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Learner drivers to be allowed on motorway lessons!

admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:22:34 +0000

Learner drivers are to be allowed to have driving lessons on motorways in an attempt to cut the death toll among novice motorists. The change, which will come into force next year, is intended to end the situation in which young drivers can be confronted with traffic driving at speeds of 70 mph or above without any preparation. Under the plans announced by Mr Penning, it will be possible for learner drivers to undergo some training on a motorway but only if accompanied by a qualified driving instructor. Addressing the Institute of Advanced Motorists, Mr Penning cited the example of his own daughter who, within minutes of having passed her test, would have been able to drive on a motorway. The change, however, will not be made compulsory because of the difficulties learner drivers in remote areas of the country would face in finding a motorway within a reasonable distance of where they lived. Underpinning the move is concern at the number of young drivers being killed and seriously injured on the country’s motorways. More

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DSA launches theory test apps on iTunes!

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:18:49 +0000

Candidates preparing for their driving theory test now have a handy new way to practice on the go: the DSA has launched an official range of iPhone on iTunes. Around 1.4 million people each year take their driving theory test and with ownership of iPhones continuing to grow, the new apps will extend the range of official DSA books, CD-ROMs, DVDs and downloads, in the DSA’s permanent quest to get learners on the road to safe driving for life.

There are three new apps available, produced by TSO (The Stationery Office) – the DSA’s official publishing partner:

The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers: preparation for the multiple choice part of the theory test, including a study section, a practice section, mock tests, optional voiceover and much more.

The Official DSA Theory Test Kit for Car Drivers: preparation for the multiple choice and hazard perception parts of the theory test, including an optional voiceover and much more.

The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers (free): a taster for the full theory test app.

The apps encourage candidates to follow a three-step process in preparation for their test to help ensure they really understand the theory behind driving:
1 Study – these apps include background information on all 14 topics covered in the test.
2 Practice – candidates can select specific topics to answer questions on and see how much they have learnt.
3 Mock test – with 57 minutes to answer 50 randomly selected questions, just like the real thing.

The official apps include the full DSA explanation for every answer and references to the source materials where candidates can find out more for complete test preparation. They are the only apps on the market which include official practice case studies for each topic, and there are lots of other extras, including a complete digital version of The Official Highway Code and a theory test centre locator. Candidates can review all their answers to see where they need a bit more work and their progress is clearly monitored throughout, making it quick and simple for learners to see when they are ready to pass. There is also a helpful voiceover option included for those with reading difficulties and/or dyslexia.

The Official DSA Theory Test Kit for Car Drivers app also includes preparation for the hazard perception part of the test. There are official DSA interactive video clips so learners can get a feel for how this part of the test works, with the ability to review their performance to understand their score.

Rosemary Thew, DSA Chief Exec, is excited about the launch: “A lot of work has gone into making these apps the most comprehensive on the market. We are confident that they will provide learners with the knowledge and understanding they will need to drive safely throughout their lives.”

The official DSA theory test apps are suitable for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and are available from iTunes at a special introductory price. The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers is just £2.99 (25% discount) and The Official DSA Theory Test Kit for Car Drivers is just £3.99 (33% discount). Introductory prices are available for a limited time only.

To find out more, visit tsoshop.co.uk/dsaapps. To view the full range of official DSA titles visit tsoshop.co.uk/dsa, call 0870 850 6553 or go to good high street and online book stores and computer software retailers.

