MPI to waive road tests for drivers-ed program grads during strike ‘I’m confident there will be no safety concerns,” Crown corporation’s board chair says By: Malak Abas Posted: 1:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 Last Modified: 5:11 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 Updates

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Some high school students could be on the road legally without passing a driving test, as Manitoba Public Insurance scrambles to restore priority services while its employees are on strike.

Students who have already completed MPI’s driver education program — known as Driver Z and taken by high-schoolers at least 15 1/2 years old — will be issued a Class 5 licence (permitting operation of passenger vehicles primarily, held by most Manitoba motorists) without having to pass a road test in an attempt to prevent a backlog in testing. The seven-month program includes 20 class hours, 14 hours of in-car instruction and a minimum of 45 hours of mandatory driving practice.

Parental consent will be required for students to receive a licence without a road test, and they can request that their child be subject to one.

It’s part of a new contingency plan to restore services suspended by the walkout earlier this week of MPI’s 1,700 workers in the first strike in the Crown corporation’s 52-year history.

“I’m confident that there will be no safety concerns by taking this step.”–MPI board chair Ward Keith

While road tests have historically been used to determine driver aptitude, MPI board chair Ward Keith said students who complete the Driver Z program are more likely to pass road tests and have fewer future traffic violations than other drivers.

“I’m confident that there will be no safety concerns by taking this step,” Keith said Wednesday.

All other Class 5 drivers who were waiting for a road test before the strike began will be required to take one conducted by driver-education instructors under contract to MPI. The public insurer said 70 instructors have been contracted thus far, and they will have the ability to conduct tests in their modified training vehicles, many of which are fitted with an additional passenger-accessible brake pedal and other safety features the instructor can use to end the test safely.

Students who get licences without passing a road test could find themselves subject to taking one at a later date. Manitoba’s registrar of motor vehicles will have the discretion to require anyone licensed during the strike to pass the proficiency exam down the road, at no cost.

Keith said while there aren’t any requirements in place yet to determine which new drivers are selected to take a test, MPI will be tracking safety stats.

“I’m not saying necessarily that anyone will need to get re-tested. I’m just saying that the registrar needs to have that discretion, if there’s a need to do so in the future. And that’s what we’ll learn from this program,” he said.

An MPI spokesperson said the corporation wasn’t able to provide the number of students who could have their road test waived, but about 12 per cent of all road tests are booked by Driver Z students.

MPI cancelled 2,048 Class 5 road tests this week. Drivers with appointments that were cancelled as a result of the strike are already being contacted, and Keith said the exams are expected to begin early next week.

“I’m hoping that actually we’ll be able to address some of the backlog that currently exists for driver testing by leveraging the driver-ed instructors throughout the province,” he said.

Some experienced driving instructors are less confident than Keith.

Lek Kinnarath, the owner of Maple Leaf Driving School, has been teaching Manitoba’s teenagers to drive for several decades. He said the Driver Z program alone isn’t sufficient to get them road-ready.

“It’s definitely unsafe for them to just get their licence without having a proper test…. I’m strongly opposed to that,” he said.

“I know for sure, most of the students that receive this course, the Drivers Z course, they usually get some basic knowledge only. They are not really in the advanced stage.”

“It’s definitely unsafe for them to just get their licence without having a proper test…. I’m strongly opposed to that.”–Lek Kinnarath, Maple Leaf Driving School

He said he has trained students who have completed the course but waited months to train for their road test, and they had retained little of what they were taught in the program.

“Let’s say, if I have 10 Driver Z students — and I’m talking from my experience of 36 years of teaching — I would say, out of 10 students, there may be only one student that (is) quite good… 90 per cent of them, they are nowhere close to be able to drive safely,” he said.

Ideally, MPI would be bringing in professional driving instructors to hold road tests for all drivers, regardless of what program they’ve completed, he said, adding he was invited by MPI Tuesday to work as a road test examiner. He won’t be crossing the picket line any time soon.

He said he knows many of the striking workers from taking students to their road tests and doesn’t want to betray them.

“They’re asking MPI for better pay, for better living and everything. And here, we, behind their back, we’re doing their job,” he said. “I would say that they would look at us as the enemy.”

Striking workers rallied at the Legislative Building Wednesday afternoon to call out Premier Heather Stefanson, who published a video on her X (formerly Twitter) account chiding the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union for calling back-to-back strikes for members from two (MPI and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries) Crown corporations.

To chants of “Where is Heather?” from more than 1,000 people in attendance, MGEU president Kyle Ross joked: “She’s probably shooting a video.”

“It’s not easy to take a stand when it comes to your livelihood; going on strike is scary. Over 1,700 families here in Manitoba are putting their lives on line, their necks out and their lives on hold. And so far all they received from their employer and their government is spin, and two poorly produced videos,” Ross said, drawing a loud chorus of boos from the crowd.

Earlier this month during the now-settled MLL workers strike, Andrew Smith, the Progressive Conservative government minister responsible for liquor and lotteries, posted a video blaming the dispute on “the NDP and their union friends.”

At the rally, MPI contact centre employee Cheryl Santilli told the crowd it was time for the province to “recognize the standard of excellence we provide and pay us what we deserve.”

“Stop your war of words with propaganda and false information and get back to the table to negotiate a fair deal for the employees of MPI who make you look so good to everyone.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca