“August 12, 2026

Road test guidelines for advanced driver assistance systems

ICBC supports the use of enhanced safety features in vehicles, and recognizes that these systems improve public safety and reduce crashes. During a road test, however, some systems can undermine the test’s integrity by assisting the examinee when they need to demonstrate how to safely operate a vehicle.

Information on the types of systems allowed on road tests is included below. Information is available to students on the icbc.com page Prepare for your road test appointment.

Vehicle warning systems
Vehicle warning systems that are designed to enhance safety and alert drivers to potential hazards can be used but not relied on during a road test. This includes emergency braking and warning systems, rear back-up cameras, blind spot warning indicators, regenerative braking, and other crash avoidance systems.

When a warning occurs during a road test, the driver examiner will exercise discretion in determining whether the examinee should be marked for not reacting before the automatic action occurred. The examinee is scored based on their driving, and not the vehicle’s interpretation of a driving situation.

Driver assistance systems

Driver assistance systems that actively engage in the driving of the vehicle are not allowed on a road test. This includes adaptive speed control, speed limiters, automatic parking, hands-free driving, and any plug-in after-market devices not designed for the vehicle.

During the road test preamble, the driver examiner will ask the examinee if any driver assistance systems are active, and advise them if they must be turned off prior to the road test. If an examinee uses a driver assistance system that is not allowed, the driver examiner will either mark, warn, or discontinue the test according to established criteria.

If your school uses any driver assistance technologies or video recording technologies, please remember to turn these systems off, if possible, prior to the road test.”

Since this article was published by the Cowichan Valley Citizen and reprinted in many other Black Press newspapers in BC, West Coast Driver Training has received messages of support from all over the province. We thanks all those who have called us to express their support for the position we are taking on the use of dash cameras in our cars.

Wou;d you like to leave a question or comment about anything on this post?

Here’s an American documentary from a few years ago which explains some of it:

Please do not try to follow their example.  These things may appear to work in movies but the laws of physics cannot be suspended in the real world! Attempting to do these car maneuvers you may have seen in movies is not going to end well.

Here is the news report from Louisiana:

“2 die trying to jump car over raised drawbridge

Here’s a map showing the location of the Black Bayou Bridge,

Here are views of the approach to the Black Bayou Bridge from both sides:

Trying to jump this drawbridge (or any drawbridge) in a car is not going to end well, as these two Texas men have demonstrated.

Don’t follow their example!

Here are some other reports on this story:

• NBC News