Source: DSA

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Falling pass rates costs learners!

admin — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:08:04 +0000

Less than 30 per cent of candidates pass their driving tests first time at some examination centres, while only 152 out of 340 test centres in England, Wales and Scotland recorded pass rates of 50 per cent or more. The other 188 centres confirmed that more than half of first-timers taking their tests failed, according to figures released by the Department for Transport last night. The worst-performing centre in the country is Hermon Hill, in Wanstead, north-east London, which recorded 3,453 fails out of 4,826 first-time tests taken in the year up to the end of March – a failure rate of 71.5 per cent. Two centres in Bradford, at Thornbury and Heaton, also posted failure rates of more than 70 per cent. Nine of the bottom 10 performers, which all recorded pass rates lower than 35 per cent, were in London or Yorkshire. The national average for failures was 46.2 per cent – amounting to 336,352 out of 728,438 tests taken. However, any learner drivers hoping to improve their chances by heading for one of the best-performing centres would have a long way to travel, as most of them are in remote areas of Scotland. Examiners in places such as Mallaig, Inveraray, Islay and the Isle of Skye test barely 200 candidates between them a year. Motoring experts last night blamed “socio-economic factors” for the low scores in a number of inner-city areas. More

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Learners taking lessons from parents instead of instructors!

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:42:06 +0000

LEARNER drivers are making millions of dangerous moves on Britain’s roads – due to poor tuition by their parents. Qualified instructors say hard-up learners are turning to their mums and dads for lessons to save cash – with disastrous results. New figures from the Government’s Driving Standards Agency reveal over a million serious or dangerous faults during 1.5 million official tests last year. More

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Parents pass on their bad habits to learners!

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 09:57:54 +0000

Parents have a key role to play in learners’ driving development, but many lack confidence or up-to-date knowledge, or have developed bad habits which they risk passing on according to AA Driving School. Top of the list is poor use of mirrors – mentioned by one in four of a national panel of AA driving instructors. Speeding, failing to check blind spots and not feeding the wheel when turning were next on the list, followed by braking too hard or too late. Top 10 list

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Trainee Instructors cause driving test hardships!

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:51:39 +0000

Up to 27,000 extra driving tests have been failed in the last year by learners taught by trainee instructors – while most pupils did not even know their instructor was learning on the job, AA investigations reveal. Much lower pass rates among those taught by trainee instructors have cost learners over £1.7 million in additional test fees over the past 12 months, with millions more believed to have been spent on extra lessons needed to reach test standard. The AA findings follow an expose by BBC One’s Rip Off Britain revealing that some major driving schools are charging pupils full-price for lessons without telling them their instructor is a trainee. Few learners realise that trainee instructors are allowed to give lessons unsupervised without having passed an exam on their ability to instruct. Yet the number of trainee instructors has soared in recent years – more than doubling in two years, to more than 7,600 by June 2010 – according to Driving Standards Agency data. This means one in seven instructors is now a trainee. A major government study 10 years ago found that learners taught by trainee instructors are 25% less likely to pass their driving test. It found that learners had little idea their instructor could be a trainee, yet they were generally charged full price. The study called for a major campaign to raise awareness about trainee instructors and their lower pupil pass rates. Yet a recent request by the AA for up-to-date pass rates for trainee instructors was declined by the DSA on the basis that it would take weeks of work to create the necessary database. More

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DSA launches Facebook page for learner drivers!

admin — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:39:17 +0000

DSA launches Facebook page for learner drivers

Page for learner drivers
Safe driving advice and tips
Visit facebook.com/mydrivingtest

Facebook users can now get safe driving advice and keep up to date with changes to the driving test.

The Driving Standards Agency has launched a page called ‘I can’t wait to pass my driving test’ and wants learners to become fans.

As well as getting advice and tips about learning to drive, fans of the page will be able to find links to:

detailed information about getting a driving licence, learning to drive, and the theory and practical driving tests
book their theory and practical tests using the only official booking service
read the Highway Code online
buy official DSA publications to help them prepare to pass their test

To become a fan of the page visit facebook.com/mydrivingtest.

