Truck driver training schools complain of uneven road tests

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Ontario was the first jurisdiction to establish mandatory entry-level training standard for truck drivers. Since 2017, anyone who wants to take a Class A road test must first complete 103.5 hours of training.

The challenge is that the all-important road test doesn’t seem to be conducted in a standard way.

Complaints continue to emerge that individual examiners at Ontario Drive Test Centres apply different interpretations to the actions that driver trainees need to demonstrate.

The differences are so significant that several truck driver training schools, speaking on condition of anonymity, admit they avoid individual examiners and locations when scheduling student road tests.

“They don’t follow the marking guides,” says Naeem Cheema of the Pine Valley Driving Academy in Etobicoke, referring to the document that examiners use to decide what trainees need to illustrate. “Every examiner has its own interpretation.”

Tests were updated when mandatory training was introduced. Several driver training schools say individual examiners apply the standards in different ways.

Same answers, different grades

The way an answer is delivered, or the individual steps taken to perform a technique, can be the difference between earning a licence or a failing grade.

“One examiner will say, ‘You didn’t mention the low air warning device must activate below 55 [psi].’ The other examiner will say, ‘That’s OK. You can just say the low air warning is working,’” Cheema says as an example.

Many of the discrepancies appear to be linked to the way pre-trip inspections are conducted.

Where one examiner wants to see candidates gently rock the steering wheel during a pre-trip inspection, the next is waiting to see if it’s turned fully to the left and right, Cheema says, offering another example. Where another examiner wants a door handle checked, the next wants to see trainees put their full shoulder into the door to ensure everything is secure.

At one Drive Test Centre, those taking the road test have been allowed to say they would inform an “operator” about a vehicle defect. The next will demand references to the trucking “company” or “owner”. Some examiners appear willing to describe that air pressure is above 90 psi, but trainees in other locations are expected to offer the specific reading of the air gauge.

About 10 to 15 steps like these were recently clarified, but Cheema says more still need to be done. “It takes a long time,” he adds, referring to the pace of changes introduced since 2017. “Meanwhile, lots of people lose their time and money.”

‘Perceived inconsistencies’

Mary Dane, government and stakeholder director for Serco Canada – the private business contracted to conduct the tests – recognized the “perceived inconsistencies” during a recent presentation to the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO).

“We say ‘perceived’ because in some cases it’s not an inconsistency,” she stressed.

But changes are being adopted to address other cases.

“We’ve heard about the lack of alignment between training programs and the testing administration,” she told the crowd dominated by training school representatives. “We started addressing the pass/fail rates of our driver examiners.”

Every month, a review board now looks for anomalies in the form of unusually high or low rates of passing grades, while a remedial training program has been developed for the examiners themselves.

“We’re redeveloping a commercial testing guideline. It’s been updated since the entry-level training has come into effect. But it really hasn’t been fully, I would say fully updated, and sent out to our driver examiners,” Dane said.

Who is Serco?

The contract to run the province’s vision, knowledge and road tests for all licence categories was first awarded in 2003 to Plenary Serco DES, a consortium of Plenary Group Canada, Serco DES, and CGI. The $138-million contract for the first decade was to generate an estimated $500 million in revenue. The contract was renewed in 2013 for $207 million, and is expected to generate $800 million in revenue over its 10-year term.

While the related activities are currently paused, the action was taken because of the ongoing pandemic. DriveTest Centres have been closed since March 23 on the advice of Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, during the fight against Covid-19. A date for reopening the locations has not yet been established.

Before that occurred, Dane gave truck driving training schools their own homework assignments in a bid to address the inconsistent road tests.

“Review the curriculum that’s been provided to you. Review the training tools that you have at your hand. Call us and ask us questions. There’s a lot of issues out there where some of the instructors coming into our Drive Test Centres have certain ideas about specific Drive Test Centres,” Dane added, referring to school personnel who say they need to train students for a road test location rather than to meet a common standard.

Keeping a distance

But trainers are discouraged from raising questions with the examiners themselves.

