Canada's Worst Driver 4

Canada's Worst Driver 4
Country of origin	Canada
No. of episodes	8
Release
Original network	Discovery Channel Canada
Original release	October 27 – December 15, 2008

Canada's Worst Driver 4 is the fourth season of Canada's Worst Driver, a Discovery Channel Canada television series which seeks to improve the driving of eight nominated contestants, each of which trying to avoid being named Canada's Worst Driver.

Like previous series, each contestant is nominated by a loved one, and are taken to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, located this year at an abandoned correctional facility in Guelph, Ontario. At the rehabilitation centre, each contestant is taught key driving skills, and are tested in various challenges, with three challenges to an episode. Before each challenge, host Andrew Younghusband performs each challenge to demonstrate that they are doable without error by an average driver. The first episode, where the contestants must drive to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre from a location an hour's drive away in the traditional first challenge, serves as a skills evaluation. Starting with the second episode, and at the end of every episode thereafter, the experts and Andrew decide on which of the remaining contestants have been sufficiently rehabilitated to be let go onto public roads. This continues until three contestants remain, where two traditional final challenges (a "mega-challenge" with elements of previous challenges, as well as a road test through public streets) determine who is named Canada's Worst Driver. Though normally one contestant leaves in every episode, the experts may, at their discretion, refuse to allow anyone to graduate, or conversely graduate more than one contestant in an episode. In extreme circumstances, the experts may also choose to expel a contestant with no intention of improving their driving skills.

This year, like the previous season, roughly half of the challenges are new to the series (though some are inspired by challenges seen in previous years), while the other half, such as the initial drive to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, the Eye of the Needle, the Water-Tank Challenge, the Mega-Challenge, and the series-ending road test, are returning from previous seasons. However, the challenges this season are more specifically tuned for the individual contestants than in previous years, to better address driving issues specific to each contestant. For this year, a fleet of brand-new luxury cars have been commissioned for some of the challenges.

Contestants

Teagan Cramer, 18, from Edmonton, Alberta, despite being an excellent skateboarder, is a young and nervous driver who tries to compensate by jerking the steering wheel back and forth (termed the "wobble"). However, his dangerous driving is causing him trouble in meeting people of the opposite sex. The youngest nominee in the history of the series, he is nominated by his buddy, Mat Smith. He drives a black 1988 Ford Ranger.
Curt Higham, 51, from New Westminster, British Columbia, has been in 46 accidents through his driving career. Part of this may be because he is so distracted, often he does not watch the road. He was originally nominated by his husband of 31 years Vance McFadyen for Canada's Worst Driver 3, but it was only this year that he was accepted at rehab. In fact, Vance had refused to allow Curt to drive for over three years due to his driving record. He drives a green Ford F-150.
Donna Hicks, 61, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is a fearless driver – so much so she refuses to stop at stop signs or red lights; yet simple driving tasks, such as reversing, seem to elude her. She even sometimes drinks and drives, which she claims happens "only when I play bingo"; i.e. when she drives home from the bingo hall. She is nominated by her son Claude Vinneau, who is worried for his safety, her safety, and the safety of her grandchildren. She drives a blue Dodge Spirit.
Lindsay Kloss, 23, from Kelowna, British Columbia, is an accident-prone and extremely distracted driver, claiming to hit something every few weeks and knowing all of Kelowna's tow truck drivers on a personal basis. On one occasion, she managed to hit the gas meter of her fiancé's home. Her driving was so bad that three people nominated her, though fiancé TJ Papp will be the only one accompanying her through rehab. She drives a white 1991 Ford Taurus.
Ashley van Ham, 21, from Medicine Hat, Alberta, is a road raging and easily distracted driver (her favourite feature on her car is a plug to plug in a curling iron, ostensibly to curl her hair while driving), having cost her husband and nominator Bryan van Ham over $15,000 in vehicle repairs. Ashley enters rehab in order to protect their infant son, Diesel, and is especially motivated to graduate early in order to not miss his first birthday. She drives a black Ford F-350 and a Mitsubishi Endeavor.
Emily Wang, 33, from Calgary, Alberta, is an inexperienced and distracted driver, struggling with something as simple as moving a car forward. This may be because her driving skills were a result of having only 10 hours of training in obtaining her licence, and English is not her first language (having immigrated from China only four years ago). She is nominated by her fiancé (at the time of taping – they are married by the time the show aired), Scott Nicholson. She drives a green Chevrolet Cavalier.
Kenneth "Ken" Westwood, 59, from Mission, British Columbia, is a traveling salesman who has a habit of tailgating & speeding, and is unapologetic about his ruthless behaviour on the road. He is nominated by buddy John Levitt, who is worried that his antics may cost him his licence and his way of living. He drives a silver Kia Rio.
Amy-Lee "Amy" Wisniewski, 30, from Bethune, Saskatchewan, is a nervous wreck behind the wheel, stemming from a lack of confidence in driving. Because of this, she refuses to drive to Regina, even though her business depends on a weekly commute there. She is nominated by her husband Bob Wisniewski, a truck driver. She drives a white Pontiac Sunbird.

