southern neighbour, Canada is very much dependent on driving. There is no shortage of scenic towns and destinations across the country and driving may be the best way to explore. Here is a brief driving guide aiming at easing your mind while on the road.
Driving in Canada is on the right with overtaking on the left. Since winter weather conditions may make driving challenging, we strongly advise you to check the weather conditions before travelling and be well equipped. Do not also forget to save emergency numbers in your cell phone.
Speed LimitUnlike its neighbour, Canada uses metric units. Distance and speed are marked in kilometres and kilometres/hour. There is a speed limit of 50 km/h in town and 80 km/h on highways. A typical speed limit for the freeway in most provinces is 100-110 km/h.
Traffic SignsNotably, for the most parts, Canadian traffic signs employ two languages-- English, French or both, and some incorporate indigenous language such as “Cree”. There are basically 4 types of Canadian traffic signs: regulatory, warning, information and direction.
 Stop Sign (French and English) |  Stop Sign (Inuktitut and English) |  Stop sign (Cree) |
Canada has not joined in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, explaining why the road traffic system looks different to what we usually see in Europe or other countries.
Its regulatory signs mostly feature a circular shape, with some exceptions.
 No Stopping |  No Left Turn |  No Overtaking |  Yield |
You will not see a common maximum speed sign in Canada, contrarily to some other countries. The maximal speed sign is usually rectangular, with a black writing on a white background.
 Maximum Speed Limit |
Most Canadian warning signs are diamond-shaped with black lettering or symbols on a yellow background.
 Stop Ahead |  Dead End |  Bump or Uneven pavement on the Road Ahead |  Be Alert for Animals |  Railway Crossing Ahead |
In Canada, information signs show where you are, what road you are driving on or how to reach certain places. These signs normally feature a rectangular shape with green or blue background.
 Hospital Nearby |  Gas Available Ahead |  Accommodation Ahead |
As for directional signs, they are usually rectangular with a green background, and inform drivers about the direction or distance in kilometres to neighboring towns and cities.
 Directions to Nearby Towns and Cities |  Distances in Kilometres to Towns and Cities on the Road |
You may refer to this complete manual of standard Canada traffics signs and pavement markings for a better knowledge.
Seatbelt LawsAs for seatbelt law, every Canadian province makes it compulsory for the driver and all passengers to wear seatbelts whilst the car is moving. Failing to do so will result in a fine that varies according to the province.
Booster Seat LawsChildren of 8 years old and under must be properly secured in a child seat restraint system until they are at least 145 cm tall or 36 kg. Children who weigh less than 9 kg must be secured in a rear-facing car seat.
Age and other requirements vary by Canadian province or territory. You may use this as a reference or an idea for the child safety laws when travelling with your kids in Canada, but it is advisable for you to check individual provincial rules before you set for the road.
ParkingParking regulations vary across provinces and territories and are normally the responsibility of municipalities. But you do not need to worry as signage states clearly for the permitted and forbidden parking on all streets.
· Permitted Parking
Street parking is usually only permitted in the direction of traffic. In some smaller roads, parking is only allowed on one side of the road.
Plenty of car parks are available in most of the cities. Prices vary greatly from one city to another and can be very high in cities like Vancouver. Parking can be paid by a ticket machine, a metre at the side of the road, or by a parking attendant at a public parking lot. Failing to pay for parking in these areas may result in a fine.
· No Parking
Street parking in some residential areas is not allowed in the winter. There are signs indicating when parking is not allowed.
Fuel PricesThe average price for Canada gasoline price in January 2018 is 1.36 Canadian dollar, while diesel cost 1.01.
TollThere are several toll roads in Canada such as The Ontario Highway 407 and The Cobequid Pass (Highway 104). All of the toll roads have utilized Electronic Toll Collection system.
If you are planning to drive on these toll roads, you can choose to opt into the e-toll system with your car hire company. Normally, the terms are stated in the rental contract provided by the car hire company at the rental desk. These terms should let you be aware that your credit card may be debited 4-8 weeks after you return the car. If you use an Alamo, National or Enterprise rental car, it is advisable to go to check with the Highway Toll Administration site to find out the details of the toll collected.
You are always welcomed to reach out to QEEQ' 24/7 customer service team for assistance or clarifications in matter regarding tolling.
DUI LawsCanada has very strict laws on drunk driving. The limit is the same as in the UK which is 80mg per 100ml of blood but lowered to 50mg in some provinces. If you already have a drink driving conviction on your licence within the last five years, you will be refused entering at the Canadian point of entry.
Punishment varies by provinces but all are treated very seriously. The minimum punishment for a first offence is a $1000 fine and a year's licence suspension.
Traffic FinesSpeeding in Canada can be fined from $100 to over $400 depending on provinces.
