Ontario’s DriveTest examiners are pressured to meet quotas to pass road test applicants, trucknews.com has learnt.
Documents show that a scorecard system is in use setting expectations like 87% pass rate and an “error rate” under 1.24%, for Serco Canada employees.
Serco Canada, operating as DriveTest, is a private sector organization licensed by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to operate 92 DriveTest Centres across the province.
Sources said that examiners are rated levels 1 to 4 based on performance metrics. A No. 3 level or above could lead to retraining, demotion or firing.
MTO denial
The MTO denied the allegations. “DriveTest centres operate under high standards set by the Ministry of Transportation. DriveTest does not operate using a quota system,” Tanya Blazina, senior media relations, MTO told trucknews.com.
“Examiners are required to provide a full and impartial assessment of each driver’s skills while ensuring that the road test reflects the applicant’s overall competency and ability to follow and obey the rules of the road. All drivers in Ontario must meet the same high test standards demonstrating driver competency before they can be fully licensed,” she added.
Serco did not respond to a request for comment.
But sources interviewed by trucknews.com said that those standards are being undermined by internal performance scorecards and pressure to pass applicants to meet company targets.
A Serco driver examiner review form states that the objectives rating is “financial: being profitable and sustainable.”
It appears that unsafe drivers are being licensed due to pressure to inflate pass rates and be lenient with people appearing for driving tests.
A source said supervisors regularly monitor fail rates and pressure staff to increase pass numbers regardless of a candidate’s actual ability. “They coerce you to manufacture those numbers because otherwise they send you for all kinds of training,” they said. “I’m following the marking guide. I cannot control who comes in; some don’t know anything about the traffic laws.”
Serious safety errors overlooked
The source was reprimanded after their fail rate appeared too high compared to colleagues. They added that this was not in the public interest, and it made roads unsafe.
According to another source, even serious safety errors were overlooked in pursuit of targets. “One person went through a stop sign four times, ran a red light, almost hit a pedestrian. I had to grab the steering wheel. My supervisor pressured me to be lenient,” they said. “I was hired to follow the marking guide, not to manufacture numbers.”
They added that this is common practice across DriveTest Centres, where pass and fail rates put pressure on examiners.
Retraining for not meeting quota
A source recalled that a commercial vehicle road test examiner was told that he was failing too many applicants. “They just kept putting him on retraining because, according to the quotas, he was failing too many.”
Beyond pass rates, examiners also face productivity expectations that dictate how many tests must be completed per shift. Also, time in the washroom is monitored and one of the sources say they were accused of time fraud for using the facilities. “A few weeks later, they put a huge poster in front of the bathroom saying every fraud is an indictable crime, with a handcuffed person on it,” they said.
Despite repeated internal complaints, the sources claimed that no independent review has been conducted. They claim the quota structure remains embedded in daily operations and management expectations.
While the MTO maintains that DriveTest examiners are bound by impartial testing standards, the sources said the internal culture makes it impossible to uphold them. “They’re asking us to choose between our jobs and public safety,” one said. “That should never be the choice.”
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