Judges

Three judges return from Canada's Worst Driver 3, though Scott Marshall, head instructor for the first three seasons, is not among them.

Cam Woolley, an expert on the show since the second season, is a retired Ontario Provincial Police sergeant (who was still with the OPP at the time of filming).
Philippe Létourneau is a high-performance driving instructor with the Jim Russell Racing School, having been also featured on Discovery's Star Racer series. He is also a lead driving instructor for BMW Driver Training and the "Ferrari Driving Experience" at the Mont Tremblant race track. Philippe has enjoyed a successful career with over 40 podium finishes in 120 race starts.
Dr. Louisa Gembora is a psychologist operating out of Hamilton, who also races in her spare time.
Dan Bagyan is the new head instructor for this season, and is a driving instructor with "Signature Driving School" in Eastern Ontario.

Synopsis

Contestant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Ashley van Ham	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	CWD
Emily Wang	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	RUNNER-UP
Amy-Lee Wisniewski	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT
Teagan Cramer	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT
Lindsay Kloss	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT
Donna Hicks	IN	IN	IN	MED
Ken Westwood	IN	IN	OUT
Curt Higham	IN	OUT

(OUT) The driver has graduated, and is out of the running for Canada's Worst Driver.

(RUNNER-UP) The driver did not graduate, but is out of the running for Canada's Worst Driver.

(IN) The driver was shortlisted but did not graduate from the episode.

(MED) The driver was asked to leave from the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, due to a medical condition and is out of the running for Canada's Worst Driver.

(CWD) The driver was ultimately named Canada's Worst Driver.

^1 Non-Elimination Week, due to all drivers failing the swerve and avoid.

Episode 1: Guilty as Charged

Original airdate: October 27, 2008

Starting on Top – In the traditional first challenge, contestants must drive to the Maximum Security Driver Rehabilitation Centre at an abandoned prison in Guelph from a parking garage in Kitchener. Amy, Donna, and Emily are the first to leave, followed by Curt, Lindsay, Teagan (who, because he is too young to have a rental car insured, is driving in Andrew's personal truck), Ken and Ashley. En route, Ashley catches up to Ken, who engage in a brief street race. By the time Ken arrives, Andrew is so offended he refuses to allow him to park in his space. After everyone arrives (with the exception of Amy & Emily, everyone arrives in the order of their departure), Andrew confiscates everyone's drivers' licences.
Basic Assessment – In the traditional skills evaluation, the contestants must reverse the Porsche 928 out of a tight corner and then in a straight line, before going through a slalom portion at 40 km/h with both hands on the wheel at all times. After exiting that portion, they must accelerate the 928 to 60 km/h, before stopping in front of a wall of boxes. Ken, going second, is the first contestant to scratch the car (Ashley, who went first, had managed to not hit anything, save for the boxes at the end), while Emily cannot even reverse out of the corner, getting her car stuck. Ashley is the only contestant to get the slalom on the first try, and is the only contestant to not hit any obstacles in the reversing portion. However, none of the contestants could avoid hitting the wall of boxes.

Before the episode draws to a close, Cam takes Donna, Teagan, Ken, and Ashley aside for a tour of the prison, and explain to them that their actions that had led them to their nomination and arrival at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre could have caused them to be sentenced to prison time. Donna for Drinking and Driving, Teagan for Hit and Runs, Ken and Ashley for their Street Racing on their way to the Rehabilitation Centre. Each of these four, in turn, are locked in a cell for a few minutes—long enough for all four to break down. Because this is the first episode and the contestants have just arrived, no one leaves the Driver Rehabilitation Centre.

