Canada's Worst Driver 4 Explained
Canada's Worst Driver 4 is the fourth season of the Canadian reality TV show Canada's Worst Driver, which aired on the Discovery Channel. As with previous years, eight people, nominated by their family or friends, enter the Driver Rehabilitation Centre to improve their driving skills. The focus of this season was on the Legal Consequences of Bad Driving. This year, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre is located at the old Guelph Reformatory Prison, an abandoned correctional facility in Guelph, Ontario, that closed down in 2002 due to being too harsh. The initial drive started in Kitchener, Ontario, and the final road test occurred in Toronto, Ontario.
Experts
Three experts return from Canada's Worst Driver 3, though Scott Marshall, head instructor for the first three seasons, is not among them.
- Cam Woolley is a legal expert who has been present in every season except the first and has seen the habits of Canadian drivers change drastically since 2000, with the most common offense having changed from DUI to distracted driving. He is a retired traffic sergeant who had a 25-year career with the Ontario Provincial Police (at the time of filming, Cam was still with the OPP) and now serves as the traffic expert on CP24 in Toronto.
- Philippe Létourneau is a high-performance driving instructor with the Jim Russell Racing School, having been also featured on Discovery's Star Racer series. He is also a lead driving instructor for BMW Driver Training and the "Ferrari Driving Experience" at the Mont Tremblant race track. Philippe has enjoyed a successful career with over 40 podium finishes in 120 race starts.
- Dr. Louisa Gembora is a psychologist who worked at the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, before moving on to private practice in 1994. She drives a race car in her spare time.
- Dan Bagyan is the new head instructor this season who is with Signature Driving School.
Contestants
- Teagan Cramer, 18, from Edmonton, Alberta, despite being an excellent skateboarder, is a young and nervous driver who tries to compensate by jerking the steering wheel back and forth (termed the "wobble"). However, his dangerous driving is causing him trouble in meeting girls. The youngest nominee in the history of the series at the time, he is nominated by his buddy, Mat Smith. He drives a black Ford Ranger and, because he is too young to have a rental car insured, drove Andrew's green 1998 Mazda B4000 to the rehab centre, forcing Andrew to head to rehab in a different vehicle, as his truck is way too small for Teagan, Mat, Andrew and a camera crew all at the same time.
- Curt Higham, 51, from New Westminster, British Columbia, has been in 46 accidents through his driving career. Part of this may be because he is so distracted, often he does not watch the road. He was originally nominated by his husband of 31 years, Vance McFadyen, for Canada's Worst Driver 3, but he was apparently too good for rehab then, as he hadn't hit rock bottom. In fact, Vance had refused to allow Curt to drive for over three years due to his driving record. He drives a green Ford F-150 and drove a black Ford Windstar to the rehab centre.
- Donna Hicks, 61, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is a fearless driving grandmother – so much so, she refuses to stop at stop signs or red lights; yet simple driving tasks, such as reversing, seem to elude her. She even sometimes drinks and drives, which she claims happens "only when I play bingo"; i.e. when she drives home from the bingo hall. She is nominated by her son, Claude Vienneau, who is worried for his safety, her safety and the safety of her grandchildren. She drives a blue Dodge Spirit and drove a beige Mazda Protege to the rehab center. Donna died on March 1, 2022. Her cause of death is unknown.
- Lindsay Kloss, 23, from Kelowna, British Columbia, is a sales representative who is an accident-prone and extremely distracted driver, claiming to hit something every few weeks and knowing all of Kelowna's tow truck drivers on a personal basis. On one occasion, she managed to hit the gas meter of her fiancé's home. Her driving was so bad that three people nominated her, though the fiancé whose home gas meter she hit, TJ Papp, will be accompanying her to rehab. She drives a white Ford Taurus and drove a gray Ford Taurus to the rehab centre.
- Ashley van Ham, 21 and licensed for seven years, from Medicine Hat, Alberta, is a road raging and easily distracted driver (her favourite feature on her car is a plug to plug in a curling iron, ostensibly to curl her hair while driving), having cost her husband and nominator, Bryan, over $15,000 in vehicle repairs. Ashley enters rehab in order to protect their infant son, Diesel and is especially motivated to graduate early in order to not miss his first birthday. She drives a black Ford F-350 and a Mitsubishi Endeavor and drove a beige Mitsubishi Lancer to the rehab centre.
- Emily Wang, 33, from Calgary, Alberta (originally from China), is an inexperienced and distracted driver struggling with something as simple as moving a car forward. This may be because her driving skills were a result of having only 10 hours of training in obtaining her license and English is not her first language. She is nominated by her fiancé (at the time of taping; they are married by the time the show aired), Scott Nicholson. She drives a green Chevrolet Cavalier and drove a black Chevrolet Cavalier to the rehab centre.
- Kenneth "Ken" Westwood, 59, from Mission, British Columbia, is a traveling salesman who has a habit of tailgating and speeding and is unapologetic about his ruthless behaviour on the road. He is nominated by his buddy, John Levitt, who is worried that his antics may cost him his license and way of living. He drives a silver Kia Rio and drove a red Ford Focus to the rehab centre.
- Amy-Lee "Amy" Wisniewski, 30 and licensed for seven years, from Bethune, Saskatchewan, is a mother of five who is a nervous wreck behind the wheel, stemming from a lack of confidence in driving. Because of this, she refuses to drive the 11km (07miles) to Regina, even though her business depends on a weekly commute there. She is nominated by her husband, Bob, a truck driver. She drives a white Pontiac Sunbird and drove a blue Ford Focus to the rehab centre.
Synopsis
| Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|
| Ashley van Ham | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
| Emily Wang | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP |
| Amy-Lee Wisniewski | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT |
| Teagan Cramer | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Lindsay Kloss | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Donna Hicks | IN | IN | IN | MED | |
| Ken Westwood | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Curt Higham | IN | OUT | | |
(CWD) The contestant became Canada's Worst Driver.
(RUNNER-UP) The contestant was runner-up for Canada's Worst Driver.
(OUT) The contestant graduated.
(IN) The contestant was shortlisted for graduation.
(MED) The contestant was medically released.
Non-Elimination Week, due to all drivers failing the swerve and avoid.
