Diluting Ontario’s road test to clear backlogs: what could go wrong?

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A driver’s licence is not red tape. 

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There’s a backlog of almost half a million new drivers waiting to take their road test to earn their full licence. Back in September, the province announced the addition of temporary testing centres in particularly clogged regions, running seven days a week, to help ease the strain.

Last week, they announced a further step: to save time, they’re cutting the traditional 30-minute test in half by eliminating the requirement to test a new driver’s ability to parallel park, do a three-point turn, and perform a roadside stop. They argue that drivers have already been tested on these maneuvers as part of their G2 road test. 

The parallel parking portion of the road test has been the bugaboo of new drivers for generations. Why the stress and hand-wringing? Because it was a difficult skill to master. A measurable outcome with little margin for error. Do you use it every day? Some do, many don’t, but it’s time to look beyond the little-used application and appreciate the reason it is a perfect example of why it should not only not be ditched, but that it should be part of a better, if not bigger, test.

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We keep buying bigger vehicles — stupidly big vehicles, in many cases. We already have too many drivers who are so disconnected from the road, so distracted by infotainment systems and so disengaged from other road users, that the last thing we need is to dial back the exercises that test whether those drivers even know how much space they occupy. We should not only be insisting that new drivers know how to parallel park properly, we should also be testing them on their ability to back into a spot in a parking lot — the safest way to park, though few do it.

These low-speed operations are vital. This is when drivers are most likely to come into contact with pedestrians. If they have little concept of how they are piloting thousands of pounds of metal, they are a significant — and increasing — danger to the most vulnerable road users. They should be tested on making a right on a red light. Block the intersection? Fail. Three-point turns are a great way to develop spatial awareness, though I’d argue that telling a driver to execute a legal U-turn would provide more useful results. You can usually three-point (or five, or more) your way out of a tight spot when nobody else is around. A U-turn? That’s a test of multiple on-road skills.

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Many of those awaiting their tests have been waiting an unacceptably long time. I get it: a global pandemic has thrown a wrench into everything. I’ll also note that the added time has probably given a lot of those drivers extra time to practice and become more confident behind the wheel. But are you willing to risk our already-dangerous roads on it? I’m not.

The current road test for a G licence in Ontario tests the following: left and right turns; stop intersection; through intersection; freeway; land change; roadside stop; curve; business section; residential section; parallel park; three-point turn. The government may be right that it’s time for some upgrades to the test, but if anything, it should be to incorporate the modern vehicles we drive that have little in common with their predecessors beyond their number of wheels. There is no shortcut to putting qualified drivers behind the wheel. The current test is already substandard. 

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Knotheaded decisions, however, are the order of the day. As we make it through our do-it-yourself pandemic with little leadership and even less common sense, take it upon yourself to protect and prepare the new drivers in your household.

If you’re teaching a new driver or augmenting lessons, go above and beyond. Don’t teach them enough to pass a test, teach them the full skillset that driving requires. Parallel parking is like driving a car with a manual transmission: it might be daunting at first, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it. It’s physics and practice. 

Take your learner driver to a parking lot. Have them park, then get out and see where their wheels ended up. I learned on a station wagon, and my father put two pieces of 2×4 on the hood to tell me where the tires were. Extreme? Maybe. But with a hood that long, it was instructive to a new driver to understand the space I was occupying. Getting out and walking around your vehicle is imperative to connect the task you just performed with the outcome you’ve achieved.

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Make sure they are just as competent when the vehicle is in reverse. Set mirrors to eliminate blind spots . Backup cameras are amazing, but they’re a tool to be used, not a failsafe method to be relied upon. Shoulder checks are still needed — every time — for cyclists and pedestrians. 

A licence to drive is too easy to acquire, and eliminating some of the most important elements of that test is a short-sighted disservice to us all. If the argument is that drivers why already demonstrated these skills on the previous test, why retest anything? There is a constant outcry to retest drivers who have been on the road for decades. Why are we kicking the bar even lower for those who are just starting?