Canada's Worst Driver 4 - Synopsis - Episode 2: Big Manoeuvres

Episode 2: Big Manoeuvres

Original airdate: November 3, 2008 Having arrived at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, the lessons and challenges begin in earnest. The lessons begin with a how-to on large vehicle handling.

• Prison Laundry – The contestants must reverse a laundry trunk through a simple obstacle course, up a ramp, and into a garage. To do so successfully, however, each contestant must use their mirrors and repeatedly do the "S-bend" (a staple lesson at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre), as each nominator will tell their nominee. Ken is so frustrated at the end of his run that he is contemplating quitting the driver rehabilitation program, while Ashley and Amy learn the hard way, hitting obstacles left and right. He does not finish in the 60 minutes, and neither does Lindsay (though, like Ashley, she was affected by a sudden thunderstorm over the course). Curt has the best run of the day, encountering trouble only in the middle of the course, while keeping his emotions in check. Emily's poor vision in the challenge prompts Andrew to commission an eye exam for every contestant, to be done after the second challenge.
• Parallel Parking – The annual tradition of a parallel parking challenge returns here. Contestants must park between two vehicles in front of the patio of the Albion Hotel in downtown Guelph full of onlookers (the other contestants and their nominators included). The contestants will have one minute in each attempt, and each failure will cause the driver to take one lap around the block. Lindsay gets it on her first try (claiming that it is her strong suit, even though she did not use her mirrors once during the challenge), while Curt gets it in two (the first being too far away from the curb). None of the other contestants finish, and Donna even gets out of her car during her first attempt to berate a passing car waiting for her to park. That one move alone violated five simultaneous traffic laws (no signal, no seatbelt, jaywalking, abandoned car and dangerous driving), enough that if a police officer were to see it, she could've gotten her license suspended on the spot.
• Ice Braking – In this challenge, on a car lacking an anti-lock braking system, contestants must corner around a simulated ice patch. Each contestant will have two tries in accelerating their car to 25 km/h before tackling the corner, which they should be able to handle by looking at where they want to go. Curt and Amy both do this on their second try (no one makes it on their first). Lindsay was close on her second, only missing the corner and turning too soon. Teagan failed both runs when his foot got stuck between the pedals. Donna, however, has the worst run of the day, fishtailing wildly out of control when she mistakenly hits the gas on the turn, thinking it was the brakes (this run, in particular, would be referenced in following episodes and be one of the factors cited in the decision to ultimately expel her from the show in episode 4).

The vision tests reveal that, indeed, Emily has the worst vision among the contestants, with poor eyesight out of the right eye (which will require wearing glasses while driving). Ken, however, is also discovered to be colour-blind. When the judges convene, Curt and Amy make the short list—Amy because she showed no signs of breaking down, and Curt because when not distracted, he could be very competent. Andrew believes that if Curt was to be let go, he could have small minor accidents moving forward, yet if he let Amy go, he believes she could be in for a big accident. Because of this, he declares Curt the first graduate of the season.