Almost three years ago, the Alberta government eliminated the advanced test for new drivers under the guise of red tape reduction.

It was a good change. The basic road test is now longer, incorporating elements of the old second test. New drivers with a clean record are automatically upgraded from a graduated driver’s licence to a full Class 5 licence.

At the time, there were apparently 500,000 of us aged 18 to 36 who never bothered to pay for the second test and just kept our GDLs forever.

Re-testing a good driver who recently passed their initial exam while the knowledge is still fresh in their mind really is the definition of unnecessary red tape.

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