Canada's Worst Driver Explained

Developer:Proper Television
Presenter:Andrew Younghusband
Country:Canada
Language:Canadian English
Num Seasons:14
Num Episodes:115
Runtime:46 minutes (without commercials)
60 minutes (with commercials)
Network:Discovery Channel

Canada's Worst Driver is a Canadian television series that aired on Discovery Channel from 2005 to 2018, based on Britain's Worst Driver. It and sister series Canada's Worst Handyman (2006 - 2011) are the two highest-rated programs on Discovery Channel. The series was produced by Proper Television whose president, Guy O'Sullivan, was the director for the original Britain's Worst Driver series; as such, Canada's Worst Driver is considered to be the production company's flagship show. Unlike other Worst Driver series around the world, the Canadian version emphasizes the learning process of the contestants and the science of driving and, as such, is often more serious than the other Worst Driver shows, which are mainly played for laughs. It is the longest running of any Worst Driver series to date with 14 seasons and 115 episodes (assuming specials are included).

The series was hosted by Andrew Younghusband for all 14 seasons.

Premise

In each season, eight drivers and their nominators are taken to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, where they compete in challenges designed to improve their driving skills in an effort to not be named Canada's Worst Driver. In the first challenge, the contestants begin at a location about an hour's drive from the Driver Rehabilitation Centre; for the contestants' first challenge, they must head to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, following the directions given to them. After arriving at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, the driver's licenses of each contestant is confiscated.

The first episode concludes with an obstacle course challenge  - meant to evaluate the skills of the individual drivers  - in which contestants must routinely maneuver their cars through tight spaces with less than an inch of clearance on either side. To show that the challenge can be done without hitting obstacles by an average driver, host Andrew Younghusband performs each challenge before any contestant attempts the challenge.

Beginning with the second episode, each contestant meets with the host and a panel of four experts for an evaluation of their performance. After all contestants are interviewed, the judges and host deliberate on which contestant - nominator pair have improved enough to graduate from the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. The driver who has graduated is eliminated from the competition and is sent home with their licenses returned to them; the contestants typically drive off with their nominators in the car that they used to arrive at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. The experts also reserve the right to not graduate anyone for any episode or to graduate multiple contestants at the same time. The experts may also choose to expel any contestant who does not show any incentive to learn or who the experts believe should not continue driving; the licenses are returned. In this case, the contestant is eliminated from the competition and their licenses are returned and they are given a ride home.

The elimination process continues until only three contestants remain. The three remaining contestants are then given the Mega Challenge, an obstacle course challenge with elements of every previous challenge, as well as a standard driver's examination through the busy streets of a major urban city near the Driver Rehabilitation Centre.

Based on these final challenges, the experts determine which among the three is named Canada's Worst Driver. Unlike other versions of the Worst Driver series, where being eliminated early or being the Worst Driver is either rewarded with a new car or had their car destroyed, no prizes are given for being eliminated early or for being named Canada's Worst Driver, aside from a commemorative trophy.

Challenges

With the exception of the first and last episodes, challenges are specifically tailored to each contestant and designed by Andrew and the driving school sponsoring the series (whose head instructor is one of the experts; for the first three seasons, it was Young Drivers of Canada Director of Training Scott Marshall; in season four, it was Dan Bagyan of the Signature Driving School; in seasons five-seven, it was Peter Mellor of the Advanced Motoring Bureau and from the eighth season onward, it was Tim Danter of DriveWise). Challenges typically range from traditional driving school lessons such as parallel parking, reversing and driving with a trailer to those not normally found in a beginner's driving course, such as driving a standard transmission vehicle and extreme driving manoeuvres (such as the Scandinavian flick). However, there are some challenges that are reused from year-to-year, like The Eye of the Needle and The Water Tank Challenge, which were both first introduced in the first season and are the only challenges to be featured in every season.

