West Coast Driver Training has been getting calls from Victoria residents asking about whether we do Driving Lessons in Victoria.
The answer is, “Yes. We do offer Class 4, Class 5 and Class 7 lessons in Victoria.”
We have two suggested meeting places for Victoria clients:
ICBC Driver Services, #1 1150 McKenzie Avenue (at Borden Street)
We welcome clients from Salt Spring Island. Here is a link the BC Ferries schedule for Vesuvius Bay on Salt Spring Island to Crofton, north of Duncan.
We can pick up clients at the Crofton Ferry and drop them at the Crofton Ferry afterwards. But with the travel time between the Crofton Ferry and Duncan we recommend that Salt Spring Island clients consider doing 2 hour or 3 hour lessons rather than our usual 90 minute lessons.
Our lessons are typically 90 minutes. With a 90 minute lesson, a significant portion of the lesson time is consumed by travel time between the Crofton Ferry and Duncan and back again. A longer lesson time gives the student driver more time in Duncan doing traffic lights and other driving conditions not encountered on Salt Spring Island. We can provide pricing on lessons that are longer than our standard 90 minute lessons.
Here is a link the BC Ferries schedule for Vesuvius Bay on Salt Spring Island to Crofton, north of Duncan.
Here is a map showing the location of the BC Ferries terminal at Crofton:
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Earlier today one of my clients, Sierra Robinson, did her Class 7 N Road Test in our 2020 Prius Prime. She did really well on her Road Test and passed handily.
But as we were waiting at ServiceBC in Duncan just prior to her Road Test, Sierra told me that the stress of waiting to do her Class 7 Road Test was similar to the stress she felt before doing her TED Talk.
I didn’t know Sierra had done a TED Talk so I looked it up on YouTube afterwards.
Here is Sierra Robinson’s TED Talk from October 2019 (posted here with her mother’s permission):
Congratulations to Sierra Robinson on her very interesting TED Talk and on passing her Class 7 N Road Test today.
And for all my clients who feel that stress before their Road Tests, take some inspiration from Sierra’s demonstration that you can deal with that stress and perform really well in spite of it, whether it is doing a TED Talk or passing your Road Test.
ICBC resumes enhanced road assessments, motorcycle, recreational trailer and passenger vehicle road testing
Starting July 7, ICBC will be resuming Enhanced Road Assessments, motorcycle and recreational trailer road tests.
Customers can book an appointment from today by calling our Driver Licensing customer contact centre at 1-800-950-1498 or 250-978-8300. Motorcycle road tests can also be booked online on icbc.com. We ask customers for their patience as we anticipate high call volumes.
We’ll be contacting customers whose Enhanced Road Assessments, motorcycle and recreational trailer road tests were cancelled between March 17 and 30 to prioritize their appointment. RoadSafetyBC will be sending customers who qualify for an Enhanced Road Assessment appointment a letter which include those who had their appointment cancelled because of the pandemic.
As previously announced with the resumption of commercial road testing, our driver examiners are required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for the duration of road tests and have access to a combination of equipment including masks, shields, goggles, gloves and disposable seat covers.
We also provide mandatory medical grade masks for our customers to wear during their road test.
For motorcycle road tests, riders are not required to wear a mask due to the nature of the test but are required to wear the safety vest, which is sanitized after each use.
Conducting motorcycle tests now allows us to reduce the current backlog, which will free up more road test spaces and allows us to secure more PPE as we prepare for the restart of passenger vehicle testing. In addition, conducting motorcycle tests during summer months reduces the likelihood of cancelled tests due to weather.
As a reminder, we ask that customers arrive 15 minutes before their road test appointment and
· ensure they have the required identification
· be prepared for health screening questions
· ensure the interior of their vehicle is clean, and
· maintain physical distance of 2 metres (6 feet) from ICBC representatives when possible.
We will continue with a phased approach of increasing the in-person driver licensing services we provide, while maintaining health and safety a top priority.
Priority testing for essential health care workers and first responders
Starting today, essential health care workers and first responders who require a licence for their job can call our Driver Licensing customer contact centre to book a priority road test appointment. These road tests will begin on July 20.
Rescheduling of cancelled Class 5 and 7 road tests
ICBC Customers — and schools who booked on behalf of their students — that had a Class 5 or 7 road test cancelled between March 17 and March 30 will be contacted to reschedule their appointment. We’ll be calling these customers and schools starting today, and these road tests will begin on July 20.
