Ontario

I know what DriveTest says, and I'm sure some or all of the testers follow that rule, but frankly, it's pretty dumb. Many vehicles are built in a way where it is incredibly unsafe to back up without using the camera. It's one of many reasons why they've been legally required in all new vehicles for more than 5 years. DriveTest seriously needs to modernize their testing criteria.

This instructor is teaching your mom how to drive, not how to pass the road test. I personally think that's (mostly) a good thing, but you should probably talk to the driving instructor about this discrepancy.

I learned without a camera.

Now I use the camera all the time. It’s a great additional tool! You still need to check mirrors and everything else though.

I'd personally want her to learn without using a rear camera, but once she has experience, anything to make parking safer/easier is a good thing.

At one point cars didn't have seatbelts, it's now a requirement for cars to have seatbelts and for drivers to use them. The exact same is true for backup cameras. They are required on all new cars and not using them is like not using your seatbelt.

Now it's definitely helpful to know how to backup your car without a rear camera in case you ever need to do it in a car without one, but I'd say there's nothing wrong with instructing new drivers to use a legally required safety feature.

If it's not an accelerated course (as in, there will be another time your mother can try parallel parking) then in later lessons she can use the mirrors and wheel position more than the camera.

It is good for her to know that it would be better not to use the camera for the test. My car has no backup cam, and I've needed it 3 or 4 times in the last few years.

Absolutely not acceptable. Cameras and other sensors are “Parking Aids” and “Driver Assist Aids”. They were not designed to replace the skills of the driver. You must learn how to drive properly first then you can use them to make your life a little easier later on. What is she going to do in the winter when her backup camera is covered in snow/ice/salt? Not drive because she never learned how to use mirrors and/or turn her head? Hell, my backup camera is useless in the rain never mind actual bad weather.