The long road to driving in Canada

Do you need a car in Toronto?

Phew. This is going to be a long one. It’s going to be part guide, part rant, part social commentary. Driving in Canada requires three things - a driver's license (varies province by province), insurance (for yourself and the car you are planning to drive) and a car. Getting each can be a long and rather expensive process. I am detailing my experience with the first below, and will address the other two in follow up posts.

I have a lot of feelings about driving and cars. On one hand, there’s overwhelming evidence that cars are bad for the environment and humanity - tires are polluting the whole world with rubber, gas is burnt and releases greenhouse gasses, people become sedentary, unhealthy and lazy. Due to the large amount of space needed to store cars, and the general unpopularity/ expense of multi-level / underground parking, car dependence ends up creating huge parking lots, excessively sized houses, everything becoming far away from each other. Most places in North America are this way. This has profound effects on humanity - all negative. Being far away from everything and needing a car to go to places makes organic discovery, mingling, hanging out, and third places disappear. Cars are dangerous to cyclists, pedestrians, and other people in cars - there is a lot of evidence accumulating that human brains and eyes are not really suited to driving two-ton boxes of steel in excess of 100 km/ hour. The noise from cars makes cities noisy and apparently has negative effects in the development of children. Driving cars is generally unpleasant outside of controlled circumstances or rare situations like a racetrack or empty highway. Where most modes of transport let all the people travelling enjoy leisure activities such as reading, watching videos, enjoying the company of fellow travellers, the person driving the car needs to spend all their time focusing on the road. In North America and throughout the world, driving cars is subsidised (most roads are free, no matter how much you use it) but using buses, subways, and streetcars are expensive. Gasoline is subsidised, neighbourhoods are destroyed to build freeways. 

That said, we live in a society.

You are at a substantial disadvantage if you do not have a car. You can only live in places where you can walk or take transit to the places you need to go. This limits the places and types of homes you can live in. Going anywhere takes substantially longer, usually - Canada is no cycling paradise like the Netherlands or has perfect transit like Switzerland. While Toronto has along the best transit in North America (second only possibly to NYC) it still has downsides. Some are common to transit systems worldwide - lines are down due to construction, signal issues, repair work, security issues, strikes, exposure to bad weather, and so on. Some are unique to North America- that due to how spread out everything is, a lot of low-density routes have very poor frequency, sometimes needing to wait 20 minutes for a bus. That said, I do think the TTC is excellent, hi tech, easy to use, and super thoughtful of patrons. Without a car, there are certain things you cannot get - like used furniture, IKEA stuff, lots of heavy groceries, and you cannot go to cities not covered by transit. The latter problem has some significance in the next part of the story. I will also admit, that driving gives you some kind of "freedom" not to be dependent on schedules, on strikes, on timings, on fares, on dressing however you want, and so on.

With these trains of thought, I wanted to make sure we have a way to go to shops that were in surrounding neighbourhoods, get big grocery hauls comfortably and be about to travel to less popular spots. So, I decided to get a driving license and car. 

Driving license in Ontario

Getting your driving license in Ontario is an arduous process involving MCQ knowledge tests, and two driving road tests at least one year apart. This seems to be mainly to allow teenagers to learn how to drive slowly with more responsibilities and rights, but unfortunately applies to adults too (with fewer restrictions). A full list of the different classes of driving in Ontario can be found here - from buses to motorcycles. However, most folks would be interested in driving cars (or SUVs, or god forbid, pickup trucks) for which you need a G license.

If you are moving to Canada from a first world country like the U.S, U.K, Australia or certain countries in Europe, you don't need to go through the hullaballoo I am detailing below - check if you qualify here to just exchange your license, no tests required.

However, if you are moving from a developing country like India, then there are a lot of steps, with one shortcut.

Normally, you would need to first get the G1 license. You get this by doing a vision test (very easy, you should pass it as long as you have functioning eyes) and a multiple choice 40 question knowledge test. It is split into two sections of 20 questions, each focusing on road signs and driving rules and regulations. While the former is easy, the latter is frustrating with questions like "How many people can a teenage G2 driver drive between midnight and 5 in the first 6 months of G2 who are under 20 years old who are not immediate family members?" - I don't know or care do I? Do I look like I'm 20 years old? Can't someone just look this up?

