One week after being photographed reading work papers while driving along the Gardiner Expressway, Mayor Rob Ford flatly refused pleas from his councillor brother and the Toronto police service to hire a driver.

“A million people a day go to work in this city and they drive themselves. I don’t see why I’m any different, so right now I’m not planning to go out and spend 50, 60 thousand dollars to hire someone to drive me around.

“They offered me a car when I first got elected, and a driver, and that was well over $100,000 combined. I think that’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Ford made the comments, surrounded by boys from a soccer team, at a news conference he called Tuesday to urge Torontonians to vote for them online so they have a shot at winning $125,000 to upgrade their pitch.

Ford’s refusal to be driven made headlines last week when he caught reading his speech announcing a Chicago trade mission while driving to city hall.

Asked later if the photo on Twitter was him, the mayor shrugged: “Yeah, probably. I’m busy,” and accused the reporter of a “ridiculous question.”

That alarmed the Toronto Police, who go to great lengths to warn drivers that driving distractions put lives at risk.

“On behalf of all the citizens of Toronto that value road safety, Mr. Mayor, please get a driver,” Sgt. Tim Burrows, a social media officer, wrote on the police Facebook wall. “It is obvious that you are busy enough to require one and no amount of money you are saving by not having one is worth the life of one of your citizens.”

Councillor Doug Ford vowed to convince his brother that the mayor of Canada’s largest city needs a driver so he can safely prep for meetings and events.

The councillor said he has bugged his little brother to get a driver since his election in late 2010, and called the conduct that led to the photo uproar “beyond the point of ridiculous.”

On Tuesday, after the mayor soundly rejected his advice, Councillor Ford shrugged and said: “I can’t win. I tried my hardest.”

Mayor Ford, who does not release his itinerary to the media and holds relatively few public events, urged all Torontonians to go online and vote for the Mooredale Lightning Gold 2000 U12 boys’ team to become a BMO Team of the Week.

One of the coaches said he got the mayor involved through a friend of a friend who works in Ford’s office.