Canada's Worst Driver

In each season, a number of drivers (typically eight) and their nominators enroll at the "Driver Rehabilitation Centre," where they compete in challenges designed to improve their driving skills in an effort to not be named Canada's Worst Driver. In the first challenge, the contestants begin at a location typically about a 90-minute drive from the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. Following the directions that are given (in season fourteen, the nominees were given the directions through their GPS in keeping with that season's "evolution of driving" theme), each contestant must drive to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre where, upon arrival, the driver's license (or, for the first two seasons, the car keys) is confiscated. The first episode typically concludes with an obstacle course or assessment challenge, meant to evaluate the skills of each driver. The series is well known for its obstacle course challenges. Contestants must routinely maneuver their cars through tight spaces with less than an inch of clearance on either side of the vehicle. To show that the challenge can be done without hitting obstacles by an "average" driver, Andrew, himself an average driver (although he has since admitted that he was not that average when the series began), performs each challenge before any contestant attempts the same course. At the end of each episode, each contestant meets with Andrew and a panel of four experts for an evaluation of his or her performance. Since the eighth season, the panel consisted of Tim Danter, Shyamala Kiru, Philippe Létourneau and Cam Woolley. After all remaining contestants are interviewed, the experts deliberate with Andrew on which contestant and nominator pair have improved enough to graduate from the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. The driver who has graduated is eliminated from the competition and is sent home with his or her license (or keys in the first two seasons) returned to him or her by Andrew. Typically, the contestants drive off with their nominators in the car that they used to arrive at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. This was not always the case, as in the third season, after taking the racing helmet and his driver's license in one piece (the alternative was choosing the scissors, cutting his license in 90 pieces and being expelled), Thomas Hobbs was given a ride to Barrie Speedway, where, as a reward for being that season's second graduate, he partook (and won) in his first race on a track, vowing never to street race again, as the experience from being at the track alone (let alone racing) was well worth the trip to rehab, while in the fourth season, due to being too young to have a rental car insured, Teagan Cramer was given a limousine ride home after graduating in the penultimate episode (subsequently setting up the only all-female finale in the series' history) and in the fifth season, Joanna "JoJo" Kopty drove home in a Mercedes-Benz as a reward for being that season's first graduate. During the series, the experts also reserve the right to not graduate anyone during an episode (generally the fifth episode of a season, although contestants have been allowed to either graduate or withdraw for personal reasons, the former of which has happened twice-- Billie-Jean Leslie in the third season (only because Dr. Louisa Gembora, the show's psychologist that season (the first of three consecutive seasons as an expert), believed that Shelby D'Souza, who would have graduated that episode, would benefit more from staying in rehab, a decision that later proved costly, as he ended up failing to graduate in the final episode) and Diane Akers in the sixth season (only because Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Smith, the show's psychologist that season (her only season as an expert), believed that Bradley "Brad" Hengerer, who would ultimately be that season's final graduate, performed worse in the Lane Change Rally even with his wife and nominator, Donna, constantly advising him)-- and the latter only once (Crystal Hubley Farao left in the fifth season after her brother-in-law, Tom Stagno, was killed in a motorcycle accident)) or to take other courses of action as they see fit. Graduating multiple contestants at the same time has occurred twice, with Jodi Slobodesky and Sean McConnell both graduating in the penultimate episode of the second season (with Andrew convincing Sean to finally see the error of his speeding habits and admit that "slower is safer" and then giving him 50 stickers with the show's phone number in case he ever sped in public again) and Alexander "Alex" Morrison and Tina Cook both graduating in the second episode of the eleventh season (this was due to that season having nine contestants, hence the reason for why the fourteenth