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DSA to stop publishing questions used in theory tests!

admin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 23:17:12 +0000

The Driving Standards Agency is to stop publishing the multiple choice questions and answers used in theory tests, Road Safety Minister Mike Penning announced today. This will help to ensure that new drivers learn the principles behind driving theory rather than just learning answers. The move follows the introduction of independent driving into the driving test and the DSA’s decision to stop publishing test routes in October 2010, to make sure the test assesses a learner’s ability to drive and not their capacity to memorise routes. Mike Penning said: “The driving theory test should help to prepare drivers for real life on the road – good driving is not just about vehicle-handling skills, but also about having the knowledge and understanding of safe driving theory. “No longer publishing these questions and answers will mean that successful candidates will have to understand the theory rather than simply memorising answers. “I believe that this – along with the other changes we are making to the driving test regime – will lead to better drivers and safer roads.” More

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Electronic parking brakes now suitable for driving tests!

admin — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:21:19 +0000

Information from the DSA

Vehicles with electronic parking brakes can be used for tests
Change from 1 November 2010
DSA responds to advances in vehicle technology

From 1 November vehicles fitted with an electronic parking brake will be allowed to be used for practical driving tests.

There are usually two ways of releasing an electronic parking brake:

using the footbrake while releasing the parking brake, then coordinating the accelerator and clutch to move away
coordinating the accelerator and clutch – when the electronics sense the clutch is at biting point the parking brake releases automatically

The parking brake will not usually release automatically if:

the accelerator is not used
the controls are not coordinated correctly

If there is no loss of control either method is acceptable.

If the examiner needs to take action to stop the vehicle, and it’s not fitted with dual controls, they will apply and hold the electronic parking brake – this will bring the vehicle to a controlled stop.

Advances in technology

To begin with, electronic parking brakes were fitted only to top of the range vehicles. DSA decided not to allow manual vehicles fitted with them to be used for driving tests.

Electronic parking brakes are now being fitted to an increasing number of vehicles, so it’s unrealistic to continue this policy.

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Are parents up to date when supervising learners?

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:05:13 +0000

Parents should take a driving lesson or two before teaching their teenagers to drive, says the What Car? Driving School. This would give parents an updated understanding of the Highway Code, and knowledge of the skills required by the new test. The financial crisis has prompted many parents to shun professional driving lessons with driving instructors and play the teacher role themselves, but in the majority of cases parents’ knowledge is out of date. More

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100 years of the Driving Lesson!

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:53:24 +0000

Next time you’re cut up by a learner driver or held up as they demonstrate – oh so slowly – how not to reverse into a parking space, try to be patient. They’re only doing what the rest of us had to do to earn our licences and this year they’re unwittingly marking one of the most important motoring milestones; the centenary of the first official driving lesson. It was given in 1910 near Peckham in south London by doctor’s son Stanley Roberts. He realised that motoring was going to be big business and set up his own driving school before naming it – rather grandly – the British School of Motoring. Now known simply as BSM, it’s the biggest driving school in Britain….Learning to drive in 1910, when cars often resembled horseless carriages, was far harder work physically than today. There was no power steering, making it essential that learners turned the wheel using the laborious “push-pull” method still advocated in some circles. Starting the engine required a deft combination of mechanical understanding and brute force (starting handles were the order of the day) and brakes were rod-operated, heavy and ineffective compared to the servo-assisted systems we take for granted. More

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Leaner causes street evacuation after manoeuvre goes wrong!

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:54:48 +0000

A LEARNER driver forced a whole street to be evacuated when she drove into the side of a house during a botched three-point turn. The driver cracked a water pipe, flooding the street and causing a gas pipe to rupture. Firefighters were scrambled to the scene and were forced to extinguish a barbecue at a birthday party across the road for fear of it causing an explosion. They later apologised for spoiling the party, but residents insisted the student driver was to blame for “lurching forward”. Both the learner and the BSM driving instructor escaped unscathed. About 30 people from homes on Park Terrace in Edinburgh were sent to the nearby Newcraighall Primary School while gas engineers wrestled with the burst pipe. The driving school’s Fiat 500 car was emblazoned with the slogan: “More experience, more passes.” But one bystander said: “If she’s on her test, I doubt she’s passed.” More

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Drivers supervising learners risk breaking law!

