Lifestyle and Leisure
Retaking your driving test in Canada
David Fuller chats with two British migrants one who has had to retake their driving test since emigrating, and one who will have to in the near future
Few things in life tend to get people quite so nervous as taking a driving test. Learners who have been driving perfectly in the weeks leading up to their test can be transformed into gibbering imbeciles on the day of their exam, forgetting everything they have been taught during months of expensive lessons in preparation for getting their licence.
A friend of mine got so nervous before one of his five tests that he took valium to calm himself down! Needless to say he failed. If you're one of those who lay awake tossing and turning the night before your driving test, thoughts of stalling, mounting kerbs and hitting lamposts racing through your mind, then it may be of some concern to learn that, depending on where in Canada you live, you may need to retake your driving test once you emigrate.
Those of you planning to settle in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec or Newfoundland and Labrador will, I'm sure, be delighted to know that holders of a UK licence issued by the DVLA can merely swap this licence for a Canadian equivalent without the need to take a test. However, if you're looking at settling in any of the other four provinces or three territories, or had your licence issued by the DVLANI (the driving authority in Northern Ireland) then you'll have to prepare to go through all the agonies of taking your driving test once again. While you will be able to drive legally on a UK licence including a Northern Irish one for the first 90 days of your new life in Canada, if you're not in possession of a Canadian one by the expiry of this period, you'll no longer be classed as a legal driver. And not only will you need to pass a practical test in order to gain your licence, but you'll need to negotiate a theory exam as well, something I'm sure a fair few of you won't have had to do in passing your test in the UK.
Tania and Mark Williamson emigrated to Nova Scotia in December 2006. While the idea of having to retake a driving test didn't faze Mark, the same cannot be said for Tania. "I was really nervous before my test," she admits. "The test consists of two parts. The first is the road signs/rules of the road test. This is split into two separate tests, each multiple choice consisting of 20 questions. The pass make is 16 for each. We both read the equivalent highway code book and did the online test multiple times. Mark did it first, and passed both first time. Then I did mine. Unfortunately, I failed the rules section after getting 15/20. However, I only had to do that one test again and only had to wait seven days to retake it." However, it was the road test which Tania found particularly daunting. "Mark took his test first and passed first time," she says. "He told me that it was easy and that he wasn't nervous at all. If you make a mistake you accumulate points, as far as I remember the pass or rather fail mark is 30 points.
"My test was only about 20 minutes long, and followed the same route as Mark's. Fortunately, he'd given me tips on what to expect, like parking on a hill next to a parking meter, reversing into a parking space, etcetera. The latter I found hard in our car as it is a 4x4 with a wide turning circle. The day before my test I practiced in a supermarket car park nearly all day until I was confident." Tania continues: "During the test the instructor talked throughout and I found it hard to concentrate. But I still passed with only five points (I stopped too early before a stop sign). An English friend of mine failed her test first time as she didn't come to a complete stop at a stop sign. "In total, the cost of taking our tests and getting our licences was minimal really. Less than CDN$100 each," she adds.
While the Williamsons have successfully negotiated the Nova Scotia driving exams, over in British Columbia the recently arrived Mόfit and Claire Bolgil are busy preparing for their tests. "We are both a bit anxious about the whole thing," says Claire. "It's bad enough having to take the tests in the first place, but when I tell you that if you don't pass the test here first time we have to enter the graduated scheme, you can appreciate that we're quite tense about it all as we would essentially have to go back to being a learner driver with all the restrictions that brings!" In order to make sure this doesn't happen, the couple are considering taking some lessons before they book their tests, something Mark and Tania decided against doing. "We are planning to have at least one lesson just so that we can have some experience of finding out what the practical test will involve and what examiners are looking for," confirms Claire. "This will also give us a chance to find out whether there's anything we're doing wrong." If you have your heart set on moving to one of the destinations where you will need to take a test in order to gain a driving licence, but can't think of a much worse ordeal than having to sit your driving test again, then you'll not doubt be hoping that the province you plan to live in will have a reciprocal agreement with the UK which allows for the exchange of driving licences by the time you get there. There is a chance this could happen, with all provincial and territorial driving authorities in discussions to bring in such a rule to standardise the procedure across Canada. "I got in touch with the ICBC (Insurance Corporation of BC) who are a bit like the DVLA before we came out here to ask whether they had any intention of introducing a reciprocal scheme with the UK," says Claire. "I was told that although they are considering it, reaching an agreement is still be a long way off."
For now, then, if you're thinking of making a new life for yourself in BC, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, or one of the three territories, those pesky driving test nerves may just have to be conquered all over again.
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