Episode 2: Big Manoeuvres

Original airdate: November 3, 2008 Having arrived at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, the lessons and challenges begin in earnest. The lessons begin with a how-to on large vehicle handling.

Prison Laundry – The contestants must reverse a laundry trunk through a simple obstacle course, up a ramp, and into a garage. To do so successfully, however, each contestant must use their mirrors and repeatedly do the "S-bend" (a staple lesson at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre), as each nominator will tell their nominee. Ken is so frustrated at the end of his run that he is contemplating quitting the driver rehabilitation program, while Ashley and Amy learn the hard way, hitting obstacles left and right. He does not finish in the 60 minutes, and neither does Lindsay (though, like Ashley, she was affected by a sudden thunderstorm over the course). Curt has the best run of the day, encountering trouble only in the middle of the course, while keeping his emotions in check. Emily's poor vision in the challenge prompts Andrew to commission an eye exam for every contestant, to be done after the second challenge.
Parallel Parking – The annual tradition of a parallel parking challenge returns here. Contestants must park between two vehicles in front of the patio of the Albion Hotel in downtown Guelph full of onlookers (the other contestants and their nominators included). The contestants will have one minute in each attempt, and each failure will cause the driver to take one lap around the block. Lindsay gets it on her first try (claiming that it is her strong suit, even though she did not use her mirrors once during the challenge), while Curt gets it in two (the first being too far away from the curb). None of the other contestants finish, and Donna even gets out of her car during her first attempt to berate a passing car waiting for her to park. That one move alone violated five simultaneous traffic laws (no signal, no seatbelt, jaywalking, abandoned car and dangerous driving), enough that if a police officer were to see it, she could've gotten $595 in fines and had her license suspended on the spot.
Icy Corner – In this challenge, on a car lacking an anti-lock braking system, contestants must corner around a simulated ice patch. Each contestant will have two tries in accelerating their car to 25 km/h before tackling the corner, which they should be able to handle by looking at where they want to go. Curt and Amy both do this on their second try (no one makes it on their first). Lindsay was close on her second, only missing the corner and turning too soon. Teagan failed both runs when his foot got stuck between the pedals. Donna, however, has the worst run of the day, fishtailing wildly out of control when she mistakenly hits the gas on the turn, thinking it was the brakes (this run, in particular, would be referenced in following episodes and be one of the factors cited in the decision to ultimately expel her from the show in episode 4).

The vision tests reveal that, indeed, Emily has the worst vision among the contestants, with poor eyesight out of the right eye (which will require wearing glasses while driving). Ken, however, is also discovered to be colour-blind. When the judges convene, Curt and Amy make the short list—Amy because she showed no signs of breaking down, and Curt because when not distracted, he could be very competent. Andrew believes that if Curt was to be let go, he could have small minor accidents moving forward, yet if he let Amy go, he believes she could be in for a big accident. Because of this, he declares Curt the first graduate of the season.

Episode 3: The Urge to Merge

Original airdate: November 10, 2008 In this episode, the experts decide to address the contestants' difficulty with regards to merging into traffic.

