Road test for new drivers

[Table 5]

For the love of god, please teach your student about proper lane usage on the highway. There's nothing more annoying than some slowpoke humming along in the left lane while there are 10 cars stuck behind them not able to pass. Forget speeding, that's one thing I really wish cops would start ticketing, it really impedes traffic flow.

Right lane is for cruising. Left lane is for passing!

[BagoPucks]

I looked casually over the posts and I might have missed this- Always try to be 4-5 under speed limit. I believe the examiner doesnt mind that but ifyou are even 3-4 above the speed limit(accidently going downhill) you will lose points.. but they never take points off for going 46/45 in a 50 zone.

[sa226]

In somewhat unrelated news my Grandmas sister who isn't a day under 75, has health problems and old person problems, hasn't driven in over 30 years but all she needed to do to get her license back was pass the stupid written test.

That is all kinds of wrong.

[DrJ]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

They look for this in an automatic?

In my test, yes, they did.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Why'd you fail, did they tell you?

I know I have to tighten up a few things: keeping both hands on the wheel, controlling my speed, but I am pretty solid everywhere else I think.

I'm good at turning, signaling, lane changing, intersections.

To clarify, what are the rules for uncontrolled intersections? Act as if everyone has a yield sign? Let the guy on the right go ahead if you see someone coming?

basically just cover your brake when going through one....i think technically the car on the right has the right of way. Also make sure if your going up an exit, dont drift into the shoulder when going around the turn. auto fail.

[Azure]

Lots of good suggestions here.

Shoulder checks, proper stopping at a stop sign(before the crosswalk!) are two that I had a slight problem with on the test.

I took my GDL in Pincher Creek, then after a couple years I had to take a final road test in Lethbridge. Part of the test included having to visualize out loud what you were seeing. So if you were merging you'd have to talk out loud about the process.

I hated it, but it does help. Forces you to concentrate.

[3 Justin 3]

I am guessing they will be super anal?

The guy who did mine when I went for my GDL was super lax. Didn't care about anything and passed me (I did lose points though, all of which are properly anal stuff). I think if you can prove to the examiner that your comfortable on the road, which I am, you should pass. If you do these minor BS wrong you shouldn't fail, especially when your paying $120/test, when 3/4 of Calgary don't even know who to properly lane change.

As for speed, when I took my GDL test I was going 60 in a 50 zone and everything was fine. As long as you stay with traffic (go their speed) you should be fine, regardless of the speed limit. I was going down center street with the traffic, looked down and noticed I was touching 60 and started freaking out, but everything was fine.

[MonsieurFish]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Why'd you fail, did they tell you?

I know I have to tighten up a few things: keeping both hands on the wheel, controlling my speed, but I am pretty solid everywhere else I think.

I'm good at turning, signaling, lane changing, intersections.

To clarify, what are the rules for uncontrolled intersections? Act as if everyone has a yield sign? Let the guy on the right go ahead if you see someone coming?

Can't exactly remember the rules for uncontrolled intersections, cause as far as I know noone ever follows them... but I think it is that the person on the right has right of way. Whenever you approach one, just slow down a tiny bit and pretend like you're looking really hard for other cars and then if you don't see any keep going.

That was one of the reasons I failed the test. Had no idea about uncontrolled intersections.

Also don't speed through a playground zone

[3 Justin 3]

Can they fail me if my car isn't working properly? I changed the front tire to the rear as it is unbalanced and was making the wheel shake like crazy, now that it is on the back my chair vibrates like crazy (if I had a GF she'd love it). I'm too lazy to go to Canadian Tire and get it balanced.

I'll probably just go get in balanced before hand anyway.

Oh yeah, and my signals are semi-broken. They don't return back to their position, they stay signaling unless I manually cancel them.

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I am guessing they will be super anal?

The guy who did mine when I went for my GDL was super lax. Didn't care about anything and passed me (I did lose points though, all of which are properly anal stuff). I think if you can prove to the examiner that your comfortable on the road, which I am, you should pass. If you do these minor BS wrong you shouldn't fail, especially when your paying $120/test, when 3/4 of Calgary don't even know who to properly lane change.

