Canada's Worst Driver

Did You Know?

• Canada's Worst Driver is the second-longest-running Worst Driver series worldwide, with 14 seasons and 115 episodes; only Finland's Suomen surkein kuski has run longer.
• The Driver Rehabilitation Centre moved multiple times: season 1 at CFB Picton, season 2 at CFB Borden, season 3 at the Edgar Adult Occupation Centre in Oro-Medonte, season 4 at the Ontario Reformatory Prison in Guelph, season 5 back at CFB Borden, and from season 6 onward at the Dunnville Airport.

Premise

Each season brings eight drivers and their nominators to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, where they compete in challenges aimed at improving their driving skills to avoid being named Canada's Worst Driver. The first challenge requires contestants to drive to the Centre following given directions, starting from a location about an hour away. Upon arrival, their driver's licenses are confiscated. The first episode ends with an obstacle course challenge that evaluates each driver's ability to maneuver through tight spaces with less than an inch of clearance; host Andrew Younghusband performs the challenge first to demonstrate it can be done by an average driver.

From the second episode onward, each contestant meets with the host and a panel of four experts for an evaluation. After all interviews, the judges and host decide which contestant–nominator pair has improved enough to graduate. That driver is eliminated and sent home with their license returned. The experts may choose not to graduate anyone, graduate multiple contestants at once, or expel any contestant who does not show incentive to learn; in that case, the contestant is eliminated, their licenses are returned, and they are given a ride home.

Elimination continues until three contestants remain, who then face the Mega Challenge—an obstacle course combining elements of all previous challenges—and a standard driver's examination through the streets of a major urban city near the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. Based on these final tests, the experts determine which among the three is named Canada's Worst Driver. Unlike other versions, no prizes are given for being eliminated early or for being named Canada's Worst Driver, aside from a commemorative trophy.

Season synopses

Season 4, themed legal consequences of bad driving, named Ashley van Ham worst for emotional instability at the wheel; she was the youngest driver until season 14.

Production

Contestants were chosen from nominations submitted to Proper Television. Until June 2011, Canada's Worst Driver and Canada's Worst Handyman were filmed alternately, each season of the driver show followed by a handyman season, except the first where handyman was filmed in summer and driver in winter; after that, driver was filmed in summer and handyman in winter. Nominations for the next season of one show were accepted shortly after the other aired on Discovery Channel. Candidates could be nominated by multiple nominators, but only one nominator accompanied the contestant to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre.

Challenges

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. The head instructor of that school is one of the experts: for the first three seasons, it was Young Drivers of Canada director of training Scott Marshall; in season four, Dan Bagyan of the Signature Driving School; in seasons five through seven, Peter Mellor of the Advanced Motoring Bureau; and from the eighth season onward, Tim Danter of DriveWise.

Challenges range from traditional lessons like parallel parking, reversing, and driving with a trailer, to extreme manoeuvres such as driving a standard-transmission vehicle and performing the Scandinavian flick. Some challenges are reused year-to-year, like The Eye of the Needle and The Water Tank Challenge, both first introduced in the first season and the only challenges to appear in every season. The Shoulder Check Challenge has contestants drive in a straight line until they pass a sign on each side; the signs, posted in reverse direction, determine which exit to take at a fork ahead, requiring a brief look behind.

The lesson is to turn only the head when performing a shoulder check, not the entire body. Distracted Driving, introduced in season two, was so unusually effective on one contestant (Matt Elkind) that it has been used every subsequent season. Drivers must drive in a circle while doing tasks like eating a sandwich, inserting a CD, or texting, tailored to each contestant's vices. Swerve and Avoid has contestants drive toward a wall at high speed and swerve at the last moment to avoid hitting it; typically two exits are either initially blocked before one or both open, or initially open before one or neither are blocked.

The lesson is to avoid touching the brake pedal, as braking severely limits steering ability. The Cornering Challenge (called Driving into a Wall in the first two seasons) has contestants drive toward a wall of foam blocks at high speed, brake hard, release the brake, then turn away. The lesson is to release the brake to maintain steering input. In some seasons, a large wet tarp is laid out to simulate icy conditions.

The Three-Point Turn Challenge (called The Dirty Circle in season two) requires entering a small space and making a three-point turn to return the way they came; a key lesson is to use the available space efficiently. The Eye of the Needle is a perennial challenge where contestants navigate through a series of archways at a minimum speed, learning to look where they want to go. The Figure-Eight Challenge (called Broken Hearts in season three) has drivers reverse around a course in the shape of an 8; there are two versions: one from season two with two contestants reversing simultaneously, and another from season four with each contestant doing one lap in reverse with remaining contestants as passengers.

Canada's Worst Parking Lot is a version of musical chairs where drivers must find spaces to park; any driving violation sends the contestant out of the parking lot in a lap penalty, and the challenge ends when one contestant fails.