season had only seven contestants instead of the usual eight). The panel may choose to expel any contestant prematurely who does not show any incentive to learn or who they believe should not continue driving, the former of which has also occurred twice, with Canada's Worst Driver 2 contestant Colin Sheppard having his car key cut in half by Andrew in the fourth episode and his car towed away and Canada's Worst Driver 6 contestant Scott Schurink having his shared insurance policy cancelled in the second episode by his nominator, Danny Bridgman (rendering Scott unable to drive himself, as his insurance cost of $15,000 was too prohibitively expensive). The panel may also release a contestant who they judge to be unable to continue the rehabilitation program for medical or legal reasons. In extreme cases, the experts may contact the relevant Ministry of Transportation and request that a driver's license be put up for review, if they believe that a contestant is medically unfit to continue driving, which has also occurred twice, with Canada's Worst Driver 4 contestant Donna Hicks suffering an angina attack in The Water Tank Challenge and effectively falsifying her medical form by not declaring them and Canada's Worst Driver 6 "runner-up" Dale Pitton attempting to quit rehab during her appearance on Canada's Worst Driver Ever and refusing to take responsibility for her actions, leading the experts to decide not to even afford Dale a medical-based departure, as they did with Canada's Worst Driver 5 "winner" Angelina Marcantognini, who was booked into a 60-day stay at a specialist psychiatric clinic during her own appearance on Canada's Worst Driver Ever. The elimination process continues until only three contestants remain (the original intent was for two contestants to remain, but in the first season, an episode was aired in which no one graduated due to an overall poor performance in the Icy Corner Challenge, leading to three finalists; every subsequent season had three finalists), although Andrew twice suggested having a four-person finale-- in the penultimate episode of the seventh season when he unsuccessfully tried to convince the experts to not graduate Afiya Lassy, believing that she was still a pathological liar who told the experts what they wanted to hear and in the penultimate episode of the tenth season when he unsuccessfully tried to convince the experts to not graduate Tyler Fitzsimmons due to the all-around awful performances in the Icy Corner Challenge despite Tyler performing the best and would likely avoid most dangerous situations in real-life (suggestions that, luckily for Afiya and Tyler, none of the experts followed through on), although half the experts did consider having a four-person finale in the fourteenth season before ultimately deciding to graduate Descyara "Descy" McMurray in the penultimate episode. In each finale, the remaining drivers are given their final challenge-- typically a three-in-a-car forward-backward slalom within a certain time limit (introduced in the eighth season)-- followed by the "Mega Challenge," an obstacle course with elements of almost every previous challenge seen during the season (with the exception of the standard transmission balancing challenge, among others) and a driving examination through the busy streets of a major urban centre near the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. In addition to Hamilton, Ontario, where the Road Test had been held since the seventh season, the Road Test was held in other major urban centres: Montreal, Quebec (season one; the only season in which the Road Test was not held in a Ontario city), Toronto, Ontario (seasons two, four and five), Barrie, Ontario (season three) and Niagara Falls, Ontario (season six). Based on these challenges, the experts determine which finalist is ultimately Canada's Worst Driver. The contestant who fared the second-worst is deemed to not have graduated from the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, while the contestant who fared the third-worst is typically considered a successful graduate or the final graduate of the Rehabilitation Centre. However, this was not always the case, as during both the ninth season and the eleventh season, despite finishing third-worst, Sly Grosjean and Sholom Hoffman failed to graduate due to their respective poor track records (Michael Telford and Renee Boily were considered final graduates in their respective seasons by default). Unlike other Worst Driver series around the world, where being a graduate is rewarded with either a new car or, as was the case on America's Worst Driver, a trip for two while the worst has their car destroyed, Canada's Worst Driver only awards a trophy at the end of each season to emphasize education, the learning process of the contestants and the science of driving above entertainment value.

