Hi,
1. Further to Sr. Leon's awesome practical & personal info.
2. I came here with the IDP/IDL, as well as the Letter of Authenticity from RTA-Dubai.
3. The letter stated my 'over 11yrs of driving exp' and a 'no violation report'.
Day-2:
My friend got me the Driving Book, issued by MTO-Canada, costs $15, available at many shops. He bought it from Canadian Tire.
Day-3:
Hired a Driving Instructor (MTO Certified). Refered by my friend. Started practicing, though I'm a pretty good driver, driving since long, in similar road & traffic management country, Dubai. Left hand drive.
Costs $25/hr. The chap was a real gem. Gave me some great advice/s. Remember, here in Canada, there's a problem of left turns... No dedicated signal (in most places), unlike Dubai... And requires some serious practice, plus nerves... U'll know when u come.
Besides, some traffic signals & signs r also not the same. Practically Dubai driving is more easier & better managed. This does require getting accustomed to... And obtaining a few lessons is a Must, even if we r from the Gulf or Europe or the Americas. I advise everyone to at least take few lessons, I took 6.
Rent-a-Car:
Same day rented a Car. From Enterprise-Brampton. Again thru my friend's referral. Got an awesome deal. Note: with our IDP/IDL we can drive here for 2 months. But, as we r newcomers, 50% of the rental price goes for the Insurance. And here the guys will fleece u on that. Nonetheless, got a hefty discount. Courtesy my friend. He's a Toronto Cop.
Now, why I'm writing that? 'coz, of 2 reasons.
One, it's wise to practice driving as much as u can before u take the Road Tests. Especially on the 4 series highways. That gives u some enormous confidence, in a foreign land, even if u r a good driver.
Two, for any & every reason, here in Canada, u cannot do w/out a car. U need to be highly mobile, for even fetching your groceries. Though there r Convenience Stores everywhere, but to obtain the deals, u need to drive to those locales. I'm doing my complete purchasing from Walmart. In Dubai, used to do so from Carrefour. Both r similar. Electronics: Future Shop & Best Buy. Furnitures: The Bricks & Lazy Boy.
Day-3 to Day-5:
Read the complete MTO Book, first. Then started practicing for the G1-Written Test, online at Apna Toronto, see the link here: http://www.apnatoronto.com/ontario-g1-practice-test.html
A special mention on Apna Toronto. They r amazing. 100% questions come from here. This site has all the questions that Drive Test Canada has for the Written Test. Either Apna Toronto is too smart, or Drive Test Canada hasn't changed/updated their system of testing, for long. Lethargic? Good for us.
Day-6:
Went to Drive Test Center, Oakville. Why? At Most centers we have to take the written test online. Though time is not a factor, u can pretty much sit for the whole day, but correcting a response becomes a headache online, plus the anxiety of taking a test takes a toll when u do it on computer.
But, at Oakville it's a different ball game. U take the Written Test on Paper & Pencil. It's more Relaxed. At least for me... Others might differ.
The Procedure:
A. Stand in line, take the No. Turn came in 5 minutes.
B. Went to the 'called' counter. Shown the Dubai License & the Authenticity Letter.
C. She took the original, made a copy & returned me the Original & the Dubai DL.
D. I told her I didn't need the original, she said she didn't either. Amazing!
E. Asked for my ID. Showed my Passport & the COPR. She took it's copies.
F. Filled up their form/s. Most was already done by her on the system. Just a few questions & sign.
G. She informed me that I can go straight for the G2 Road Test. Leading to a G License.
F. Paid the fees. $85. Written Test-$10, G2 Road test-$75. Paid thru Cr. Card (TD Canada Trust).
G. She took my Eye Test. Yes, at the same counter. She stopped me in between & said it was fine.
H. Got a Yellow Paper, actually copy of the form. And the receipt of the Fees.
J. Directed me to go to the Written Test room. Just next door.
Note: Another Plus for taking the Driving Instructor. The guy knew everyone in the Drive Test Center. Including the lady. And told me she was the best. He did some small talks all along with her. And oh, she was very friendly to us. That eased the process a lot. Besides, the knowledge of taking me to Oakville instead of other Centers.
Took the test:
-2 Papers. One for the Signs, and the other for Signals & Driving skills/conditions.
-20+20=40 questions in all. Each was from Apna Toronto. Same pics.
-I took 10 minutes to complete the Test.
-Deposited the paper. Took another 10 minutes to get a call.
-The girl asked me in jest, whether I passed. I said, 'God & U knew better'.
