The high demand for road tests in B.C. has resulted in people travelling to Salmon Arm from as far as Prince Rupert to earn their driver鈥檚 licence.

Paul Keam of Paul鈥檚 Professional Driver Training Services in the Shuswap, said he鈥檚 had parents calling from Surrey, Prince Rupert, Fort Nelson and Cranbrook, wanting to book driving time with him for a son or daughter who was able to take advantage of a road test cancellation in Salmon Arm.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e hoping there鈥檚 an instructor car available鈥� they鈥檙e coming down to do the road test, having never driven in Salmon Arm before. If they pass, it鈥檚 a big bonus. If they don鈥檛, they鈥檝e wasted a lot of time and money.鈥�

Keam said with COVID-19 and related safety restrictions, last summer there was a backlog of . While ICBC has been endeavouring to bring that number down, demand for road tests remains high due, in part, to last year鈥檚 temporary suspension of testing. On top of that, ICBC normally experiences an increased demand each summer for road tests. This year, however, ICBC said there鈥檚 been a surge in the number of people wanting to obtain their driver鈥檚 licence compared to previous years.

Keam said all of this is having consequences on young people in need of their driver鈥檚 licence for work.

鈥淭hey have a full-time job coming up and they need their licence for it,鈥� said Keam. 鈥淚f they don鈥檛 pass the road test, they鈥檙e looking at four or five months to get back in again.鈥�

It鈥檚 a situation Caleb Siemens understands all too well. The Salmon Arm resident said he had to quit his job and will be moving to Armstrong for work due, in part, to his inability to book his road test in town.

鈥淢y mom sold her house, she鈥檚 moving in with my grandmother, there鈥檚 no room there for me to live so I鈥檓 moving in with my girlfriend,鈥� said Siemens. 鈥淚f I had a licence, I鈥檓 sure I could find a place locally and drive myself to work, but that鈥檚 not the case.鈥�

Keam noted those cancellation bookings from out of town were done at midnight when ICBC posts them for every driver testing place in the province.

鈥淪o if a student has all their information and is ready to hit enter when it comes up, they may not get the road test where they want, but there may be one closer and within a couple of days.鈥�

Siemens said he does this nightly. So far, the earliest he鈥檚 been able to book his road test is Nov. 26 鈥� in Kelowna.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only real solution I see, is to hire more examiners to do the test,鈥� said Siemens.

ICBC said it has done just that, having hired 80 additional driver examiners across the province, with many driver examiners working overtime in impacted areas as needed.

鈥淔or the Southern Interior, we鈥檝e recently increased the number of driver examiners in Cranbrook, Vernon and Kamloops, which will help increase appointment availability in these areas,鈥� said ICBC, adding they are actively recruiting.

As a result, ICBC said this year, 42 per cent of customers taking a class 5 and 7 road test in the Southern Interior have waited less than 60 days for their appointment.

鈥淲e鈥檝e also completed 36 per cent more class 5 and 7 road tests so far this year compared to 2019 across the province,鈥� stated ICBC in an email to the Observer.

To help things go more smoothly, ICBC encourages those awaiting a road test to arrive at their appointment fully prepared.

鈥淣early half of our customers taking their road test fail on their first attempt, which puts further pressure on our appointment availability as customers are taking multiple attempts,鈥� said ICBC, adding resources are available on ICBC鈥檚 website to help.

鈥淎 class 7 learner鈥檚 licence is valid for two years and a motorcycle learner鈥檚 licence is valid for one year so we encourage customers to book their road test in advance.

鈥淚f there isn鈥檛 availability, please visit our online booking site frequently as on average, 100 appointments are made available daily due to cancellations and resourcing availability. Most of these appointments are within the upcoming 10 days.鈥�

Keam said the onus is on himself and his fellow instructors to make sure new drivers are at a place where they can pass their road tests on the first go.