Experts

Experts on Canada's Worst Driver! Season !! Head driving instructor !! High-speed driving instructor !! Therapist !! Legal expert !! Other
1Scott Marshall Kelly Williams Uzma Rehman Jim Kenzie
2Juliana Chiovitti Markus Agyeman
3Philippe LétourneauLouisa Gemborarowspan="12"
4Dan Bagyan
5Peter Mellor
6Lauren Kennedy-Smith
7Shyamala Kiru
8Tim Danter
9
10
11
12
13
14

Season synopses

SeasonOriginally AiredWorst DriverRunner(s)-up
First AiredLast Aired
1October 3, 2005November 21, 2005Chris FergusonMadalena Phillips
2October 16, 2006December 4, 2006Henrietta GallantMichael Telford
3October 29, 2007December 17, 2007Jason ZhangShelby D'Souza
4October 27, 2008December 15, 2008Ashley van HamEmily Wang
5October 26, 2009December 14, 2009Angelina MarcantogniniMichael "Mike" Butt
6October 25, 2010December 13, 2010Lance MorinDale Pitton
7October 24, 2011December 13, 2011Shirley SampsonSly Grosjean
8October 29, 2012December 17, 2012Flora Wang & Kevin Simmons
9October 28, 2013December 16, 2013Kevin SimmonsDale Pitton,
Sly Grosjean
10October 27, 2014December 15, 2014Chanie RichardSiham Martell
11October 26, 2015December 14, 2015Jillian MatthewsPolly Sargeant,
Sholom Hoffman
12October 24, 2016December 12, 2016Krystal McCannDaniella Florica
13October 23, 2017December 11, 2017Mélanie LautardAshley Dunne
14October 29, 2018December 17, 2018[1] Brandon WilkinsAlexis Pratola

Season 1 (2005)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 1.

Season 1's theme was "winter driving". This was the only season filmed in the winter; all subsequent seasons have been filmed during the summer.

This season's worst driver was Chris Ferguson. Chris was the first person named Canada's Worst Driver due to his inexperience and lack of awareness on the road.

Season 2 (2006)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 2.

Season 2's theme was "summer driving" as the previous season had been filmed in the winter.

This season's worst driver was Henrietta Gallant due to her vision issues and her insistence on not wearing glasses, along with being unable to complete the final road test.

This season saw the first-ever expulsion in any Worst Driver series when Colin Sheppard was expelled due to his unwillingness to learn. This season also saw the first instance of two contestants graduating in the same episode, as Sean McConnell and Jodi Slobodesky did so in the penultimate episode.

Season 3 (2007)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 3.

Season 3's theme was "extreme driving manoeuvres".

This season's worst driver was Jason Zhang. Jason was named Canada's Worst Driver for his dangerous final road test performance  - stopping in the middle of merging onto Ontario Highway 400. As a result, Jason immediately surrendered his license and gave up driving permanently, the first contestant ever to do so, which made runner-up Shelby D'Souza technically the worst by default.

This season saw the first instance of a contestant graduating in the fifth episode.

Season 4 (2008)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 4.

Season 4's theme was "legal consequences of bad driving".

This season's worst driver was Ashley van Ham. Despite passing most of the challenges and being shortlisted four times, including three episodes in a row, Ashley was named Canada's Worst Driver for her emotional instability at the wheel and having never addressed her frustrations with her husband and nominator, Bryan. This made her the youngest at the time until Brandon Wilkins received the title in season 14.

This season saw the first-ever medical expulsion in any Worst Driver series due to the experts' belief that Donna Hicks should no longer be driving; Donna was eliminated in this manner in part due to angina. This season also saw the only instance of an all-female finale in the series' history.

Season 5 (2009)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 5.

Season 5's theme was "driver's boot camp".

This season's worst driver was Angelina Marcantognini. Angelina was named Canada's Worst Driver due to her severe anxiety and lack of focus. Andrew further stated during the Canada's Worst Driver: U Asked! special his belief that Angelina is the worst of the "worst drivers" to date, though he subsequently retracted this statement in Canada's Worst Driver Ever and said that her severe emotional problems were more to blame for her driving than a lack of technical ability.

This season saw the first time a contestant left due to a personal tragedy, as Crystal Hubley Farao's brother-in-law, Tom Stagno, was killed in a traffic collision when another driver failed to yield the right-of-way. This season was also the first to feature the three finalists driving a convertible on each of their final road tests during the final episode of every subsequent season.