Shoulder Checks – In a new challenge, the contestants must accelerate their car up to 60 km/h before encountering a sign. After reading the sign by shoulder checking, they must take the correct exit at a fork in the road. Contestants have five attempts, failing if they fail to make the shoulder check, making the wrong exit, or hitting any obstacle. Teagan tries to cheat by removing his head restraint (though with it he passes on his third try), while Lindsay learns to "watch the road" when she passes on her second try (no one passes on their first try, while Ashley is the only other contestant to pass on her second). Emily, who is too vision-impaired to drive without glasses, makes it on her final attempt, but it is later discovered that she guessed an exit at random and had guessed right. Donna is too scared to go up to 60 km/h, and she even failed a run at 50 km/h (but did pass a 30 km/h run). Amy fails all five runs, but discovers that while making the shoulder check, she drifts her car to the right to overcompensate a natural leftwards drift when she turns her body.
The Traffic Circle Challenge – In this challenge, the contestants must drive a Jaguar and enter a traffic circle and pass six cars (two in the inner lane driving around at 15 km/h the other four in the outer lane at 25 km/h) before exiting, without exceeding 30 km/h in any part of the run. Ken finishes in four minutes with John barking orders at him, so when Andrew (driving the fifth car in this challenge) goes into the passenger seat (and have John in the fifth car), Ken finishes with a perfect run (including full lane change signalling, something he does not do at home) in three minutes. Teagan finishes without passing the sixth car, failing the challenge, while Amy, frightened by the challenge, cries her way through a perfect run in nine minutes. Ashley screams through her run, but manages to learn how to use her mirrors. Emily also passes with ease, while Donna has her left blinker on despite being in the inner lane. Lindsay also fails the challenge, as she does not do a full check in four of her lane changes.
Road Signs – Every year there is a quiz for all contestants on their knowledge of road signs. Of the 15 road signs tested, Amy has the most correct with 7, and Donna is worst with 3.
Public Lane Change – The contestants are put out onto public roads, where they must make 15 safe lane changes, as determined by her nominators. Lindsay is first to finish, while Ashley finds herself having driven with the parking brake down for half an hour, and needs to get her car towed away. Emily and Amy are driven to the edge, but eventually finish. Donna runs into her old habits of running past stop signs, while Ken does not run into his old habits, even admitting to Andrew that the "old Ken" would have cut off others on a number of occasions.

At the end, Emily admits to needing more rehab, while Amy, Teagan, and Donna are told that they will not graduate this episode. The experts and Andrew are deadlocked, though: Dan and Cam are willing to overlook Ashley's parking brake incident, while Ken has taken rehabilitation to heart (even admitting that he is doing this for his quadriplegic wife), which, in Dr. Gembora's and Phillipe's eyes makes him the best driver. Andrew, however, places his vote behind Lindsay, but is pressured by the experts to change his vote and break the tie between Ken and Ashley. Thus, Andrew chooses Ken to be the next graduate.

Episode 4: Shifty Manoeuvres

Original airdate: November 17, 2008 The focus of this episode is driving manual transmission vehicles, and each contestant is given lessons on how to drive stick-shift. Manual transmission cars will be used throughout this episode.

The Teeter-Totter – In this challenge, the contestants must balance their car on top of a teeter-totter. Ashley, who was self-taught in manual transmission at home (her F-350 is stick-shift) finishes the challenge quickly, though complaining that the car (a Honda Accord) is garbage the entire time. Emily also finishes, but admits that she may have lucked out. Teagan and Amy are also given different cars — Teagan (given a more powerful Pontiac Sunfire) because he too drives stick-shift at home, and Amy (given an Audi S6) due to her confidence issues. Teagan finishes, though he burns the clutch the entire time, while Amy, having stalled 26 times trying to get over a speed bump in third gear alone, manages to kill her car. She is the only one not to finish.
The Water-Tank Challenge – In the annual tradition, contestants must navigate through an obstacle course while having a roof-mounted pool of water on their car (this time, it is a stick-shift military vehicle, as Cam notes). Notably, Andrew, when demonstrating the challenge, also gets soaked (for the first time in four Water-Tank Challenges), earning the ridicule of the show's crew. However, the contestants fare worse: Scott (Emily's Nominator) is so soaked that he leaves the challenge without his shirt, while Lindsay is forced to repeat a portion. Ashley also screams throughout her ride. However, the most serious news comes from Donna: having failed a straightaway portion, she repeats it, only to suffer an angina attack at the end of the straightaway when a fake taxi appears out of nowhere. For her, the challenge is aborted then, and Dan and Cam are compelled through their positions as a certified driving instructor and a police officer, respectively, to call for reviews of her licence based upon her medical condition.
Straight to 60 – In this challenge, contestants must drive straight up to 60 km/h in standard transmission, with Andrew in the passenger's seat. Though five challenges finish quickly (Andrew having to tell Lindsay and Amy to not drive with the parking brake on), Andrew is nervous throughout, due to Donna's heart condition and her upcoming turn in the challenge—to the point of Andrew refusing to let Donna take the challenge (as Andrew explains, the challenges are designed to induce stress so that the contestants learn how to resolve the situations). Andrew convinces Donna not to do the challenge, as her heart condition continues to be examined.