For the spot tickets, follow the instructions on the paper to proceed to the payment. It is advisable to pay fines directly when you are still in the city.
For tickets issued from cities of Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal, you can log in the city's website to check the details and pay for them by entering your ticket number( or plus with the licence plate number).
Q1.What is an insurance excess？
Q2. How can I add an addtional driver?
Q3.What if I want to pick up or drop off my rental car out of office hours?
Q4. Can I take the hired car to another country or cross border?
Q5. Can I pick up my car at one location and return it at different location?
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Customer Service
March 2, 2025
Destination: Toronto
Loose lot of money on charging due change of the car without my consent
View moreMarch 2, 2025
Destination: Toronto
Helpful nice staff and good car
View moreMarch 2, 2025
Destination: Montreal
Véhicule sale intérieurement et pas de lave glace
View moreFebruary 22, 2025
Destination: Vancouver
Avis have not returned my $750 hold/bond payment on the vehicle. Can QEEQ please follow up for me?
View moreFebruary 22, 2025
Destination: Quebec City
Rien à signaler
View moreFebruary 6, 2025
Destination: Montreal
All good
View moreJanuary 9, 2025
Destination: Calgary
El personal fue muy insistente en querer agregar más cosas que no necesitaba y eso me molestó bastante
View moreJanuary 8, 2025
Destination: Vancouver
Friendly staff
View moreJanuary 3, 2025
Destination: Winnipeg
Dollar car agent Rena did a good job of explaining all details of the car rental along with the information on additional rental add ons.
View moreJanuary 2, 2025
Destination: Montreal
The car was not correct! I booked and paid for a foord explorer 7 seater or similar but only got a Jeep 6 seater. Not the same and I paid extra for 7 seater! I went back to ask the budget cars rep and he said it was a 7 seater. But it was not and they would not check it over and said there was no more cars. We had to then pay for uber trips for the 7th passenger! This is no acceptable when I booked well in advance a 7 seater for 7 passengers.
View moreJanuary 2, 2025
Destination: Toronto
When I arrived they tried to put my into a mini van claiming that was the only vehicle they had. After reading similar reviews I told them that the van was not acceptable, that I had paid for a SUV and that was the vehicle I wanted. Miraculous that they were able to find a SUV parked next to the other 11 SUVs on their lot!
View moreJanuary 2, 2025
Destination: Toronto
좋고 편리함
View moreJanuary 2, 2025
Destination: Vancouver
RAJ was outstanding and receiving the car. Extremely help filling out the contract. When returning, car was checked-in in 3 minutes. Van driver was prompt and courteous.
View moreDecember 30, 2024
Destination: Saint John
Seemless positive experience with an upgraded vehicle.
View moreDecember 30, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
Guy who served me was awesome. Super efficient and was on the road in no time.
View moreDecember 25, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
余分な保険をつけないでほしい。車の鍵が2つもらえたのだが、その2つが普通だと取れない。針金で連結されており、どうやれば取れるのかとカウンタースタッフに聞いたところ、ガソリンスタンドなどで切断してもらう必要があると言う答えだった。これでは、2つ貸してもらう意味がない。2つに分かれた状態で、2つのキーを貸して欲しい。
View moreDecember 17, 2024
Destination: Calgary
The staff at the counter was very very good . Puneet Kaur was the staff on duty . Extremely courteous and well behaved.. Performed her duty beautifully
View moreDecember 11, 2024
Destination: Toronto
All are good But the car insurance was not covered by credit card Budget was covered and no need to buy insurance
View moreDecember 6, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
Busy car dealership that also rents cars.
View moreDecember 4, 2024
Destination: Hamilton
Like driving a brand new car. Was offered a choice of vehicles when I collected the car. Fast friendly service with a smile, no hard sell.
View moreDecember 2, 2024
Destination: Calgary
They always try to upsell you into a different car to the one that was booked.
View moreDecember 2, 2024
Destination: Coquitlam
Easy and smooth collection. Helpful staff. Nice little Toyata Corolla. Would recommend Hertz & QEEQ.
View moreNovember 26, 2024
Destination: Montreal
Nickel
View moreNovember 26, 2024
Destination: Quebec City
J'ai loue la voiture en ville et ils etaient tellement en retard que jai finalement ete la recuperer a l'aeroport directement, heureusement que quelquun a pu me dposer
View moreNovember 26, 2024
Destination: Toronto
Everything went so smoothly
View moreNovember 25, 2024
Destination: Toronto
Car was perfect, lovely to drive
View moreNovember 20, 2024
Destination: Toronto
Car was fine for our use
View moreNovember 18, 2024
Destination: Toronto
Staff was perfect and car was brilliant
View moreNovember 10, 2024
Destination: Calgary
Great customer service on collection and drop off.
