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View Poll Results: Alberta GDL status

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  • I'm a pre-GDL old fart

    42 45.65%
  • Went through GDL process, got regular DL as soon as possible

    18 19.57%
  • Went through GDL process, took my time to get regular DL

    12 13.04%
  • Still a GDL driver, will get regular DL as soon as possible

    0 0%
  • Still a GDL driver, have been for quite a while

    20 21.74%
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Thread: Alberta GDL status

  1. #1
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    Default Alberta GDL status

    Noting the discussion in another thread regarding Alberta's GDL, I am curious as to how many are driving around with a GDL when they could get the full unrestricted DL. Alberta's GDL came into being around 2003 which means there could be a fair number of beyond members who have had to go through the process or maybe never bothered to get an unrestricted DL. Myself, old as dirt, would've had my license for 26 years by the time the GDL program was rolled out.

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    I just got off mine, reason for it was applying to get my class 1 license. Wait times are brutal at the registries, it took three weeks to book the test (was at the start of summer) the instructor missed my appointment...never showed up. Had to re-book initially for another three weeks out but got a call later that week from somebody at the Alberta government and they fit me in later that week. Best part was the lady at the registry calling in to the AB government, she wasn't sure I would get a refund... after I paid to take the test, and nobody showed up to test me.
    Last edited by FunWheelDrive; 01-30-2020 at 11:08 PM.

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    I remember they introduced the new law where the changes were supposed to be occurring on March 20th. I got my license 6 days prior to the change as I was eligible and avoided the new law.

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    I think I got rid of my GDL when I was 22 and got two points on my license, so I took the test out of fear of needing more space for points.

  5. #5
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    Got a pink ticket on my 18th bday... delayed the date in that till I could get my full license to avoid a suspension as you must wait a full year or something after that... gave me enough room that I avoided a suspension all together!

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    Haven't ever bothered to take the test. Total cash grab. I've never seen stats that show it made any difference in road safety.

    I know some people who have passed the test, some who have failed and some who have never bothered. No difference in their ability to drive.

    One thing i have heard is that they will fail you for weird reasons and dont explicitly show what the pass fail requirements are like they do with the first test. My sister failed for answering a verbal question wrong. The instruction actually said during the exam that he'd never passed someone with a manual transmission and wished her luck. And then failed her for some obscure road safety question.
    Last edited by dirtsniffer; 01-30-2020 at 11:34 PM.

  7. #7
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    I got rid of GDL when I was 18, just before I got my class 1

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    Quote Originally Posted by dirtsniffer View Post
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    Haven't ever bothered to take the test. Total cash grab. I've never seen stats that show it made any difference in road safety.

    I know some people who have passed the test, some who have failed and some who have never bothered. No difference in their ability to drive.

    One thing i have heard is that they will fail you for weird reasons and dont explicitly show what the pass fail requirements are like they do with the first test. My sister failed for answering a verbal question wrong. The instruction actually said during the exam that he'd never passed someone with a manual transmission and wished her luck. And then failed her for some obscure road safety question.
    When I did my “advanced” the little form was the same as my first test. The criteria was pretty clear, albeit some sections were stupid.

    The tests are essentially the same, except the second test is way longer time wise, you have a longer period of time to not pick up the under the X number of faults to pass. Same fault 3 times means auto fail, and there are a few faults that are also auto fail ( running a stop sign or a red light).

    I only got mine because I was applying for jobs that required full license, and didn’t want it to be a point of contention.
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
    Originally posted by Toma
    fact.
    Quote Originally Posted by Yolobimmer View Post
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    Much younger than @speedog but still "old as dirt". Got learners at 14, full license at 18.

    How many points are you allowed on your GDL? I got up to 11 I think before I calmed down and stopped driving my Hyundai Excel foot-to-the-floor everywhere. Or maybe I had an integra by then. Got a letter from the Alberta Solicitor General anyway. Impressed the hell out of me.
    Last edited by ExtraSlow; 01-31-2020 at 07:51 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    in recent years, has it become more prevalent to have an unrestricted DL with respect to job opportunities that include driving a company's vehicles?

    Also, one can't operate a Uhaul vehicle with a GDL - anyone can pretty much rent a Uhaul but the person driving that Uhaul has to have an unrestricted DL and that person needs to be listed on the rental agreement. Know this because we went through all of this recently with a very conniving young man who figured he could game Uhaul's policies because he didn't have a DL of any sort and tried to enlist one of my GDL kids to drive the Uhaul for him. This young man went so far as to list someone with an unrestricted DL as the driver even though the plan was to have my GDL son pickup and drive the Uhaul - one phone call to Uhaul confirmed our suspicions regarding their policies and screwed that young man's plans.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    Much younger than @speedog but still "old as dirt". Got learners at 14, full license at 18.
    4 years learner?

    Doesn't matter, you're still an old fart per my poll.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by speedog View Post
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    4 years learner?
    Yep, couldn't afford my own car at 16, and apparently my moms insurance would have gone up a lot if I had my full licence, which neither of us could afford. So from 16 to 18, I saved my pennies, and bought a car right around my 18th birthday coincidentally. It was my gift to myself.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

  12. #12
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    Learners at 14 (on actual birthday), "Probationary" license at 16 and got rid of the probationary part ASAP (2 years I think). This was over 30 years ago, so a much different system back then.

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    Quote Originally Posted by gmc72 View Post
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    Learners at 14 (on actual birthday), "Probationary" license at 16 and got rid of the probationary part ASAP (2 years I think). This was over 30 years ago, so a much different system back then.
    I think that "probationary" thing came off automatically after 2 years? It didn't really restrict anything if I'm remembering correctly.

    I got my learners within days of my 14th birthday. Not on the actual birthday, but that same week or sure. Had to drive my dad camping in our 1972 F250 with a slide-in camper that next weekend. That's a hell of a way to learn to drive.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    Quote Originally Posted by gmc72 View Post
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    Learners at 14 (on actual birthday), "Probationary" license at 16 and got rid of the probationary part ASAP (2 years I think). This was over 30 years ago, so a much different system back then.
    30 years ago was 1990, there was no such thing as a probationary license in 1990. You either had a full on DL or you had nothing. 2003 was when GDL's came into effect.

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    Got my license when I lived in BC and had it when I was 16 or 17? Which is 24 years ago.

    I laughed when they introduced the L and N program for drivers as it came in a few years after I got mine.

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    Quote Originally Posted by firebane View Post
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    Got my license when I lived in BC and had it when I was 16 or 17? Which is 24 years ago.

    I laughed when they introduced the L and N program for drivers as it came in a few years after I got mine.
    So, old fart by the definition of this poll.

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    I'm old balls, but my much younger wife still has gdl and has no intent to get it removed. She was quite happy to hear yesterday, that they might be removing the whole system. #cashgrab. Half of the people in Edmonton ahouldnt have their licences anyways.

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    I remember the instructor tried to fail me for getting stuck parallel parking, I argued that it wasn’t my fault they asked me to park a RWD sports car uphill in unplowed snow, I warned them I probably wouldn’t be able to pull out of the spot going forwards.

    I also got my learners the day I turned 14.

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    Quote Originally Posted by speedog View Post
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    So, old fart by the definition of this poll.
    Oh for sure lol. Not as old as a few of you but definitely older than most.

  20. #20
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    Learners @ 14, full on license @ 17. Took my test and passed the last day before they switched over to GDL

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