admin — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:01:47 +0000

Drivers are risking fines, disqualification or jail because they do not know the rules on supervising learners, according to the AA. The motoring group’s survey of 19,000 members suggested nearly a quarter did not know it was illegal to use a mobile phone while out with a learner driver. Nearly one in 10 respondents was unaware falling asleep was not allowed. The law states that somebody supervising a learner driver is effectively in control of the car. The AA said that in one case a supervisor was jailed after the learner was involved in a crash that killed two people. It said many learners benefited from time spent with more experienced drivers, but suggested short driving courses for supervisors might be needed. The AA/Populus survey suggested drivers were also breaking the law by drinking, sending text messages, or failing to wear their glasses while on practice runs with learners. Some 23% of respondents did not know they would be breaking the law by using a mobile phone while supervising a learner. And 13% were unaware of the need to wear glasses if they used them when driving themselves, while 9% did not realise that falling asleep in the passenger seat was illegal. A total of 4% of respondents who had supervised learners admitted breaking at least one of these laws. The figure rose to 22% among supervisors aged 21 to 24. More

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Learners annoy residents in South Woodford!

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:22:15 +0000

Much as they try to be tolerant, the residents of the Firs Estate have had enough of learner drivers stuttering, stalling and kangaroo hopping around their roads. The quiet grid of leafy streets and family homes has been identified as the most popular gathering place in Britain for trainee motorists. Now, locals have had enough and have set up a campaign group to threaten legal action against the local authority to tell the driving schools to go elsewhere. The estate in South Woodford, east London, received hundreds of learner drivers in one day. A recent survey counted 409 in a 12 hour period. The problem started nine years ago when the town became a test centre and has gradually got worse, with more than 100 accidents recorded since 2001. BSM, Kims, Bill Plant, Rudi’s and Eurodrive are just a few of the driving schools clogging up the streets. Learners line behind each other to practise reverse parking, parallel parking and three point turns, with often calamitous results. Parked cars, garden walls, lampposts and trees have all fallen foul of the inexperienced motorists at the wheel. Eddie Blackwell, leader of the campaign group, said several local people had suffered minor injuries while one man was knocked out after a learner driver hit him. More

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One in ten Learners didn.t know their instructor was a trainee!

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:29:56 +0000

The AA has renewed its campaign for transparency over driving schools’ use of trainee instructors, as a new investigation reveals that up to 75,000 learners have in the last year been taught by an instructor they didn’t know was a trainee. In a survey of 2,000 young drivers, only 2 per cent believed they had been taught to drive by a trainee instructor. However, recent figures from the Driving Standards Agency show that trainees make up more than 14 per cent of all instructors. “This means around one in every ten pupils who thought their instructor was fully-qualified, were in fact taught by trainees. With 750,000 people learning to drive each year this suggests there are up to 75,000 learners a year who do not realise their instructor is also learning on the job,” says AA President Edmund King. In a recent AA/Populus survey, fewer than 0.5 per cent of AA members said that if they were given a transparent choice, for lessons charged at the same rate, they would choose a trainee. “Incredibly, driving schools are not obliged to give you a transparent choice. So many charge as if it’s a fully-qualified instructor but give you a trainee. There’s a canyon between what learners think they are paying for and what they get. The official pink badge trainees are required to display is clearly leaving learners none the wiser. Driving schools must be forced to come clean before more young learners are literally taken for a ride.” More

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Learners charged extra to book their tests!

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:11:28 +0000

The AA is warning learner drivers over online ‘booking services’ that add surcharges of up to 65% to arrange a driving test which learners can easily book themselves. A number of young learners alerted the AA after they unwittingly booked their test through third-party commercial websites that invite learners to enter their details and preferred dates for a Driving Standards Agency test. Learners are then charged over £50 for a theory test for which the DSA charges £31, with the difference being levied as an ‘administration fee’. Some sites add fees of up to £30 to book a practical test – on top of the standard DSA fees of £62 for a weekday test or £75 for a weekend or weekday evening – while bookings for extended tests attract booking fees of up to £40. Simon Douglas, director of AA Driving School, says: “These so-called ‘services’ invite you to type in the same details you would if booking directly with the DSA, only on a different website and at a hugely inflated cost. Some sites include ‘DSA’ in their Google search listings or web page headings, which can make it confusing as to whose site you’re on. More

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Pink cars used on driving lessons to calm nerves!

