Canada's Worst Driver season 1 explained
Canada's Worst Driver 1 is the first season of the Canadian reality TV show Canada's Worst Driver, which aired on the Discovery Channel, based on the UK five's version Britain's Worst Driver. As with subsequent years, eight people, nominated by their family or friends, enter the 25-day Driver Rehabilitation Centre to improve their driving skills. This year, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre is located at CFB Picton, a decommissioned military base near Picton, Ontario that closed down in 1969, with the final road test taking place in Montreal, Quebec.
The first season was aired as an eight-part series.[1] The show's weekly time slot captured 65% more viewers for the Discovery Channel compared to the prior year.[2]
Experts
- Dr. Uzma Rehman was a behavioural psychologist and a faculty member at Queen's University.
- Jim Kenzie is a syndicated automotive journalist and president of the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada who also reviews vehicles for the Toronto Star. Since 1988, he also has an editorial-like segment on TSN's "Motoring" program, now in its 20th season. He wrote the textbook 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, whose job was to train the instructors who train drivers.
- 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.
Contestants
- Madalena Phillips, 21 and licensed for five years, from Toronto, Ontario, had been in well over 30 accidents as well as innumerable incidents she called "bumps" when there were no witnesses. Despite this, her parents still paid for her car insurance, over $9,000 per year. 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 best friend, Jennifer. She drives a black Pontiac Sunfire GT.
- Robert "Bob" Coad, 36 and licensed for 20 years, from Guelph, Ontario, was an otherwise excellent driver, except for a tendency towards road rage and a little freeway game he called "bumper tag" that involved passing cars that he was annoyed at and suddenly slamming on his brakes in front of them (a.k.a. "brake checking"), forcing them to panic brake to avoid a rear-end collision. Bob was nominated by his buddy, Rob. He drives a red Chevrolet Lumina.
- Christopher "Chris" Ferguson, 31 and licensed for 13 years, from Malton, Ontario (near Mississauga), was totally inexperienced behind the wheel, having driven only four times since getting his license in 1992. He was insecure and very slow while driving, creating a hazard on the road. Chris was nominated by his wife of three years, Michelle Ferguson. He drives a black Mitsubishi Lancer and drove a grey Chevrolet Cobalt to the rehab centre.
- David Chau, 24 and licensed for five years, from Toronto, Ontario, 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, even though he's the one driving. David was nominated by his buddy, George. He drives a red Dodge Intrepid and drove a Mitsubishi Lancer to the rehab centre.
- Faith-Ann Stone, 30 and licensed for 14 years, from Niagara Falls, Ontario, had been in 37 reported accidents since getting her license in 1991, including hitting a woman she didn't even know on two separate occasions. She was reckless and drove far too fast, in spite of having been laid-up for six months by a collision two years earlier. Her issues largely arose from lack of proper driving instruction and her cavalier attitude towards driving. She was independently nominated by four different people, but it was her co-worker, Joanne, who represented the three other people who nominated Faith-Ann. She drives a silver 2005 Jeep Liberty.
- Heather Reynolds, 59 and licensed for 30 years, from Medicine Hat, Alberta, was a nurse who had written off ten cars in 20 years. During the series, it was discovered that due to having 20/100 vision, meaning she could only see 20% as good as other people, most of her troubles were caused by not having a proper prescription for her glasses. Like Chris, she was not reckless, but dangerously slow due to lack of confidence in her driving. Heather was nominated by her husband of 22 years, Ernie, a former truck driver. She drives a beige Chevrolet Venture and drove a blue Chevrolet Epica to the rehab centre. On September 3, 2023, Heather died of natural causes.
- Manuel Tejeda, 36 and licensed for six years, from Calgary, Alberta, is a computer genius who can speak six different languages, but had difficulties with over-thinking everything he did while driving until it was too late. He also had a problem with his temper, causing him to lose control when he failed during driving lessons. Manuel was nominated by his co-worker of three and a half years, Alex. He drives a silver Nissan Altima and drove a red Chevrolet Impala to the rehab centre.
- Tatiana Rheaume, 42 and licensed for 22 years, from Ajax, Ontario, is an immigrant from Bulgaria who was a competent driver until a serious car accident turned her into a paranoid wreck behind the wheel when she drove hazardously slow on freeways and refused to make left turns, subsequently resulting in her car accident, often dangerously bunching up traffic and driving in the wrong lane. Tatiana was nominated by her mother-in-law, Beth. She drives a black Mazda Protege and drove a red Chevrolet Cavalier to the rehab centre.
Synopsis
| Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|
| Chris Ferguson | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
| Madalena Phillips | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP |
| Heather Reynolds | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT |
| Manuel Tejeda | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| David Chau | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Faith Ann Stone | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Tatiana Rheaume | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Bob Coad | IN | OUT | | |
The contestant became Canada's Worst Driver.
The contestant was runner-up for Canada's Worst Driver.
The contestant was on the panel's shortlist.
The contestant graduated.
Notes and References
- News: 9 November 2005 . Mississauga man Canada's Worst Driver . 2024-06-10 . North Bay Nugget . ProQuest.
- News: November 2006 . Media Innovation Awards 2006 . 2024-06-10 . Marketing . Toronto . 3–4,6–15 . . 111 . 37.
