In the debut episode, the eight contestants, in their initial challenge, drive from a granite quarry (signifying "rock bottom") following a list of 20 turns to a convenience store, take a map, and follow the directions therein to the Driver Rehabilitation Centre, locally known as the Edgar Adult Occupation Centre, where the contestants will have their drivers' licenses confiscated. The challenge should take one hour to complete by an average driver with good knowledge of directions. Jason is the first contestant sent on his way, but he goes off to a slow start (stopping and going on the road out of the quarry), narrowly missing his first stop sign. Marnie, nervous because there may be left turns without "flashers" (i.e. having to turn left while traffic in the opposite direction is going), is next out. Shelby is next to leave, and he quickly gets himself lost. Jennifer and Denice are the next ones out. By the time Billie-Jean leaves, Jason has already reached the convenience store. Thomas is the next to leave, and tries to get there as quickly as possible, even though he contends that it is not a race. He does manage to pass Billie-Jean and Jason (who had since fallen behind) in the effort to get ahead. Ed is the last person to leave the quarry. Not surprisingly, Thomas, having made 67 speeding violations, is the first to arrive after 65 minutes. Jason is the next to arrive, at 2:26. Ed arrives next after 2:19 of driving. By the time Denise arrives at the convenience store, Marnie has arrived at the Driver Rehabilitation Centre (after having driven 64 km off course). Shelby takes over three hours and goes 69 km off course to arrive. Billie-Jean is next to arrive after two hours of driving, having looked in her rear-view mirror 14 times, none of which were to check for the road. Jennifer takes four hours to arrive, with a long list of moving violations (Jon having claimed that she had crossed the center line over 10 times on their trip). Denice is the last to arrive, but it was noted that she made 85 self-deprecating comments during the entire trip.
Reversing Race: In the first proper challenge, held at Barrie Speedway, Canada's Worst Drivers each take one lap around the track in stock cars while driving in reverse, in front of a racecar audience. Marnie races against Ed in the first heat, followed by Billie-Jean against Jason in the second heat, while Jennifer races against Thomas and Denice against Shelby. Though there were three disqualifications (Ed for fishtailing out of control on the first turn of the oval track, Marnie for completely letting go of the wheel in her run, and Jason after Adrian grabbed at the steering wheel), while Thomas finishes with the fastest time in 40 seconds. Surprisingly, Jennifer, who has a fear of driving in reverse, finishes second at 42 seconds. Shelby is third with 47 seconds, Billie-Jean finishes at 52 seconds, and Denise (having overcome her desire to vomit while actually racing) finishes in 59 seconds.
Skills Evaluation: In the second challenge, the drivers must reverse out of a garage (with little room for maneuvering), down a driveway, up and down a ramp, before heading forwards at 30 km/h in a giant slalom-like course, stopping so that their car straddles a red line painted at the ground. Following the slalom portion, the drivers must use precision driving to move slowly through an obstacle course before reversing and parking at a nearby parking space. Jennifer and Shelby fare arguably the worst in this challenge, as they completely destroy the precision driving portion of the course while attempting to stop after the slalom (being unable to brake) – furthermore, Jennifer had accelerated into the obstacles while Shelby had been clocked under the required speed in the slalom. Marnie required 141 attempts (and a crew-assisted reset) merely to leave the driveway, while a third contestant had parked while driving forwards instead of in reverse.
