Canada's Worst Driver 8 Explained
Canada's Worst Driver 8 is the eighth 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 Big City Driving. This year, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre is located at the Dunnville Airport in Dunnville, Ontario for the third straight season. The initial drive started in Niagara Falls, Ontario and the final road test occurred in Hamilton, Ontario.
Experts
Three experts return from the seventh season, though Peter Mellor, head instructor for the past three seasons, is not among them.
- Cam Woolley is the show's longest-serving expert, having 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 the traffic expert on CP24 in Toronto and had a 25-year career as a traffic sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police.
- Philippe Létourneau is a veteran high-speed driving instructor who counts BMW and Ferrari among his clients. Since joining the show in the third season, the average car has gained considerably in speed and acceleration, with the high-speed emphasis of this season making his job a particularly important one.
- Shyamala Kiru returns for her second season as the resident psychotherapist and relationship expert.
- Tim Danter is the new head driving instructor this season who is with DriveWise. He is from Oakville, Ontario.[1]
Contestants
- Robert Cárdenas, 26, from Toronto, Ontario (originally from Cuba), is a college student originally who owns a car but has no real desire to drive it; he prefers public transit because he is an overly cautious and slow driver who cannot handle highway speeds or large numbers of other vehicles and pedestrians. He is considering selling his car if he cannot improve his driving skills. He was nominated by his friend, Socrates. He drives a grey Hyundai Sonata and drove a blue Nissan Altima to the rehab centre.
- Margherita Donato, 31, from Edmonton, Alberta, is a bar owner more focused on her appearance than her driving and has caused $250,000 in damage by running into an RV. Margherita is just one ticket away from having her license suspended. Margherita has also admitted to bribing her driving examiner $80 to pass her test. She was nominated by her best friend and business partner, Cheryl Schultz, who now does all the driving for their business, Sneaky Pete's Bar and Grill. She drives a green Suzuki Aerio and drove a green Ford Focus to the rehab centre.
- Azim Kanji, 28, from Edmonton, Alberta, failed his learners' test six times before finally getting his license, but is unable to reverse or park his car and had a $2,300 speeding ticket, which led to him stressing so much, he started losing his hair. He was nominated by his buddy, Ray. He drives a red Volkswagen Corrado and drove a red Pontiac G5 Pursuit to the rehab centre.
- Klyne Postnikoff, 18 and licensed for two years, from Kelowna, British Columbia, is a short order cook who has written off two cars, including his mother's, within two weeks of having his license, had his license suspended and caused ten accidents and continues to text while driving, continues to speed and believes he is invincible. Klyne was nominated by his mother, Maureen, who laughs at his crashes on the show and continues to pick up the tab for his accidents and insurance. He drives a red Dodge Durango 4x4 and drove a blue GMC Sierra to the rehab centre.
- Dallas Sam, 26, from Vancouver, British Columbia, is a university student with a tough-girl appearance, but is really a nervous wreck behind the wheel of a car. Her sister, Gene, thinks she may have gotten her license based on looks rather than driving skills. She drives a tan GMC Jimmy and drove an orange Chevrolet Cobalt to the rehab centre.
- Kevin Simmons, 25, from McBride, British Columbia (now lives in Burnaby, British Columbia), is a grocery store worker born with no vision in his right eye and needs a new corrective lens for his left eye annually. Kevin has had five accidents so far (two of them serious). He was nominated by his boyfriend, Lenny Stone, who really wants Kevin to stop driving altogether. He drives a white Ford LTD Crown Victoria and drove a gray Dodge Grand Caravan to the rehab centre.
- Flora Wang, 39, from Edmonton, Alberta (originally from China), is a home care worker who immigrated to Canada in 2006 and only had ten hours of training before getting her license and is very nervous behind the wheel, often freezing in the middle of traffic when she gets scared as English is not her first language. She relies on her husband, Frank, for driving advice, although Frank is frequently wrong. Flora almost rolled the show's 2012 Mustang GT at 140 km/h during the Eye of the Needle because she didn't understand the need to take her foot off the accelerator. She drives a red Dodge Grand Caravan and drove a silver Dodge Grand Caravan to the rehab centre.
- Diane Zbierski, 38 and licensed for four years, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (near Montreal), is so hesitant to drive, she cannot take her son to school 0.5km (00.3miles) away. She got her license after persistent nagging from her family and, once she got it, told her husband of ten years, Stephane, not to talk to her about driving again. She drives a white Nissan Pathfinder and drove a silver Chevrolet Equinox to the rehab centre.
Synopsis
| Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|
| Kevin Simmons | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
| Flora Wang | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
| Diane Zbierski | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT |
| Margherita Donato | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Azim Kanji | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Klyne Postnikoff | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Dallas Sam | IN | IN | OUT | |
| Robert Cardenas | IN | OUT | | |
(CWD) The contestants became Canada's Worst Driver.
(OUT) The contestant graduated.
(IN) The contestant was shortlisted for graduation.
Notes and References
- News: Kurek . Dominik . 30 November 2012 . Tim Danter instructing contestants on Canada's Worst Driver . 2024-06-10 . Oakville Beaver . ProQuest.
