Canada's Worst Driver 11 is the eleventh 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, enter the Driver Rehabilitation Centre to improve their driving skills. This season, however, nine people (because Shmuel Hoffman and his younger brother, Sholom, nominated each other and, thus, entered rehab together) entered the Driver Rehabilitation Centre to improve their driving skills. The focus of this season was on High-Speed Driving. This year, the Driver Rehabilitation Centre is located at the Dunnville Airport in Dunnville, Ontario for the sixth straight season. The initial drive started in Cayuga, Ontario and the final road test occurred in Hamilton, Ontario.
Canada's Worst Driver 11 | |
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Season 11 | |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Release | |
Original network | Discovery Channel |
Original release | October 26 December 14, 2015 | –
Season chronology |
Experts
edit- 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.
- Shyamala Kiru is the show's resident psychotherapist and relationship expert, a position which has become more demanding each year since joining the show in the seventh season, as the stresses in driving and everyday life seem to always be on the increase.
- Tim Danter is the show's head driving instructor, a position he has held since joining the show in the eighth season. In this position, he not only gives the drivers help and instructions for challenges, but gives them further lessons off-screen. With Tim returning for his fourth season (breaking a three-way tie with original head driving instructor Scott Marshall and his predecessor, Peter Mellor), that officially makes him the longest-tenured head instructor in Canada's Worst Driver history.
Contestants
editThis season features nine contestants, up from the eight featured in the tenth season:[1]
- Renee Boily, 26, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a mother who suffers from severe nerves and anxiety to the extent that she constantly drives well below the speed limit, avoids highways at all costs and even refuses to drive her five-year-old son, Ryder, anywhere. Her cousin, Jacque Ehm, has brought her to rehab to get her help. She drives a beige Pontiac Sunfire and drove a red Chevrolet Cobalt to the rehab centre.
- Tina Cook, 46, from Niagara Falls, Ontario, is a mother and grandmother who, by her own admission, is also a perpetually road-raging driver, something evidenced by the profanity-filled stickers which adorn her car. She is nominated by Ashley Cook, one of her six children, out of concern that her behaviour will eventually get her banned from driving, into a serious accident or both. She drives a black Chevrolet Silverado.
- Cameron Donavin, 23 and licensed for four years, from Calgary, Alberta, is a radio newsreader who has done relatively little driving since getting his license. However, the radio station he works at is moving 10 km (6.2 mi) away to the outskirts of the city and his friend and nominator, Kristopher Jay, feels that Cameron still doesn't have the confidence or skill needed to be a regular road commuter. He drives a white Pontiac Sunfire and drove a silver Chevrolet Cobalt to the rehab centre.
- Shmuel Hoffman, 30 and licensed for six months and Sholom Hoffman, 26 and licensed for eight months, from Calgary, Alberta, are brothers who still live together and recently earned their driving licenses but have different issues, with Shmuel being prone to road rage and Sholom being easily distracted. The two brothers nominated each other and were considered equally poor drivers by the producers, making them the first pair of contestants to also act as nominators for each other. Shmuel drives a red Chevrolet Silverado and Sholom drives a black Chevrolet Spark and both drove a dark red Pontiac Montana SV6 to the rehab centre.
- Jillian Matthews, 24 and licensed for five years, from The Goulds, Newfoundland and Labrador, had her confidence in her driving wrecked after getting involved in two accidents in the same day in 2011 and required repeated "practice runs" with her fiancé, Mitchell Kieley, just to be able to drive to her new job, resulting in Mitchell bringing her to rehab to help her regain her confidence. She drives a black Mitsubishi Lancer and drove a black Volkswagen Jetta to the rehab centre.
- Alexander "Alex" Morrison, 25, from Markham, Ontario (near Toronto), takes a very relaxed approach to driving, including not paying attention to the speed limit or other road users and using his knees to steer the car while he eats and drinks. This approach has left his friend, Elysha Daya, genuinely afraid for her life whenever she gets in the car with him. He drives a white Toyota Solara.
- Jordan Paddon, 25 and licensed for eight years, from Scarborough (Toronto), Ontario, has two of the most common major faults seen from drivers on this show—he acts like a bully on the road, constantly cutting off other drivers and pedestrians, while also spending a lot of time distracted by doing his make-up. His mother, Lorraine Paddon, knows that with these habits it'll be a case of when, not if, he eventually gets into serious trouble. He drives a black Hyundai Santa Fe.
- Polly Sargeant, 61 and licensed for 41 years, from Perth, Ontario (near Ottawa), may be the oldest driver this season, but frequently spends more time doing her make-up and nails than focusing on the road, a flaw more often seen with the show's younger contestants. On top of that, she still remains ignorant about many driving laws and lacks experience driving in the city, which has resulted in her son-in-law, Jeff, nominating her for the sake of her many grandchildren, who she often gives car rides to. She drives a black GMC Terrain.
