Update: 30 day wait for driving test in Vernon

It’s currently a 30-day wait to take a driving test in Vernon, according to an ICBC official.

The backlog was created when ICBC put a pause on road tests in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the province, 55,000 tests were put on hold.

ICBC spokesperson Joanna Linsangan says the wait time in Vernon is for Class 5 and Class 7 driving tests.

Roads tests for Class 5 and 7 resumed last month but new bookings began only last Monday.

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“Last month we started to resume those tests and rebook those customers so we prioritized the folks who had their appointment cancelled due to the pandemic,” Linsangan says. “What we encourage customers to do is actually go back to our website daily because on any given day, we do open up additional spots and some of those spots may actually be earlier than what they have already booked.”
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Original story:

ICBC is trying to clear up a backlog of people in the province who want to take a driving exam.

But even trying to write the knowledge test for a learner’s licence is proving a challenge.

A Vernon man was surprised to find he had to wait until Oct. 5 to attend the Service BC centre to take the test when he called to book this week.

“Why is this taking so long, it’s just a little town,” the man who asked not to be identified said. “I can’t fathom they are fully booked. It’s just crazy.”

While he understands some delay after offices were closed due to the pandemic, he feels the six-week wait is too long.

The ICBC website explains, “as the COVID-19 pandemic has developed, we’ve had to change the way in-person visits to our driver licensing offices work to support the health and safety of everybody.

“We need to minimize the number of people in our driver licensing offices at any one time,” the website said.

Late last week, ICBC said it was adding up to 100 temporary driver examiners and expanding to 10 additional locations to help decrease the wait times to take a road test.

But most examiners are being placed in Lower Mainland and Southern Vancouver Island regions to meet geographical demand.

ICBC began accepting new bookings for road tests last Monday.