- I'm going to tell you a secret.
It's easier to get your license in the winter time.
I said, it's easier to get your license
in the winter time! (bright cheerful music)
Hi there, smart driver.
Rick with Smart Drive Test talking to you today
about passing your driver's test in the winter time.
Yes, I know it's intimidating
because there's ice and snow on the roadways,
but it's going to be easier
to get a test date
because all the fraidy cats (mouse clicking)
are staying at home, (mouse clicking)
waiting for the warm weather (bell chimes)
and the summer to come.
In some places that's like six months off! (chuckles)
So do your driver's test in the winter time.
You'll get a test date and it's actually easier
in the winter time than it is in the summertime,
because it's less exact.
Because driving examiners know that you're focusing
on keeping the car between the shoulders of the road,
not in the ditch. (chuckles)
First thing you need to do,
make sure you clean the car off completely.
You may need to get up a bit earlier if there was some snow,
because, you know, you got mean parents
and they're going to make you shovel out the driveway
before you take off for your driver's test.
So do that, make sure that you do a pre-trip inspection
on your vehicle.
I'll put a card up in the corner for you
on a pre-trip inspection checklist that you can get over
at the Smart Drive Test website as well.
Make sure that you have good windshield wipers
on the vehicle.
You have washer fluid topped up, winter washer fluid.
Don't put summer washer fluid in in the winter time.
You could do damage to your vehicle.
As well, make sure you know how to turn on the defrost
and know how to turn on the windshield wipers
so that you keep the glass clear
while you're driving in the winter time.
The farther you get away from main roads,
the more snow there's going to be on the roadway.
And the reason I say it's easier in the winter time
is because you don't have to stop at stop lines,
before the sidewalk,
and where the two roads meet
at controlled intersections in the winter time.
You simply have to stop before the sidewalk
because all the painted lines on the road,
you can't see them.
So here, for example, I can kind of see the painted line,
but not really.
So I'm just going to stop before the stop line here.
And then you treat it as a yield after you come
to a complete stop at the correct stopping position.
There's no time for the amount of time you stop,
but rather you bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
(car engine rumbles)
And then we proceed.
You can see it's slushy today.
The temperature is around zero,
but it's still snowfall warning.
Be careful when the temperature is around freezing,
32 degrees Fahrenheit or zero degrees Celsius
because it's going to be more slippery
than when it's sub-zero temperatures.
So again, there's no lines here.
Stop before the sidewalk, complete stop,
creep up until I can see, and yield to all other road users.
There's a car coming here.
I bet you they're turning. (turn signal clicking)
Nope, they weren't.
And we proceed after the vehicle,
shoulder checking left.
(car engine rumbling)
And again, stopping at the stop line.
We can actually see the stop line here.
You can see some of the roads here are fairly well cleared.
(turn signal clicking)
Wait for the vehicle.
And people doing left-hand turns,
they're going to cut the corner off.
That's why I'm not moving up here on this left-hand turn.
So as soon as they come around the corner,
you saw they cut the corner off there.
I just have to treat it as a yield.
I don't have to do another stop.
(car engine rumbling)
And when you get the vehicle going,
get the vehicle up to speed as quickly as possible.
So 30 miles an hour, for those of you in the States,
and here in Canada, it's going to be 50 kilometers an hour.
If you're in the state of New York,
it's going to be 25 miles an hour in the city limits
unless otherwise posted.
Mirror, signal, shoulder check,
stop before the stop, before the sidewalk.
Move up 'cause I can't see, yield to all other people,
all the road users, and then proceed.
And as you can see, most of the time when you
take your driving test in the winter time,
it's going to be like this.
I mean, unless you live in North Dakota
or Minnesota or Wyoming or places like that,
you may be dealing with hard pack.
But if you're dealing with hard pack
and those types of winter conditions,
your vehicle is going to be fitted with good winter tires.
You're going to have a block heater on your vehicle.
You're going to be prepared for those conditions.
And I would suggest you either take a four-wheel drive
or a front-wheel drive vehicle for the purposes
of your driver's test in the winter time.
For a complete in-depth video on taking your driver's test
in the winter time, click the card up in the corner there.
Here we're slowing down back from where we actually
want to stop, we check the roundabout, there's nobody there,
and we proceed straight through.
We don't have to signal
because we're going straight through.
We can signal to exit on a roundabout.
So when you're coming up to an intersection
in the winter time, slow down back from the intersection
and then creep up to the intersection.
That way you're actually going to get stopped,
because the other place on the roadway in the winter time
that's going to be slippery
is going to be intersections because the cars come up,
they brake, and they slide on the snow and they compact it
and cause it to melt a little bit.
It's like a Zamboni after it floods the ice
on the ice hockey rink.
It's the most slippery after the Zamboni goes,
'cause there's a layer of water on top of the ice.
Intersections are like that, so they're going to be slippery.
So slow down back from the intersection
and then creep up to where you actually want to stop,
and you're going to get stopped in the winter time.
If there is a lot of snow in the winter time,
you get a great deal of snow,
there's most likely that they're
going to cancel the test. (mouse clicking)
They will not take you out (bell chimes)
if it's snowing and blizzard-like conditions,
they just won't. (chuckles)
So they will reschedule you.
Scanning the intersection, moving straight in,
shoulder checking, and immediately as we,
soon as we come around.
Now here, this is a perfect example.
We come around on a left-hand turn.
We're not going to move to the right
because I can see the merge sign up there.
So I'm not going to move right and then merge back.
And again, I always keep so I can see the tires
of the vehicle in front of me
making clear contact with the pavement,
(car engine rumbling)
at all times in a road test or driver's test,
getting the vehicle up to speed as quickly as possible.
Now the glass is beginning to fog up a little bit here,
so I'll turn my defrost on.
And I'm maintaining my two
to three-second following distance.
And as well, I got some person here,
not sure what they're doing.
And they did the right thing.
They stopped there, and then the other traffic
just moved around them.
And you can see I keep my two to three-second
following distance here.
And the way that we measure that when the car
goes past the hazard obstruction sign there,
1,001, 1,002, 1,003.
And remember two to three-second following distance
for the purposes of a driver's test in any other time
is under ideal conditions.
So as conditions, road conditions, deteriorate there,
you had a merge, traffic moving over
and those types of things,
road conditions are deteriorating.
And so here we have two turning lanes to the left
and there aren't any overhead signs,
but I know that because I live here.
And if there's two turning lanes to the left,
you want to be in the right-hand lane to turn left.
That way when you get around the corner,
you're going to be in the right-hand lane
for the purposes of your driver's test.
Shoulder checking again,
and we're in the spaces
between the vehicles in the next lane.
Okay, and it's 50 kilometers an hour here.
I can see the sign right there, which is 30 miles an hour.
And we right on 30 kilometers
or 50 kilometers an hour, rather,
30 miles, or, yeah, 30 miles an hour. (chuckles)
Having some trouble there.
And that's all it is.
And most of the time it's going to be like this.
It's going to be just wet roads that are going to be well cleared.
So do your driver's test in the winter time.
Make sure you can turn on the windshield wipers.
Make sure you can turn on the defrost.
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For another video click here.
And remember, pick the best answer,
not necessarily the right answer.
Have a great day, bye now.
That vehicle right there, (chuckles)
do not show up for your driver's test
with snow all over your vehicle like that.
You will be denied your driver's test.