“We really discourage the interaction between driver examiners and instructors and students. They have a job and it’s all about ethics,” Dane explained.

Lynn Northcott, a driver-trainer for Zavcor Training Academy, counters that many issues could be resolved if Drive Test allowed more interactions with the individual examiners.

“We’re human beings. I should be able to walk over to that examiner and say, ‘I have this student. He’s ready, he’s done his training,’” she said after Dane’s presentation. “I need to know what my student did in order to fix it if he failed. He [a failing student] can’t remember because he’s so nervous and mad.

“How do you want them to word it? How do you want them to do it? We all need to be on the same page,” Northcott continued. “I need to be on their page too, training wise … They’re not being consistent. One will do it one way, and one will do a different way. It can be, at some point, frustrating.”

Updated tests, more failures

Many examiners, meanwhile, are dealing with a different test protocol since the rollout of mandatory entry-level driver training.

Written exams and road tests were both updated in 2017, as regulators looked to end the practice of teaching students to memorize answers rather than truly learning the training material.

There is now a bank of more than 150 questions for the written knowledge tests, up from 88, and the questions that remain are focusing on truck-specific issues. Trainees also have to focus on three to five randomly chosen vehicle components when being tested on inspection procedures – describing what they’re looking for, the differences between major and minor defects, and how they would respond to each. Backing demonstrations must include offset backing to the left or right, or an alley-dock maneuver.

Examiners have awarded licences to a lower share of candidates since the changes were put in place, too.

Between March and June 2017, before the mandatory training regime was implemented, 62% of trainees would pass the Class A road test. That rate dropped to 52% between July and October 2017, according to statistics from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

Testing backlogs

The changes have also introduced new challenges for the Drive Test Centres themselves – contributing to a backlog in test appointments.

While a Brampton facility was once able to accommodate 10 trucks at a time, it is now limited to three to five bays because of the new backing requirements. Serco is looking “outside the organization” to build on that capacity, Dane said.

Even test durations are being reviewed, as officials consider whether returning candidates need to repeat procedures that were successfully demonstrated during a test that resulted in a failing grade.

Meanwhile, Serco is planning a 50% increase in the number of DE4 examiners who conduct tests for commercial licences. “We’re going to have an over-abundance of DE4s out there,” Dane said.

Commercial examiners must hold a valid commercial class of licence and have at least four years of driving experience. Their training includes three levels of classroom and practical instruction, job shadowing, and a set number of road tests.

“All drivers are evaluated to the same criteria in all areas across the [province] regardless of the location in which the test is completed,” said MTO spokeswoman Kristine Bunker. “While the geographic reality of Ontario means that testing at each centre might be conducted under different conditions, all applicants are still required to demonstrate that they can safely operate a motor vehicle.”

Still, Cheema believes many issues can be linked to Serco’s internal training process for examiners, and argues that such training should be delivered by a third party.

 “They’re passing on their own knowledge to follow each other,” he said. “They should hire people that have experience, people who understand the [Ontario Highway Traffic Act], people who understand the road.”

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John G. Smith is Newcom Media's vice-president - editorial, and the editorial director of its trucking publications -- including Today's Trucking, trucknews.com, and Transport Routier. The award-winning journalist has covered the trucking industry since 1995.


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  • There has always been differences between examiner’s. Even when mto was testing. That will always be there. I’ve been an instructor for Merv orr, markel and 5th wheel for the past 30 years. Examiner’s are not the problem. The problem is melt standards and mto testing are not aligned. There is nothing about testing in the standard. When the drivers hand book was published then we found out how the testing was going to happen. Applicants are you use schedule one for the pre trip. But the marking guide for the examiner’s didnt match. They have to make up as the went along. I have a great respect for all the examiner’s. They have to decide if that person can take a 65000kg load down the highway, alone,without killing people or themselves in a short period of time. The training and the testing need to have the same goals. It’s not a examiner’s problem