Following this first grouping, we’ll then be prioritizing the re-booking of customers who had road tests cancelled after March 30. It is expected that these customers will be able to re-book through the month of August.
More details on the timing for new road test bookings will be provided in the following weeks.
We know there is a significant demand for road tests with a backlog of customers whose road tests were cancelled. We’re looking at a number of things, including our resourcing, hours of operation and conducting road testing at other ICBC facilities.
To manage the demand and volume of customers in an office at any given time, ICBC is also looking to move to an appointment system for in-office visits, including driver licence renewals. We are not offering standby appointments at this time. More information will be provided when plans are finalized.
Here are some media reports about ICBC Class 5 and Class 7 Road Tests Restarting on 20 July 2020:
Prior to the COVID-19 shut down in March 2020 we had planned to increase our Class 5 and Class 7 Lesson Prices to bring them in line with other Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo Driving Schools.
Since the COVID-19 shut down has created economic challenges for many clients we have decided to delay increasing our prices until 1 September 2020.
Clients booking Class 5 and Class 7 Driving Lessons prior to 1 September 2020 will still get our Current Lesson Prices, which are very competitive.
Driving Lessons booked on or after 1 September 2020 will be billed at our new prices.
To book Driving Lessons you can Contact Us by phone/text at (250)732-8093, by email at mark@WestCoastDriverTraining.com or through the Dialog Box at the bottom of this page.
After being shut down since March 2020 to comply with COVID-19 regulations, West Coast Driver Training is re-opening for Driving Lessons as of today.
Please contact us to schedule Driving Lessons. You can phone or text us at 250-732-8093.
We will still be observing COVID-19 precautions as recommended by WorkSafeBC. Instructors will be wearing masks while conduction in car lessons.
Before each lesson, clients will be asked to sign a form saying they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms, have not been in contact in the previous 14 days with anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms or who has tested positve for COVID-19 and have not travelled outside of B.C. in the last 14 days prior to the lesson.
We look forward to seeing our existing clients and new clients.
We just had the following email from ICBC advising that ICBC will resume Commercial Vehicle Road Testing (Class 1,2,3 and 4). For our clients who are waiting for a Commercial Vehicle Road Test, please call ICBC at 1-800-950-1498 or 250-978-8300 ASAP to arrange a Road Test date. My weekday schedule (Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 3:00 p.m. for Commercial Vehicle Road Tests) currently has plenty of openings. Give me call if in doubt about scheduling.
As our valued stakeholder we wanted to let you know that we’re going to announce that from June 11, customers will be able to book road test appointments for Class 1-4, airbrakes or heavy trailers (endorsement 20) by calling us at 1-800-950-1498 or 250-978-8300. We anticipate some road tests will be conducted by the end of next week.
We’ll be contacting customers whose Class 1-4 road tests were cancelled between March 17 and 30 to prioritize their appointment. We ask customers for their patience as we anticipate high call volumes.
Road testing is going to look different. Our driver examiners will be required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for the duration of the road tests. They will have access to a combination of equipment including masks, shields, goggles, gloves and disposable seat covers.
We’re also going to provide a mandatory medical grade mask for customers to wear during the road tests. We ask that customers arrive 15 minutes before their road test appointment and
• ensure they have the required identification
• be prepared for health screening questions
• ensure the interior of their vehicle is clean, and
• maintain physical distance of 2 metres (6 feet) from ICBC representatives when possible.
Drivers who do not follow the required guidelines will result in the road test being suspended, as the health and safety of our employees and customers are paramount.
To date, we have secured sufficient PPE for this initial phase. ICBC has a plan in place to expand the availability of road tests to other classes of licences as soon as possible which will be dependent on the roll-out of this initial phase and the ability to secure sufficient PPE for our employees and customers.
We are continuing our thoughtful phased approach to increasing more of our in-person driver licensing services, while maintaining the health and safety of our employees, customers and partners as our top priority.
To help you get ready for the resumption of road test for your customers, we have included some useful links for you to review:
• COVID-19 Safety Plan — As a school you are required to complete this. The link includes a requirement for cleaning vehicle interiors on page 7.
• Transport Canada PPE guidance
Thank you for your continued patience during these unprecedented times, and for your support as we move toward a new normal. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Please share this information with your staff and encourage them to check for important news and updates on our driver training web site dtcbc.com.”
