A wide swath of occupations and businesses are affected when drivers cannot take their road test. With the agricultural season well underway, school opening in September and highway crews at work, Manitoba's announcement of driver tests resuming couldn’t come a moment too soon.
As of Wednesday, July 8 MPI will be taking appointments for road tests on Class 2-6 licenses.
Class 1 tests are for semi-truck drivers and includes all other classes. Class 1 has not been included.
The announcement means that those wanting to drive vehicles including school busses, large grain trucks, and handi-vans, or to operate infrastructure equipment or agricultural equipment on public property will be able to apply for a license to do so.
A Class 6 license is for motorcylists; now that summer season sport will also be served by testing.
As MPI has contacted all 4,300 customers who had previously scheduled road tests that were cancelled due to COVID-19, the Corporation is now able to begin offering new appointments to eligible customers. Customers who had a test cancelled will continue to be accommodated if they have yet to reschedule their appointment.
Availability of new appointments
In order to effectively manage the anticipated high interest in booking new road tests, particularly for Class 5, appointment slots will be made available every Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. until MPI staff are able to work through the expected backlog. When all the available appointments are filled, new appointments will not be made available until the next Wednesday. Cancelled appointment slots will also not become available until the next release date.
Customers are encouraged to book Class 5 and 6 road tests through MPI’s Online Services at mpi.mb.ca. To assist customers who either cannot or do not wish to visit an Autopac agent or service centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, MPI is allowing customers to perform certain critical transactions, such as booking driver testing services over the phone or by email with their Autopac agent. Road tests can also be booked in person at Autopac agents or MPI Service Centres.
Safety measures
MPI has updated its road test procedures during COVID-19 for the protection of both its customers and staff. Prior to starting a road test, customers must:
· Maintain physical distancing (minimum of 2 metres/6 feet) when possible.
· Provide and wear their own mask (non-medical masks are permitted).
· Answer questions to ensure they have not been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing respiratory illness symptoms.
· Sanitize all touchpoints in their vehicle.
If customers are not able to comply with the outlined requirements or show any symptoms of a respiratory illness (coughing etc.), the test will be cancelled immediately and rebooked for a later time.
Specific requirements for each licence class road test can be found at our COVID-19 Driving Tests page.
