The school, and what we will not do

Why this exists

An “I” condition on an Ontario licence means you may drive only a vehicle with an approved ignition interlock fitted. That rule does not pause for a road test, and DriveTest checks the car before the examiner gets in.

Almost nobody has access to a second interlock-fitted vehicle. Rental companies do not fit them. The approved providers lease devices, not cars. So people book a test they cannot legally sit, find out days beforehand, and lose the appointment they waited months for.

We keep cars with working devices and instructors who know them. That is the whole idea.

What this interlock driving school in Ottawa actually is

• An independent driving school in Vanier, on Montreal Road, operated by City Drivers Training.
• Staffed by MTO-licensed driving instructors. Ontario licenses instructors after a minimum age and experience requirement, a clean record, a vision standard, knowledge and road tests, a criminal record check and an approved instructor course.
• Running unmarked vehicles — no roof sign, nothing on the doors.
• Open evenings and weekends, because that is when our clients can actually come.

And what we are not

This matters more than the usual about-page material, because roughly a third of the calls we take are for something we cannot do.

• We do not install interlock devices. Ontario has two approved providers, Smart Start Canada and ALCOLOCK Canada. They lease, fit and service the unit on your own vehicle.
• We are not a booking agent. We hold no arrangement with DriveTest and cannot move you up the queue. The Ministry of Transportation publicly cautions against third-party road-test booking sites, and we would rather repeat that warning than be the subject of it.
• We do not run Back on Track or any part of the Reduced Suspension with Ignition Interlock Conduct Review Program. That programme has two application components — the Back on Track assessment and a lease with an approved provider — and no role for a driving school.
• We do not give legal advice. Questions about your plea, your stream or your prohibition order belong with a lawyer.

We also do not claim to be the only provider in Ontario, or that any course we run shortens a suspension. Neither is true, and a market where people have just been warned by courts and the Ministry to be careful who they trust is the wrong place to stretch a claim.

How we handle the sensitive part

The intake is your test date, your licence class and the conditions printed on the card. There is no further question, on the telephone, on the form or in the vehicle. Your name does not go on a windscreen or any clipboard a passer-by could read.

Everyone who books this has already been through a court, an assessment and a long wait. Our job is to make one morning unremarkable.