After Passing Your G2: What Comes Next

First, apply your results at the centre

Right after you pass, go back inside the DriveTest centre to apply your test results. You'll get a temporary driver's licence, valid for 90 days or until your G2 card arrives in the mail.

If you can't go back in right away, return as soon as you can. DriveTest says results not applied within 12 months are no longer valid, and you'd have to repeat the test and pay the fees again.

What changes with a G2 licence

The biggest change: you can drive alone. With a G2 you can drive without an experienced driver beside you, on all Ontario roads, including 400-series highways and high-speed expressways, and in most cases at any time of day.

Some G2 conditions still apply until you earn your full G licence, including zero alcohol and drugs and night passenger limits for drivers 19 and under. Read the full list in G2 licence restrictions.

The waiting period before your G road test

You must hold your G2 for at least 12 months before you can take the G road test. Ontario's driver licensing regulation sets this minimum at 365 days.

Beginner Driver Education doesn't shorten this. An approved course only reduces the G1 wait, from 12 months to 8.

Keep your licence expiry date in mind. Your G2 is valid for the rest of the five-year period your G1 was issued for, so if you took a while to pass the G2 road test, your window for the G road test is shorter. If your G2 expires before you pass, you'll have to start over.

What the G road test covers

The G road test checks more advanced skills and includes a highway component. DriveTest says it usually takes about 30 minutes, and the fee is $91.25.

At full-time DriveTest centres, the G road test is currently modified. It doesn't include the elements already covered on the G2 road test:

• Parallel parking
• Roadside stops
• Three-point turns
• Driving in residential neighbourhoods

It still includes:

• Driving on major roads and expressways, including merging on and off, keeping proper speed and space, and signalling
• Turns, curves and lane changes
• Intersections
• Driving in business areas

Part-time Travel Point locations still offer the standard G road test. For the full picture, see the G road test hub.

The highway experience you'll need to declare

Before the G road test, you must declare your recent highway driving. DriveTest asks how many times in the last three months you've driven on a highway with a speed limit of at least 80 km/h or a 400-series highway, and the average length of those trips.

To qualify, you need at least five such drives in the last three months. If you don't have enough highway experience, your appointment is cancelled as out-of-order and you lose 50% of your road test fee.

DriveTest's list of 400-series highways and expressways includes:

• Highways 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 409, 410, 416, 417, 420 and 427
• Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW)
• Don Valley Parkway (DVP)
• Gardiner Expressway
• E. C. Row Expressway
• Conestoga Parkway

What to start practising now

Start highway driving early in your G2 year so it feels routine, not scary, by test day. The Official MTO Driver's Handbook describes what the examiner looks for on freeways:

• Entering: check mirrors and your blind spot for a gap as soon as you can see freeway traffic, signal, build speed in the acceleration lane, and merge smoothly into the centre of the nearest lane. Cancel your signal once you've merged.
• Driving along: check your mirrors every five to 10 seconds, avoid speeding or driving unreasonably slowly, and look 12 to 15 seconds ahead.
• Space: keep at least a two- to three-second gap, try to keep space on both sides, and stay out of other drivers' blind spots.
• Exiting: signal before the exit lane, move in smoothly at the start of it, and stay inside the lane markings.

Mix in curves, multi-lane roads and busy business areas, since those are part of the G road test too.

Your G2-to-G plan

1. Apply your results and keep your temporary licence with you until your card arrives.
2. Note the date 12 months from today. That's your earliest G road test date.
3. Note your G2 expiry date and book well before it.
4. Log your highway drives so you can declare them accurately.
5. Use the free lessons and checklists in the Roadity Library to prepare.

Congratulations on passing your G2. Back to the G2 road test hub.