Driving tests up on P.E.I. — and not just because people are failing

Graham Miner, the director of P.E.I.'s Highway Safety division, says many people fail because they are unprepared for the road test. (Shutterstock / wellphoto - image credit)

Bookings for driving tests on P.E.I. are up 20 to 30 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, according to highway safety officials.

Graham Miner, the director of P.E.I.'s Highway Safety division, said one reason is because people are failing five or six times.

"People are going through stop signs, they're not using signal lights and are not doing proper lane changes. They're making illegal turns on yellow lights, not giving the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. These type of things," he said.

Miner said any infraction that would result in a ticket is an automatic fail. Others may fail if they can't demonstrate adequate ability to control the car.

He said the wait time to get a driving test is between two and six weeks, depending on the class and location. In some other provinces, people are waiting more than a year.

Miner said he believes some of those people may be coming to P.E.I. to get a road test.

"They may be coming here because they have friends or relatives and they've come, taken up residence here with them, and [are] looking for a road test," he said.

"Then we note in the computer system, shortly after they become licensed here, they are now licensed somewhere else, because all the computer systems, of course, in the country are hooked together."