After 19 years, Alberta’s graduated driver’s licence program is getting an overhaul. Come spring 2023, drivers with a GDL will no longer have to do the $150 advanced road test for Class 5 and Class 6 motorcycle licences and an additional road test will no longer be required to upgrade to a Class 4.
The old system made sense in theory -a probationary period and retesting to ensure good diving at the end of it- but having the retest be optional and making the probationary license too similar to the full one meant most people didn’t bother with the retest.
This new move feels like even more of a step towards the previous system, but I guess with self-driving cars on the horizon and fewer young people getting licenses it might not matter anyways.
I think the last thing Alberta needs to be doing, is handing everyone automatic license upgrades. There’s pretty clearly some test abridging going on as it is.
As someone benefiting from this change, it’s the best option right now.
I tried to take my re-test, and was failed for not coming to a complete stop 3 times. To quote the tester " I need to feel the lurch". He saw that I came to a complete stop, but found an out to fail me anyways. There goes $200 and a few hours of my life for what exactly? Arguably we should have a .00 BAC for any driver anyways.
The whole system needs a rework imo, but the GDL system is just a money grab and I’m glad it’s being dealt with.
Originally, the GDL program was going to be far more restrictive until they realized that there were a massive amount of jobs performed by young adults with cars that suddenly would need to get qualified applicants.
As a result, they stripped back basically every restriction leaving only the “no more passengers than seatbelts” and “zero tolerance for BAC”