-She replied, 'Congratulations, u have been successful for the next stage'.
-And gave me my paper/s to check. I saw that I did one mistake in each. Total 2 wrong answers.
-Simple mistakes, and I already had a doubt about those 2 ques. Their answers were close.
-Nonetheless, I passed. And that was a great feeling.
Note: The pass mark is 85%. Which means, at most u can do 2 ques wrong in each paper. So, beware and practice enough. However, as Sr. Leon suggested, there's no harm in failing. U can take the test again the very next day. But, a failure puts a dent on your confidence level.
Day-10:
My G2 Road Test day. Went to Lindsay. 2hrs drive from Toronto. Supposed to be the 'easiest' Drive Test Center. As opined by my Driving Instructor. Boy, what a place! An awesome town out of nowhere. The best part was to visit the town. So beautiful, clean, cold, great Bakeries, nice ppl, 5 Lakes in the vicinity... A perfect Weekend Getaway. I've promised that I'll visit again.
If I passed, I'd get the G License. The full license. So, what happened?
I Failed...
Took all the jing bangs... Driving in town, speed 50 Kmph & on the Highway, speed 80 Kmph here (my major problem). Other places, the Highway Speed is 100 Kmph. What's in the test?
-Parallel Parking,
-Emergency Parking,
-Uphill Parking,
-Downhill Parking,
-Reverse Parking,
-Plenty of Lane changes,
-Left-Right turns from Signal & w/out,
-Driving in Controlled Speed.
On return, she said, 'U drive well Sir, but I'm sorry I can't pass u. U drive very fast. Dangerous Driving'. That's what was written on my Yellow Paper.
Uhh, if only I had slowed... We r used to driving at 180-200 Kmph in Dubai, u Dubaians know that, but Speed Control is the name of the game here. Not 1 Kmph excess is permitted for Passing the Road Tests, Beware. Not that I didn't try... But we tend to overshoot, that's a bad habit we gain for being an experienced driver.
Note: If u r a new driver, u'd certainly pass here. Experienced drivers... A different story! We carry our follies over the days & they keep piling, I guess.
End Result:
1. I lost my one & only chance of taking a direct G license.
2. Now, I have to take the G2 license.
3. And there's a Wait of 10 days, for taking another road test.
Day-24:
I had to wait 14 days for another Road Test Appointment. These appts r taken online. We have to pay the Fees before, either online or in the Drive Test Center. I paid at Lindsay. $40 for a G1 Road Test, that leads to the G2 License.
This time my Center was at Guelph. 45 minutes drive from Toronto. Another supposedly 'easier' Drive Test Center. These info u get if u r with a Driving Instructor. Now u know that, don't u?
Another wise aspect of obtaining that Instructor... Again here he knew everyone. Deposited my G1 License, 30 minutes prior to the Exam time (that's the rule). He started small talks with the lady & an Examiner -who was also nearby.
The Examiner asked me if I wanted to take the Test imdtly, rather than waiting half an hr, as he was Free, his appt, apparently didn't turn up. My Driving Instructor jumped in to accept that. Later he informed me that he was the nicest guy in the Center.
Took the Test...
The Examiner was purely God Send. Such a nice gentleman, humorous, cool, amicable et all. He started by calming my nerves down, though I didn't require that... But was sure a bit hyper. Before kicking in, he made small talks about my landing, my family, from where I was etc.
And after 5-10 minutes of it, he softly enquired whether I was ready, else I could take my time. I replied in positive. Then he explained the Test. And told me to roll on.
Ditto... The test, as explained earlier. All those moves... But not Highway driving this time. The total test was inside the city. I literally kept to the posted speed limits. Kept watching the Round Signs, sometimes it was 60, and at times the posted limit was 50 Kmph.
We returned in 20-25 minutes.
Results: I passed. Got the G2 Driving License.
Note: There's not much difference between the two, the G2 & the G. As Sr. Leon replied earlier, the G2 is only for 5yrs. Meanwhile I need to obtain the G. While the G License is lifelong. Moreover, in G2 we need to be sober all the time and we get double the Demerit Points in case of a folly.
Now, I'm relaxing for some time, before I attempt the G.
-I hope this post quenched all your queries.
-And regret the long post. Some members r jittery of which.
-But, I always chose to write long ones, 'coz I believe, what I did wrong, u shouldn't.
-Besides, what's with my experiences, if u do not benefit from it?
Good luck, fellas!
Qorax
and congrats