Drive Test Strike. Is it ever going to end?

DriveTest instructor's will continue to be on stike.

On November 3, 2009, truck driver training schools held a rally at Queen’s Park to send a message to all DriveTest employees. It’s time for the strike to come to an end.

Organizers are hoping that the protest will force the Ministry Of Transportation to re-open DriveTest centres and get back on track. “We just want this situation fixed because, as driving schools, what’s happening right now is we are essentially going out of business because we’ve got students backlogged on our system that can’t finish the programs,” Gordon Brown of the Truck Training Schools Association said.

On August 21, 2009 many young people’s lives were affected. “I arrived at my G2 test all the way in Aurora and the doors were locked,” explains an angry Jaime O’Donnell, 16. According to The Toronto Star, the strike is affecting 55 full-time and 38 part-time DriveTest locations.

Teens are becoming more and more impatient with each day of the strike.

O’Donnell, who lives in Thornhill, is desperate to get her G2 and with the strike going into its 11th week, it looks like her and many others will continue suffering for what could be an extremely long time.

“The strike is a complete waste of time,” said Adam Anshan, 17. He continues, “The effect it’s having on the lives of young adults is terrible.”

However, the 500 DriveTest Examiners who are on strike say they aren’t being treated fairly by their employers and therefore feel that this strike is 100% necessary.

This is a very crucial time for young adults as they are becoming more independent. Without the opportunity to get a license, many are left extremely frustrated and concerned. DriveTest estimates that approximately 4,000 people everyday have been unable to get their license since the start of the strike.

Parents of these teens are beginning to feel the effects of the strike as well. “My parents are struggling with finding time to drive me to my hockey games every week,” worries Anshan. “If I had my license, it would make my life a lot easier.”

When testing resumes everything is going to be extremely backed-up due to the length of this strike. Teens who are about to turn 16 may be pushed to the back of the line. In the end, it will probably become even more of an inconvenience then when DriveTest employees first went on strike.