Ovidiu Vaduvescu

.. ON, Canada .. my address here ..

 

To:       The Supervisor, Licensing Administration Office, Downsview ON

CC:      The Honourable Harinder Takhar. Minister of Transportation Ontario

The Honourable Tony Valeri, Minister of Transport, Canada

Transport Canada, Ontario Region

            Also posted on my personal homepage

 

COMPLAINT ABOUT MY FAILING ROAD TEST

WHICH I HAD TODAY, DEC 20, 2003

AT 5555 EGLINTON AVE. N., TORONTO CENTRE, OFFICE N61-3

 

Dear Sirs,

 

This is to express my deep concerns about my G2 Examination driving test I had today Dec 20, 2003, 9:30am, at the 5555 Eglinton Toronto testing centre, Office N61-3. Also I raise some brief personal points about full driving license in Ontario.

 

I have 6 years of licensed experience in my natal country Romania and 4 years of holding and driving G2 in Ontario. I took driving schools both here and in Romania. I never had in those 10 years any accident.

 

In my opinion, today I performed almost perfectly, and therefore I am outraged and very sad to be disqualified. Mr. Supervisor, Licensing Administration Office, Downsview ON, please consider and register the present letter as a complaint.

 

I very well knew the strictness the examinant wants to show in the test, from some friends, also from my driving instructor.

 

There were a few items appearing on my Record of G2 Examination, which I want to present and address briefly all here, as follows:

 

Turns/Approach/No blind spot (once, to the left) – Not true, I performed all blind spots twice! Moreover, I noticed that the examinant did his own blind spots in most cases, so maybe we did it in the same time, at least once. In this case, how could the examinant be so sure about the driver doing all blind spots when maybe he was doing some of his in the same time?

 

Turns/Approach/Signal No/late/entrance (once, to the left) – I don’t remember any missed or late signal! Moreover, what does the “late” term mean here? Does it remain at the examinant’s latitude to evaluate that? If so, in this case, everybody could be penalized, based on subjective personal opinion!

 

Turns/Turning/Traffic check/No left-right-left (twice, both to the left) – Again, that’s false! I wasn’t only doing all left-right checkings, but also I acted and acted (pretending like a theatre actor), knowing they want to see that, and trying to be sure he was looking at me at those times!

 

Turns/Turning/Traffic check/Blind Spot (twice, both to the left) – Again, pure lying! (I got the same confirmation from another examinee). Sorry to be so straight with words, but if necessary I can stand in court with my testimony! As I mentioned above, I did all blind spots twice, just to be sure he saw me!

 

Moreover, let me point one point: As you can see, all my failures were to the left, and none to the right. I checked these after the test comparing my record with another examinee who previously had the same examinant (the person passed, not important). Well, also she had all her failures also on left side, and none to the right!

 

Given these (same examinant, two different drivers, each having 6 failures, and all to the left), I strongly suppose that the examinant was unable to see properly us doing the job ONLY to the left (the opposite part of him), very normal (you might check other’s examinee reports for other drivers for this). In consequence, I suppose none of his reports above were correct!

 

Lane changes/No blind spot (business, once) – Again pure inventions! I know exactly the place where I did it (I had it only once), and I remember very well I did the blind spot twice!

 

Lane changes/Not 2-3 sec early – I don’t remember any lateness!

 

Lane Changes/Speed: Too slow – Again, this is not true! I changed lines at 65-70 Km/h (on a maximum 70 Km/h road) and I merged on the highway at the appropriate speed (about 80 km/h), given my car capabilities, also the road conditions (it was wet and some snow patches - it snowed the last two hours before my test)! Are the drivers suppose to risk their cars and lives just to get this licence?! Moreover, I kept an eye regularly on my speed indicator, maintaining the speed within 5 Km/h to the limit, just to be sure.

 

Traffic check/No left/right check – Again, pure lies! I performed almost all my checks twice!

 

Expressway/Entering/Speed: Accelerate after acc. lane (twice) – what are people suppose to do to run the car after entering the highway, other that accelerate to the speed limit?? (100 km/h, which I never passed)

 

Expressway/Driving Along/Traffic check: Not every 5 sec (once) – Again, this is not true! I checked regularly the traffic back and fourth both on the highway and in business area! How an examinant noting and checking the record, plus wearing sun glasses, sitting side by side, is expected to check each 5 sec the driver’s eye to see if he’s looking to the mirror each 5 sec!? 

 

Expressway: Driving along/Speed uneven (once) – Again, very false! Possibly once I was uneven just because I adapted with the traffic! Are the drivers expected to go EXACTLY 100 km/h (impossible) on a wet highway?

 

Reason for Disqualification: Dangerous action. This is the only time I sustain it was something interpretable, let me briefly explain it. It happened just at the end of my test, getting the car on the last small road into the parking (on the parking lot small entrance from Eglinton road). There is a stop line without a stop red sign nearby (why there is no stop sign there?). The examinant didn’t say which direction to pass the intersection (as he did in the rest at all times). So I asked him “straight?”, and he said “yes”. I stopped my car before the line, then somebody else stopped her car, entering perpendicular the small “intersection” from my right. The other driver didn’t move his/her car (probably he/she was a student practicing in the driving test area), so without a STOP sign I supposed it was a “all-way stop” intersection, and I slowly proceed further, without any danger (she was stopped at all times until I crossed the intersection). Then I parked the car as requested and I finished.

 

The rest was perfect, accordingly with the report (out of 114 items!).

 

Given the above, I strongly oppose, if necessary by any legal meaning, my test result I had today. Therefore, I expect to get a full reply to my issues as soon as possible, along with the name of the examinant, in order to decide about my further actions.

 

Sincerely, after my test today, I might make the decision not to have any full G permit and not to drive anymore in Ontario, despite any future prejudice that this might cause to me. This is not only a form of protest about the examination I had today, but also against the alarming increasingly insurance rates (a reference to the Government), also maybe because of my future personal career (possible out of Ontario or Canada).

 

On a more general note, a few questions addressed to the Ministry of Transportation:

 

Talking to other friends and colleagues who failed some driving road tests in the last time for similar obscure reasons, I have one increasingly concern about the way the Ontario new appointed private firm is failing people, having years and years of experience here in Ontario, and no accident! If we are such bad drivers, how did we get G2 permits and how come we never had one single accident in these years, driving 100,000 km (in my case)? Or maybe failing has more to do with money (tests fees), than with good and safe driving? Instead, the new full G holders are allowed to drink (even a glass) and drive! I never thought to find such a stupid legal driving law in my new much dreamed country!

 

We don’t recognize permits and years of experience from Ontario, some parts of Canada and almost all other countries, but we give right away the right to drive, at full credits, to people coming from example from the US, who as I know are not mandatory to get any classes or driving school to get their licenses! Plus they don’t have this 3-step smart process that we think we have. This is very strange, in my opinion!

 

Also I have more concerns about the necessity of taking 3 steps (G1, G2 and G), specific for Ontario, which I never heard of in any other country. If that’s such a good idea, had the accidents rates dropped since 1994 (since the 3-step process was introduced), even taking into account the increase in traffic)? I don’t think so. Also, did the tests failure rates got by chance somehow higher since the recent drive test privatization? (that might explain the money issue)..

 

Remaining at your disposal for any additional arguments and testimony,  

 

Yours truly,

Ovidiu Vaduvescu