Are young drivers really safer behind the wheel if they get fewer driving tests? B.C. politicians wrestled with that issue this week, as part of legislation to change the province’s driver licensing system.

The government wants to drop one of the two road tests in the current graduated licensing program, arguing that there’s no evidence it actually produces better drivers. Instead, starting next year, people would only need to take one test with an ICBC instructor (to go from their “L” to their “N” designation), and then simply drive safely for a year (nine months for people older than 25) before automatically being given their full license.

“The proposed changes are designed to improve accessibility and to support new drivers moving through the system in an efficient way while not compromising road safety,” Solicitor General Nina Krieger told the legislature, adding it will help reduce barriers for Indigenous people, immigrants and people living in remote areas where it’s harder to book road tests.

Still, the “more safety with less testing” argument has been a tough sell. Especially with no data by the government to back any of it up.

Opposition critic Macklin McCall told the legislature about being a 22-year-old rookie RCMP officer and having to break the news to the parents of a 17-year-old girl that their daughter had died in a highway crash. He said inexperience behind the wheel was a frequent factor in fatal collisions he saw in his career.

“This is why this bill matters so much,” he said. “Behind every number in an ICBC report, behind........

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