{"id":818349,"date":"2026-07-22T10:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/818349\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T10:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T10:04:16","slug":"b-c-licence-changes-reveal-that-many-drivers-held-on-to-their-n-daily-hive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/818349\/","title":{"rendered":"B.C. licence changes reveal that many drivers held on to their ‘N’ | Daily Hive"},"content":{"rendered":"

B.C. announced yesterday that driver\u2019s licence changes would be coming into effect later this year, in October 2026.<\/p>\n

The Province previously announced the proposed changes, but yesterday was when it revealed exactly when and how it was going to work.<\/p>\n

Effective Oct. 19, 2026, drivers who have a Class 7 novice or Class 7, 8 novice licence and a clean driving record do not have to take a second road test to get a Class 5 licence with restrictions.<\/p>\n

Instead of the second road test, drivers will be subject to a Driving Record Assessment, \u201cwhere they must demonstrate safe driving to be eligible to upgrade their licence, followed by a 12-month restriction period,\u201d ICBC says.<\/p>\n

The changes have prompted some interesting reactions, including from some who feel roads will be less safe, and it also revealed that many never even bothered taking the second road test, holding on to their \u2018N\u2019 for years.<\/p>\n

Why? ICBC explains
\n\"ICBC\"<\/p>\n

ICBC<\/p>\n

ICBC says that the Graduated Licensing Program was introduced over 25 years ago and that it is time it made changes to align with evolving road safety practices in other jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

ICBC assures that road safety is a top priority and that the program will still allow new drivers to develop the skills they need to be safe road users.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemoving the second road test will also mean reducing barriers to getting licensed, especially for drivers in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, where access to road tests may be limited,\u201d it adds.<\/p>\n

ICBC also has a handy tool if you\u2019re wondering how it might impact you.<\/p>\n

Some B.C. residents not too keen on licence changes<\/p>\n

Our story yesterday garnered lots of reaction, with many fearing the decision would lead to less safe roads.<\/p>\n

Yikes \u2026 gonna have some really bad accidents soon<\/p>\n

\u2014 ilike2eXit (@ilike2eXit) July 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThey give out licences like candy, most people should absolutely not be on the road, and now they\u2019re making it easier,\u201d a Daily Hive reader commented.<\/p>\n

Some said it was a good idea.<\/p>\n

One reader commented, \u201cIt\u2019s a complete waste of time, and backlogs driving tests. There are huge waits because of this Good driving comes with practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The official ICBC Reddit account also shared the information on the British Columbia subreddit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDriving is a privilege not a right. We should be making it harder to obtain a licence with more testing not less. Drivers here are absolute trash,\u201d one Redditor said.<\/p>\n

The thread revealed that a startling number of people have their \u2018N\u2019 and didn\u2019t bother taking their second road test.<\/p>\n

\u201cAw man. I\u2019ve had my N for 20 years and I was really looking forward to having it til I was like 70,\u201d someone said.<\/p>\n

Hotdoglady33 said, \u201cI used to joke about having my N long enough that it would just disappear one day. I didn\u2019t think it would actually happen but I\u2019m here for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to Hotdoglady33, others shared they were in a similar boat, with one person saying they\u2019ve had their \u2018N\u2019 since 2022!<\/p>\n

Another driver said, \u201cI have test anxiety, but have been driving with a clean record with a N since 2015. granted I didn\u2019t buy an actual car of my own until 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n

We contacted ICBC about the fears that road safety would worsen under the new rules, and will update this article when we hear back.<\/p>\n

Are you one of those B.C. drivers who has had an \u2018N\u2019 licence for years without taking the second test? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"B.C. announced yesterday that driver\u2019s licence changes would be coming into effect later this year, in October 2026.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":["post-818349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}