Synopsis
editContestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
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Jillian Matthews | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | CWD |
Polly Sargeant | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP |
Sholom Hoffman | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | 2ND RUNNER-UP |
Renee Boily | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |
Jordan Paddon | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||
Shmuel Hoffman | IN | IN | IN | OUT | ||||
Cameron Donavin | IN | IN | OUT | |||||
Tina Cook | IN | OUT | ||||||
Alex Morrison | IN | OUT |
- The contestant became Canada's Worst Driver.
- The contestant was runner-up for Canada's Worst Driver.
- The contestant was on the panel's shortlist.
- The contestant was not the worst or second-worst driver, but failed to graduate from rehab.
- The contestant graduated.
Episodes
editNo. | Title | Original air date | |
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1 | "Ready, Set, Go!" | October 26, 2015 | |
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2 | "Left Right Green Light" | November 2, 2015 | |
While Jillian seems the obvious frontrunner to graduate, as she passed every single challenge this episode, she tells the panel that she'd prefer to stay in rehab in order to get more confidence, as she still feels unable to face driving in public. Tina and Alex both express the desire to graduate and the panel note that both are clearly capable of driving well (Tina doing so around motorcyclists due to being an occasional biker herself and Alex being more considerate when driving his grandmother, Pearl), but have doubts over their attitudes. The remaining drivers all admit that they should stay in rehab. Tim votes that Tina should graduate based on her overall better performance in the episode, while Philippe prefers graduating Alex, pointing to Tina's angry, defensive reaction when the panel initially confronted her on her attitude toward driving. Shyamala sides with Tim and Cam with Philippe, leaving Andrew with the deciding vote. In the end, Andrew makes a shock decision and decides that both are equally worthy of graduating, making this the first episode to have a double-graduation since Jodi Slobodesky and Sean McConnell in the penultimate episode of the second season. Before they leave, however, Andrew gives Alex a cardboard cut-out of his grandmother, Pearl, to ensure that he always drives as if she's with him and also confiscates the "If you don't like my driving, f*** off" sign from Tina's car.
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3 | "Turtle! Turtle!" | November 9, 2015 | |
When she meets with the experts, Polly admits to having zoned out during the Swerve and Avoid and Cam informs her of a recent incident where a 66-year-old woman was jailed after hitting and killing two children when she accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes in a parking lot. Jordan says that his glasses are proving a major help, while Sholom admits that he lucked out in actually getting a driving license. Shmuel initially wants to graduate, but quickly retracts his request after being shown footage of his performance on the Swerve and Avoid. Jillian and Renee both say they don't want to graduate, but Cameron does feel he's learned enough to graduate. The experts quickly agree that Cameron is the overwhelmingly obvious choice to graduate, seeing as how he passed every challenge this episode. Andrew questions the other experts as to whether or not they'd be better not graduating anyone and making Cameron stick around a little longer to fully prove himself, but they ultimately decide that this is not necessary, thus making Cameron the season's third graduate.
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4 | "Nailing The Needle" | November 16, 2015 | |
In her meeting with the experts, Jillian admits that it took her a lot of effort not to yell at Mitchell and that doing so is cathartic to her, but Andrew reminds her that she simply can't continue to do this. Jordan thinks he's learned enough to graduate, as does Shmuel, while the remaining drivers admit that they have a lot more to learn. Despite Jordan's request and also some minor reservations as to whether Jillian should remain in rehab when her problems aren't directly related to her driving skills, Andrew and all four experts agree without hesitation that Shmuel is the obvious choice to graduate, as he passed every challenge this episode, but despite becoming the season's fourth graduate, Shmuel instead steps back and staying as Sholom's nominator, a first for the series. | |||
5 | "Slip And Crash" | November 23, 2015 | |
Despite the generally very poor performances of everyone in this episode, with only three challenge passes in total (Renee on the first challenge, Jordan on the second and Polly on the third), Jordan and Polly put themselves forward to graduate. Jillian, meanwhile, admits that she should be forced to take more challenges by herself in order to build up her confidence. While the experts consider Jillian the best overall of the remaining drivers, her failure to pass a challenge this episode and admitting to still having confidence issues rules her out as a feasible candidate for graduation. Jordan and Polly are shortlisted simply because they were the only people who wanted to graduate and Jordan receives the half-hearted backing of Shyamala and Cam, while Philippe and Tim just as unenthusiastically support Polly. On further discussion, it's pointed out that Jordan quit the trailer challenge and performed disastrously in the Icy Corner, while Polly had a similarly disastrous run in the reversing challenge and overall seems a much less attentive driver than Jordan. In the end, the experts agree that no one did well enough to be seriously considered for graduation, meaning that the episode ends with nobody leaving rehab. | |||
