do u have to be 16 to book a road test?

Former Examiner to your second paragraph. In most locations outside the cities you only have 1 place to go and they cover several communities. You have no choice. You have to go to them twice and they know it. Its hire them to teach you and give you the run down or fail the first time. They (the government) won't even allow other agencies in to compete. It is a monopoly in these communities no 2 ways about it.

I was one of the examiners that Ralph Klein pushed into the private sector. I tested for several years in the private sector and quit in disgust because of the rampant corruption. Several driving schools and examiners have lost their licenses in the last few years, because they were selling licenses.

To those that think that the examiners are failing you, because you think they want to make more money off of you give your head a shake! Once you fail you can book your test at another registry serviced by other examiners.

Testing should have stayed in the hands of the government. Yes there was only one location in Calgary, but you were assured of getting a fair and consistent test from a supervised examiner. Now you can be tested at over 50 locations in Calgary - where is the consistency in allowing road tests to be conducted in different areas of the city? A fair and consistent road test implies that the government is concerned about public safety. Is it?

They say above the going rate is $15 to $20 for a test and you can get an appointment for a test in a day or even an hour. Try over $50 to over $100 for a test and your lucky if you can get one in a week. I had to wait 2 weeks.

And now I got to do it again because because the guy dosen't like bikers with custom made bikes or something (this guy new nothing about bikes except how to follow them from behind) and likes to make twice as much of each client he tests. I feel Like I'm in a corrupt third world country. I bet if I slipped him an extra $100 I would have passed. I wish I had a video or recorded what he told me, but I don't so Im screwed. As soon as he signs my pass he is going to get an earfull. I am going to get his name and number and have him checked out and I got the form from the first test where he actually writes that I failed because he did not see my brake light at an uncontrolled crossing even though I looked and slowed down to less then 40km using the engine. He also wrote that on the bridge I was in the right side of the lane and should have been on the left side of the lane. I held my lane position and did not go back and forth. He wants me in a dangerous position on this bridge next to on comming traffic and hitting the joints of the bridge deck and pot holes nearest the oncomming traffic. The book says use the safest lane position is and I quote -Experienced riders know that they must constantly adjust and readjust their lane position depending on changing traffic and road conditions.- He did not know this clearly in error for calling this wrong.

This sheet and the comments on it clearly show they write and do what ever they want. They think no one will say anything because they want to pass next time and they wont because we are hostage to this treatment. We cannot appeal and take them to task on what they write even if we have evidence that they were wrong. But after I pass I will make waves and show my first test sheet cleary indicates errors and poor advice to a biker. Clearly they were just looking for a reason to fail me and make another $90.

I had a runin with this registry agent before for a major overcharge and the did not know the rules. They did not know that I work in a regulitory job that used registries all the time and have that access. The argued and tried to pull the wool over my eyes but I have 30 years experiance working with this stuff. The alberta government stepped in and made them give the money back. They also lowered the fee we were charged from $20 per request to just $5 per request. They got in trouble from the goverment, but there still there. The private sector should not be handling necessary services in this way. It was shear pettness and jealousy that people they didnt know had such access. I do know who to call when I am ready.

Look at the people who work at all these registries. Are they all checked out. The go trough staff like mad. These people have access to all registerd document on all Albertans including birth certificates. They can change things on purpose or most offten by mistake. I know a guy who got a class 6 on his licencse when he renewed from another juristiction and he took no written or drivers test. She just asked him if he drove a motorcycle. He said yes and got a class 6 lic. This is where the Identity and false ID makers start and beleive me Im sure its easy for them to infiltrate.

As You can see I am pissed off and shocked because I didnt realise this was going to be a shakedown. Keep quite and maybe next time they will pass me. By the time I get my test it could be snowing. There should be an appeal process here to protect the general population from this kind of scam.