Anyway, once you pass the vision test and knowledge test, you will get a temporary G1 license (a permanent pretty card version is sent in the mail to your address). Now a G1 is the most useless license, it is akin to a learning permit in other countries - you are only allowed to drive during day, with someone experienced in the passenger seat (G with 4+ years of driving experience), the idea being that the experienced driver is instructing you.

The next step is a G2 license, which lets you drive independently, with some restrictions. To get this, you need to pass the G2 road test. Now, here is the kicker - you need to wait a whole year until you give your driving road test (G2 road test). This can be shortened to 8 months if you pass a Ministry approved driving school course. The G2 license allows you to drive independently, with some restrictions if you are a teenager, in all roads except highways (roads with speed limit over 80 km/h).

The main downside of a G2 license, however, is that while you can own and drive a car, your insurance premiums will typically be a 100$ a month higher than if you had a G license.

The G2 road test is generally considered the most difficult of these tests, with you having to drive in city roads (typically with traffic) perfectly, parking on slopes, perform parallel parking, 3-point turns, and similar maneuvers. Passing the test has the same outcome (a temporary G2 license with a permanent one sent in mail).

To get a G license, you need to pass the G road test which is a highway driving road test. This typically involves entering the nearest highway and taking the first exit, and several lane changes, both within city and on the highway. This is generally considered to be easier than the G2 road test as it has fewer points of failure/ mistakes you can make. You need one year between the time you get your G2 license and when you take the G road test. This is supposed to make you an "experienced" driver, as a G license is kind of a permanent license that can be used lifelong (as long as you renew it in time, you don't need to take any kind of test again). It can also be exchanged for driving licenses in most first world countries.

So how did I get a G license within two months of moving to Canada?

The coolest hack (that I think most folks don’t know) and is that you can get a G license almost immediately after landing in Canada, if you have two or more years of driving experience in your home country, even if they are covered under an exchange program. India calls it “DL Extract” in Canada they call it “DL Abstract”. Using that, you can get years of driving experience credit, which lets you take any test at any time. What this means is you only need to take the vision test / knowledge test to get a G1 license (this is the time you submit your DL extract). After this, you can immediately take the G2 road test or the G road test. What this means is you can actually get your G license, in like a week of landing in Canada. (Or more like 2-3 months, since you need to prepare for the driving test, and you also need an appointment for the G road test)

You need to go to the Drivetest centre's website and book an appointment to exchange an "Out of province/out of country" license. You don't actually need to hand over your Indian driving license despite the "exchange" in the service name - they will just verify your Indian driving license, verify your DL extract (I think it needs to be recent, like issued not more than a few months ago, do check) and credit you with how many ever years of driving experience that you had in India. You can then take the vision test (very basic, just read some numbers and say which side is the light, you can wear your glasses if you have) and the G1 knowledge test, which usually happens in a separate room where you need to stand in a queue and be told not to use your phone.

Once you are done with the test (and hopefully pass) you will get your temporary G1 license (the permanent card will be mailed to your address) and you can now book either a G2 or G road test online.

Generally, people recommend taking the G test as then you will be done with road tests for life, but there is one catch - you only have one shot at the G road test. If you do fail, you cannot take the G road test but rather you need to take the G2 road test and then take the G road test. You do not have to wait the required 1 year between G2 and G. The other reason for this recommendation is the G test is easier, with fewer possible mistakes you can make.

The meaningless nonsense of a road test in Canada

To pass the road test in Canada, you need to become a goat. No, seriously, you need to be shaking your head vigorously like a goat. Canada has basically zero enforcement of road rules. You will see people skip red lights, cut across pedestrians, drive over the speed limit, all without any consequence, as long as no one gets hurt™. Police in Canada enforce very few things that are easy to enforce (like using your phone at a red light). However, to get a driving license, you will need to become a perfect driver™. 

