What Are The Restrictions on a Learner Driver in BC?
A Learner Driver is a person who has passed the written exam for a Novice Class 7 license but who has not yet passed the road test.
From ICBC, these are the restrictions
For passenger vehicles, the learner stage takes at least 12 months. During this time, you must:
- drive with a qualified supervisor, in the front seat, 25 or older, who has a valid driver’s licence
- carry no more than two passengers, including your supervisor
- drive only between 5 a.m. and midnight
- display your red “L” sign
- not use a cellphone or any other hands-free/hand-held device
- avoid alcohol while driving (no alcohol in body)
Eligibility
With a Class 7 learner’s permit, you can ride along with an adult who holds a valid Class 5 driver’s license or higher and operate a vehicle in that category. The front passenger seat is mandatory. You can also ride a moped with this license
Restrictions:
- Between the hours of midnight and five in the morning, you are not permitted to operate a motor vehicle.
- When operating a motor vehicle, you must never have any alcohol in your system.
- More people than there are seat belts in the car is illegal.
- License suspension will occur at 8 demerit points.
If I have a B.C. learner’s licence, can I drive alone in a parking lot?
After Costco shuts, the empty parking lot could seem like an ideal spot to let a beginning driver go alone.
Only in Ontario is it legal to drive on public roads with just a learner’s permit.
A representative for the licensing agency, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), stated that “even if it’s privately owned, since it’s accessible to the public and its major purpose is for parking, [a shopping mall parking lot] falls under the definition of a ‘highway.
If you want to drive in a parking lot in British Columbia, you need a valid license and you must abide by the parking lot driving regulations listed on your license.
In British Columbia, you need to have an adult in the front passenger seat if you have a learner’s permit (which you acquire after completing a written test).
Your manager need not be a certified driving instructor by ICBC. Anyone above the age of 25 with a current, valid driver’s license is fair game.
Those studying in British Columbia must also adhere to some additional guidelines. For instance, you can’t have any alcohol or drugs in your blood, you can’t chat on a smartphone except to contact 911 (even if it’s hands-free) and you can’t drive between midnight and 5 a.m.
Also, you’re required to drive with a red magnetic L-sign on your trunk.
It’s possible to get a “learner’s license” in other Canadian provinces and use it to, well, learn. Get some real-world experience behind the wheel before taking your permit test. Different names, same requirement: travel with a professional driver.
In all of the other Canadian provinces, the minimum age is 16, however in Alberta, it’s only 14.
There are times when a license is unnecessary.
Do you know of any locations where a student could get some hands-on experience without a teacher looking over their shoulder? If you’re not in a public area, then you are on private land, then this is correct.
On private property, such as a company parking lot that is fenced off and blocked off from the road by a locked gate, a driver’s license is not required in most provinces.
This is due to the fact that traffic regulations established at the provincial level are not enforced in this area.
You can therefore drive alone with a learner’s permit or no permit at all if you get the approval of the property owner. That’s the case unless you need to cross a busy street.
The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), a crown corporation responsible for licensing drivers and vehicles, said in an email that a driver’s license is required “at all times” when entering or crossing a public road, using a forest road, commercial parking, or any private ground where public circulation is authorized.
There is one Canadian province where a learner’s permit or no permit at all will allow you to drive alone in a shopping center parking lot.
On private land, regardless of whether or not it is open to the public, the rules of the road do not apply in Ontario.
Michael O’Morrow, a spokesman for Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, stated via email, “A driver’s license is not required to operate a motor vehicle on private land.” To that end, “the holder of a class G1 license is not required to comply with the terms and restrictions associated with that class of license.”
O’Morrow emphasized the importance of safety and caution behind the wheel despite the absence of license requirements in parking lots.
Even though you won’t be able to acquire a provincial ticket at the shopping center, you could be arrested for reckless driving.
