From facing road rage, to white knuckle driving experiences, and a near-miss lightning strike in Glebe Park, Richard van Nood has seen it all in 35 years at the helm of Haliburton County’s only driving school.
After leaving the military as a radio operator, van Nood was perusing the classifieds in an Oakville newspaper when he came across a job looking for someone who loved driving. “I’ve always loved driving,” he says in a chat at Castle Antiques in downtown Haliburton. He applied and got the job with Young Drivers of Canada in Mississauga in 1983. He won instructor of the year twice at that office; became an in-class instructor in 1985 after logging 2,000 hours of car work; and taught other instructors.
He and wife, Shelley, moved to Haliburton in 1988. Shelley was born and raised in the Highlands.
At the time, the high school offered driver training that was subsidized by the Ontario government, so van Nood got into commercial printing for a spell. He then took on part-time work teaching in-class and in-car based out of Hal High in 1990. It was in 1996 that he opened The Driver’s Edge Driver Training after the NDP government cancelled funding of driver education in the province.
Since then, he said he has no idea how many people he has taught to drive. When it is suggested “thousands” he said that could be right. He is now teaching the children of his first students, and former students have come up to tell them how many years they have been driving accident-free.
At the time of the interview, he had 37 students on the go; and was about to launch a new course to add another 20.
While many are 16 and 17-year-olds, he said he has some older students, including people who have moved to the Highlands from the city and now have to drive as there is no public transit.
“I meet people from all walks of life, 16-year-olds to 80-year-olds, male, female, new Canadians.”
Despite the busyness of the full-time job, van Nood said he loves that he can pick his own hours, which was handy when he and Shelley’s children were growing up.
“For the most part, I have enjoyed all of the students I have taught. Some are more challenging, as they may have no concept of driving and are back-and-forth on the road.” He finds kids in Haliburton have better driving sense as they are exposed to motorized vehicles, such as four-wheelers, snowmachines, and even tractors, before getting behind the wheel of a car.
Memorable moments
His most “white knuckle” experience was when a student driver in his Mercury Mystique was driving on Bobcaygeon Road and hit the ditch in winter; “next thing you know, a hydro pole was going past.” After that, he added skid control to her lesson.
Another time, his student driver was turning in downtown Haliburton but was taking a bit long, forcing a driver behind to slow down. The other driver tailgated them to the high school, cutting in front and jamming on his brakes. After, van Nood followed the guy; to tell him it was not a great idea. Clearly it was a student driver and they could have panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake.
“He didn’t give me a chance; up one side and down the other side of me, shouting ‘you should be banned from teaching. I should report you to the police.’ Van Nood walked away, knowing, “I’m not going to make headway with this gent.”
There was a fateful day after a driving lesson on the gravel road in Glebe Park. The skies opened up as van Nood was about to pick up pylons. He got back in the car just as a lighting strike hit the ground by the nearest cone. “You could smell the burning from the lightning strike. I made the right choice.” Early in his career, he also got the chance to teach a deaf student. But first, he had to learn some sign language for words such as turn and brake. Because the student was born deaf, van Nood said he had excellent observation skills. He got his license.
Changes
He has seen a lot of changes in the industry over the years. Probationary driver is now graduated licencing. There must be 10 hours of car work, up from eight. Government bodies have changed and the Ontario government sold driver testing rights to DriveTest.
He would like to see tougher testing standards, noting tests are just 17 minutes long; improved quality control for driving schools; and more parent involvement. He said parents tell him they are too nervous to drive with their teens, but seem content to let them drive on their own after 10 hours in a car. He added parents have to be driving role models. He allowed his kids to get behind the wheel of his car on their property. Mind you, his car had dual brakes. However, they would do a serpentine course around the trees.
He’s asked if it’s easier to learn driving in rural and regional areas, such as Haliburton County but says the intersection of Hwy. 118 and Highland Street in downtown Haliburton is a challenge, particularly in summer and Christmas holidays.
He’s asked if kids are more distracted, and tells the story of seeing a driver in the GTA behind the wheel while reading a novel. “Distracted driving has always been there and is always going to be there.”
As for car features that make it easier for students, he notes they can’t use things like automatic reverse park when doing driving tests.
Looking back on his career, van Nood says, “It’s not going to make me rich, but I enjoy it. I enjoy the freedom of being my own businessman. I like the fact I meet so many different people. I like the scenery from my office. I think it would drive me crazy being in an office looking at the same four walls all day long. I get to drive around. I’m everywhere.”