With the exception of the first and last episodes, challenges are specifically tailored to each contestant and designed by Andrew and the driving school sponsoring the series (whose head instructor is one of the experts; for the first three seasons, it was Young Drivers of Canada Director of Training Scott Marshall; in season four, it was Dan Bagyan of the Signature Driving School; in seasons five-seven, it was Peter Mellor of the Advanced Motoring Bureau and since season eight, it was Tim Danter of DriveWise). Challenges typically range from traditional driving school lessons such as parallel parking, reversing and driving with a trailer to those not normally found in a beginner's driving course, such as driving a standard transmission vehicle and extreme driving manoeuvres (such as the Scandinavian flick). However, there are some challenges that are reused from year-to-year, like The Eye of the Needle and The Water Tank Challenge, which were both first introduced in the first season and are the only challenges to be featured in every season.

• The Shoulder Check Challenge is a challenge where contestants must drive in a straight line until they pass a sign on each side. The signs determine which of the two exits the contestants must take when the road forks ahead; however, the signs are posted in the reverse direction, so the contestants must briefly look behind them to read the signs. If neither exit is permitted, they are simply instructed to stop in front of the fork in the road. The lesson of this challenge is to only turn the head when performing a shoulder check, not the entire human body.
• Distracted Driving is a challenge introduced in the second season that was so unusually effective on one contestant (Matt Elkind) that it has been used in every subsequent season. In this challenge, drivers must drive around in a circle while having to do a series of tasks such as eating a sandwich, inserting a CD, texting and so on. Often, these tasks are tailored to each contestant's vices. The lesson is meant to teach individuals to not do these things while at the wheel, as it can cause potential accidents.
• Swerve and Avoid is a challenge where contestants must drive towards a wall at high speeds, only to turn away-- that is, swerve-- at the last moment to avoid hitting the wall. Typically, there are two exits to each side of the wall, which will either initially be blocked before one or both open at the last moment or initially be open before one or neither are blocked in the last moment. The lesson is to avoid touching the brake pedal, as putting the foot down on the brake will severely limit the car's steering ability and lead to crashing.
• The Cornering Challenge (called Driving into a Wall in the first two seasons) is a challenge where contestants must drive towards a wall of foam blocks at high speed before braking hard, releasing the brake and then turning away from the wall. The lesson in this challenge is to release the brake so as to not lose steering input to the car when it is needed. In some seasons, a large wet tarp may also be laid out on the ground in front of the wall, to simulate icy or slippery conditions.
• The Three-Point Turn Challenge (called The Dirty Circle in the second season) is a challenge where contestants must enter a small space and make a three-point turn, returning in the direction that they entered. The entrance may either be off to one side of the area (as it is in earlier seasons) or to the centre of the area (as it is in later seasons). A key lesson in this challenge is to make use of the space available to the car in order to do the turn efficiently; in some seasons, obstacles may ring the outer perimeter of the area to give the contestants a better visual cue.
• The Eye of the Needle is a perennial challenge where contestants must navigate through a series of archways at a minimum speed. The intended lesson is to have the driver look where they want to go, in the middle of the archways rather than at the feet on one side of the archway.
• The Figure-Eight Challenge (called Broken Hearts in the third season) is a perennial challenge introduced where drivers must reverse their car around a course in the shape of an 8. There are two versions of this challenge. The first version, originally featured in the second season, had a pair of contestants perform the challenge simultaneously: both cars begin in one end of the course and contestants must reverse their cars to where the other contestant began, with the only passing spaces available at the centre and opposite end of the course. The second version, introduced in the fourth season, has each contestant do one lap in reverse with the remaining contestants as passengers.
• Canada's Worst Parking Lot is a version of musical chairs where drivers must find spaces to park. The parking lot is filled with cars and may have blocker cars that attempt to frustrate the contestants and cars that may open up new parking spaces. Any driving violation-- such as parking in a no parking zone or hitting a stationary object-- will typically send the contestant out of the parking lot in a lap penalty. The challenge ends when one contestant fails to park.