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:28:45 +0000

BSM, a major motoring school, is using pink Fiat 500s because it claims their paintwork calms learner drivers. The company quotes research showing that pink has a relaxing effect on physical behaviour, reducing anxiety within minutes of exposure to the colour, helping to steady nerves. The pink Fiats will be located in London, Bristol, Manchester and the south-east. According to the Institute of Biosocial Research in Tacoma, Washington, USA, pink helps heart muscles relax, promoting slower and deeper breathing, leaving novices relaxed but alert. This apparently allows the learner to “be in a more receptive state of mind” so that they can absorb and respond to information from their instructor. ntwork calms learner drivers. More

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Women take longer to pass their driving test than men!

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:24:32 +0000

Girls need an average of 21 lessons before they pass their test, compared to just 17 lessons which men take, according to research by Confused.com. Men are also more likely to pass first time with less than 54 per cent needing another attempt, while 57 per cent of women have to go through it again. Women are also more likely to suffer from nerves and cry if they failed. But guys are more likely to try to befriend or flirt with the examiner in order to get their pass certificate. A spokesman for comparison website confused.com which carried out the study said: ‘’For years, people have argued over whether men or women are the best drivers. ‘’And men can now claim victory with these results showing that they are certainly the quickest learners when they get behind the wheel of the car. ‘’With women getting more nervous about their test though, maybe this explains why men have more success. ‘’And despite their confidence, it’s interesting to see that men are the ones flirting with the examiner, especially as it is stereotypically women who do are meant to do this.” The poll of 3,000 drivers revealed that the average guy passes his test at the age of 19 and eight months, while the average woman has to wait until she is 20 years and six months. More than one in 20 ladies even passed their 31st birthday before they were able to get behind the wheel of a car on their own. But men may have had an advantage as 23 per cent admitted to trying to act like a friend to the examiner to persuade them to let them pass. And despite women having the reputation for flirting with the invigilator, men are actually the worst offenders with eight per cent admitting they’ve tried it. Researchers also found that women are most likely to suffer with their nerves with 92 per cent saying they were terrified before their test, compared to just 78 per cent of men. Twenty-seven per cent of girls were so nervous, they kept apologising to the examiner throughout the test. More

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Learners benefit from taking parents with them on driving lessons!

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:23:03 +0000

Young drivers might be less likely to crash after passing their test if their parents sit in on driving lessons. This is one conclusion that can be drawn from the Staffordshire Young Driver Coaching Programme (YDCP), which found that parents’ involvement in driving lessons also helped to cut out the age-old quarrels between learner drivers and the mums and dads who offer private practice. An evaluation of the project, which was carried out as part of the RoSPA/BNFL scholarship scheme, found that an accompanying resource pack also proved vital to producing better, safer drivers. Although the study, by Staffordshire County Council and the University of Keele, did not quantify long-term goals, such as reduced crash rates, it did highlight the kind of good practice – such as parents sitting in on lessons – that RoSPA hopes might enable those aims to be achieved. A quarter of all approved driving instructors (ADIs) in Staffordshire signed up to the scheme, which saw close to 20 families taking part. As well as parents recording progress in the learner’s training book, they also received guides about how to support the lessons conducted by the learner’s ADI. An evaluation of the resource pack’s effectiveness found that it improved the structure of private practice by giving parents a better understanding of their child’s progress with their instructor, while also updating their own knowledge of the Highway Code. This resulted in parents having more confidence to supervise learners and more efficient paid-for lessons – not to mention the guides being used to solve arguments in private practice! More

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Learner driver puts car on roof during second lesson!

