New Drivers

I spoke to a woman this week who was upset at the way the police had handled the clearing of an out of control party at a residence. Impaired driving was the inevitable consequence of requiring the teens to leave immediately.

A learner driver who had made a serious error in judgment asked about collision coverage. He had taken the family car without consent, did not have the required supervisor present and caused a crash. What kind of trouble would he be in?

Question: My teen is an irresponsible driver and I am concerned enough at the danger they present to themselves and others that I want to withdraw my consent for them to have a driver's licence. How do I do that?

I spoke with a father once about his teen's vehicle. I had inspected it at roadside and because of various defects I had issued it a Notice & Order #2. The father was trying to convince me to withdraw the order because he knew that the vehicle would not pass inspection and it would be too expensive to repair.

Would you volunteer to have your driving monitored all the time that you are behind the wheel in order to benefit from reduced insurance rates? Driver telematics are becoming a common way for insurance companies to assess a driver's crash risk and help set rates that are appropriate for that risk level.

Even though you hold a valid driver's licence, you might not be qualified to teach a new driver. Not only do you need to have the knowledge and skills necessary, you also need the right attitude and be able to pass it all along successfully. Experience has taught me that some parents don't have what it takes to be a good instructor.

In the days before the GLP parents had a strong control over their children who had not reached the age of 18. If the child was not driving properly parental consent for the licence could be withdrawn and ICBC would cancel the child's drivers licence. This was an effective control over wayward young drivers.

Do you have less than 5 years of driving experience and hold a BC Driver's licence? If you are interested in taking part in a driver telematics pilot project ICBC is accepting up to 7,000 volunteers to see if using telematics will make you a safer driver.

Khalid Almardy was stopped by police in the early morning hours of October 21, 2017 in Victoria as he was a novice driver who was not displaying a new driver sign on his vehicle and was carrying too many passengers. Cst. Christians of the Capital Region Integrated Road Safety Unit detected the odour of liquor on Mr. Almardy's breath. Drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program must have zero blood alcohol when driving.

Drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program (GLP) are forbidden to use electronic devices while driving. Mira McEachern was a 17 year old novice driver on September 17, 2016 when she was issued a traffic ticket for violating this rule. She was convicted of that offence (records do not indicate if it was because she paid the fine or was not successful in a traffic court dispute).