Canada's Worst Driver

Canada's Worst Driver

Category: Reality

Developed By: Proper Television

Presented By: Andrew Younghusband

Narrated By: Andrew Younghusband

Country of Origin: Canada

Number of Episodes: 25

Original Channel: Discovery Channel Canada

Original Run: October 2, 2005 to Present

Followed By: There was a part 2 of the show

Related Shows: Canada's Worst Handyman and Britain's Worst Driver

This show is based on Britain's Worst Driver.  .

The show is produced by Proper Television, and is hosted by Andrew Younghusband.


Format

Eight bad drivers from different parts of Canada are tested to see if their driving can be improved.  If their driving doesn't improve they are advised not to drive any more.  All these drivers already have their license but shouldn't have gotten licensed.  Each season of the show was filmed in different locations. 

1.  A decommissioned air force base/airport near Picton in season 1;
2.  CFB Borden in season 2;
3.  Barrie, Ontario in season 3;

The drivers are partnered with the person who nominated them.

In the first week the drivers are tested.  This involves driving from a starting point to the Rehabilitation Centre an hour away.  In the first two seasons the drivers' keys are kept from them and in the third season their licenses are kept from them.  They get their keys/license back if they win a round.

From the second to the sixth week the contestants are put through a variety of challenges.  There is an expert panel of judges that decides whether the driver wins or loses or whether they should never drive again.  There doesn't have to be a graduate every week.

In the last week one of the remaining contestants is awarded the title of Canada's Worst Driver. 


Experts

The experts evaluate the drivers, teach them the skills that they are lacking, and finally judge whether they have improved.

The experts were the following:

Kelly Williams was a Canadian CASCAR driver and the only female to win a race in that series. She has also been the spokesperson for "Be Car Care Aware", an auto safety organization.

Jim Kenzie was an automotive journalist, reviewing vehicles for the Toronto Star. He also has a segment on TSN's Motoring 2005 program. He wrote the textbook used for advanced driver training used by the Toronto Police Service and other advanced training classes, and is widely recognized as a vehicle expert.

Scott Marshall was the Director of Training for Young Drivers of Canada. His job was to train the instructors who train drivers.

Dr. Uzma Rehman was a behavioural psychologist and a member of the faculty at Queen's University.

Cam Wooley was also one of the experts.  He was the famous OPP officer that told us what was going on our Toronto, Canada roads, especially the highways.

Contestants

Each of the eight drivers had his or her own reason for being there - not all were generically incompetent drivers. Here are the contestants from the first season:

Madalena Phillips, 21 and licensed for 5 years, had been in well over 30 accidents as well as innumerable incidents she called "bumps" when there were no witnesses. Her irresponsible driving was largely due to a complete lack of concern about anything except shopping, partying, and fashion. She was by and large an incompetent driver by choice, and considered it part of her lifestyle. Madalena was nominated by her friend Jennifer.

Bob Coad, 36 and licensed for 20 years, was an otherwise excellent driver, except for a tendency towards road rage and a little freeway game he called bumper tag. This involved passing cars that he was annoyed at and suddenly slamming on his brakes in front of them, forcing them to panic brake to avoid a collision. Bob was nominated by his friend Rob.

Chris Ferguson, 31 and licensed for 13 years, was totally inexperienced behind the wheel, having driven only five times since getting his licence 13 years ago. He was insecure, and very slow while driving, creating a hazard on the road. Chris was nominated by his wife Michelle.

David Chau, 24 and licensed for 5 years, attributed his driving problems to being "unlucky" and refused to take responsibility for his incompetence on the road. His driving errors during the program often completely destroyed the cars used for the show. He would listen to, and then blame, his passengers for bad driving advice. David was nominated by his friend George.