View moreNovember 6, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
Friendly customer service who took great concern about the distance that the vehicle would be travelling given the weather conditions and upgraded to an all wheel drive vehicle. Thankyou Thrifty!
View moreNovember 4, 2024
Destination: Montreal
Attente un peu longue pour la prise du véhicule. Attribution dans l'ordre d'arrivée. Mais nous avons bénéficié d'un surclassement et nous avons pu avoir le véhicule bien plus tôt que l'heure prévue.
View moreNovember 4, 2024
Destination: Fredericton
it was a pleasant surprise as they had upgraded the car. it took only 10-12 minutes picking up the car. the staff at the counter were super nice.
View moreOctober 28, 2024
Destination: Calgary
The staff member who gave me the vehicle was relatively unbothered about customer service and just went through the motions. Often mumbling through terms and conditions and in particular any additional damage waivers, despite me taking out a full policy through QEEQ so the thrifty policy was not needed.
View moreOctober 22, 2024
Destination: Ottawa
A good hire with very good service.
View moreOctober 22, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
予想通りの車だった。ランクアップしてもらえたら嬉しかった。ただ、車の状態は特に問題なく走れた
View moreOctober 22, 2024
Destination: Toronto
Worked as expected
View moreOctober 18, 2024
Destination: Whitehorse
車は非常に良い状態でした。
View moreOctober 14, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
car was new which is great and there are options to choose from too
View moreOctober 14, 2024
Destination: Halifax
All ok
View moreOctober 12, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
The vehicle's compatibility with mobile devices and the connectivity of the associated application were unsatisfactory. Tesla's functionalities are predominantly managed through a mobile device and Avis didn't accept to add me as a driver.
View moreOctober 12, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
I don't know if it's Dollar or Qeeq that's to blame but one allowed us to book a car that we were then told we would not be able to hire because it didn't have snow tyres. Given our rental was covering 1st Oct onwards and it is law in the parts of Canada we were in that snow tyres are on the car from 1st Oct I think it's unacceptable to rent someone a car that isn't legally drivable. We had to pay an extra £90 at pickup that we were not anticipating. This isn't really acceptable.
View moreOctober 8, 2024
Destination: Montreal
Very good budget car hire
View moreOctober 8, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
運転しやすい小さな車がよかったのですが予約したより大きな車で運転しづらかった。 ガソリンが満タンには入っていなかったのですが英語が苦手で説明できないので泣き寝入りしました。
View moreOctober 8, 2024
Destination: Vancouver
Need to be more clear on the GPS device. It’s offered in the original quote so we expected to at least have an option to get one. At pick up no option was given to use a portable GPS device. Our only option was via an app on our Mobile phone device. When travelling we don’t always want to use our data roaming on our phones so a portable device is useful. Nowhere in the quote that it said it was not available. Was an issue at the start when no options given
View moreOctober 8, 2024
Destination: Toronto
The guy at pickup was in a rush... He asked me for a 1k deposit for tickets and tolls, whrn I asked about it he just told me that and I had to ask him to please explain if I'm paying for it... He was a little too unenthusiastic... I didn't like that. Other than that, the service is ok.
View moreOctober 6, 2024
Destination: Calgary
今回、Alamoでレンタルした車は、清潔感があり、外観や内装の状態が非常に良好でした。カウンターの場所も空港内で分かりやすく案内されており、手続きもスムーズで待ち時間が短く快適なスタートを切ることができました。返却手続きも非常に迅速で、スタッフが車両の状態を確認し、短時間で完了しました。特に、スタッフの対応が親切で質問にも丁寧に応じてくれた点が印象的でした。
View moreSeptember 30, 2024
Destination: Quebec City
The quote I was given for the hire didn’t match what I was charged- I was charged more. When I queried this at pick up I was told it was probably the taxes. It clearly states on my paper work the amount I should pay at the counter and it doesn’t mention anywhere that taxes need applying. I do feel this is wrong as there was a clear list of what was and wasn’t included. Very misleading and disappointing especially as 2 weeks hire cost me more than 3 week hire from Hertz on the west coast.
View moreSeptember 29, 2024
Destination: Toronto
Just disappointed on not supplying a vehicle with a sat nav.
View moreSeptember 29, 2024
Destination: Kelowna
Had to wait at the terminal as the staff had issues with entering the details of a uk license ont othe system & asked us to return to the airport in the morning to sort out. They also paid for our taxi back to our accomodation. We were then also given a free upgrade so i have no complaints about the process.
View moreSeptember 28, 2024
Destination: Calgary
Great service and clear communication from Zaharia (guy from India or Pakistan) - very charming and smooth service
View more