Getting Ready to Drive - Driver Education

Before you drive, make sure you are comfortable with your physical and mental state, your vehicle and the conditions in which you will be driving. If you have doubts about any of them, don’t drive.

Be physically and mentally alert

Don’t drive when you are sick or injured or when you have been drinking alcohol or taking any drug or medication that may reduce your ability to drive.

Don’t drive when you are tired. You might fall asleep at the wheel, risking the lives of others on the road. Even if you don’t fall asleep, fatigue affects your driving ability. Your thinking slows down and you miss seeing things. In an emergency, you may make the wrong decision or you may not make the right one fast enough.

And don’t drive when you are upset or angry. Strong emotions can reduce your ability to think and react quickly.

Know your vehicle

Get to know your vehicle before you drive it. There are many types of vehicles available today with many different characteristics including fuel ignition system, anti-lock brakes, 4-wheel drive, and systems for traction control and stability control. Check the vehicle owner's manual. For driving in difficult situations and conditions see the topic Dealing with particular situations. The book Roadworthy can also help you with this.

Make sure you know where all the controls and instruments are and what they do. Check that all warning lights and gauges work. Watch for a warning light that stays on after you drive away; it could mean a serious problem with your vehicle.

Get to know the controls well enough to turn on wipers and washers, headlights, highbeams, heater and defroster without having to look.

This is an important part of driving — learning to use simple controls without taking your eyes off the road.

Get into Position

Make sure you sit properly behind the wheel. You should sit high enough in the driver's seat to see over the steering wheel and hood. You should be able to see the ground four metres in front of the vehicle. Use a firm cushion if needed.

Be sure that you are sitting straight upright in the seat with your elbows slightly bent. Adjust the seat so your feet reach the pedals easily. To check your position, try placing your feet flat on the floor under the brake pedal. If you can do this without stretching, you are seated properly. This keeps you in the proper, upright sitting position and gives you more stability when manoeuvring your vehicle.

If your vehicle has an adjustable headrest, you should make sure it is at the right height. The back of your head should be directly in front of the middle of the headrest to protect you in a collision.

Check that you have enough room in the front seat to drive properly and safely. Do not overcrowd your driving space with passengers or property.

Keep a clear view

Keep a clear view when driving. Do not put anything in your windows that will block your view. If you are a new driver using the 'N' sign in your rear window, be sure it does not block your view.

The windows of your vehicle should not be coated with any material that keeps you from seeing out in any direction. Neither should the windshield or front door windows be coated to keep someone from seeing inside the vehicle.

Find your blind spots

Check and adjust your mirrors and find your blind spots. When you use mirrors there is an area on each side of your vehicle where you cannot see. You may not see people, cyclists, or vehicles when they are in these spots.

Mirrors should be positioned so that there are as few blind spots for you as possible. Blind spots in most vehicles are to the back left and back right of the vehicle. On some vehicles the blind spot is so large that a vehicle could be there and you would not see it. To reduce the blind spots, position the interior mirror so that the centre of the mirror shows the centre of the rear window. You should be able to see directly behind the car when the interior mirror is properly adjusted. Position the left outside mirror, by leaning towards the window and moving the mirror so that you can just see the rear of your car. Position the right outside mirror by leaning to the centre of the vehicle and moving the mirror so that you can again just see the rear of your car. Avoid overlap in what you can see in your mirrors. Because your side mirrors show only narrow angles of view, turning your head is the only way to make sure there is nothing in your blind spots.

You should know the blind spots on your own vehicle. You can learn where and how large they are by having someone walk around your car and watching the person in the mirrors.

Fasten your seat belt

Use your seat belt every time you travel in any vehicle equipped with seat belts. All passengers should be buckled up in their own seat belt or child seat.

Drivers who do not buckle up can be fined up to $500 and given two demerit points. (See section: The demerit point system). Drivers may also receive demerit points if they fail to ensure that passengers under 16 years of age are properly buckled in a seat belt or child car seat. Level One (G1) and Level Two (G2) drivers who do not wear a seat belt or who do not ensure there is a working seat belt for every passenger can lose their licence for 30 days. Never put more than one person into a seat belt; this can cause serious injury or even death in a collision.

Seat belts should be worn snug enough to keep you in your seat during a collision. Wear the shoulder strap over your shoulder, never under your arm. The lap belt should be worn low over the hips, not against the stomach.