Instead of Donna's run, Andrew discusses Donna's driving problems, at one point, taking her back to the scene of her out-of-control spinout from the ice-braking challenge. Donna is taken to the courtroom (the experts are not present) and shown video replays of her performances in the challenges thus far, and Andrew indicates that as far as the show is concerned, she should not drive. Donna, however, replies she intends to keep driving, only slower; surprisingly, Claude, despite having nominated her out of safety concerns, shares her resolve. Afterwards, Andrew and the panel agree that rather than graduate anyone, Donna will be sent home in what Andrew terms an "anti-graduation". Andrew returns Donna her licence, she is taken away by limo, and is last heard repeating she plans to keep driving, but slower. Andrew, in narration, indicates that Donna's licence was up for review by the province of Ontario, and that after leaving the show, Donna sent them an e-mail stating "I'm going to lose my licence thanks to your damn show." (Whether she actually did lose her licence is not stated, though it's heavily implied she did).

Episode 5: A Turn For the Worst

Original airdate: November 24, 2008 The five remaining contestants work on their skills in making smooth turns at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre. At the end of the previous episode, it was revealed that all four women remaining normally wear poor driving shoes to drive, which can be a hazard. Thus, all four women were ordered to do every subsequent challenge in "driving shoes".

Driving Distracted – Each of the remaining drivers must drive clockwise in a circle while having to perform several tasks (including answering the phone, reading out of a driver's manual, operating an electric shaver, and drinking Gatorade) while maintaining speed. For Ashley, Bryan himself may be a distraction, as she nearly breaks down (and eventually gets her revenge by dumping her bottle of Gatorade in his lap). Lindsay realizes that text messaging while driving (which she does as part of her job) is a particular problem, as it could be outlawed in her jurisdiction (it is already illegal in every province east of Ontario except for PEI). Mat also gets a laugh at Teagan's expense when a collision with a barricade results in Teagan spilling Gatorade all over himself. Dan mentions that accident odds increase 100% per teenage passenger. Emily's problems are compounded by her poor vision (stopping in the middle of the course to answer the phone). Amy, who uses cigarettes to calm herself on the road, learns that even lighting up could be dangerous. This challenge is undertaken as an education measure and is not considered part of the "competition" aspect, so there are no winners or losers. All of the drivers eventually hit the barricades on the course.
The Snake – The episode's showcase challenge has the drivers move through a tight obstacle course through various slopes (upwards, downwards, and to the sides). Ashley, scheduled to go first, is delayed because she did not bring flats, making Lindsay go first. Lindsay finishes faster than Andrew, but hits nine things. Emily falls off the track many times (requiring the crew to lift the car back onto the track). Teagan, who navigated the course on his skateboard with ease, slowly pulses his way through the course. He admits that a few more similar courses could improve his skills. Amy manages to remain calm after falling off the track on the first two turns, and manages to finish the rest of the course without hitting anything. When Ashley returns, she finishes the course in 90 seconds with minimal error—the fastest out of any of the contestants. This perplexes the experts, so Andrew challenges Ashley to do the course in reverse. Ashley promptly breaks down, arguing with Bryan, taking more than 15 minutes to round the first turn. However, Bryan manages to calm her down after that ordeal at the end when she gives up going in reverse.
Swerve and Avoid – In this episode's lesson, Philippe teaches the contestants to swerve, emphasizing to never brake while swerving. The contestants have three attempts to accelerate to 35 km/h (originally 40 km/h, but lowered at the last moment) and swerve in the direction opposite where a fake taxi appears, either to the left or the right. Amy, going first, fails her three runs (the first when she swerved towards the fake taxi, the second one when she was confused by the absence of either fake taxi, the third by swerving too wide). Emily also fails her three runs, partly due to her poor vision and partly due to poor cornering. Ashley, motivated by her son's first birthday at the end of the week (which she will miss if she does not graduate this episode), also fails her three runs, driving into the fake cab every time. She is also there to watch Lindsay fail her three runs (once while underspeed). Teagan also fails his three runs from oversteering.

The fact that all five failed the Swerve and Avoid challenge makes the experts' choice of who to graduate difficult, and Andrew is not comfortable with graduating anyone. Emily admits that she had owned glasses ten years ago and has stopped wearing them, but agrees to allow the show to arrange an eye exam for her. Ashley admits that her emotions are getting the best of her. Teagan admits his issue may simply be inexperience. Amy admits disappointment in her challenges, but still admits that there is improvement to be had. The experts shortlist comes down to Lindsay and Ashley, with the panel split between the two. Andrew, in the end, declares that Lindsay was the better of the two, and even had graduation in the bag before the Swerve and Avoid, but because she failed, no one graduates this episode.

