Driver test replacement workers ‘bad idea’

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This article was published 08/09/2023 (773 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Public Insurance should put the brakes on using replacement workers to test new drivers, a former driving examiner says.

“I was quite surprised and quite concerned,” Maurice Bernardin said Thursday of the contingency plan to resume Class 5 examinations by using private instructors hired as replacements amid the ongoing strike of some 1,700 unionized MPI workers.

“In my opinion, it is negligence. You’re putting people at risk… It is a bad idea.”

Bernardin retired last year, after two decades as not only a driver’s test examiner but one of the people ensuring other examiners were properly conducting such evaluations. He was also involved in checking out-of-country credentials to see if applicants could automatically get a Manitoba driver’s licence.

The strike by 1,700 MPI workers (members of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union) began Aug. 28.

The Crown auto insurer, which has offered two per cent wage increases annually for four years, has asked the union to agree to go to binding arbitration. The union has thus far rejected the deal, saying its members need more because of the rising cost of living.

It’s similar to the stance taken during the recent MGEU strike by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. workers.

After weeks of MLL offering two per cent per year for four years, as well as going to binding arbitration, a new contract was reached with a wage increase of about 12 per cent over four years.

MGEU’s president Kyle Ross said he doesn’t understand why the Crown corporation, which has a monopoly on selling vehicle insurance in the province, would come up with a plan which could potentially allow unsafe drivers on the road.

“It is really frustrating this government and this employer will put the safety of people at risk rather than bargain,” Ross said Thursday. “It is really insane.

“MPI usually prides itself on road safety, but rather than bargaining, they are throwing safety out the window. It is unfair to put Manitobans at risk.”

“MPI usually prides itself on road safety, but rather than bargaining, they are throwing safety out the window. It is unfair to put Manitobans at risk.”–Kyle Ross

Bernardin said there is a learning curve from being a driving instructor (who sits beside drivers in a vehicle to tell them how to deal with a stop sign, for example) to an examiner, who has to sit and say nothing as a vehicle rolls towards a stop sign but take quick action, if needed.

“Driving examining is difficult,” he said. “You can’t give (the student driver) all of that information — you have to let the scenario play out. You can’t stop the vehicle yourself until you know you have to take over.”

Bernardin said during the five weeks of training driving examiners receive, only about half of the candidates make it through.

“If a person shows they can’t react, they immediately don’t go on,” he said. “And my experience is being an instructor doesn’t help them get through.

“In more ways, it is more difficult for them. They are used to teaching and coaching, but you can’t do that during testing.”

MPI itself provided the proof last year it wasn’t a good idea — when it didn’t use instructors as replacement examiners to reduce its ongoing test backlog, Bernardin added.

“Last year, it took six months to take a test, but the idea of using driving instructors was never considered,” he said. “That’s because it is a bad idea.”

“Last year, it took six months to take a test, but the idea of using driving instructors was never considered… That’s because it is a bad idea.”–Maurice Bernardin

As well, Bernardin said it potentially puts the country’s driving reciprocity at risk, where a driver who moves from Manitoba can automatically get a licence in another province they call home. “If your testing doesn’t meet national standards, it might affect reciprocity.”

A MPI spokeswoman said in a statement Thursday it is giving Class 5 road tests for eligible customers with a MPI-certified driving instructor.

“Approximately 100 of MPI’s driver instructor partners offered their assistance in this effort and so far, MPI has secured contracts with over 30 instructors who have begun conducting road tests with customers.”

Ross said there are currently no contract talks ongoing with MPI. “Our door is always open to bargain but, unfortunately, the employer has decided not to bargain.”

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Meantime, MPI announced it has resumed setting appointments for motorists whose vehicles have suffered hail damage.

MPI said 2023 is already one of the worst hail damage years in two decades, with more than 11,600 claims thus far. More than 3,800 alone followed an Aug. 24 storm in Winnipeg and its outskirts.

Priority will be given to motorists who had their appointments cancelled when the strike began Aug. 28, MPI said.

The Crown auto insurer is asking motorists who have not yet reported hail damage not to go to a repair shop, but rather wait for an MPI estimating appointment.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Kevin Rollason
Reporter

Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.

Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.