Canada's Worst Driver 6
Canada's Worst Driver 6 | |
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Season 6 | |
![]() Canada's Worst Driver 6 logo | |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Release | |
Original network | Discovery Channel |
Original release | October 25 December 13, 2010 | –
Season chronology |
Canada's Worst Driver 6 is the sixth season of the Canadian reality TV show Canada's Worst Driver, which aired on the Discovery Channel. As with previous years, eight people, nominated by their family or friends, entered the Driver Rehabilitation Centre to improve their driving skills. This year, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre is located at the Dunnville Airport, a registered aerodrome in Dunnville, Ontario that has since ceased airport operations.[1][2] For this season, a new series logo was commissioned, coinciding with an increase in the teaching of the fundamentals of High Performance Driving in the lessons this year (although the logo from Seasons 1-5 was used in the opening and all commercial outros). The initial drive started in Hamilton, Ontario and the final road test occurred in Niagara Falls, Ontario.[3]
Experts
[edit]Three experts return from Canada's Worst Driver 5, though Dr. Louisa Gembora, psychologist for the past three seasons, is not among them.
- Cam Woolley is the show's longest-serving expert, having been present in every season except the first and has seen the habits of Canadian drivers change drastically since 2000, with the most common offense having changed from DUI to distracted driving. He is the traffic expert on CP24 in Toronto and had a 25-year career as a traffic sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police.
- Philippe Létourneau is a veteran high-speed driving instructor who counts BMW and Ferrari among his clients. Since joining the show in the third season, the average car has gained considerably in speed and acceleration, with the high-speed emphasis of this season making his job a particularly important one.
- Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Smith is a professional psychotherapist who has also moonlighted as a race car driver and entertainer.
- Peter Mellor is in his second season as the show's head driving instructor. With Peter returning for his second season, that makes his predecessor, Canada's Worst Driver 4 head instructor Dan Bagyan, the shortest-serving head instructor so far.
Contestants
[edit]- Diane Akers, 49 and licensed for 32 years, from Edmonton, Alberta, is a suburbanite who is uncomfortable driving anywhere past 5 km (3.1 mi) from her home—a comfort radius that quickly degenerates to nothing under inclement conditions. It's gotten so bad, one of her six children, Raeanne (known for her "Canada, this is the woman who made you late for work" comment in the audition video), is staging an intervention on her behalf. She drives a blue Pontiac Montana and drove a blue Dodge Caravan to the rehab centre.
- Jamie Giberson, 25 and licensed for six years, from Hampton, New Brunswick (near Saint John), has been traumatized by fear after hitting an elderly couple early in her driving career. Her fear has caused her to fail a driving exam four times and she often blames her bad driving on her newlywed husband, Eric. She drives a silver Oldsmobile Intrigue and drove a grey Ford Five Hundred to the rehab centre.
- Bradley "Brad" Hengerer, 34, from Springbank, Alberta (near Calgary), is a grocery store clerk who has been banned from driving by his wife and nominator, Donna, as well as his father-in-law, Gil Masson, due to an escalating pile of accidents and tickets. He enters rehab out of necessity, as Gil's health is failing following a recent heart attack and Donna has lost the use of her right arm following a farming accident in 2003, forcing Brad to take up driving once again. He drives a red Pontiac Sunfire GT and drove a white Chevrolet Impala to the rehab centre.
- Lance Morin, 27 and licensed for four months, from Ottawa, Ontario, is a fashionista whose driving history goes further back, as he had been caught driving unlicensed with an uninsured car when he was 16. In the 11 years since, though, he had been a nervous wreck behind the wheel despite diligently awaiting the day that he would be fully licensed. He is nominated by his best friend, Gilles Proulx, a parking enforcement officer. He drives a silver Chevrolet Cobalt and drove a black Ford Focus to the rehab centre.
- Dale Pitton, 62 and licensed for over 30 years, from St. Catharines, Ontario, is a social worker, hostess, mother of two and grandmother of four who desires to learn, but no one around her has a desire to drive with her... and for good reason, as she has amassed an escalating accident record, including an occasion where she hit a police car as she was being ticketed. One of her nephews, John, was one of six people who nominated her. She drives a blue Chevrolet Cavalier.
- Scott Schurink, 25, from Chestermere, Alberta (near Calgary), is a speed addict who loves to weave in and out of traffic on busy highways going at 150 km/h. He is also a drunk and has spent time in prison numerous times for possession with intent to traffic. As such, he has had his license suspended seven times and has owned over 60 cars. His roommate, Danny Bridgman, wants him to adopt the proper rules of the road, especially since he is driving on Danny's insurance due to the prohibitive cost of $15,000 that it would entail to insure himself. He drives a black Nissan Maxima and drove a beige Nissan Altima to the rehab centre.