As for speed, when I took my GDL test I was going 60 in a 50 zone and everything was fine. As long as you stay with traffic (go their speed) you should be fine, regardless of the speed limit. I was going down center street with the traffic, looked down and noticed I was touching 60 and started freaking out, but everything was fine.

Maybe that is okay when you get your GDL off but just getting your license is a big NONO. I had multiple friends that failed because she went 55 in a 50. They are very anal about this...

[Azure]

Its different from instructor to instructor.

Mine was an idiot. The other guy that works at the same place is apparently really good.

Its 10x worse when you sit in the car and you already feel like the instructor is gonna fail you simply because of his attitude.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Maybe that is okay when you get your GDL off but just getting your license is a big NONO. I had multiple friends that failed because she went 55 in a 50. They are very anal about this...

Like I said, my guy was super lax and I knew he'd pass me from the start. He was passing everyone that day.

[flamingreen]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Can they fail me if my car isn't working properly? I changed the front tire to the rear as it is unbalanced and was making the wheel shake like crazy, now that it is on the back my chair vibrates like crazy (if I had a GF she'd love it). I'm too lazy to go to Canadian Tire and get it balanced.

I'll probably just go get in balanced before hand anyway.

Oh yeah, and my signals are semi-broken. They don't return back to their position, they stay signaling unless I manually cancel them.

If your car isn't working properly they might not let you use it for the exam. Why not use one of the cars that they provide?

[CGYTransplant]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

From what understand, they won't make you drive downtown or highway, as you don't need to in every day driving so they don't have to test you on those things.

This is true, except for the thousands of people who drive to work downtown, take Deerfoot to get to work...or both.

When I took my driver's test, I was taken downtown, and onto the highway....granted, this was 11 years ago.

And, even in an automatic, you are still supposed to set the e-brake every time you park, in case your brakes fail. I forgot to do this, and got points taken off.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Like I said, my guy was super lax and I knew he'd pass me from the start. He was passing everyone that day.

Sounds like someone who's bad at their job. I know many people think that driving is a right, but really, we should be ensuring that people know what they are doing when getting behind the wheels of a 4000 pound hunk of metal.
People shouldn't be passed or failed based on the mood of a tester on a particular day.

[kaisin82]

Sorry that im digging up and old thread. I'm moving over from Singapore. I have been driving for around 10years but was told that I had to retake the driving exams in calgary. Can someone advise on how I can book the exam and how long is the waiting period? Will
I need to have my own vehicle for testing? Do they test in winter? Planning to take the exam in December.

[mile]

Originally Posted by kaisin82

Sorry that im digging up and old thread. I'm moving over from Singapore. I have been driving for around 10years but was told that I had to retake the driving exams in calgary. Can someone advise on how I can book the exam and how long is the waiting period? Will
I need to have my own vehicle for testing? Do they test in winter? Planning to take the exam in December.

You can book an exam online here: https://www.albertadriverexaminer.ca/

Some registries don't have online booking, and you will need to call them to book a road test.

I think waiting periods vary for each registry - some don't allow booking 3 weeks in advance while others are completely booked ahead of time.

You can provide your own vehicle to the test, or pay an additional fee (I think $50?) to use the instructor's car.

And yes, I think they test in winter - if you're new it might be better to take the test in the Spring/Summer though.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by mile

if you're new it might be better to take the test in the Spring/Summer though.

100% agree with this statement. Roads are much better (not sure if you could argue safer because of all the idiots) in the summer than winter.

For your road test though, I suggest getting the drivers hand book just in case any of the rules of the road are different in Canada (Alberta) than in Singapore. Better be safe than sorry.

[kaisin82]

can i check, in any case, you need a license before you own a vehicle?i know i could use my singapore license internationally for like 3 months or so in calgary and after that i should switch.

[boogerz]

Originally Posted by Berger_4_

Actually the test to get off of GDL is super easy. No parallel parking or anything...just drive around for half an hour or so.

fwiw, my "advanced" road test test included parallel and hill parking. Still super easy though.