What I mean by this, is that there is a routine to follow. Let me give you an example. Normally, while changing lanes, you would look into your mirror by moving your eyes. If you are a great driver, you would probably check both the external and centre mirror and possibly even look around your shoulder to make sure no bike is missed. However, for the road test, for every single turn and lane change you need to move your head (moving your eye and looking doesn't count) to see the external mirror, then move your head until you are looking backwards over your shoulder (counts as checking your blind spot). It does not matter if you have a blind spot mirror attachment, or your car comes with a blind spot monitor or camera. You need to make this maneuver, or you will be docked for your mistake.

So, for example, if you were changing two lanes and then making a left turn, your head constantly needs to be going back and forth to check for each lane change and then blind spot, and then onto the next lane change, then for the turn. This is ridiculous and is a waste of time, and actually makes you an unsafe driver. But you need to do this, so that they will actually let you drive. Another ridiculous thing you have to do, is every time you cross an intersection (controlled or uncontrolled, right of way yours or not) you need to move your head vigorously to show the examiner you are looking everywhere for traffic (like an emergency vehicle) that might be approaching without the signal. This is stupid because emergency vehicles here have a siren that goes so loudly, I am sure it is audible in a 1-2 km radius.

The next stupid thing is that you cannot slow down, drive only 15-20 km/h for turns, and within 3-4 km/h (up or down) of the speed limit otherwise. This is a stupid rule in the driving test, as there can be plenty of reasons why you would want to slow down - someone might be pulling out of parking without their indicators. Someone is just cutting you off while taking a left turn into a business or home. Someone might be jaywalking or planning to jaywalk. There are plenty of reasons to be a cautious driver, and in almost all cases, that involves taking your foot off the gas, be ready to brake, and that usually involves slowing down at least a little bit. However, if you want to pass, you need to knock this habit out of you, if you have this. If you were driving in a place like India, where there is no concept of right of way (right of way is established by honking) this can be very unnerving.

You also cannot honk for any reason. Adding to this, a lot of DriveTest road test examiners are rude, arrogant, racist, or otherwise unpleasant. So overall, doing a road test in Canada is a pretty bad experience, and passing rates are not very high. You are expected to drive as a perfect driver, and you have to pretend that everyone else is a perfect driver (even though they are not - they will likely all be speeding and passing you, since they typically drive above the speed limit) all while doing the goat impersonation act and constantly keep moving your head to look at your mirrors and speed limit and blind spots.

Anyway, once you are ready to do this goat dance with the driving examiner (I strongly recommend taking G road test lessons from an instructor), you can book an appointment with the road test centre, and show up at the appointment time. Most instructors will let you use their car for the test. You have to check in at the road test centre and wait in your car, the examiner will come, verify your car works, and then go for the road test. 

South Asians level the playing field: Cheating? Sort of?

Honestly, I am not sure if the other people are doing this. But South Asians (Indians/Pakistanis/Bangladeshis/Sri Lankans) definitely are. So how driving instructors make sure you pass is that they do rehearsal classes, basically they take you to the DriveTest centre you have an appointment in. They know the route(s) already for the exam you are taking (G2 or G) and will let you practice in that exact route, so you have a lot of experience in those roads already. This will basically let you know what to expect, the speed limits involved, where you can expect lane changes, where you have to get on a highway, and so on. These routes are documented in videos like this and this. Some of the highest production videos have actual dashcam footage, an onscreen map as well as road signs. This definitely makes it easier to pass by gaming the system.

The second hack they have is to find out the test centres that have the highest pass rates - have a look at this. This is because examiners who live in a suburban area are more likely to pass candidates and view driving as essential (a right, as opposed to a privilege) and also driving in the suburbs is less taxing, with fewer people, fewer pedestrians, fewer cars, fewer red lights (which tend to make people angry). 

So, for these two reasons, even if you know how to drive and have a car (or one you can borrow) I would still recommend going with a good driving instructor. Comment your contact details here if you would like a recommendation. 

Anyway, after all this long process, you have hopefully passed (the driving instructor says you have "met the standards", not passed). You should go inside and collect your temporary G2 or G license (depending on the road test) whereas the plastic card will be shipped to your address. Congrats! You can now move on to the mostly fun portions of this journey (buying a car) with some terrible portions (getting ripped off by insurance companies).