Fred one qualification is that you have to be able to tell highly intellegent people that they failed for something they made up that is not in the book and make them believe its not the $100 they charge each time. In fact I can find in the book where it states the opposite of what the tester put down. I am taking the book next time and showing him if he does it to me again. I am going to ask him before I start if he wants me to shoulder check on a single lane street when turning right on to another street (In other word he said I had to shoulder check on all turns). He also said I must brake at incontrolled and unmarked intersection even though I have the right of way. So I will ask him if he wants to see my brake lights at all intertsection without signs or controls. Even though I slowed down and looked I was failed because he didn't see my brake lights. He should know you can slow down without the brakes. In fact with a motorcycle the book says to use the engine and gears to slow down. The book says for a motorcycle to pick the best lane position based on the conditions which he didn't know I had experianced hundreds of time. I Know this bridge and is holes and joints I have been accross hundreds of times. He Said no that I had to keep in the left side of the lane Nearest the oncomming traffic on a narrow bridge full of holes. He said I can only move to the right side of the lane for big trucks. I beleive this is dangerous on this bridge but will have to do it next time if I want a lic. I will also have to light up my brake light at unmarked (no sigh saying the road is meeting the one I am on) intersection meeting the street I am on. I hope its the same tester because a new guy who read the book might fail me again.

You cannot appeal the test or anything. They got you. You can't argue cause they will probably be testing you again. I couldn't believe what this guy was telling me but I had to remain calm. I have thousand of miles on the Bike I was tested on and know the road very will that I was on.

I'm Sorry but this experiance definately tells me that this is a money making scam. The fee they can charge is unlimited. The province gets $5 and they get the rest. No wonder there driving expense SUV's.

I am keeping everthing and am going to look and getting my money back for the first test once I am all passed and everything. Right now I have to grin an bare it because they got me by the short hairs. They Got me for $200 already. Its to bad there is nowhere to complain about these bogus failures.

Its A money racket. The instructor failed me because he said I did not slow down at an uncontrolled crossing. I said I did but he said he had to see the brake lights. Your suppose to slow down and look. He said I have to apply the brakes also. He said he didn't see my brakes so this is why I fail. On a DANGEROUS BRIDGE I picked the best lane position because of traffic and pot holes which the book says to do. He said no that I had to be closest to the centre line next to oncoming traffic on a narrow bridge. He also said I have to shoulder check on a single lane road when turning right onto another street. This is not in the book. If I complain they Just fail me again. They just want another High fee they can charge. There is no limit to what they can charge for a test either. They are given the incentive to do this. It should be salaried government testers not Testers licenced to make money on peoples need for a license.

how do get qualified to become a driver's examiner

There's more than safety to the driving test. The training and examining system gets drivers operating from the same set of driving protocols and rules. The GDL system, if it is properly used, will tune in new generations of drivers, and also drivers coming in from other provinces/states/countries to the official rules and procedures of the local area.

Privatized testing is something else. I don't think it should EVER be used.

(Replying to Doma). I took my test in Calgary. I have ten years driving experience in USA and was a courier drive. At least 200 miles a day, 5 days a week in midwest USA.
A driver with bad driving habits, will definitly be involved in an accident if he has to drive so many miles for 8-9 years.
USA is not a third world country.There driving rules are almost similar if not identical with Canada. I would say driving is much harder in USA than Canada because of more volume and higher speed limits 40 miles (not km) city streets and 100 miles/hr (not km) on highway. Cases like me just shows that how an initiative (GDL license) with good intention can be misused to make money when privatized.
When I came from India to USA, I have no driving experience in USA.. I wanted to earn decent living and government run driving testing facility gave me license on first attempt. They were just there to judge whether I can be a safe driver . They were right and just and I had no accidents in USA inspite of 8-9 years in courier business.

A good driver can be involved in an accident by someone's else mistake. But it is impossible that a driver with bad driving habits would be accident free for so many years especially when his job demands driving 200 miles a day in midwest's winter.

Drivers coming from other countries often feel that just because they have experience and have not crashed or been ticketed for violations they should pass the test easily. This is a BIG mistake.

FIRST - the test is not really about safety. It's about showing examiners that you know the local rules and procedures.

SECOND - years of experience give you driving habits that may not be acceptable to examiners. You may not realize you have them and it is not easy to change them just for the test. This is why is it almost essential to take a lesson or two with an instructor who is familiar with the test requirements and can coach you in what's needed to pass.

As a driving instructor i have seen many cases of experienced drivers failing tests because they had poor habits or wrong ideas about driving.

