Driver education at its best

Parallel parking has always been perceived as one of the most difficult tasks at road tests. In fact, when many approached us for help to prepare for their road tests, they would say they already knew how to drive, but just didn’t know how to park.

Truth of the matter is parking is not the most important element in the road test. Hardly anybody gets killed or injured in a bad parking. However, bad turns and bad lane changes will definitely qualify drivers as dangerous. Had parking been the “only thing” at the road test, the examination would have been called ParkingTest instead of DriveTest centres in Ontario.

If you can do a mediocre job in parking, and do flawless turns and lane changes, you will most likely pass the road test. However, if you can manage to do a perfect park, but make bad turns and dangerous lane changes, you will definitely fail the road test.

The one thing is if you climb or hit the curb at parallel parking, you will definitely fail the test. How to avoid climbing the curb? Go buy a stick-on convex mirror and stick it on your right side mirror. Use what I call the “cheating mirror” instead of other other cars as your guide. They also expect you to complete the whole parking exercise in 12-15 seconds. So if it is taking you more time to complete the task, you better practise more using the diagrams on the right as guidelines. ...Collapse

The examiners are adjusting the routes from time to time to deal with the traffic situation as well as keeping the distributions to residents in the neighbourhood to a minimum. Students and parents alike are very keen in finding out what the test routes are like.

I have to emphasize that trying to find out about the route just to pass the exam is a very unwise and dangerous move. Examiners have the discretion to change the route anytime to best judge the driving ability of each candidate. Drivers who live in London should have the ability to comfortably and safely drive all roads in the city. I'd also discourage following any vehicles in examination to find out about the route. If you were a candidate in a road test, imagine how annoying it is to be tailgated by another learner. So please just don't do it.

After interviewing students who had successfully passed the road test on the new route, I am able to point out some of the important points candidates can prepare themselves for the exam. Unlike the previous previous test centre on Exeter Road, the new route does not require the candidates to drive on 70 or 80 km/h roads.

Speed limit There is so not the stress of speeding up to 80 km/h, do a quick lane change and then prepare for a left turn at the traffic lights. That was the part many candidates found very challenged on the old route. However, the new route will see more lane changes within short distances, in particular after leaving the test centre and left turns at traffic lights. Candidates are expected to move over on their own to the right lane after those turns. Many students find this hard especially if the car following in the turn would drive directly into the right lane, blocking your chance to do the move over. More training in this manoeuver would certainly better prepare a candidate for the test.

Previous three-point turns or backing, hill parking and sometimes parallel parking were often performed in a relatively quiet industrial area. These technical manoeuvers are now done on a residential street. Candidates lacking these skills will find themselves delaying traffic, thus adding more stress during the test.

This test is not just about parking There are also less parked cars in the area for parallel parking and candidates may have to return to the parking lot and do a back-in stall parking. If you don't know how to reverse park by now, you better learn it. I have to emphasize that the road test is not just about parking and in fact parking only carries a very small weight in the whole test. If parking is so important, the exam would have been called "Parking Test" instead of "Drive Test".

There may also be fewer parked cars in the area for parallel parking and candidates may have to return to the parking lot and do a back-in stall parking. If you don't know how to reverse park by now, you better learn it. I have to emphasize that the road test is not just about parking and in fact parking only carries a very small weight in the whole test. If parking is so important, the exam would have been called "Parking Test" instead of "Drive Test".

Please respect the privacy of the neighbours. Learning how to park and doing three-point turns are the same at any location. So please refrain from repeating your practice in the neighbourhood near the test route. Residents there are already putting up with extra test traffic. So please do not keep practising your parking in front of their houses. The last you want to see in London is an order that would restrict student drivers within a 2 km radius of the test centre.

Over all, the new test route is a little bit easier for new drivers who are afraid of high speeds. But drivers lacking good visual habits and observation skills will become more apparent. One good thing about the new location is it's now accessible by public transit on a time-limited basis. You can catch the Newbold bus (Route 30) at White Oaks Mall in the morning or mid-afternoon to travel to the "Ice House". There are also several fast food restaurants nearby. Good luck with your road test. ...Collapse