Episode 6: It's All Reverse

Original airdate: December 1, 2008 The focus on this episode is on driving in reverse.

Reverse Flick – Phillippe normally teaches the reverse flick (a modified J-turn) to prospective Quebec police officers. Today, inspired by Ed Porter (who spun wildly out of control in the same manner in Canada's Worst Driver 3's reversing race), the contestants learn the same maneuvers and then, for their challenge, repeat them inside a confined space. Teagan fails his 10 attempts due to oversteering. Amy never musters the speed needed to do the turn, failing her 10 attempts. On the other hand, Lindsay makes it on her first try, Ashley on her second, and Emily on her third.
Canada's Worst Parking Lot – The annual non-race to park a car in an open parking space has all five contestants driving five different luxury vehicles, with the additional requirement of having to reverse into their parking spaces. Amy is first to park (beating Ashley to a space), followed by Ashley, Lindsay, and Emily (with a parallel park). Teagan is left without a space.
The Cross – This challenge returns from the previous year, where drivers must reverse their car through all four points of the cross. Amy, who is performing the challenge on her wedding anniversary, only scratches the car once in her 19-minute run. Bryan is conspicuously quiet during Ashley's run, while Teagan struggles through his second half.
The Figure-Eight Challenge – In the new twist on an annual classic, the drivers must make three laps around a double-wide figure-eight course. Instead of driving with their nominators, however, the five drivers sit in the car together. Neither Lindsay nor Ashley hit anything, though Lindsay was faster through the course. Amy, now more confident, hit only three things. However, both Teagan's oversteering and Emily's poor vision caused them to hit many objects.

The experts agree that Lindsay and Ashley made the shortlist, though Phillippe gave Amy some consideration. The deciding factor is Lindsay's self-control with TJ in the car because Ashley, though the better technical driver, breaks down whenever Bryan is in the car. Thus, Lindsay becomes the next graduate.

Episode 7: Practice Makes Perfect

Original airdate: December 8, 2008 The focus on this episode are mainly traditional challenges: drivers will learn how to perform donuts and drive with an attached trailer.

Eye of the Needle – The annual tradition returns, where contestants must drive through a series of arches at 50 km/h. Ashley does this on her first try, while it takes Teagan three attempts (the first two he failed from poor steering) and Amy four. Emily, due to her poor vision, fails her four runs. Fortunately for her, poor vision should not hinder her further - her new glasses came in.
Trailer Driving – The lesson this episode is on how to drive with a trailer attached, which will be needed for this obstacle course challenge. The obstacle consists of a short course which includes a hairpin turn and a reverse into a final parking space. Teagan is fired up, and finishes without hitting anything. Emily dramatically improves with her new glasses, while Ashley, encouraged by Dr. Gembora to have a more conciliatory attitude with Bryan, manages to do the course well—up to the final parking. Amy, however, only manages when she manages to tune out Bob.
Donuts – The final challenge this episode has drivers making a wide donut around a fixed obstacle. The car used is a 1988 Ford Mustang. Teagan manages to make it after much perseverance (though Mat had to sit the challenge out due to neck pain), while Ashley and Amy also manage to finish (Amy while lapping the obstacle repeatedly, while Ashley having to throw Bryan out of the car). Emily fails her 50 attempts.

For Ashley, graduation is paramount: if she does not graduate, she will miss her son's first birthday. The experts agree that though she may be the best driver, she is still too volatile with Bryan. Also shortlisted by the experts is Amy, who finished a strong second in all three of the day's challenges, and Teagan, who had the best in two out of the three. The three-way split decision eventually ends up in Teagan's favour, and he graduates, leaving the Driver Rehabilitation Centre in a cab. The decision does not go over well with any of the three ladies; Emily in particular (who believes that she should have graduated, despite doing the worst in most of the challenges) refuses to hug Teagan and then yells insults at him as he drives away. After the decision is passed, the girls laugh and ask simultaneously "What the hell just happened?"

Episode 8: The Verdict

Original airdate: December 15, 2008 The final three contestants will be pitted against the traditional challenges, including the Mega-Challenge, the challenge incorporating elements of previous challenges, as well as the road test through the streets of downtown Toronto. At the end of it all, one will be named Canada's Worst Driver.

