The project goals are:

1. To simulate the driver testing/driving environment by purchasing 16 road signs and delineators to use for education of drivers, but also within the school system for safety talks. This is needed as many communities are in remote and rural locations and do not have this infrastructure and need to be prepared to drive in urban settings where they will likely encounter these signs.
2. To develop a culturally appropriate driver’s education curriculum that supports and aligns with the Vision Zero Principles and Safe Systems Approach as well as the materials available through ICBC (inclusive of road safety). The curriculum will be developed with the unique literacy needs within the Nation (and will be appropriate for school age youth).
3. Respectfully and appropriately engage with communities by providing food during engagement sessions.
4. Travel to communities for engagements.

In the spring of 2021, the Nuu-chah-nulth Warrior Family partnered with ICBC, the BCCDC and PHSA to pilot an approach to address the barriers and obstacles that Indigenous people face to achieve their full Class 5 driver’s license in rural and remote communities of British Columbia. The participants in Phase 1 of this pilot included youth and adult community members from seven Nations in the nuučaan̓uł territory on the West coast of Vancouver Island. During Phase 1 we realized that the structural and logistical barriers to navigating through the licensing system were much more expansive than we initially anticipated. Whether it was the inability to produce two pieces of valid identification, the non-existence of municipal transportation to safely get to an ICBC testing location from their village, or the lack of access to an insured and reliable vehicle to practice their driving, Indigenous people face many inequities in attaining their driver’s license. Thus, it was recognized that a second phase of this pilot was needed, offering more support at the community level to navigate structural barriers.

The purpose of Phase 2 in this Multi-Nation Driver Training Pilot is to fill some of the larger gaps and remove some of the more significant barriers that were identified in Phase 1. This current phase aims to nurture a support system that can help Indigenous people to navigate the driver’s licensing system when living in rural and remote communities. It creates two roles within each village: a Community Driving Champion—the ‘go-to’ person who can help people navigate the licensing system and provide support through all stages of the process, from obtaining ID and studying for their Class 7 L-knowledge test to arriving safely at and then passing their Class 5 Road test; and a Community Driving Mentor—a safe, qualified individual(s) to provide in-car driving instruction for practical experience.

As we did during Phase 1, we will be working with participants from rural and remote First Nations communities from the southern, central and northern nuučaan̓uł regions. The seven nuučaan̓uł Nations in this phase of the pilot will be Ditidaht, Huu-ay-aht, Tseshaht, Ucluelet, Tla-o-qui-aht, Ahousaht and Kyuquot/Checklesaht First Nations. Members from these communities will be supported by their Community Driving Champion and Driving Mentor to enter and/or continue to move through the ICBC driver qualification system starting from the time a person needs to apply for two pieces of identification. Below is a map indicating the First Nations communities within this project (note dates refer to when they started their Warrior Program). This funding would enable us to purchase road safety practice signs, develop an L-prep course and host community dinners to bring community members into the pilot program.

Photo source: Pexels. Photo is shown for illustration purposes only and may not be an accurate representation of the project.