- Dean Sibanda, 33, from Saint-Laurent, Quebec (on Montreal Island) (originally from Zimbabwe), is yet to be accustomed to driving in Canada since immigrating in 2001—even basic knowledge such as the meaning of stop signs elude him. His friend and nominator, Brian Glenzitoe, has known him for the nine years he has been in Canada. He drives a gray Nissan Altima and drove a green Nissan Sentra to the rehab centre.
- Paul Thurston, 54, from Collingwood, Ontario (near Barrie), has never been comfortable with anything on four wheels, an oddity for a former stunt motorcyclist who once jumped 15 cars on his bike. He has a hatred of cars after losing five friends in bike/car collisions, but he is motivated to drive a car after finally realizing that riding a bike in the middle of winter is unsafe. His biker buddy, Tommy Bettles, will be accompanying him to rehab. He drives a white GMC Conversion Van and rode his motorcycle, along with Tommy, to the rehab centre.
Synopsis
[edit]Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3[1] | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
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Lance Morin | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
Dale Pitton | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP |
Brad Hengerer | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT |
Jamie Giberson | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
Dean Sibanda | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||
Diane Akers | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |||
Paul Thurston | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||
Scott Schurink | IN | EXPL |
- (CWD) The contestant became Canada's Worst Driver.
- (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was runner-up for Canada's Worst Driver.
- (OUT) The contestant graduated.
- (IN) The contestant was shortlisted for graduation.
- (EXPL) The contestant was expelled.
- ^1 Non-Elimination Week, due to all contestants wanting to remain at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre.
Episodes
[edit]No. | Titel | Original air date | |
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1 | "Ready, Set, Go!" | October 25, 2010 | |
In the deliberation, each contestant meets with the experts for a personal discussion on why they are here. As usual, no one graduates this episode, as it serves merely as a skills evaluation. Web extras for this episode:
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2 | "Driving Blind" | November 1, 2010 | |
Before Scott takes his run, his driving history is revealed. Though ostensibly entering rehab to be a better driver for his son, Isaac, he quickly earns the ire of the show's crew for his juvenile behaviour. Near the end of the show, Scott states on camera that he had driven far over the speed limit (once going as high as 200 km/h), kept driving despite having his license suspended, used another person's license while his was suspended (once while also under house arrest), committed hit-and-runs and driven while drunk; Cam relays the information to the Calgary Police Service, due to an obligation to his former profession as a police sergeant. Meanwhile, Danny is so outraged (due to Scott effectively driving on Danny's insurance) that he finally takes Andrew's advice and calls his insurance company and has the insurance policy cancelled effective the day after the challenge, officially rendering Scott no longer insured or permitted to drive in any future challenges. When meeting with the experts, Scott says he needs to find a new "sucker friend" to insure him and act as nominator. He believes that if he drives safely for five years under someone else's insurance, he will then be able to afford his own, but is told that he will not be allowed to do so and will only be permitted to continue on the condition he can pay for his insurance himself. Scott admits this is completely infeasible, as his history of driving offenses means it would cost at least $1,200 per month to get his own policy; consequently, the experts tell him he is immediately expelled from rehab, becoming the second contestant in the show's history to be expelled (the first being Colin Sheppard from the second season for not willing to learn), but the first by his nominator. Due to his ineligibility to drive, Scott's license is returned and he leaves rehab in a cab with Danny, but not before the weight of reality sets in for him. As Scott is driven away, Andrew's voiceover states that, in the three-and-a-half months since the season was filmed, Scott had not been criminally charged in relation to any of the issues raised in the episode. However, on May 9, 2015, Scott was caught and charged with speeding when he was allegedly doing 176 km/h in a 100 km/h zone and now faces several other charges including driving with a suspended license and operating an unregistered vehicle.[4][5] | |||
3 | "Up in Smoke" | November 8, 2010 | |
In deliberation, no one has a desire to graduate. However, Paul receives consideration by both Philippe and initially Peter (though he quickly retracts his statement). Paul is considered safety-aware, though Cam argues that his failing the Icy Corner challenge is a condemnation of his skills. In the end, the experts agree to honour everyone's request, marking the first time in the history of the series that seven contestants remain heading into the fourth episode. | |||
4 | "Wet Behind the Gears" | November 15, 2010 | |
In deliberation, Jamie, Paul and Lance all desire to graduate, though Lance admits he has no real chance of doing so. Dale expresses further resolve to improve, while Brad allows that he needs work on the relationship front more than on his driving skills. The experts make a unanimous decision to graduate Paul, described as "the perfect student," as the season's first official graduate without further discussion. Web extras for this episode:
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5 | TBA | November 22, 2010 | |
In deliberation, Brad states his case for graduation, having snapped after Lance's antics during the Lane Change Rally (they evoked memories of his mother's death in a construction accident in 1990, when she had been run over by a dump truck). Lance knows he is not graduating as a response to this, but promises to keep his attitude in check. Diane also states her case for graduation and Jamie also wants to graduate based on her performance. In the end, Brad and Diane make the experts' shortlist due to their similar successes. The initial vote is 3–2 in Diane's favour, but Andrew disagrees, as he still feels that Diane needs a little more confidence, whereas Brad's problem is more Donna's controlling behavior than his bad driving, which Cam agrees with. In the end, however, Dr. Kennedy-Smith somehow talks Andrew and Cam into also backing Diane, whom she points out was indisputably responsible for her own success in the Lane Change Rally, whereas Brad performed worse even with Donna's constant advice. Diane therefore gets the unanimous vote to become the season's second graduate (marking the second time a contestant graduated in the fifth episode after Billie-Jean Leslie graduated in the fifth episode of the third season; Shelby D'Souza would have graduated that episode instead of being the eventual "runner-up" if not for Dr. Louisa Gembora's sole dissenting opinion that Billie-Jean, passed over three straight episodes due to Denice Koke (who was the last to arrive in rehab that season), Thomas Hobbs (who passed both Billie-Jean and that season's eventual worst, Jason Zhang, to make it to rehab before everyone else) and Marnie Maddison (whose performance in The Cross proved to be the difference-maker, as she finished with the fastest time, considering she quit on The Balanced Beam for Unbalanced Drivers) all having breakout performances, wouldn't be passed over a fourth straight week), once again ensuring that there will not be three women in the finale. Web extras for this episode:
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6 | TBA | November 29, 2010 | |
In deliberations, both Dean and Brad want to graduate (though Brad admits that his communication struggles with Donna are still a major obstacle). Jamie knows she will not graduate after her poor performance in the Eye of the Needle and Lance knows he still needs to learn more in order to graduate. Dale also wants to graduate, but her performance says otherwise; Dale claims that her medical issues are preventing her from continuing in her rehab. Dean is at the top of everyone's graduation shortlist, with Philippe even claiming that Dean is the only person on his shortlist. Dean graduates, but the experts also believe that Dale's medical problem will prevent her from continuing. Because only one person may leave per episode, though, Dale is forced to make the final choice. She ultimately chooses to let Dean go free over her own health, making Dean the next to leave the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, once again guaranteeing that there won't be three men in the finale. Web extras for this episode:
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7 | TBA | December 6, 2010 | |
Neither Dale nor Lance will graduate for sure, by their own admissions. Jamie admits that Brad is the better driver, but Brad believes that he is bound for the final three. The experts are again split on whom to let go. In another 3–2 split decision (with Peter and Dr. Kennedy-Smith backing Jamie and Phillipe and Cam backing Brad, leaving Andrew to cast the deciding vote), Jamie ends up being this season's penultimate graduate, sending Brad into the finale with Dale and Lance. Web extras for this episode:
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8 | TBA | December 13, 2010 | |
In deliberation, Dale says she has learned a lot, but her results say otherwise. However, the experts still do give her credit for finally admitting that she has severe issues behind the wheel and that, regardless of whether or not she is named Canada's Worst Driver, she still has a massive amount to learn. The experts congratulate Brad and Donna for the improvements in their relationship that have led to better driving, but they question whether Lance's anxiety, which he claims to be unrelated to his driving, could be affecting him. Dr. Kennedy-Smith suggests that he see a psychiatrist, but Lance snaps at her and says he does not need any more help, which proves to be the final straw as far as the experts are concerned. In the end, after 20 minutes of deliberation, the experts arrive at a unanimous decision—Brad, having been shortlisted twice and made relatively few mistakes in the Road Test, is not Canada's Worst Driver. Dale does not graduate, but, by at least managing to finish the Road Test despite her numerous errors, avoids being named Canada's Worst Driver. However, the experts feel that she should not drive until she is retested and, in an unusual move, Andrew refuses to allow her to drive herself home and has John do it instead (usually, the runner-up is allowed to drive themselves home). In the end, Lance, by virtue of having failed to complete the Road Test and refusing to acknowledge the issues which cause him so much trouble on the road, is named Canada's Worst Driver and becomes the sixth person (third man) to be awarded the trophy. |
References
[edit]- ^ "Dunnville's Worst Driver". Retrieved November 2, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Canada's Worst Driver wraps up in Dunville". Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
- ^ "Canada's Worst Driver Niagara-bound". Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
- ^ "One of Canada's Worst Drivers busted doing 176km/H | St. Catharines Standard". Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
- ^ "Scott Schurink, who was on Canada's Worst Driver, charged with speeding".