Season 6 (2010)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 6.

Season 6's theme was "high-performance driving".

This season's worst driver was Lance Morin. Lance was named Canada's Worst Driver for being inexperienced and denying that his anxiety had anything to do with his driving.

This season featured the first-ever instance of a driver effectively being removed not by the experts, but by their nominator after Scott Schurink's poor attitude caused his nominator, Danny Bridgman, to cancel their shared insurance policy, resulting in Scott's immediate expulsion, as he was unable to insure himself due to his insurance being too expensive.

Season 7 (2011)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 7.

Season 7's theme was "the peculiarities of driving in Canada".

This season's worst driver was Shirley Sampson. Despite performing well in most of the challenges this season, Shirley was named Canada's Worst Driver after a disastrous final road test that included stopping while merging onto, and attempting to exit, the Chedoke Expressway.

This season was the first to be broadcast in HD, owing to the launch of the high-definition simulcast of Discovery Channel.

Season 8 (2012)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 8.

Season 8's theme was "big city driving".

This season's worst drivers were Flora Wang and Kevin Simmons. Both Flora and Kevin were named Canada's Worst Driver for being equally bad in different ways, with Flora's poor progress and Kevin's unwillingness to accommodate for his non-functioning right eye, respectively, being their main issues.

This was the only time that there was ever a tie for Canada's Worst Driver, although Andrew didn't want the season to end on a tie.

Season 9 (2013)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver Ever.

Season 9 was an "all-star" season, which saw nine previous winners and runners-up return to the show for a chance to either redeem themselves or be named the worst-ever.

This season's worst driver was Kevin Simmons. Kevin was named Canada's Worst Driver Ever after turning in an even worse final road test than the previous season. Afterwards, he burned his license under the promise he'd made to the panel and his boyfriend and nominator, Lenny Stone, that he'd stop driving if he either didn't graduate or was named the worst ever.

This season saw the first time a contestant graduated in the first episode (as Chris Ferguson was the only returning driver to pass the assessment challenge), another contestant was disqualified and removed from the show due to the experts judging Henrietta Gallant ineligible to take part (Henrietta admitted she largely gave up driving after previously being named the worst) and another contestant's nominator was replaced (Yolanda Kozak served as Michael Telford's nominator after his original nominator, Eric, was unable to return for health reasons; he had since recovered to replace her in the fifth episode after she was proven to be too negative and detrimental).

Season 10 (2014)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 10.

Season 10's theme was "10th Anniversary".

This season's worst driver was Chanie Richard. Self-described "Selfie Queen" Chanie was named Canada's Worst Driver for her lack of focus at the wheel and for admitting to driving without her legally-required medication.

Season 11 (2015)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 11.

Season 11's theme was "high-speed driving".

This season's worst driver was Jillian Matthews. Despite passing some challenges and numerous practice driving sessions in public off-camera, Jillian was named Canada's Worst Driver due to her inability to completely overcome her anxiety when alone behind the wheel, deemed by the judges to be a real danger to other drivers on the road.

This season featured nine contestants instead of the usual eight, as for the first time ever, a pair of contestants also acted as nominators for each other, as Sholom and Shmuel Hoffman both nominated one another and were considered equally bad drivers. This season also saw the second instance of two contestants graduating in an episode, as Alexander Morrison and Tina Cook did so in the second episode.

Season 12 (2016)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 12.

Season 12's theme was "dangers of speeding".

This season's worst driver was Krystal McCann. Krystal was named Canada's Worst Driver due to her to her cell phone usage, aggressive driving, and mood swings. Krystal later attributed her behaviour to borderline personality disorder which she was diagnosed with after the show.[2]

This season featured the show's 100th episode, being the seventh episode of the season. This season also saw the only occurrence in which the traditional trophy was not awarded to Canada's Worst Driver as it was instead repurposed as the Final Graduate trophy and awarded to Tyler Dupont. Experts believed Krystal was not even worthy of it due to her hostile behavior in rehab.

