Drive Test employees are back at work after five long agonizing months of strike.  Dispute over job security, wages and seniority between the union, which represents the province’s 590 Drive-Test employees, and employer Serco DES Inc. broke out, resulting in closure of 93 exam centres across Ontario.

300,000 tests have been pending in the system because of this strike.

While the New Year brought good news for me as I could now go and give test for G2 license. However the news stories like higher fines for motorists not wearing seat belts, crossing red lights, talking over the cell phone while driving has taken away my relief of being able to get a license to get to work and university at the same time. The fines for not wearing seat belt or not stopping at red light have been doubled to $1,000 as of January 1^st, 2010. Happy New Year folks from your provincial government!

The Star reported that “aside from the possibility of a two-year licence suspension and six months in jail, the maximum penalties for careless driving or failing to remain at the scene of an accident rise to $2,000 from $1,000; the top penalty for failing to pull over and stop for emergency vehicles quadruples to $2,000 – plus three demerit points and a possible two-year licence suspension.”

“Higher fines for convictions will be another effective tool to help make Ontario roads safer, especially if it gets the attention of irresponsible and reckless drivers,” says Ontario Provincial Police Chief Julian Fantino, who has been known to pull over speeders himself.

After reading these new stories I thought to myself what was the point of McGuinty government, passing HST if it has already found a way for our savings to be spent. And I couldn’t help wondering what’s up with our elected representatives. The Prime Minister has suspended the Parliament; people are talking about Primer McGuinty’s third election campaign: is power really this seductive?

Having wondered that, I went all over the Ontario Drivers handbook to remind myself of all the rules that I have forgotten in last five months.

Author: Surtaj Singh