New year brings new standards for Driver Education

News Release
Ont. Govt.

The McGuinty government is improving standards for beginner driver education (BDE) in Ontario to help teach novice drivers safe driving habits and keep Ontario’s roads safe, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley announced today.
“We are taking decisive steps to improve standards for beginner driver education programs, so parents can be confident that when they choose a driving school, their children will learn to drive safely and correctly,” said Bradley. “We plan to take additional actions in 2008.”
The ministry maintains a list of approved beginner driving schools on its website www.mto.gov.on.ca. To be approved a school must meet ministry standards or they are removed from the list.
A new monitoring and audit program has been implemented, and included undercover shoppers to ensure standards are being followed. In 2007, MTO audited all ministry-approved beginner driver education schools in Ontario and removed 22 schools from its approved list because they were not up to standard