  • Canada's Worst Gas Station is a variation on the Canada's Worst Parking Lot Challenge with many of the same rules, but instead of just trying to find spaces to park, contestants also try to get fuel at a simulated self-service gasoline station, avoiding the diesel pump, which their car can't use. Hitting anything or performing a moving violation requires the contestant to leave the station and come back to try again. Most of the pumps start with blocker cars in front of them, which will leave as the challenge goes on. The challenge ends when one contestant fails to get fuel.
• The Water Tank Challenge is a perennial favorite in which the contestants must navigate around a tight obstacle course in a car with a roof-mounted water tank; should the contestants stop too abruptly, the contents of the tank will spill over into the cab of the vehicle, soaking its occupants. In earlier seasons, this was done with a pipe system, though in later seasons, open-top cars or cars with a sunroof are used. Portions of the obstacle course will include a slow forward section, sudden stops due to last-minute reactions, such as a hidden stop sign or a pop-out car, a hump-- infamous for repeatedly soaking Andrew in his demonstration runs-- and optionally an acceleration portion. The intended lesson is on smooth threshold braking: should the contestants brake poorly or navigate too quickly, the water in the tank will spill, soaking both the contestant and nominator inside.
• The Handbrake Turn Challenge is a challenge introduced in the third season that has contestants perform a handbrake turn around a foam figure while in a confined space. The intent of this challenge is for contestants to learn the distribution of weight in a car, as well as a lesson on how to properly control a car in a skid.
• The Reverse Flick is a challenge that has contestants perform the namesake technique in a confined space; it is in essence the handbrake turn in reverse, and without the use of the handbrake. The intent of this challenge is similar to the handbrake turn challenge, but also introduces elements of driving in reverse at speed.
• Drifting Doughnuts (called Burning Out in the third season) is a challenge where contestants must drive in a wide doughnut around a figure; the key to this challenge is counter-steering partway through in order to allow the car to continue drifting, eventually towards a designated exit point. The lesson behind this challenge is on extreme manoeuvres as well as avoiding target fixation.
• The Trough is a challenge introduced in the fifth season where contestants must get their car to move across the namesake trough, a series of concrete Jersey barriers placed on their side, without the car leaving the rails and hitting the ground. The lesson behind this challenge is that the rear wheels will turn more sharply than the front wheels; the key to this challenge is to take wide turns and allow the car to hug the edges of the concrete rails.
• The Parallel Parking Challenge requires drivers to parallel park. Often, there is a moving obstacle, such an emergency vehicle, that the contestant must give way to.
• The Teeter-Totter (called The Balance-Beam for Unbalanced Drivers in the third season) is a challenge that has contestants balance a car atop a teeter-totter, such that both ends for the apparatus are off of the ground. The lesson of this challenge is on managing cars on slopes. The Gimbal is a variation of the teeter-totter challenge, where lateral motion is also introduced.
• The Slalom Challenge is a challenge where drivers "swerve" around blue and pink foam mannequins. In the seventh season, they were changed into red and blue hockey players, in keeping with that season's "Driving in Canada" theme. In the eighth season, they were changed into blue and pink shopping people, in keeping with that season's "Big city driving" theme.
• The Lane Change Challenge is a challenge where the drivers are on a two-lane course. The goal is to pass Andrew twice as he drives around. Key to this challenge is learning the proper technique for lane changes (check mirrors, signal, shoulder check, change lanes). Each infraction committed or improperly-executed lane change requires the guilty driver to pass Andrew one extra time. The challenge concludes when only one contestant is left on the course.

Like its sister series, the contestants are chosen by nominations submitted to Proper Television. Until June 2011, when Canada's Worst Handyman was cancelled and later replaced in 2015 with Blood, Sweat & Tools, Canada's Worst Driver and Canada's Worst Handyman were filmed alternately, with each season of Driver followed by a season of Handyman (except for the first season, in which Handyman was filmed during the summer and Driver was filmed during the winter, Driver has been filmed during the summer and Handyman was filmed during the winter). Nominations for the next season of one are accepted shortly after the airing of another on Discovery Channel. Also, like its sister series, candidates may be nominated by multiple nominators, though only one nominator accompanies the contestant to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre.

Seasons 1-7 are currently available for download in Canada from the iTunes Store in widescreen standard definition (480p). Seasons 8-14 are available from iTunes in both standard definition and high definition (720p/1080p). Seasons 2-7 are available for streaming on CraveTV. Each season has also been posted on DiscoveryChannel.ca and YouTube for streaming. There has been no news on whether the series will be released on DVD/Blu-ray.

• World's Worst Driver
• Don't Drive Here

• Canada's Worst Driver on discovery.ca
• Canada's Worst Driver at IMDb
• Canada's Worst Driver at TV.com