The Star released, “Fail rates set for driver test centers,” today in the article which discusses the difficulty of urban test tracks versus more rural routes.[1]
Five years ago, while I was graduating through the Ontario licensing system, there was a trend amongst new drivers to create an easier testing scenario. The trend was to do one's drive test on simpler routes, for instance in Huntsville. Today, the trend continues—but should it be stopped?
Brampton holds Ontario’s highest failure rate norm of 53% while Kenora, a Northeastern town of 15, 177 people, [2] has only a 7% failure rate.
As a teen who has invested money to get their license, wouldn’t you want the easiest test to ensure you pass?
Growing older, we realize that what we wanted in our teens isn’t necessarily right or beneficial. We start to look at the bigger picture.
And so, it should be mandatory for drivers to take the G2 and G drive test in the area closest to where they currently reside. If you live in an urban area and are tested on a lower volume route with less traffic laws, lights and signs then the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is potentially passing those who can’t even safely make it from school to home.
Now, as a more mature driver, I know that this test trend doesn’t create a safe ‘big picture.’ However, at 17 not all do and thus a law should be put in place, to ensure that the easy way out is not an option.