admin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:47:00 +0000

One minute she was practising her mirror, signal, manoeuvre drill. The next, she was upside down in a driveway wondering what went wrong. Fortunately, Krisztina Jaksa and instructor Glen Berley escaped the crash unscathed – which is more than can be said for their black Fiat 500. Student Miss Jaksa, 24, was crossing a junction in the village of Headington, near Oxford, when the steering wheel locked. Panicking, she put her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake, sending the car crashing into a gatepost before it flipped over. She said she could not remember much about the accident, but added stoically: ‘It has not put me off driving – why would it?’ Witness Russ Dunne, 33, who lives on the quiet street, spoke to the instructor after helping to rescue him and the stricken pupil. He said: ‘I was standing at my door talking to someone from the Labour party who had come around canvassing. ‘I heard the engine revving really heavily and then this almighty smack. ‘I stuck my head out of the door and saw the car on its roof. I was in shock because at first I thought it was joyriders. ‘Talking to the instructor, he said she basically kept turning the steering wheel so it must have been almost on full lock. ‘Then something happened and she must have planted her foot on the accelerator.’ Mr Dunne helped pull the driver out of the passenger side of the car, while the instructor freed himself. More

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Over the limit learner crashes on first lesson!

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:51:21 +0000

A driver crashed into a school when he was over-the-limit… on his first driving lesson. Learner George Howarth lost control of his instructor’s Nissan Micra going round a bend and embedded it into railings. The instructor tried to brake using his controls, but Howarth continued to accelerate onto the pavement. Howarth was one-and-a-half times the limit and blamed it on drinking the night before – even though the accident, in Gorton, Manchester, was at 4.30pm the following the afternoon. Mohammed Zahid from the Z-Plus driving school, said the instructor had been unaware Howarth, of Bickerdike Court, Longsight, had been drinking. He said: ‘He wasn’t aware. He’s a very good instructor and he doesn’t drink himself. We didn’t know.’ Jobless Howarth, 53, has since passed his test. But Manchester magistrates promptly banned him from driving for 16 months after he admitted drink-driving. More

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Highway code in top three most borrowed books!

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:41:48 +0000

What does the Highway Code, secrets of the guitar and family ancestry have in common? They are topics featured in books most borrowed from Hounslow libraries. A Freedom of Information request has revealed the most used books in the area’s libraries relate to practical skills rather than the discovery of literary classics. It seems residents have shunned the tales of Bronte and Dickens for useful day-to day advice. In Hounslow Library, the top three most borrowed publications between 2006 and 2009 were those from the Driving Standards Agency about test theory and essential motoring skills. More

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‘Young Driver’ programme is rolled out nationwide!

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:49:56 +0000

Following a successful pilot, the ‘Young Driver’ programme by Admiral Mulitcar and Seat UK is to be launched nationwide. The organisers believe that the programme, which is designed to help teach 11-16 year-olds how to drive carefully, will significantly reduce crashes and save lives. Young Driver teaches youngsters to drive dual-controlled cars in a safe and environment. Using 200 new SEAT Ibiza models and specially designed driving zones, the organisers say the experience has been a ‘massive hit’ with young drivers and parents. Lessons start at £29. Young Driver operates with approved driving instructors (ADIs) and sessions are available to children over 1.5 metres (4’ 11”) tall, between the ages of 11 and 16. The scheme is offered in 30 or 60-minute lessons during weekends and school holidays. After the first lesson, participants are given a Drive Diary filled in by their instructor. This allows pupils, parents and instructors to chart individual progress and focus on new skills. More

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Learner drivers targeted by road rage ‘idiots’ Says AA!