One question to Aurangzeb Shah: where did u take the test? I am asking because the same happened to me in Edmonton. I held a licence for 15 years and driven in many countries, mostly Europe and one year in Canada on my International licence. Never had an accident, a ticket or demerit. The answer was the same, I was lucky. Well I hope my luck will last another 15 years...
Maybe these examiners are trying too hard to prove that canadians are perfect drivers. God bless all the speeding ones who talk on their cellphone on the streets of Edmonton!They have a licence to do it! Meanwhile I will have to pay another 140 cad and wait a few weeks until I get a spot.

There are some services that should NEVER be privatized - driver testing is one of them. The decision about whether someone is ready to get a license or not should never be a matter for profit.

The system is good. However, when someone meets a bad-tempered examiner, and then he/she fails even he/she performs better than other new drivers.
You know, in the eyes of the experienced drivers, every new driver makes mistakes. So, I just wonder if there are some subjective standards for the driving examiners. Can a new driver have a right to appeal when he/she is unsatisfied with the testin result?

I was driving in USA for 10 years, atleast 10,000 miles per year (conservative estimate) or in 10 years 100,000 miles. I had not a single accident and in 10 year period just 4-5 tickets. Then I moved back to India and then to Canada. In alberta I was given GDL license and later I received a letter to pass Advanced road Test. I kept on delaying it. In Canada, I have driven 60,000 Km in 2 years with no tickets ( I bought a new car, and it has 60,000 KM on it).
But I failed the Advanced Road Test.
In USA I got my license on first attempt with little driving experience in North America. Reasons 1) Driving test authority is not privatized. They go by skills, and examination test fees goes to govt, not to a private company.
2) USA want new immigrants to be productive and mobile. ( my jobs in USA required to have a full valid driving licence)

I failed in Alberta because
1) Testing facility is privatised. ( how can a person who has driven 100,000 miles in USA and 60,000 KM in alberta with zero accidents, can fail advanced driving testing in Alberta)
2) Many jobs available here ( courier driver, school bus driver) requires full Drivers license for which I cannot apply. I am jobless, I have skills to apply for those jobs, those jobs are available but Alberta wants a privatised company to make an unfair 120$ from drivers like me and deny new immigrants like me to find jobs.
I asked my examiner, how can he fail me with such extensive driving in north america for 15 years, with no accidents. His answer was that I was lucky.

My 16 yr old son took a road test about a month ago. He's had his learners since he turned 14 and has a driving course under his belt. He failed the test because, he tells me, his hands weren't "10 and 2". I found this a bit hard to believe and wanted to ask the examiner what else he did wrong so we can practice, but I was a little shocked when the examiner never even came in but hopped in his car and left. I looked at the sheet he gave my son, everything else seemed to be ok, some stuff was scratched out, I couldn't read it all. Why would he not come and talk to the parent? The test cost $83 for 20 minutes of testing, and the office started booking another one. I said wait, I can't afford that every few days. None of his friends have passed the first time either, in fact some have taken the test 3 times and still never passed. One might start to think there's some fleecing going on under the guise of tighter driving regulations for teenagers. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, I might not fully understand what justifies over $160/hr for a road testing. Also, according to the paragraph above, an examiner applicant must have a license in good standing and two years without a suspension. So it's quite possible to be examined by someone who has actually had a suspended license at some point. This concerns me just a bit, a driving examiner should NEVER have had a suspended license, and NO demerit points. The kid has to be perfect, something even the examiner isn't expected to be.

Wow! DJ,
reading your comment I get the impression that it's not "ginger" that's the problem.

That was a rant, and wide experience as an instructor prompts me to put you in that category of student driver who will never accept responsibility for anything wrong they do. It's always the examiner's fault or someone else's!!

And this old filthy bitch Ginger kept telling all the time you have to tell me of obstructing traffic and this really broke my driving concentration because the roads were really quite and she didn't tell me in advance what she meant by that and I kept thinking I was doing something wrong that I didn't know. Only later another examiner explained to me that she meant to tell her not only things may obstruct on the raod like construction, emergency cars, snow, rain but also to tell her any signs that are posted along the roads on the right.

If you live in Calgary don't take advance road test in 33 Ave Marda Loop location and the examiner is an old rag her name is Ginger, what a crook, she failed me because she wanted to make another $100 from me. As soon as she failed me she told me are you going to book another one and I said I will think about it. Reasons that this old rag Ginger failed me are stupid:

1/ you drove too fast for road condition ( but I didn't go over speed limit just too fast 45km/h on 50km/h road). The residential roads were empty at 9:30am in the October at this time, all kids were in school dads were working and moms were doing the laundries.