Use your seat belt always, even when you are sitting in a position with an active airbag. Airbags do not replace seat belts. In a collision, your seat belt will keep you in position so that the airbag can protect you.

Child Safety

To be safely protected in a vehicle, children must be properly secured in a child car seat, booster seat or seat belt, depending on their size and development.

As a driver, you are responsible for ensuring that passengers under 16 years of age are properly buckled into a seat belt or child car seat. The fine for not using a child car seat as required by law is $90 (plus a $20 victim surcharge) and two demerit points.

Child car seats must meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS). Buckles and straps must be fastened according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Newer vehicles that come equipped with a lower anchorage or “ISOfix” system for securing a child car seat, do not require a seat belt to secure the child car seat to the vehicle.

Children 12 years of age and under are safest in the back seat, away from active air bags.

Infants that weigh less than nine kg or 20 lb. must be buckled into a rear-facing child safety seat attached to the vehicle by a seat belt. Do not put a rear-facing child car seat in a seat with an active airbag. If the airbag inflates, it could seriously injure the child.

Toddlers who weigh nine kg but less than 18 kg (20 to 40 lbs.) must be buckled into a forward-facing child safety seat attached to the vehicle both by a tether strap at the top and at the base by a seat belt. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Children under the age of eight, weighing more than 18 kg but less than 36 kg (40-80 lb.) and who stand less than 145 cm (4’9”) tall, must use a booster seat.

Make sure the shoulder belt fits snugly against the body with the lap belt fitting below the abdomen.

Correct installation of a child car seat is key for ensuring a child’s safety. Your local public health unit is a good resource for finding out how to properly install a child car seat.

Seat Belts And Child Car Seats Save Lives

Seat belts and child safety seats reduce the risk of injury or death in collisions.

Seat belts help keep you inside and in control of the vehicle during a collision. People who are thrown from a vehicle have a much lower chance of surviving a collision.
Seat belts keep your head and body from hitting the inside of the vehicle or another person in the vehicle. When a vehicle hits a solid object, the people inside keep moving until something stops them. If you are not wearing your seat belt, the steering wheel, windshield, dashboard or another person might be what stops you. This "human collision" often causes serious injury.
Fire or sinking in water are rare in collisions. If they do happen, seat belts help keep you conscious, giving you a chance to get out of the vehicle.
In a sudden stop or swerve, no one can hold onto a child who is not in a seat belt or child seat. Infants or children who are not wearing seat belts can be thrown against the vehicle's interior, collide with other people or be ejected.
When using a child car seat, make sure that the seat is tightly secured by the vehicle seat belt or by the anchor bar with the ISOfix system. When installing the child car seat, kneel on top of the seat and use your body weight to push it into the vehicle seat and tighten the seat belt as much as possible. The installed child car seat should move no more than 2.5 cm (1 inch) away from the vehicle seat back.
Use a locking clip where needed to ensure that the seat belt stays locked into position and will not develop slack during a collision.
If a rear-facing car seat does not rest at the proper 45-degree angle, then you can prop up the base of the seat with a towel or a Styrofoam bar ("pool noodle"). Eighty per cent of the base of a forward-facing car seat should be firmly supported by the vehicle seat.

Turn on headlights at night and in poor conditions

Headlights make it easier for you to see and be seen at night and in poor light conditions. Your vehicle's headlights must shine a white light that can be seen at least 150 metres in front and is strong enough to light up objects 110 metres away. You must also have red rear lights that can be seen 150 metres away and a white light lighting the rear licence plate when headlights are on.

Turn on headlights one-half hour before sunset and keep them on until one-half hour after sunrise. You must always use lights when fog, snow or rain keeps you from clearly seeing people or vehicles less than 150 metres away. Please see the topic Driving at night and in bad weather.

Don’t drive with only one headlight or with lights that are not aimed properly. Have your headlight adjustment checked regularly, keep them clean, and replace burned-out bulbs as soon as possible.

Parking lights are only for parking. In low light, use your headlights, not parking lights.

When you use highbeam headlights, remember to switch to lowbeams within 150 metres of an oncoming vehicle. Use your lowbeams when you are less than 60 metres behind another vehicle unless you are passing it. These rules apply to all roads, including divided ones.

Studies show that using daytime running lights makes it easier for other drivers to see you. Remember to switch to regular headlights one-half hour before sunset.