6 | "Soaked And Wet" | November 30, 2015 | |
In her meeting with the experts, Jillian admits that she's still not ready to face the roads, although she is also confident that she is not Canada's Worst Driver. Sholom also admits that he's nowhere near ready to graduate, as does Polly, who asks for the same public lessons that Jillian and Renee have been getting. Renee wants to graduate, though admits that she doesn't quite feel confident enough to take her son on the highway and wants to get used to doing it herself first, which perturbs the experts. Jordan also wants to graduate, feeling beyond any doubt that he is ready to drive in public again; Cam also compliments him on the huge improvement he's shown in his previously selfish attitude. Andrew and Shyamala favour graduating Jordan for being more confident in himself, while Cam and Tim feel that Renee deserves to graduate for her superior technical abilities; Philippe is therefore left with the deciding vote. At the graduation ceremony, Andrew tells Renee that while there was a strong case to be made for letting her go this episode, she ultimately talked herself out of graduating by admitting that she lacked the confidence to take her son on the highway. Jordan is therefore this episode's graduate and he vows to never again be as blatantly selfish as he was before coming to rehab. | |||
7 | "Easy as Pie" | December 7, 2015 | |
Renee admits to the experts that they did the right thing by denying her graduation in the last episode and that she now has the confidence to take her son on the highway. Sholom immediately admits that he deserves to be in the final, as does Polly, albeit slightly more reluctantly. Jillian, meanwhile, reiterates her request to stay in rehab for the final episode, believing that if she can complete the road test without anyone else in the car, it'll prove once and for all that she's capable of driving every day. With the agreement between Jillian and Andrew that she will take part in the final road test and Polly and Sholom ruled out as serious contenders for graduation due to their all-around dreadful performances this episode, the experts immediately come to the obvious decision and make Renee this season's penultimate graduate, ensuring that, for the seventh year in a row, there will not be an all-female finale. Note: This episode did not display an opening title screen or broadcast the opening animation. | |||
8 | "The Checkered Flag" | December 14, 2015 | |
In their final meeting with the experts, the three remaining drivers are asked whether they are Canada's Worst Driver; Sholom admits that he probably is, Jillian attempts to evade the question before saying that she isn't, while Polly angrily says she's not the worst, but that she is a terrible driver. The experts find themselves in the biggest quandary of the season, if not ever—Sholom, who everyone expected to be the worst after the Forward and Reverse Slalom, is actually the one person who all the experts agree isn't Canada's Worst Driver, as he had the best road test and is the most aware of his limitations as a driver. As for the remaining two, however, while Polly is generally agreed to be an overall worse driver than Jillian, the fact remains that Jillian wasn't even able to attempt the final road drive. Shyamala and Philippe feel that Polly's obliviousness makes her the worst driver, while Andrew and Cam are worried that Jillian's panic attacks are a bigger liability than Polly's obliviousness, once again leaving Tim with the deciding vote. The final three drivers assemble for the trophy presentation and Andrew announces that Sholom has avoided being named the worst, simply because he wasn't as bad as Polly in the challenges and completed his road test. However, his generally very poor track record means that he leaves without graduating, as he passed just one challenge during his time on the show, the Reverse Flick; however, Donna's pass rate prior to being removed from the show on safety grounds was 1/8, with her only pass going 30 km/h on the Shoulder Check Challenge), making him the first third-place driver ever to not graduate (which eventually makes Renee as the Final Graduate), though Andrew tells him that, given more experience and education, he can probably someday become a competent driver. This, therefore, leaves Jillian and Polly as the final two (only the third time in the show's history that both of the final two are women and the second in a row). After Sholom leaves, Andrew regretfully makes the announcement that, in the end, Jillian was named Canada's Worst Driver, something Jillian reacts angrily to, denying that she's worse than Polly (or even Sholom), but Andrew says that Polly completed the final road test, while Jillian didn't and that every other driver who failed to finish the Road Test was named the worst of their season. Andrew returns Polly's license to her and asks Jeff to drive her home, saying that she barely avoided the title and still recommends that she give up driving. Jillian becomes the eleventh person (seventh woman) to be awarded the trophy, the only consolation being that she's felt to have more of a chance of eventually becoming a competent driver than Polly does and that, despite the outcome, her relationship with Mitchell has been improved by the experience, to the point they would get married several months later (Jillian would later return as the nominator for Canada's Worst Driver 13 contestant Ashley Dunne, claiming to have become a much better driver after her time in rehab). |