Get ready to hit the road quicker than ever before, as ICBC reduces road tests by 10 minutes.
As of July 3rd, Class 7 and Class 5 road tests in BC have been reduced from 45 minutes to a tighter 35 minutes—these tests are a learner driver’s first steps in attaining their driving licence.
This reduction comes with the promise of increased test capacity by a whopping 22%.
So, what’s behind this change?
One of the expected reasons behind the time reduction is the ICBC’s ability to better accommodate road test demand.
Also, according to Jerry Boal, the manager of the ICBC driver licensing office, he stated that the abbreviated tests in British Columbia now correspond to the road test criteria implemented in other provinces.
ICBC claims that the shorter duration will minimize “redundant maneuvers”— but don’t get too excited yet, parallel parking and backing maneuvers will remain the same.
“We also wanted to make sure we can reduce the road test by 10 minutes by reducing the number of duplicated maneuvers such as some turns, intersection throughs, and conducting our hazard production on road instead of having to pull over and park,” said Boal.
Last month, ICBC announced there have been a record-breaking number of road tests across the province, however, nearly half of those test-takers are failing.
In May, a record 35,000 road tests were administered across BC. This figure is up an astonishing 24% from the monthly average over the last year.
On Vancouver Island specifically, in May, ICBC said road tests were up 22% (3,976) compared to the monthly average of 3,253.
In addition, ICBC has conducted 15% more road tests (39,037) on Vancouver Island compared to the same period before the pandemic in 2018 to 2019 (33,801).
ICBC says a good portion of this record-breaking number is due to the amount of test failures, which result in the test-taker re-booking a road test.
According Boal, the number of people failing the test is putting undue stress on the system. He is pleading with those seeking to take the test to make sure they are prepared to pass the test before they sign up to take it.
The upcoming changes are expected to be a “huge benefit” to new drivers.
With files from Curt Blandy
