Relocation services for British Columbia, Canada

Learning to drive

It is hard to imagine being able to exist in north America without being able to drive. As a new resident in B.C. you have three months before you need to get a B.C. driving licence. This may seem strange as visitors can drive on their existing licences for six months.

CAN YOU SWAP YOUR licence?
If you have a licence from U.S., Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea or another Canadian province then you can transfer your licence immediately - no knowledge or road test is required.

If you cannot swap your licence then this will help.

Depending on where you are, it is worth booking your driving test early on as there can be waiting lists. With their graduated licensing program, there are a lot of teens being tested!

Steps to an adult licence

If you are not lucky enough to be able to swap your licence and you have had a full licence for 2 years or more, then you will need to go through two steps:

1. Preparation
2. Knowledge test
3. Road test

Preparation

Go along to the ICBC Driver Licensing Centre where you can pick up the manual : “Learn to Drive Smart” (formerly Roadsense). You can also download this from ICBC.

Do read this and get to know the road signs, rules of the road and particularly things that are new to you. For us, the 4-way stop was new, whereas the roundabout was something we knew well (and puzzles Canadian drivers!)

You can do a mini version of the knowledge test online at the ICBC site. This is a great way to check how well you know your stuff. Once you can answer these test questions, you are ready for the real thing.

Knowledge test

There are 50 multiple choice questions, which you take on a computer at any test center. The pass mark is 80%.

The test is over as soon as you reach the pass mark, or make enough wrong answers to fail.

A good tip is to skip any questions that you are not sure about. As soon as you hit the pass mark the test is over, so with luck you may never need to answer those tricky questions you skipped.

If you fail, you can take the test again a week later - and pay another fee ($15 at present).

Road test

The road test takes about an hour. You will probably be taken through school zones, along the highway, and do a number of left turns. There is also a three-point turn and reversing into a parking space. Parallel parking is not usually part of the test.

Note that if you fail, they will take away your driving licence. You will not be able to drive home, so do have an alternative arrangements - just in case!

The driving test is something that worries quite a few people because failing means surrendering your existing licence until you pass. Good preparation and a couple of lessons is enough for most people to pass first time.

If you come from any large town in the UK, you will probably find the traffic quite light. There are differences from the UK, such as four-way stops and turning right on a red light, that you should ensure you understand. Believe it or not reading the manual will help with this.

We recommend that you have one or two driving lessons to make sure that their driving meets Canadian standards. It is also a good way of finding out about the area and the school zones, and other traps for the unwary. A couple of lessons is worth it as failing your test is likely to be a major inconvenience.

Note, if you are using a rental car for your test, be sure to check that this is acceptable. You need to read the small print of the rental policies. Many car rental companies are actually very explicit about it and don’t cover you if you are taking a driving test in their cars.

Some driving tips for the road test

• Look out for school zones, play areas etc and keep to the speed limits. Failure to do so is an instant fail.
• Make sure you shoulder check. This means looking over your left shoulder when changing lanes, turning left. Remember to shoulder check over your right shoulder when turning right or moving into the right hand lane. They are keen on 360° awareness.
• Left turns. Only one car moves into the junction to wait for the turn. While waiting do not turn your wheels - you need to keep them pointing straight ahead until you actually make the turn.
• You will need to cope with 3 and 4 way stops. Make sure you understand these.
• When you come to a stop in traffic, leave enough room ahead of you so that you can see the wheels of the vehicle in front.
• When turning the steering wheel use hand over hand movements rather than shuffling the wheel through your hands (as is done in the UK for example).
• Come to a full stop at junctions. Rolling stops are not acceptable. Stop at the point when the stop line disappears from view. Remember to shoulder check when moving off.
• Don’t cross solid lines as this is an instant fail.
• You will have to reverse into a parking stall and may have to parallel park and do a 3 point turn.

Young drivers

Teenagers start driving here from their 16th birthday onwards. B.C. has a graduated licensing program, designed to reduce accidents among young drivers. This means it takes at least three years before a teenager gets their full licence.

There are three stages:

1. Knowledge test
   (earliest 16th birthday)
2. First road test
   (12 months after knowledge test - aged 17)
3. Second road test
   (24 months after first road test - age 19)

Knowledge test

This test is the same as the adult one. If you are under 19, you will need a parent or guardian to sign the forms. You will also need two forms of id, including your birth certificate.

Once you have passed the knowledge test you will be issued with a learner's permit. This entitles you to drive with the following restrictions:

1. You display an L on the vehicle.
2. You must be accompanied by an adult (over 25) with a full licence.
3. You can only have two passengers, including the adult supervisor.
4. Zero blood alcohol content.
5. No driving between midnight and 5am.
6. No cellphone(even hands-free) or driver distractions.

First road test

Upper Levels Highway,
West VancouverYou can only take the first test after you have been driving on your learner's permit for a year.

The first road test is relatively short, lasting about 45 minutes. It likely involves driving through a lot of intersections, left and right turns, 4-way stops, to see that you use proper procedures and do the required shoulder checks. You may well be going through school zones to check you obey speed limits. You will be asked to identify hazards. This is done when you are stopped.

There is also a parallel parking test. Luckily they do it with only one car, i.e. no car behind you. This is relatively easy and my daughter learnt it in one lesson with Young Drivers (I didn't teach her the maneuver as I didn't know it was part of the test). At the end of the test you have to back into a parking space.

Once you have passed you will be able to drive with the following restrictions:

1. You must display an N on the vehicle.
2. You can only have one passenger unless they are immediate family or they are an adult (over 25) with a full licence.
3. Zero blood alcohol.
4. No cellphone(even hands-free) or driver distractions.

Second road test

You have to wait two years before you can take the second road test. You will want to pass the test so that you can drive without the restrictions that apply to N drivers.