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:22:39 +0000

Learner drivers are being targeted for intimidation by road rage ‘idiots’ according to the AA, whose driving instructors have reported a catalogue of serious incidents across the UK. AA Driving School is calling for more consideration towards learners, after a national panel of instructors pointed to examples of hostile, bullying and reckless behaviour towards pupils. Tailgating and aggressive or dangerous overtaking are the most common transgressions, followed by verbal abuse, rude hand gestures, blowing the horn – and even car-ramming, racial abuse and threats of physical violence. “Most drivers are patient and courteous and will give way, allow extra time and space and even applaud a successful manoeuvre,” says Simon Douglas, Director of AA Driving School. “But an idiotic few see the L-plate as their own licence to harass learners with actions that are cowardly, bullying and sometimes downright dangerous. “It’s a tiny minority who cause problems and it shouldn’t put people off learning to drive, as this is an important skill for life. Our instructors teach pupils to anticipate poor drivers and understand situations that might wind them up. And, where possible, they use offenders’ behaviour as a lesson in how not to drive. But, on behalf of all learners, we ask drivers to show more consideration and respect. After all, we were all learners once.” Instructors have reported serious incidents to police and, where they involve commercial drivers, to their employers. Perpetrators have included members of the public as well as the drivers of buses, taxis, commercial vans and, in one case, an NHS vehicle with patients on board. More

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Aviva publishes ‘Road to success’ guide for parents!

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:41:07 +0000

Aviva has produced a new guide for parents to help them safely guide their sons and daughters through the process of learning to drive. The guide, ‘The Road to success’, has been produced on the back of work carried out in 2009 by Aviva to understand the very poor crash and casualty statistics for newly qualified drivers. The insurer also looked in more depth at choice of first car and found that 50% of first cars were being bought for less than £500. Aviva’s Nigel Bartram said: “Our work highlights a need for better pre-driver education in secondary schools, including peer group classroom based sessions as part of the learning to drive programme, discussing all the aspects of safety and where things go wrong. “It is also clear that parents have a role to play, both in terms of building experience and choice of first car – but they need to complement rather than conflict with professional tuition. More

Weather delayed tests hits learners in the pocket!

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:45:21 +0000

Thousands of learners face the additional costs of keeping their driving skills sharp until their tests can be rearranged following the adverse weather. Thousands of learner drivers face having to pay for extra lessons after the snow and freezing weather conditions forced the cancellation of driving tests across the UK, it emerged today. The government’s Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has released figures showing that last week alone more than 31,000 of the 40,000 scheduled practical tests were unable to go ahead. All categories of vehicle were affected, from cars and bikes to LGVs. The DSA does not pay compensation when tests are cancelled due to the weather, but rebooks them for a later date. So in addition to the disruption, affected learners could face the additional expense of further lessons in preparation for the rescheduled tests. Internet talkboards have been inundated with posts from learner drivers worried about the inconvenience and the extra costs of further tuition. More

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Is the driving test and driver education out of date?

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:42:41 +0000

Driver education is not something to which many pay much attention after we have passed our driving test. At least, we don’t until many years later when our teenagers approach adolescence and activities that cause parents to have nightmares – sex, drink, drugs and driving. Our concern is valid because young, inexperienced male drivers cause and suffer a disproportionate number of crashes and fatalities. Some 8,000 are killed each year in Europe alone. The European Commission and the Driving Standards Agency in the UK are both attempting to address this. The EC Road Safety section created a Training and Education Expert Group onto which I was co-opted, because of my dual expertise in driving (British and European saloon car champion in circuit racing) and performance coaching (author of the best-selling book in the field). The other eight members are all driving and education experts from various European countries, mainly Scandinavia. Our findings – to be reported soon – will recommend that the higher levels of what is known as the “GDE (goals for driver education) matrix” are properly addressed along with the more basic elements of car control and traffic skills. The higher levels involve the attitude of the learner and how it affects their driving, encompassing aggression, distraction, showing-off, competitiveness and other testosterone-fuelled behaviour. The only learning method that specifically addresses these issues in combination with driving skills is performance coaching, which aims to eliminate the mental and emotional obstacles to learning – and performance – in any activity. The UK Driving Standards Agency controls the examiners of both the instructors and the public, and so sets the standards. Recently the DSA circulated an elaborate public consultation paper, but it attracted little response. The DSA is influenced by the police driving schools and by the likes of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), RoSPA, BSM and the AA, most of which still slavishly follow the old police driving principles. They also used the police manual Roadcraft for many decades – and herein lies the problem. The primary function of the police is to maintain law and order. Driving is secondary, so within their ranks they have little or no learning methodology – nor do they have up-to-date motoring expertise. The police driving system and teaching methods remain extremely rigid and prescriptive. They are passed from one generation to the next with little change, with the result that their teaching methods are obsolete and inappropriate for the public. Some of what they preach is redundant because cars have changed enormously since Roadcraft was written in 1934. Because the police believed that they knew best, they never saw the need to seek knowledge from elsewhere. They didn’t know what they didn’t know. And since retired police drivers hold key roles in the IAM and RoSPA and other parts of the driving establishment, they all ended up scratching each others’ backs. More

