A beginner-friendly guide to Ontario G1 licence rules, including who can sit beside you, where you can practise and which restrictions matter most.
What A G1 Licence Allows
After you pass the vision and knowledge tests, Ontario gives you a G1 licence. It is the first learning level in the graduated licensing system, not a full licence. You can practise on real roads, but the practice must happen under the G1 conditions.
Think of the G1 stage as supervised skill-building. You are learning steering, speed control, observation, stops, turns and right-of-way decisions before you are ready to drive independently after the G2 road test.
Who Must Sit Beside You
Ontario says a G1 driver must drive with a fully licensed driver who has at least four years of driving experience. That accompanying driver must have a blood alcohol level under .05, and if they are 21 or under, their level should be zero.
The accompanying driver must be the only other person in the front seat. For a beginner, this is also practical: the person beside you should be calm, alert and ready to coach before small mistakes become unsafe.
Restrictions You Cannot Ignore
The main G1 rules are simple but strict. You must maintain zero blood alcohol, make sure every passenger wears a working seatbelt, and not drive between midnight and 5 a.m.
You also cannot drive on 400-series highways or high-speed expressways such as the 401, QEW or Gardiner Expressway. Ontario notes an exception when you are driving with an Ontario-certified driving instructor, so ask before planning highway practice.
How To Practise Around Scarborough
Start on calm residential streets where you can repeat basic habits without rushing. In Scarborough and nearby GTA areas, that usually means quiet roads first, then busier intersections once your steering and braking are steady.
Do not turn G1 practice into route memorization. A stronger goal is to make every drive legal and predictable: seatbelts checked, supervisor ready, time of day allowed, road type allowed, and one or two skills chosen before you leave.
What should you check before every G1 practice drive?
- The accompanying driver meets Ontario’s full-licence, experience, seating, and blood-alcohol requirements.
- Every person has a working seatbelt and the vehicle is properly insured and safe to drive.
- The practice time and planned roads follow all G1 restrictions.
- The weather, traffic, and route match the learner’s current ability.
- The supervising driver is alert, calm, and able to give directions before a situation becomes unsafe.
When should a G1 driver practise with a certified instructor?
A certified Ontario driving instructor can teach structured observation, vehicle control, parking, intersections, and road-test habits in a dual-control vehicle. Ontario also provides an exception to the G1 expressway restriction when the learner is accompanied by a qualified Ontario driving instructor, making professional instruction the appropriate way to begin supervised highway practice.
Need help getting road-test ready?
SparkOn Driving Academy helps students in Scarborough and nearby GTA areas prepare with patient lessons, mock tests and road-test car support.