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G Road Test Tips

MetroMan

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G Road Test Tips?

Hey everybody, I've procrastinated on this long enough! I have a European driver's license and even though I've been living in Ontario for the past 7 years or so, I've never really needed to drive much.

Lately I've been needing to drive so I've rented a car with my Euro license. Well, it turns out that I'm only allowed to drive on that license for 3 months after moving to Ontario... oops.

So I went and got my G1 permit, then last week I passed my G2 road test so I now have a G2 license. Because of my previous experience, I'm allowed to book my G highway test right away.

I'd like to get it out of the way but I'm worried about missing the cues that the examiner will be looking for.

I noticed that on the sheet that I was given after my G2 road test there are a bunch of criteria that the examiner checks off as the test goes on.

Does anybody have a G highway test sheet of this sort? It would be pretty useful for me to go through the checks and insure I comply with each one during the test.

Anybody got any tips?
 
Just be sure to never go over the speed limit because they'll instantly fail you. Be sure to check your mirrors and don't forget to signal for everything. 3point turns, etc. And always keep to the right unless asked to move into the left lane on any street.
 
You can always hire a driving school instructor to take you around the area of the driver examination centre and see what problems you have with your driving. People tend to get bad habits (bad from POV of examiners, anyway) after driving for some time.

Don't forget to be in the right hand lane unless absolutely necessary to be elsewhere.
 
1. Do as afransen says. There are a million idiosyncrasies that perfectly good drivers miss that the MTO checks for on their test. It costs maybe $100, but not only do they check for things you might miss, but they will take you on nearly the identical route that the testers use.

2. One "rule" that I learned the hard way is that you must stop ahead of the stop line at all intersections such that the actual line is visible in your windshield. Nobody really does this, of course, because you would be metres away from the actual intersection when you were stopped. Nevertheless, this is one of the things they look for. I don't think you can argue for clemency in the wintertime when those lines are so eroded that they practically disappear.
 
I would also ask around to see what the "easy" examining centres are. The only reason I suggest that is that I got my G in Orangeville, because Brampton had the notorious John Rhodes exam centre (now closed). My G2 test went very well there, though.

I did the first G test at Rhodes, I failed because I failed to notice a side of road hazard. This was not my fault, IMO. I had to turn right, and immediately you are under a rail bridge, on the other side, a utility truck was parked on the right lane. Traffic was coming. I slowed, signalled, checked all the mirrors, but could not easily merge into traffic on Airport Road (the speed limit on the six lane road is a ridiculous 50 km/h here, also on my mind). She said I failed to anticipate it. And I wasn't visibly checking my mirrors every few seconds - another thing they really are anal about. Move your head around looking at your mirrors all the time, they want that.

Orangeville was much easier. The highway segment was a section of the Highway 10 bypass with a right turn ramp. Parallel parking made me thnk I was going to fail, as there was a lot of snow and had trouble negotiating my way in between both cars. After a few attempts, he told me to move on, and I was stressing a bit and there was a back-up pf cars behind. As I did everything else right, he gave me another chance on a less busy road that was plowed better - otherwise I would have failed based on the parallel parking.
 
check all mirrors - as much as possible.

maintain proper distance.

put emergency brake on when parking (make sure the wheels are pointed the right way).

stay in the right lane.

use your signals and change lanes in the proper places.

drive as if you are carrying a cup of coffee on your dash and you don't want to spill it.

watch for pedestrians and cyclists, even talk about them so the instructor knows you have acknowledged their presence.

adjust you seats, mirrors, etc before you move the car. shut of cell phones & all distractions. circle check your car before you drive.

i'd even make sure the washer fluid was topped off just in case you have to clean your windshield.

don't be nervous.
 
Gotta go with Sean on this one. If you can, book a test in Orangeville. There is very little traffic along the test route, and they seem to be very forgiving (at least mine was).

Keep to the speed limit, check your mirrors often, keep right and ALWAYS give pedestrians the right of way, even if they are jaywalking. It's an automatic fail if you come too close to a pedestrian, even if you have the right of way (making a right turn with pedestrians crossing, for example).
 
The number one tip of all: pray you don't get a yellow light. You're screwed no matter how you react.
 
yeah yellow lights are hard and I purposely slowed down if I though the lights in front of me seem to turn yellow.
Because you must stop even in normal driving it is seen as okay to go through PLUS you fail if your car goes over the line.


Get the G test in some small town. You will not be faced with emergencies...


Also move your head and maintain speed, maintain speed and maintain speed.

The test is harder then the G2, as we all are already driving and we have our own driving habits. You really had to fight your own mind to drive by their way.

The test it self is easy, however they are far less lenient then on a G2. On a G2 you could do one big mistake, but here no mistakes.


Small towns are much more lenient, as i failed to put my Parking brake on my Parallel park. I heard from the driving instructor who took me there, that she could have failed me, but I went 100km to get the test, and she likely felt sympathy. LOL!!
 
Thanks for all the tips guys!

For my G2 road test, I did get an instructor to critic my driving before the exam. It cost $100 and I must say that I wouldn't have passed. I learned a valuable insight into what examiners look for:

- Uphill parking wheel direction
- Having the back tires of the car in front of you always visible in your windshield (further if your examiner is short..lol)
- Seeing the stop line in your windshield at intersections
- signaling for everything. signaling well ahead of time when performing lane changes
- stay in the right lane whenever possible

As for getting an instructor for my G test, it's an additional $130 added to the $75 of the road test.

A girl was getting trained for the G test while I was training for the G2 so I got a free lesson I guess. I think I can pass it but I'd love to see somebody's G test yellow sheet as it has all the items that the examiner is looking for.

As for having an instructor drive you through the road test route, it's expressly prohibited. Instructors can be fined and lose their license.

I think I'll rent a car and head out to Orangeville and make it a road trip.
 
That sounds a bit rich. I paid $60 for a 45 min session, but that was in St. Catharines, not the city. Call around.

He also took me on parts of the route, but not the whole route. I don't know if this is still prohibited, but be aware that at least some instructors will do this.
 
slow to 20 km check for on coming traffic if red, if there is stop if need be but go if you can without slowing the oncoming cars.

If it is green, look for pedestrian and left turners and if there are let them go, then go through.
 
I would also ask around to see what the "easy" examining centres are. The only reason I suggest that is that I got my G in Orangeville, because Brampton had the notorious John Rhodes exam centre (now closed). My G2 test went very well there, though.

I did the first G test at Rhodes, I failed because I failed to notice a side of road hazard. This was not my fault, IMO. I had to turn right, and immediately you are under a rail bridge, on the other side, a utility truck was parked on the right lane. Traffic was coming. I slowed, signalled, checked all the mirrors, but could not easily merge into traffic on Airport Road (the speed limit on the six lane road is a ridiculous 50 km/h here, also on my mind). She said I failed to anticipate it. And I wasn't visibly checking my mirrors every few seconds - another thing they really are anal about. Move your head around looking at your mirrors all the time, they want that.

Orangeville was much easier. The highway segment was a section of the Highway 10 bypass with a right turn ramp. Parallel parking made me thnk I was going to fail, as there was a lot of snow and had trouble negotiating my way in between both cars. After a few attempts, he told me to move on, and I was stressing a bit and there was a back-up pf cars behind. As I did everything else right, he gave me another chance on a less busy road that was plowed better - otherwise I would have failed based on the parallel parking.

John Rhodes was brutal. I probably know just one person who managed to pass their first time there.
 
John Rhodes closed? When did that happen? I remember when it first opened...

What replaced it?
 

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