Toronto Mayor Rob Ford refuses driver

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is refusing to hire a chauffeur, despite the pleas of some ofhis staunchest allies in council to do so after he was photographedreading while driving on the Gardiner Expressway

Ford reiterated his opposition to hiring anyone to drive him around the city at a Tuesday afternoon news conference in which he announced his support for a Toronto boy's soccer team that is one of 15 vying for a $125,000 prize that will be dedicated to facility improvement.

"A million people a day go to work in this city and they drive themselves. I don't see why I'm any different," Ford told reporters.

"They offered me a car whenI first got elected. And a driver. And that was well over $100,000 combined. I think thats a waste of taxpayer's money."

Thedebate around whether Ford should get a driver was re-ignited last week after the mayoradmitted to reading while drivinghis Cadillac Escalade on thehighway.

Coun. Mike Del Grande,Ford's fiscally conservative budget chief,has saidhe believes Ford should get a driver, and itmay be up to council to vote to force him to hire one.

Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, has also advocated such an approach.

'A million people a day go to work in this city and they drive themselves. I don't see why I'm any different.' Rob Ford, Toronto mayor

In addition to last week's incident on the Gardiner Expressway, Ford has been involved in a number of incidents in which he has been accused of poor judgment on the road.

Ford in Julyadmitted he drove past a streetcar's rear doors, and was then confronted by the operator of the streetcar.

In October,Ford was accused of illegally dialing numberson his cellphone and talking on it as he steered his gold minivan westbound along Dundas Street West near Spadina Avenue.

And inJuly last year, the mayordenied accusationsthat he gave the middle finger to Ottilie Mason and her six-year-old daughter after the mother accosted him for talking on his cellphone while driving.

Despite those incidents, Ford has resisted repeated calls to hire a driver.