Recent reports indicate new Saskatchewan drivers are having a difficult time passing SGI's drivers' tests.
SGI says success rates have been dropping over the past few years to the point where more than half of those taking the test fail to make the grade.
Pass rates have been dropping for about a decade and various sources have theories as to why. One veteran driving instructor in Saskatoon said this is the weakest generation she has ever taught. She says one cause may be that new drivers have been so involved with their electronic gadgets while travelling in a vehicle they have not observed others driving.
An influx of new Canadians may also be contributing to the statistic.
I tossed out the notion that taking a drivers' test and doing a story about the experience might be an interesting twist, but no one in the newsroom was willing to risk the chance of having their licence revoked.
We all consider ourselves good drivers, but aren't confident enough in our skill to put it to the test.
I've been driving for a long time - 40 years legally and probably another four before earning my licence.
I grew up on a farm in Southwest Saskatchewan and learned to drive at the tender age of 12. Our school offered driver training and I well remember the road trips we took in groups of three with the driver trainer to a nearby larger community where we could learn the finer points of intersections and parallel parking.
These lessons were in a nice, new car with an automatic transmission and power steering. It was a far cry from our family car, a 1964 Chev Bel Air sedan with three on the tree and Armstrong steering. That's the car I'd been driving since age 12, that and equally archaic farm trucks.
I explained this to my driving instructor and I remember he even gave me a lesson using the Bel Air. As a learner's permit holder at that point, I had probably driven it to school illegally without a licensed driver riding shotgun.
The special lesson didn't help me much. When I "finally" turned 16, I booked in for the test and I flunked, spectacularly! First mistake, as a farm girl I'd been taught to back up by looking forward, and using mirrors if backing up to a grain auger. Big no-no, backing up without also looking back. OK. I'll remember that one for next time. I think I muffed the parallel park, too and some other things.
So I booked in for a second time. Again I didn't make the grade.
On the third try, I decided I'd correct what I discerned as my other big mistake on the other two outings. I had borrowed by cousin's spiffy two-door car, the fastback kind where you really can't see the back of the car. It also had power steering and an automatic transmission. I decided for my third try I was going to drive my trusty old fish bowl Bel Air.
And I aced it. I lost a couple points on the parallel park. That's a big order - working the clutch and the steering - but other than that I could feel the license in my hand.
Then disaster struck. As I pulled up to a stop sign on our way back to the SGI office the gears locked up. Oh, boy! No one flunks three times! What to do? What to do?
I turned off the ignition and engaged the four-way flashers and the emergency brake. I got out of the car, popped the hood and did the nifty little jiggle maneouver my Dad and brothers had taught me that would unlock the gears.
Glumly I got behind the wheel and braced myself for the bad news. I was sure I was going to be chastised for my car not being road worthy or something along those lines.
I parked at the office and the examiner gave me a few pointers on how to parallel park the beast and said I had not only passed the test, but he gave me an "A" for mechanics!
So, these many years later I'm sure I've picked up more bad habits like those I learned on the farm, but I do try to be an attentive and careful pilot behind the wheel.
