People in Saskatchewan wanting to get their testing in for their drivers’ licences may be waiting for up to three months.
According to SGI, there are 14 communities where a person can take their road test. And some centres, such as Saskatoon and Regina, have longer wait times.
“The waits in Saskatoon are fairly long,” said SGI media relations manager Tyler McMurchy. “But they are considerably shorter in Prince Albert.”
There is currently a waitlist of roughly 8,000 people waiting to do their roadtests. Roadtests were suspended due to the COVID-19 lockdowns back in March.
As restrictions eased, tests were available to everyone and more were being completed.
Yet tests were being done in a different way. The test conductor did the test from a trail vehicle with a dashcam in the applicant’s vehicle and a direct line of communication. Tests took anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. Pre-COVID-19, tests took roughly 30 minutes.
“In October we brought back in-vehicle testing where the examiners are back in the vehicles with the applicants,” McMurchy said. “It has allowed us to do more tests as of late.”
McMurchy says now there is some pre-vehicle testing disinfecting and hand washing going on. Both people also wear facemasks.
“We’ve hired more driver examiners,” McMurchy said. “They are working very hard to address this backlog. We are working as best we can to address it so people can get their driver’s license as soon as possible.”
He says people can look at doing their tests in smaller communities if they are willing to travel a little. Wait times have ranged from four to 12 weeks.
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