Having a teen pass their knowledge test, get their L and ask for the car keys is a milestone for many B.C. kids and parents.
A right of passage of sorts that marks the move from childhood to young adulthood.
But it can also be cause for concern, especially when the roads they will travel include the sometimes deadly Sea to Sky Highway.
There are also the questions of who will teach junior to drive and whether they will pass. These days, the chances of failing are high.
According to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), nearly half of new drivers fail to pass their first attempt at a road test.
And yet, more and more folks want a licence to hit the open road.
ICBC data shows that in June, a record 35,500 road tests were conducted throughout B.C., up 24% compared with the monthly average.
The crown corp said that over the last year, ICBC has conducted 33% more road tests (343,132) compared with the same period before the pandemic, 2018 to 2019.
Todd McGivern, of Pemberton’s ., , told The 麻豆社国产 that his business is definitely seeing an increase in people wanting to learn to drive.
ICBC advises that new drivers take some approved training with a school before booking their road test.
ICBC's driver licensing office manager Jerry Boal told that “50% of the people that are parent-taught fail. Students who take a course or even a couple of lessons, their chances of passing go up to about 74%.”
In the ICBC release, Boal added, "Instructors can help you refine your skills, teach you safe driving practices and let you know what to expect on your test.”
McGivern says parents can have bad habits they pass on, lack the knowledge of what the test entails these days, or have trouble teaching their own kids.
“Quite often, too, parents can be good drivers and good safe drivers, but they don't know how to be good teachers,” he said.
Test tips
ICBC has the following tips for passing the road test.
- Start with the right mindset: ICBC notes practicing driving to the test location and arriving early help battle test-day nerves.
McGivern noted having a calm mindset as one of the hardest things for new drivers to achieve — even over learning how to parallel park.
“The walking in, the checking in and 'Oh, I'm so nervous. Am I prepared?'” McGivern said.
- Practice, practice: ICBC recommends at least 60 hours of practice on the road before taking the road test for the first time.
McGivern agrees.
“Maybe the problem is that the training is not mandatory,” he said. “You could have half an hour of training as a 16-year-old and go through a road test. No one's checking.”
He also stresses that new drivers need to practice in all the situations they will face as drivers — wildfire smoke, snow, rain and the like.
- Control your speed: ICBC says speeding during a road test is a common mistake.
McGivern said students often ask how fast or slow they can go.
“The answer is always, do what's appropriate for the road conditions. And if you can get into your kid's head or into your student’s head that you can only do that within what the limits allow — anything above the limits is going to be unsafe."
- Boost your confidence: ICBC advises practicing some more challenging manoeuvres over and over until they are smooth.
McGivern says to work especially hard on mirror checks, shoulder checks and turn signals.
- Observe your surroundings: ICBC says often, new drivers are not aware enough of their surroundings during their road test, such as not performing their 360-degree check. Be sure to shoulder check when turning, merging or changing lanes and while parking, notes the ICBC release.
“Keep checking in on those mirrors. Use the time and space available to build a plan — scan and plan,” McGivern said.
Scan and plan is his catchphrase. It means if you are at, say, the light on the Sea to Sky Highway near the Wendy’s, be thinking and looking ahead to the next light, and the one after that.
“Rookie students, they get to a stop sign, and then they ‘wake up,’ and now they're trying to scan, plan and execute all at the same time,” he said.
Ultimately, McGivern said that the thing parents and new drivers have to keep in mind is that the road test ensures a new driver and everyone else is safe on the roads.
Find out more about preparing for the road test on
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