Season 13 (2017)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 13.

Season 13's theme was "driving fears" and "the number 13".

This season's worst driver was Mélanie Lautard. Mélanie was named Canada's Worst Driver and the last woman to be named as such due to her inability to focus on, apply and sometimes remember the lessons she was taught in rehab and her negative attitude towards herself and the Rehabilitation Centre's instructors while driving on- and off-camera.

This season saw the only instance of a former contestant returning as the nominator of a new contestant, as Canada's Worst Driver 11 "winner" Jillian Kieley (Matthews) served as Ashley Dunne's nominator. This season also made more extensive use of helicopter drone aerial video than previous seasons.

Season 14 (2018)

See main article: Canada's Worst Driver 14.

Season 14's theme was "evolution of driving".

This season's worst driver was Brandon Wilkins. Brandon was the final person ever given the title of Canada's Worst Driver (replacing season 4 "winner" Ashley van Ham as the youngest) due to his reckless driving, emotional instability and lack of basic understanding of road signs and rules. As a result, Brandon immediately cut up his license after promising he would quit driving if named the worst.

This was the only season to feature seven contestants instead of the usual eight. This season also marked the only instance of a new contestant graduating in the first episode, as Ryan Whittier drove perfectly in the Assessment Challenge, while Brandon had to get a doctor's note after arriving at rehab to get permission to be able to drive since he broke his arm in a skateboarding accident a week before filming.

Production

Nomination

Like its sister series, the contestants are chosen by nominations submitted to Proper Television. Until June 2011, when Canada's Worst Handyman was cancelled and later replaced in April 2015 with Blood, Sweat & Tools (which was itself cancelled after nine episodes), Canada's Worst Driver and Canada's Worst Handyman were filmed alternately, with each season of Canada's Worst Driver followed by a season of Canada's Worst Handyman (except for the first season, in which Canada's Worst Handyman was filmed during the summer and Canada's Worst Driver was filmed during the winter, Canada's Worst Driver has been filmed during the summer and Canada's Worst Handyman was filmed during the winter). Nominations for the next season of one are accepted shortly after the airing of another on Discovery Channel. Also, like its sister series, candidates may be nominated by multiple nominators, though only one nominator accompanies the contestant to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre.

Locations

The location of the Driver Rehabilitation Centre and of the final road test have changed throughout the show's run.

In the first season, the Centre was located on the grounds of CFB Picton (currently operating as Picton Airport), a decommissioned military base near Picton, Ontario that closed in 1969. The road test took place in Old Montreal, Quebec. All road tests in future seasons were conducted within Ontario.

In season 2, the Centre moved to the grounds of CFB Borden while the road test took place in Toronto.

In season 3, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre moved to the demolished Edgar Adult Occupation Centre, an institution for developmentally disabled or handicapped adults in Oro-Medonte that closed in 1999. The site formarly housed a radar station that was sold in 1964. The road test took place in Barrie.

Season 4 was filmed at the site of the Ontario Reformatory Prison, an abandoned correctional facility in Guelph that closed down in 2002 due to being too harsh. The road test took place in Toronto.

In season 5, the series returned to CFB Borden (referred to on-air as "an undisclosed military location") while the road test continued to be in Toronto.

Starting in season 6, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre was at Dunnville Airport, a registered aerodrome near Dunnville that ceased airport operations in 2013. The road test took place in Niagara Falls in season 6, then moved to Hamilton for every subsequent season.

Release

Seasons 1 to 7 are currently available for download in Canada from the iTunes Store in widescreen standard definition (480p). Seasons 8 to 14 are available from iTunes in both standard and high definition (720p/1080p). Seasons 13 and 14 are available for streaming on CraveTV. Each season has also been posted on DiscoveryChannel.ca and YouTube for streaming.

There has been no news on whether the series will be released on DVD/Blu-ray.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Canada's Worst Driver – Season 14 postcard . Bell Media – Advertising Sales . 5 September 2018.
  2. News: Snowdon . Wallis . After mental health journey, 'Canada's worst driver' back on the road in Edmonton . . December 14, 2016 . December 16, 2016.