Class IV
After six weeks of waiting and plenty of unnecessary anxiety I'm now the proud owner of a Class 4 driver's licence. My pre-trip inspection and subsequent road test down here in Williams Lake went relatively smoothly this afternoon despite an unnecessary stop at an empty crosswalk downtown, and was over in only 30 minutes. I might have received a little help from my examiner who knew me rather well from my frequent phone calls looking for cancellations, but she certainly didn't hesitate to penalize me for a couple minor infractions that add up frighteningly fast. Nevertheless, I'm extremely relieved and am sure that I can say the same for my participants.
You might be wondering why I had to wait a full six weeks to take my road test. Well, I blame government cut backs and a zero-flexibility policy preventing drivers who need their licences for work from being given priority treatment. My examiner, though equally frustrated with her own hectic schedule, blames it on the transient nature of her position and constant rotations and re-training. Looking at both of our explanations, it's pretty clear that there's a shortage of permanent employees over there at ICBC and if everyone has to wait this long to take their tests, it must be having an impact on our economy.
It might not be as noticeable in an urban metropolis like Vancouver, but up here in resource country the impact of the trucking industry is visible everywhere (including the atmosphere, cough cough). It's not uncommon to see a dozen massive logging trucks - some empty, some full of raw timber - roaring through downtown Quesnel in a single hour. If it's not logs, it's containers full of other goods equally as important to the local and provincial economy. And it's not until all the truckers go on strike like they did in the Lower Mainland that the industry swells any larger than a blip on the radar of most Vancouverites.
The most serious issue of all, though, is that little league teams across the province are in dire need of volunteer drivers with class IV licenses. If the shortage of driver examiners continues, more and more kids will be prevented from participating in league play and apathy will reign amongst our very young people. The environment will suffer from all the exhaust coming from single passenger vehicles, and we'll all be worse off because of it. All because there aren't enough qualified examiners at ICBC.
Disclaimer: Yes, that last paragraph might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm rather bitter from having to wait this long for my test and thought I'd take it as far as I could go...
You might be wondering why I had to wait a full six weeks to take my road test. Well, I blame government cut backs and a zero-flexibility policy preventing drivers who need their licences for work from being given priority treatment. My examiner, though equally frustrated with her own hectic schedule, blames it on the transient nature of her position and constant rotations and re-training. Looking at both of our explanations, it's pretty clear that there's a shortage of permanent employees over there at ICBC and if everyone has to wait this long to take their tests, it must be having an impact on our economy.
It might not be as noticeable in an urban metropolis like Vancouver, but up here in resource country the impact of the trucking industry is visible everywhere (including the atmosphere, cough cough). It's not uncommon to see a dozen massive logging trucks - some empty, some full of raw timber - roaring through downtown Quesnel in a single hour. If it's not logs, it's containers full of other goods equally as important to the local and provincial economy. And it's not until all the truckers go on strike like they did in the Lower Mainland that the industry swells any larger than a blip on the radar of most Vancouverites.
The most serious issue of all, though, is that little league teams across the province are in dire need of volunteer drivers with class IV licenses. If the shortage of driver examiners continues, more and more kids will be prevented from participating in league play and apathy will reign amongst our very young people. The environment will suffer from all the exhaust coming from single passenger vehicles, and we'll all be worse off because of it. All because there aren't enough qualified examiners at ICBC.
Disclaimer: Yes, that last paragraph might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but I'm rather bitter from having to wait this long for my test and thought I'd take it as far as I could go...
posted by Per at 7:01 p.m.
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