Serving the public is Woolley’s ongoing mission

February 4, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
Cam Woolley is on a never-ending mission.
If there’s a lesson to be learned, he’ll be the first to share it with the public.
His journey and accomplishments have made him a celebrity, one of the most recognizable faces on the airwaves.
But it’s not fame that drives him, but rather a passion and sense of duty, qualities honed over his extensive police career.
Woolley is a traffic and safety reporter for CP24 and a former police sergeant with the OPP in the GTA. Woolley appears on CP24 Breakfast as well as on CP24 promos such as Safety First with Cam Woolley and Know Your Rights. He shares his expertise with viewers and drivers through the reality show Canada’s Worst Driver.
The officer-turned TV reporter is a unique character. He uses his safety expertise and investigative prowess to size up any crime or accident scene he attends, providing an accurate assessment. His instinct and skills are as sharp as ever, making him a trusted journalist among his former peers.
Woolley is a hands-on kind of guy. Not only is he a competent mechanic in his own right, but he learned a lot from mechanics and MTO officers and engineers during his career.
His contribution to the enhancement of traffic safety in Ontario is unparalleled, consistently breaking new ground in the field of “forensic mechanics” to utilize computer technology to reconstruct collisions and traffic crimes like a digital private investigator. He’s considered an expert witness at all levels of court proceedings and inquests. His testimony has resulted in new traffic legislation to improve the safety of Ontario’s roads.
As he put it, he’s not only familiar with a vehicle’s nuts and bolts, but the “nuts behind the wheel.”
He’s investigated numerous fatal accidents, and just last week he was on-scene at another Toronto pedestrian fatality.
When he’s on scene as a reporter, he has a job to do and puts thing in perspective. His motivation comes from sharing lessons with the public, in the hopes of preventing future tragedies. He genuinely wants to help the public.
During his police career, Woolley specialized in traffic crime, collision investigations and enforcement. He was the lead investigator on many high-profile, precedent-setting fatal motor vehicle collisions in the Toronto area, involving everything from unsafe transport trucks and flying truck wheels to criminal investigations into hit-and-runs.
He’s quite proud of his testimony given at inquests that have helped shape Ontario laws, even highway design features.
He chose to appear on Canada’s Worst Driver as part of his sense of duty to the public. “I’m not an actor,” he said. He gets his informative message across in an entertaining way. The message is sinking in among viewers. He said he often gets hugs and thanks from strangers who learned techniques from watching the show. If they learn something and take it with them, that’s what it’s all about.
Woolley is CP24’s primary morning reporter, who often patrols the highways and streets. He puts in a full day by the lunch hour.
His reporting role is both fun and fulfilling he said, adding he’s always cognizant of what’s in the public interest.
Roads across southern Ontario are busier these days and longer commutes are commonplace, increasing fatigue and road rage.
You can find him regularly patrolling Highways 9 and 400 in the vicinity of King. He’s also a familiar face in Schomberg and has agreed to help judge the ambassador competition at this year’s Schomberg Spring Fair.
He comes across as a seasoned news hound, even though he only joined CP24 in September of 2008, after leaving the OPP. He’s likable and has become a popular on-scene face.
In October 2012, Woolley was presented with the York Region Labour Award for reporting on the York Region Transit strike of 2011. In April that same year, he and CP24 were recognized for their gracious support of the St. Johns Ambulance. This award was endorsed by The Governor General of Canada, David Johnson.
He has escorted world leaders, the Pope and royalty safely along provincial highways to their destinations.
Woolley is also quite proud of his lobbying efforts in the aftermath of an epic gun battle in 1993. He joined officers from several detachments in chasing a serial bank robber (and former soldier) from Orangeville. It ended in a shootout in Caledon.
During the confrontation, Woolley was attempting to reload his .38 revolver, but was jostled and lost his speed loader. The culprit took aim at Woolley who was defenceless. He was decorated for bravery for his actions.
But what followed was even more interesting. That incident led him to lobby the government in changing the sidearms carried by police officers, recommending the semi-automatic handguns used today.
Woolley can’t sit still, and he’s up every day at 4 a.m., anxious to hit the road and see what the day brings.
It must be in his blood.
He enjoys his media colleagues at CP24 and even doesn’t mind getting into the spirit on “Dance Fridays.”
He’s always been mechanically inclined, he says, tinkering with everything from cars to old radios. He learned by doing and he’s now a very competent mechanic and has restored literally dozens of vehicles, ranging from ambulances and police cars to a Universal Gun Carrier (commonly referred to as a Bren Gun Carrier) used during the Second World War. He still uses a Canadian military 1.25-ton pickup, complete with camo paint, to plow his driveway in rural New Tesumseth. He loved his 1953 Ferret Scout Car, made in the UK by Daimler and used by the British army (as well as many other countries). When the mood strikes him, he hops in his menacing M37 Vietnam-era gun truck and treks around the back 40.
Woolley, along with a partner, owned a company that supplied emergency vehicles to movie sets and he worked on several Toronto-shot films and TV series, including the pilot for the acclaimed Flashpoint, starring Nobleton’s Enrico Colantoni. He also worked on FX, Monk and Psi Factor to name a few. His company was unique in that he not only supplied accurate vehicles, but uniformed, off-duty personnel. In the movie business, it’s feast or famine, and Woolley said after 20 years, he sold the company.
His newest prize is a 1969 Corvette Stingray, which sat in a local barn for more than 13 years gathering dust. While it had been restored, the years sitting idle took their toll and he had to review and revamp almost every system in the car, even the clock, gauges and radio.
He loves it, though. And he enjoys hunting for parts. Fortunately, a reliable and knowledgeable auto guru in Caledon manages to offer advice and find almost every part Woolley needs. Coincidentally, he even worked on this very same car. Woolley has all the bills and paperwork on this beauty.
Cam Woolley is having the time of his life.
His fans can take comfort in the fact he’s sharing his knowledge and wisdom in helping make our roads safer for everyone.