2/ You let the signal light on too long after the turn ( my car turned it off automatically by itself)

3/She screamed when I made left turn and said I thought you were going to hitting that parked car and I didn't hit any car.( marked for reckless driving)

4/ I stopped completely at stop sign before the white line, then inched my car slowly out so I could leaned forward and looked over the corner bush for incoming car. She failed me for rolling over the white line. What a bitch and she was wrong all of this.

I was mad when she said i failed and was numbed and didn't know what to said to this old bitch. Only when I came home and read her notes on the back of the sheet.

I wish I can report this filthy Ginger but I don't know where. Remember her name old filthy Ginger ( and she looks like a witch herself)

If you are having trouble with the computer test, book an oral exam. They charge you about $10 more, but someone reads the questions to you and if you don't understand the question, you can ask questions for clarification. This works well for many people who have trouble with the computer test.

Jaswinder, try here

http://www.drivers.com/topic/69/

do u guys know any site were can i have a practise test do know about my skills on drving THX!!!!!

Try checking the links here. You will probably have to apply to the companies doing the testing.
http://www.drivershandbook.com/topic/63/

I want to become an examiner, what is the process?

hey kassam do your practice on internet websites before going for test.like ama and alberta infrasturcture websites.google it.wish you luck.

i m going to take the advance road test in edmonton,some one pls tell me what route does the examiner take while in test & what they exactely want to be a safe driver

I have failed the computer test 4 times and I have been reading hard. Is there a place in Edmonton where they give wriiten driving tests instead of the computer one. Pls would anyone knowing this let me know as soon as possible.
Thanks

Jerry, Jason and Kelly:
The public examiners are not much better.
The last three students that "failed" from my driving school was because:
1) the student didn't slow down from 40kms to 30kms when the examiner thought she should have for children who were about three hundred feet away.
2) the student 'failed' because he didn't signal comming from a merge.
3)the student 'failed' because when she made a left turn, the back right wheel rolled over the intersecting yellow line. No vehicles in the area.

RAvinder,

Check DriversHandbook.com
http://www.drivershandbook.com/topic/63/

i want to khow how you can be a driving instructor in city of calgary what kind of qualification they look for

i want to know can i go for my first road test in alberta i have G1 license for 1year from ontario

i want to become driving examiner, what are the requirment

well i just took my advance road test and I did make it.i'm really glad.The first time I was driving, the examiner was really quite.He was all the time on his cell. i know i did not make any mistake but he failed me.The second time ,he was more talkative and he was talking about sex with me.I was so shocked.he is 52 years old and he is indian.He is such an asshole.i wished i can go and report him so that he can be suspended.

hey guys the bc drivers test sux but i like the laberta one it is better have any of you passed it i keep failing everytime i take it even if i study it fucking sux

These driver examiners are a bunch of low life crooks. They couldnt pass thier own test. They make up thier mind when they meet you weather they are going to pass you or not. Even by the look of your vehicle. They are crooks and I hate them. They said I ran three stops signs wtf are they saying like I like pissing away money fuck r they blind and could not drive to thier own standards

Who is the watchdog for all of these private examiners? Is someone following the first time pass and failure rates of these examiners. I have heard of many testing locations in Calgary and area to avoid because the examiner always fails first time. Is this a nice rip off the young kid business or what? My son failed first time for not being aggressive enough- no other reason. Is it not more appropriate for young drivers with little experience to ere on the side of caution!

i would like to take it before i take my class five
im in edmonton would ou be able to get me a name and phone number ?

thanks

I would like to be examiner for class 5(Edmonton) , I m driving instructor now , I dont have suspension , demerit points , criminal record ...
How to apply , where ...

Thank you .

I would like to know about the test examination deatails in edmonton and dates issued accordingly.

I want to know about the Driver Examiners in Edmonton, sherwood park.
I want to take one lesson prior to giving my advanced road test.
I am driving in Edmonton for past 7 months i on my international driving licence.
Can you give the name along with phone numbers so that i can get in touch with them.