[Shots of young woman driving her car in a residential neighbourhood.]
NARRATOR >> In the first episode of this series on getting your Ontario Driver's Licence, we checked out how to get your G1 licence and looked at the restrictions that G1 drivers have. Now it's time to develop a plan that will get you some practical driving experience, and encourage you to keep learning. To start, let's visit a driving instructor.
[Young woman enters a Driving School, sitting down in a classroom setting.]
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR >> Well the idea of G1 is to have the new driver safely begin to get practical driving experience, in order to keep learning, and gain confidence. Ultimately, this will allow a new driver to continue onto the next level.
[Young woman is in a classroom setting, listening to the driving instructor.]
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR >> For new drivers, it's often better to attend an approved driving school, but it is an individual choice.
[Shots of the Ministry of Transportation website.]
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR >> The Ministry of Transportation's website lists the schools offering approved beginner Driver Education courses. If you successfully complete an approved course with one of these schools, you can get a 4 month reduction in the minimum time you spend in G1. That's 8 months instead of 12!
[Driving instructor in classroom setting.]
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR >> And you have one year to complete a Beginner Driver Education course with an approved course provider.
[Young woman leaves the driving school with a driving instructor in tow, getting back into her car.]
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR >> It's fine if a family member wants to teach you, but it's important to have someone teach you who's knowledgeable and a good teacher. Some new drivers are going to be more comfortable learning with a friend or a family member. But remember, unless it's an approved course you don't get a time reduction.
[Young woman and driving instructor drive around a residential area in the young woman's car.]
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR >> Even taking Beginner Driver's Education, you're still going to need lots of practice. And a parent, or whoever you practice with, always needs to meet all the conditions of being an accompanying driver. But first, before driving at all, you need to sit down together and come up with a plan.
[Young woman is shown sitting at a kitchen table with an older gentleman - probably a father or relative. They are writing out a plan, and going through the Driver's Handbook.]
NARRATOR >> A plan isn't as complicated as it might seem. You just need to create a general outline covering how you will learn and practice. It's about who's going to teach you, when, where and how. This is a good time to review the important driving conditions placed on a G1 driver. Do you remember all 5?
YOUNG WOMAN #2 >> Sure, zero BAC.
YOUNG WOMAN #3 >> Zero Blood Alcohol Concentration.
YOUNG WOMAN #2 >> Everyone in the car has to have their own seatbelt.
YOUNG WOMAN #3 >> No driving after midnight.
MAN #1 >> No driving at all between midnight and 5am.
YOUNG WOMAN #4 >> Stay off the 400 series highways.
YOUNG WOMAN #2 >> And all high speed expressways where the speed limit is over 80km/h.
[Young woman drives around a residential area with a driving instructor.]
NARRATOR >> An accompanying driver must have a valid full G licence, at least 4 years of driving experience, and have a blood alcohol concentration of less than 0.5 percent. Or, a zero BAC if they are 21 and under, in case they need to take over the driving. Otherwise they won't be much help keeping you out of trouble.
[Close-up of flashing police car lights. A car is seen pulled over by two police officers on the side of a busy street.]
POLICE OFFICER >> Speaking of trouble, most young drivers obey the rules of the road and follow their licence restrictions. For those who don't, the consequences for drivers are serious, and get even tougher for repeat offences. For instance, this G1 driver has made a mistake. His accompanying driver has a full class G Licence, but in this case there's a problem.
[Two drivers' licences are shown on the screen.]
POLICE OFFICER >> The accompanying driver is required to have at least 4 years of driving experience, which is indicated on a licence by 4 dots. This one doesn't have any, meaning he doesn't have the experience required to be an accompanying driver.
[A car is seen pulled over by two police officers on the side of a busy street.]
POLICE OFFICER >> So this in turn is bad news for the G1 driver and even if it's just his first infraction, his licence will be suspended for 30 days. If he has any prior infractions, his licence will be suspended for 90 days, and for a third, he'll lose it altogether, and have to start by getting a G1 again. These suspension periods also apply to G1 and G2 drivers who are convicted of an offence that carries four or more demerit points.
NARRATOR >> These rules are designed to keep you and others on the road safe, while you're learning. Now that you're getting ready for your G1 Road Test be sure to view our next video in this series, where you'll learn more about the G1 road test and moving on to G2.
[TITLE: Ontario Government Website: Ontario.ca/transportation]