If every picture tells a story, then this one’s a veritable masterpiece: an image of Calgary police ticketing a driver for installing curtains on a vehicle’s windows to shield the sun from his eyes.

I kid you not. Calgary Police Service posted the photo on its website a few weeks ago, though it did the motorist in question a solid by not identifying him.

But it got the message across, one summed up recently by police Chief Katie McLellan, who described the standard of driving in Calgary these days as simply atrocious. I’d wager many longtime Calgarians would echo that sentiment.

According to McLellan, the problem isn’t confined to those who don’t pay attention, tailgate or speed — whom sensible motorists have been forced to endure since the days of Henry Ford — but nowadays there are people behind the wheel who don’t appear to know how to drive at all.

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The chief notes the recent population explosion in our city, which has brought with it many new, inexperienced drivers. That influx of newcomers also concerns Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen when it comes to declining driving skills. He wonders if some of the 400,000 new drivers who’ve arrived in Alberta from elsewhere during the last six years are up to speed in using our roads and highways.

Maybe, if they’ve passed their driving test out of province, the standard expected elsewhere simply wasn’t high enough?

Dreeshen even wonders about our own standards in Alberta. He’s heard that the driving test in the U.K., for example, is much harder to pass than here. Well, having taken both in my lifetime, I’d say yes, without a doubt. It is so easy to pass a driving test in this province; you probably could do it with those curtains closed.

So, the province is looking at instigating a higher threshold by making both the practical test and the accompanying knowledge segment of the driving exam more difficult.

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“The higher thresholds and the tougher testing could go a long way to making sure we have better trained and better licensed Class 5 drivers,” Dreeshen recently told Postmedia.

But maybe the reason we have so many dreadful drivers goes further than passing a too-easy exam. Perhaps some are getting licences when they don’t actually even have to sit for such a test. After all, recently we’ve seen this occur in licences handed out to heavy-goods drivers.

Given that holders of Class 1 licences are allowed to get behind the wheel of vehicles much larger and way more dangerous than the usual car or truck the rest of us drive, you would hope they must first face intense training and a rigorous examination.

Sadly, that isn’t always the case. A recent crackdown by Dreeshen’s ministry resulted in five driving schools being closed, a dozen instructor licences pulled and warning letters sent to various examiners. New rules are now being studied to ensure getting behind the wheel of some massive truck isn’t quite so simple.

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Dreeshen says it could be time to take a similar look at testing taking place for ordinary Class 5 licences. Let’s face it, the province can make the driving test more difficult, but if the testing itself is suspect, then it won’t keep those who approach a four-way stop with the same incredulity as most people display in pondering the theory of relativity, off our roads.

But one thing seems a tad strange in all this well-meaning vigilance by our transportation minister.

If Dreeshen is that concerned about dangerous drivers these days, why is he so keen to hike the speed limits on many major highways from 110 to 120 km/h? Does he think going faster will make people better drivers?

Chris Nelson is a weekly columnist.

© Calgary Herald