Student drivers can't find a road test appointment in Ottawa until 2022
Some Ottawa drivers are scrambling to find a road test appointment, as the Ontario government resumes in-vehicle road tests.
The government says there have been more than 400,000 road tests cancelled across the province due to closures during the entire pandemic. In-vehicle road tests resumed this week with COVID-19 restrictions in place, but appointments are hard to come by.
Elliot Gentle, 17, describes looking at the online booking system as "all X's until April of next year."
Gentle wants to book his G2 test as soon as possible, so he took the soonest appointment he could find, and his family will be driving him six hours away to do it.
"I currently have an appointment booked in Sudbury… in October, that was the only available time spots," says Gentle.
His mother Maria McLaughlin says they have spent hours online trying to book a test.
"(Sudbury) was the only spot within an eight-hour drive of Ottawa that had anything this year," said McLaughlin.
She says her son wants his licence to be more independent.
"He is saving his money to buy a car and is going to college next year," said McLaughlin.
The province says they are working on the backlog and are investing more than $16 million to increase road testing capacity at all DriveTest centres across the province. This includes hiring 167 additional driver examiners. This will be on top of nearly 100 temporary examiners the province announced back in the fall.
The province says they are also adding six temporary road-testing locations that will be located within a 30-minute driving radius from existing locations with the greatest demand. None are coming to Ottawa.
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the province says, "DriveTest is unable to prioritize customers with cancelled appointments. The current road test booking system does not have the functionality to prioritize road test appointments for specific individuals or groups."
Josh Schmidt spent hours online last week looking for an appointment and found a cancellation at the Walkley Road DriveTest location.
"I just looked all the time, I kept checking the site I checked so many different places, and I got lucky- someone must have cancelled so there was one test in the one day," said Schmidt.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.