Straight Line with a Twist — The season finale kicks off with Canada's Worst Driver 3's Straight Line challenge, but with a (literal) twist in the middle. Contestants must accelerate to 40 km/h between two concrete barriers with only 8 cm clearance on either side. Ashley manages to calm down enough to finish after 20 minutes, while it only takes Amy (going last and thinking strategically) 10 minutes (all of her previous runs were underspeed). Emily fails in her hour.
The Mega-Challenge — The annual Mega-Challenge consists of three legs: a combined slalom and Eye of the Needle portion, a leg with a skid and a Snake, and a final obstacle course in reverse and the Teeter-Totter. All three manage to get trouble in the first leg, though Amy manages to recover somewhat in later legs. Ashley and Emily, however, had to have the course altered after their frustrations boiled over — Ashley (performing the challenge on her son's birthday) admitting that she may be Canada's Worst Driver.
The Road Test — This year's road test takes place in downtown Toronto during Friday rush hour traffic. For the second straight season, Andrew's truck was used for the challenge. Emily's run is overly cautious, causing nine citations for blocking traffic. Amy, who wants to address driving with Bob as a passenger, has Bob in the passenger seat. Amy only makes six moving violations, all while Bob plays the role of tourist. Ashley's run is far worse: when told to stay on Lake Shore Boulevard, she manages to find her way onto the Gardiner Expressway, and her run slowly goes downhill — to the point where the alternator dies in the final moments. Andrew asks her to safely park the truck up, but in doing so Ashley commits one last ticketable offence, by parking in a marked disabled spot. Meanwhile, on Ashley's run, Andrew meets two tourists from Belgium who are fans of the show's Belgian counterpart, Y'a pas pire conducteur.

At the end, the judges agree that Amy is not Canada's Worst Driver, and is the last graduate of the year since she isn't fearful on driving anymore. Between Ashley and Emily, though, the judges were divided: Philippe and Cam consider Emily to be the worst, feeling that her driving skills never showed any real improvement and that (aside from Donna) she was the worst challenge performer in every single episode this season. On the other hand, Dan and Dr. Gembora feel that Ashley is the worst, noting that whereas Emily had at least agreed to address her bad eyesight by wearing glasses, Ashley had made no attempt to improve her bad temper or her relationship with Bryan, and that her superior technical skills would be of no help if she got into an accident through distraction or road rage.

Andrew is left with the deciding vote and names Ashley as Canada's Worst Driver; a decision she is not too happy with, not least because she leaves the Driver Rehabilitation Centre with her car on the back of a tow truck (the same one that towed her challenge car after she left the parking brake on in an Episode 3 challenge). Emily meanwhile, is told by Andrew to keep wearing her glasses, and she knows that the next step is to gain more driving skills. Ashley is clearly furious at the decision, to the point of refusing the trophy and wanting to move to another continent.^[1] However, Andrew does remind the audience that, in a year's time, there will be more drivers, and the Driver Rehabilitation Centre will be open once more, when someone else will be given the title of Canada's Worst Driver.

References

↑ Canada's Worst Driver 4- It's Ashley!

External links

Canada's Worst Driver

Seasons

Cast

Current	Andrew Younghusband (host, 2005–present) Cam Woolley (police sergeant / traffic & safety reporter, 2006–present) Philippe Létourneau (high-performance driving instructor, 2007–present) Tim Danter (instructor, DriveWise, 2012–present) Shyamala Kiru (psychologist and relationship therapist, 2011–present)

Previous	Scott Marshall (Director of Training, Young Drivers of Canada, 2005–2007) Jim Kenzie (automotive journalist & advanced driver training author, 2005) Dr. Uzma Rehman (behavioural psychologist, 2005) Kelly Williams (female Canadian CASCAR driver, 2005) Marcus Agyeman (insurance broker, 2006) Juliana Chiovitti (auto racer, "Formula 2000" series, 2006) Louisa Gembora (psychologist, 2007–2009) Dan Bagyan (instructor, "Signature Driving School", 2008) Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Smith (professional psychotherapist & amateur auto racer, 2010) Peter Mellor (instructor, Advanced Motoring Bureau, 2009–2011)

Related shows

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