Pass rates for drivers seeking a licence to operate a tractor-trailer are being kept secret by the ministry responsible for all DriveTest centres in Ontario.
Torstar News Service asked the Ministry of Transportation for pass rates, broken down by test centre, of candidates seeking their AZ licence during the past five years.
The ministry said Torstar would have to pay $2,000 for the information because a computer programmer would have to “write new code to extract the data from the ministry’s licensing and control system database.”
This appears to contradict earlier communication from the ministry, which told Torstar in September that pass rates by driver examiner and DriveTest centre are tracked in monthly reports from Serco, the private company that administers driver exams in Ontario on behalf of the government.
Ensuring that only skilled tractor-trailer drivers are getting their licences is a safety issue since the motoring public shares the road with commercial truckers. Disclosing the pass/fail rates would help show how strictly DriveTest examiners in different areas across the province are evaluating tractor-trailer licence seekers. If almost everyone taking a test in certain areas is passing, that could be an indication of a problem, experts say.
The ministry previously provided Torstar with overall provincial pass/fail statistics for the road test portion of the AZ licensing exam.
Those rates steadily increased from 81 per cent to 85 per cent between 2011 and 2013. The rates were not broken down by individual DriveTest centre.
“This is ridiculous,” said Kim Richardson, owner of KRTS Transportation Specialists, a Caledonia-based truck training school and a co-founder of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario. “Why is the Ministry of Transportation withholding information?
“This is valuable information to help fix a problem that’s affecting the road users of Ontario.”
The letter was signed by Janet Dadufalza, manager of the MTO’s freedom of information and privacy office.
Ministry spokesman Ajay Woozageer said Torstar’s request is “expected to take many hours to complete, which is reflected in the fee.”
“It has always been our intention to release the information requested once the required technical work is completed. Gathering this information requires additional resources, staff hours and IT support,” he said in an email, adding that the government has a responsibility to ensure no personal data, such as phone numbers and home addresses, is released.
Torstar made its request using freedom-of-information legislation and is appealing the $2,000 fee to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
Four years ago, Torstar reported that pass rates for drivers seeking their G-class licences, required to drive a car or van, varied substantially between DriveTest location. For example, the pass rate in Brampton was about 50 per cent, while those taking their tests in Kenora passed more than 80 per cent of the time.
Now, trucking industry insiders, including Richardson, say that drivers seeking their AZ licence are experiencing the same trend.
Truck-driver training school operators say that test centres located in rural areas tend to have higher pass rates than those in major cities. There are 48 full-time DriveTest locations across Ontario that offer road tests for tractor-trailer licence seekers.
A provincial government review of road test routes released last week found that Serco was failing to properly road test tractor-trailer licence seekers at the Woodbridge DriveTest centre, Ontario’s busiest truck licensing facility.
The review, ordered by Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca, came after a Torstar investigation found new truck drivers were earning their licences without being taken on expressways during their tests, even though ministry guidelines require learners to be tested on roads with a minimum speed limit of 80 km/h.
The ministry says the issue has been resolved and truck licence seekers are now being tested on expressways.
more
Pass rates for tractor-trailer driving tests being kept secret by Ontario | Metro
Torstar News Service asked the Ministry of Transportation for pass rates, broken down by test centre, of candidates seeking their AZ licence during the past five years.
The ministry said Torstar would have to pay $2,000 for the information because a computer programmer would have to “write new code to extract the data from the ministry’s licensing and control system database.”
This appears to contradict earlier communication from the ministry, which told Torstar in September that pass rates by driver examiner and DriveTest centre are tracked in monthly reports from Serco, the private company that administers driver exams in Ontario on behalf of the government.
Ensuring that only skilled tractor-trailer drivers are getting their licences is a safety issue since the motoring public shares the road with commercial truckers. Disclosing the pass/fail rates would help show how strictly DriveTest examiners in different areas across the province are evaluating tractor-trailer licence seekers. If almost everyone taking a test in certain areas is passing, that could be an indication of a problem, experts say.
The ministry previously provided Torstar with overall provincial pass/fail statistics for the road test portion of the AZ licensing exam.
Those rates steadily increased from 81 per cent to 85 per cent between 2011 and 2013. The rates were not broken down by individual DriveTest centre.
“This is ridiculous,” said Kim Richardson, owner of KRTS Transportation Specialists, a Caledonia-based truck training school and a co-founder of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario. “Why is the Ministry of Transportation withholding information?
“This is valuable information to help fix a problem that’s affecting the road users of Ontario.”
The letter was signed by Janet Dadufalza, manager of the MTO’s freedom of information and privacy office.
Ministry spokesman Ajay Woozageer said Torstar’s request is “expected to take many hours to complete, which is reflected in the fee.”
“It has always been our intention to release the information requested once the required technical work is completed. Gathering this information requires additional resources, staff hours and IT support,” he said in an email, adding that the government has a responsibility to ensure no personal data, such as phone numbers and home addresses, is released.
Torstar made its request using freedom-of-information legislation and is appealing the $2,000 fee to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
Four years ago, Torstar reported that pass rates for drivers seeking their G-class licences, required to drive a car or van, varied substantially between DriveTest location. For example, the pass rate in Brampton was about 50 per cent, while those taking their tests in Kenora passed more than 80 per cent of the time.
Now, trucking industry insiders, including Richardson, say that drivers seeking their AZ licence are experiencing the same trend.
Truck-driver training school operators say that test centres located in rural areas tend to have higher pass rates than those in major cities. There are 48 full-time DriveTest locations across Ontario that offer road tests for tractor-trailer licence seekers.
A provincial government review of road test routes released last week found that Serco was failing to properly road test tractor-trailer licence seekers at the Woodbridge DriveTest centre, Ontario’s busiest truck licensing facility.
The review, ordered by Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca, came after a Torstar investigation found new truck drivers were earning their licences without being taken on expressways during their tests, even though ministry guidelines require learners to be tested on roads with a minimum speed limit of 80 km/h.
The ministry says the issue has been resolved and truck licence seekers are now being tested on expressways.
more
Pass rates for tractor-trailer driving tests being kept secret by Ontario | Metro