    • that’s straight B.S but that is your opinion and your entitled to that but you really should get more true facts if you would like to have a valid opinion
      examiners in every province have good a bad ,

  • Interesting. On my test when we finished, the examiner asked why I signalled then pulled into the other lane to avoid a slow car entering. I explained I had slowed but the car had too, I sped up and so did the car. In the interest of safety, I changed lanes.
    That was ok. He said I pulled into another truck’s lane too soon after signalling. Told him the truck had seen what was happening, was a safe distance behind and had flashed his lights to say ok when I signalled my intent.
    Examiner said he didn’t see that part.
    I passed but if that was all he could find fault with then I was happy.
    Heard my examiner had an A licence but no practical experience. Don’t know if that was true or not.

    • For me the main problem is some private college is coming to take the money for the truck drivers student,
      And myself I’m a victim of those schools, The MTO should restrictly control those schools.

  • I can’t address the AZ testing, since I’ve had my license for 35 years, but i was pretty disappointed about 10 years ago when i did my full ‘M’.
    Examiner criticized my slow acceleration on the onramp to freeway (i hesitated to let a gaggle of cars and trucks go by, there was a hole behind them), and my slow speed in a quiet cul de sac (i said If i went 50k in that subdivision people would throw rocks at me)
    He seemed to have no grip on reality, just the book, but when i didn’t backtrack on my decisions he backed down.

  • Serco is a private FOR PROFIT company. Therefore, the more tests that they do, the more they make! Fail a driver once or twice before passing him? It’s money in the bank! And let’s face it. They have and love the POWER!

    • Got failed 2times for something really Nick picky.Sometimes I’m thinking if your examiner is having a bad day it’s a good chance that you will receive the brunt of her wraf.Hopefully when they secedule my next hopefully last road test the stars are aligned and she’s having a good day.

  • Most trainers that I know couldn’t make the cut towards being a true professional truck driver and so became trainers….worst kind of trainers. The best ones are the older retired ones because they are more level headed and of course their experience are invaluable.
    For road testing? A friend of mine who is 67 yrs old and been driving truck since he was about 12 yrs old (his father was a truck driver) had to go for a road test and the young examiner person who has never driven a truck fail him not because he did something wrong, but because he didn’t mention the low air device like your article explains. My friend decided right then and there that it was time to leave his beloved profession. He has had enough dealing with none truckers working in the trucking industry who seem to think they know best. I have left the trucking industry even though I still have a good 10 yrs left in me because of the condescending attitude truck drivers have to deal with which includes trainers/ instructors, examiners, inspectors and in many cases fleet owners. It’s sad to bear witness to this all and it’s a shame. I’m certainly not optimistic for the younger generation who are considering in becoming a pro trucker.

  • How would an instructor know what questions an examiner would ask their student during a test, the instructor isn’t there at all during the test.
    My instructor wasn’t even on the site during my test and my examiner was great, also I knew how to inspect a truck and how to tell him what to inspect, how it’s inspected, and what the defects are I’m inspecting for.
    I don’t believe anything this instructor says!

  • I don’t know if it is right to say, but some road test examiners do not like their job.I want to support this notion with personal experience.
    I am a student commercial vehicle driver and I booked my test in Orillia, ON.
    During the test, examiner asked me cargo body to explain and I started from one side and kept explaining went to back of trailer. Where as examiner didn’t shift his place from truck’s driver side door. I told him that I am going to another side to explain passenger side of cargo body. He didn’t hear and gave no answer. That was first time I felt like he hasn’t come to test me but to get some some outside air.

    Secondly, I was performing in-cab inspection, while I was explaining , he stopped me and asked me -did you explain steering wheel?
    Where I explained steering wheel to him after the gauges. I felt very uncomfortable, that how could he asked me such questions. If he think I didn’t explain he simply should write down my mistakes. And if I have done that when he tell me that this was mistake I did then I will explain him that I did explain that to you.
    Because every explanation have actions involved, so I could make him/her remember.

    Lastly, he had me doing the full test. I did coupling and uncoupling, road test, alley backing.
    After everything is done he said you are not up to standards and failed the test. I asked him where I failed- he said you didn’t show me wiper is working on speed one, 2 and 3.

    Whereas, after I check the all 3 speeds and told him wipers are working at all the speeds.
    I explained him, that this is what I did, also, I ask him one mistake is allowed, I can’t get fail.

    He said while incab- u said same, and he asked me wipers again- again I gave him similar answer, so two wrongs and I failed.

    I am saying, that during test, an audio video device must be permitted during road test, what if examiner is not doing his/her job properly. There must be a penalty for them also. I am 200% sure that if he had even a audio device on him. I could appeal and get myself pass the test, where he could get penalized some heavy fine!

    But, wow! No audio video devices permitted. I believe somewhere they know that they can get away with it and have person fill another test.

  • This does seem like it would be an extremely frustrating experience. The general feel with paperwork is that there is just too much of it. The problem is that without the procedure being spelled out a lot gets left up to interpretation. My son just got his driver’s license through https://goswerve.com/ and he said that his experience was almost identical to his cousins that used them a few months ago. We just need to identify problems and make adjustments to continually be better.

  • Most are paper-pushers to the extreme. As a driver trainer, instructor, old school examiners are more realistic and fair. The Stunts these newer examiners pull are unbelievable. Example: Blocking a student offset backing from being able to straighten out there vehicle to correct there position when backing within the 10 minute time limit. Or on a uncoupling and offsetting to the right of the trailer, forcing the student to recouple by pulling straight forward instead of going forward and to the left in front of the trailer and backing. Actually forcing the student to pull forward and turn the wheel hard to the left causing them to hit the right curb. Very disturbing behavior.

  • My school TTCC, does not have an alley dock that is consistent in size ( larger ) with the area used at MTO.
    Makes it really hard to pass the road test the first time.
    Now Im on my own, cannot get more training time unless I pay.
    School should give their students more support!

  • I don’t think that the schools should be allowed to do the road tests. It should be the MTO doing the tests. Too many of these schools are only there to make money and they want to show that they have a good passing rate yet the drivers that get their license at those schools can’t drive a damn truck. I’ve been driving trucks for 40 years and in the last 2-3 years, it’s been getting ridiculous on out highways. Ontario is the worst province to give commercial licence to drivers. You say that the instructors need at least 4 years experience in order to teach, that’s bullshit. Most of the time those instructors never really drove trucks. There’s a shortage of truck drivers so they just hand in licenses to whoever has the money to pay for them. It doesn’t make them truck drivers but rather human killing machines. Check the statistics of all the accidents throughout Ontario in the last few years and see how many accidents are caused by drivers with years of experience versus the new drivers. Respect and courtesy can’t be taught at driving schools and a lot of the new drivers lack both.

  • Agree with Chema,

    Just failed the D portion of my DZ test, although passed my Z classification.

    Heads-up for those attempting any A/DZ Testing soon….

    Apparently I failed to specifically mention the word….’rubber’ when describing and demonstrating the functionality and effectiveness of my wind shield wiper system.

    I also apparently failed to specifically mention the word ‘bolts’ when again demonstrating and describing the effectiveness of my floor mounted attachment point of my seat belt system.

    Referenced the correct minor/majors on Schedule 1 precisely I was told. Aced the road and back-up elements of the test……..New examiner I was told.

    Lesson to be learnt:
    You can be fine in passing the practical tests required to drive a 5000lb. death machine, safely and effectively down the road, but if you get an examiner who isn’t going to follow Schedule 1 you’re going to be disappointed.

  • There are many schools who just take their students on endless tours of the preferred testing routes – much like the automobile driving schools – which do little to prepare a commercial truck driver to changing road conditions. In addition, the students should absolutely be trained on congestion on highways and upon city streets. This will offer them in real time the opportunity to steer and gear through what post-pandemic. will be a surge in traffic related delays, and challenges.