Supervised practice and driver education in Yukon

By the end of this topic you can

• You can state how many practice hours Yukon requires.
• You can check whether someone qualifies as your co-driver.
• You can list the conditions that apply while you practise.
• You can plan practice across different roads, times and seasons.
• You can explain how professional lessons fit in.

What you need to know and understand

• Learners must log and record 50 hours of driving with a valid co-driver.
• A co-driver must have held a valid full-privilege licence for at least two years immediately before supervising you.
• The co-driver must have zero alcohol and zero drugs in their system while co-driving. If not, the hours do not count.
• You may use several different co-drivers for your 50 hours.
• Your log book must be dropped off for inspection before you can book the road test.
• Lessons with a professional driving instructor are recommended by the handbook; check with Motor Vehicles about any credit before relying on it.

Choosing the right co-driver

Beyond the legal minimum, the handbook encourages you to pick someone who will commit the time, drives safely and within the limits, explains things clearly and stays patient. If a would-be co-driver is unsure whether they qualify, they can contact a Motor Vehicles office.

Rules every practice drive must follow

Breaking any of these means restarting the learner stage.

• Your co-driver is with you every time you drive.
• You drive only between 5 a.m. and midnight.
• An L sign is visible to drivers approaching from behind. Free replacement signs are available at Motor Vehicles offices.
• No more than two passengers including the co-driver, unless the extra passengers are your parent, grandparent, spouse, brother, sister or child.
• Everyone in the vehicle wears a seatbelt.
• No phones or other electronic devices, even hands-free.
• No towing, and the vehicle must be no more than 4,000 kg gross vehicle weight with seating for no more than seven including you.

Building variety into 50 hours

The handbook asks learners to practise in a range of traffic and weather, including highway, urban, night and winter driving. In Yukon that means gravel roads, long highway stretches with wildlife, and icy conditions. Plan short sessions in quiet areas first, then build up. Our guide to driving the Alaska Highway and winter roads as a new driver offers ideas for longer trips.

1. Start in an empty lot: controls, smooth starts and stops, steering.
2. Move to quiet residential streets: intersections, right-of-way and parking.
3. Add busier town traffic, roundabouts and lane changes.
4. Practise highway merging, following distance and passing judgment.
5. Finish with night and winter drives under your co-driver's guidance.

Common mistakes

• Choosing a co-driver who has not held a full licence for two years. Those hours will not count.
• Logging hours carelessly or not at all. Record every drive so your log book passes inspection.
• Packing all 50 hours into summer daylight. Winter and night experience matter in Yukon.
• Carrying friends as passengers. The two-passenger limit includes your co-driver.

Test yourself: Supervised practice and driver education in Yukon

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Driving the Alaska Highway and Yukon Winter Roads as a New Driver
• How to Get a Driver’s Licence in Yukon
• Yukon Driver’s Basic Handbook study guide