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In compliance with precautionary measures announced under the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declared by the B.C. government on 17 March 2020, West Coast Driver Training has not been offering Driving Lessons or any other training since Tuesday, 17 March 2020.
On 6 May 2020, B.C. Premier John Horgan and Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the Implementation of a 4 Phase Restart Plan for re-opening B.C. business and easing the requirements of the B.C. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Phase 2 of this Restart Plan goes into effect on 18 May 2020.
Driving Schools are in Phase 3 of the Restart Plan. Under the original Public Health announcements on 6 May 2020, Phase 3 of the B.C. Restart Plan was planned to go into effect 2 to 4 weeks after the start of Phase 2, which went into effect on 19 May 2020.
It is now 2 June 2020 and Phase 3 of the Restart Plan has not been implemented. We have tried to contact the Ministry of Health for information on when Phase 3 will go into effect but we have not been able to get that information.
We contacted ICBC today to see whether ICBC has any information on when Phase 3 of the Restart Plan may be implemented. ICBC told us it has no information about that.
Assuming the Restart Plan remains as originally announced on 6 May 2020 and Phase 3 is started 4 weeks after the start of Phase 2, that means that West Coast Driver Training may be able to start offering Driving Lessons again on Tuesday, 16 June 2020, (4 weeks after the start of Phase 2).
With that in mind we are now taking bookings for Driving Lessons for after 16 June 2020. If the start of Phase 3 of the Restart Plan is delayed until after 16 June 2020, we can reschedule any Driving Lessons booked for the period 16-30 June 2020.
This COVID-19 Public Health Emergency has been a trying time for all of us and we look forward to resuming Driving lessons for our present clients and with new clients as soon as Phase 3 of the present COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Restart Plan is implemented.
Here are Premier John Horgan and Dr. Bonnie Henry on 6 May 2020 announcing the B.C. Restart Plan:
For our clients asking about when ICBC will resume Road Tests or resume booking Road Tests, we have no new information from ICBC on that. Keep checking this ICBC page for information on ICBC Road Tests.
Here are some recent news reports about ICBC Road Tests:
In compliance with precautionary measures announced under the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declared by the B.C. government on 17 March 2020, West Coast Driver Training has not been offering Driving Lessons or any other training since Tuesday, 17 March 2020.
On 6 May 2020, B.C. Premier John Horgan and Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the Implementation of a 4 Phase Restart Plan for re-opening B.C. business and easing the requirements of the B.C. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Phase 2 of this Restart Plan goes into effect on 18 May 2020.
Driving Schools are in Phase 3 of the Restart Plan. Under present Public Health announcements, Phase 3 of the B.C. Restart Plan will go into effect 2 to 4 weeks after the start of Phase 2, which goes into effect on 19 May 2020.
Assuming the Restart Plan remains unchanged and Phase 3 starts 2 to 4 weeks after the start of Phase 2, that means that West Coast Driver Training will likely be able to start offering Driving Lessons again on either Tuesday 2 June 2020 (2 weeks after the start of Phase 2) or Tuesday, 16 June 2020, (4 weeks after the start of Phase 2).
With that in mind we are now taking bookings for Driving Lessons for after 2 June 2020. If the start of Phase 3 of the Restart Plan is delayed until 16 June 2020, we can reschedule any Driving Lessons booked for the period 2 – 15 June 2020.
This COVID-19 Public Health Emergency has been a trying time for all of us and we look forward to resuming Driving lessons for our present clients and with new clients as soon as Phase 3 of the present COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Restart Plan is implemented.
Here are Premier John Horgan and Dr. Bonnie Henry on 6 May 2020 announcing the B.C. Restart Plan:
Here are links to some news reports about the COVID-19 Public Health requirements and the Restart Plan:
In compliance with precautionary measures announced under the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declared by the B.C. government on 17 March 2020, West Coast Driver Training has not been offering lessons since Tuesday, 17 March 2020.
B.C. Premier John Horgan has announced that the provincial Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 has been extended for an additional two weeks until Wednesday 13 May 2020.
West Coast Driver Training will therefore not be offering Driving Lessons until at least 13 May 2020.
We regret any inconvenience caused by this and we look forward to resuming lessons for our present clients and with new clients as soon as the present COVID-19 Public Health Emergency is over.
Here is Premier John Horgan on 29 April 2020 announcing the extension of the B.C. Public Health Emergency until 13 May 2020:
Here are links to some news reports about these COVID-19 Public Health requirements: