EDMONTON, Alta. — The Alberta government has replaced written tests for new drivers and people applying for other licence classes, with electronic versions.

The electronic tests, available at 203 of 224 registry agent offices across the province, are an effort to reduce the opportunity for cheating and fraud.

“The Driver Knowledge Test System effectively uses technology to randomly select test questions from a large pool,” said Ty Lund, Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation. “This eliminates the potential for cheating and, as a result, increases safety on our roads.”

The new electronic testing system will generate tests of 20 randomly chosen questions from a selection of approximately 100 possible questions, ensuring every driver takes a different test. In addition, test results are automatically entered into a central system, which prevents anyone from going to another registry office to rewrite the test before the 24-hour wait period.

The cost of taking the test will remain at $18 or less. The full implementation electronic testing cost the provincial government $650,000, which included the new system, cabling and workstations at each registry.