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Motorists concerns over trainee driving instructors!

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:27:48 +0000

Ninety-seven per cent of AA members say learner drivers should have the right to be told if their driving instructor is learning on the job, according to a new survey. The AA is demanding government action to force driving schools to come clean when they use trainee instructors to teach young people to drive. The call comes as an AA/Populus survey reveals serious concerns among motorists over the safety of drivers taught by trainee instructors and overwhelming rejection of the practice of driving schools charging full price for lessons with a trainee. Up to 7000 trainees – one in eight of all driving instructors – are believed to be working for driving schools across the UK. Driving schools can place a learner with a trainee instructor and charge full lesson rates, without telling the pupil or their parents that the instructor is not fully-qualified. The only legal requirement to disclose that an instructor is learning on the job is for the trainee to display an official pink badge in the windscreen. More

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Higher numbers of learner drivers not being taught by instructors!

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:39:25 +0000

Increasing numbers of teenage learner drivers are turning to the “school of mum and dad” as they find professional lessons too expensive, evidence suggests. But some of those getting tuition from family or friends find the experience “bad”, a survey by price comparison site uSwitch.com showed. The poll found that 12% of learners are taught solely by amateur drivers while 13% mix-and-match their tutors. More

Street fed up with learner drivers!

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:37:47 +0000

LEARNER drivers have been symbolically banned from one Swindon street after driving local people round the bend. Residents in Churchward Avenue are so sick of their road being clogged with learner drivers that they have put up a makeshift sign in protest. But one driving instructor said pupils could actually fail their test if they are not given the chance to practice on streets they will face in their exam. The Rodbourne Cheney road has become a Mecca for motorists since becoming a test route for the new Peatmoor Way driving centre earlier this year. But for some residents enough is enough. “It’s a nightmare,” said one. “They come down here at all hours of the day and at the weekend and it can be really terrible. “It’s especially dangerous at night because sometimes you can’t see them until you’re right on top of them. More

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Residents driven round the bend by learners!

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Fed up families are battling to ban learner drivers from their road – after a hundred motoring schools made their life hell. They say the cars are a daily noise nuisance and regularly mount curbs, dent bumpers and leave skid marks. And they reckon their leafy street is the No1 road in Britain for L-drivers. It has even been nicknamed locally as “Driving School Alley”. A petition for a ban was launched after one resident counted 25 instructors using the road in one afternoon. More

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Learners annoy residents in South Woodford!

Pot holes force Driving Instructors to adjust lesson routes!

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:36:09 +0000

Driving instructors are rerouting lessons due to “crumbling” road surfaces, according to the AA. Instructors are also teaching special techniques so learners can deal with the increasing number of potholes. There are as many as 1.5 million potholes on UK roads, the AA said. Edmund King, AA president, said: “The fabric of our local roads is a major cause for concern with surfaces crumbling and drivers at risk of damage to their vehicles and even themselves. Ultimately we all pay more through patching and mending, and then paying out compensation rather than fixing the underlying poor condition of many of our roads. More

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Driving Lessons with Alpha Drive!

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:00:50 +0000

Welcome to ALPHA DRIVE, School of Motoring.
Based in Bedford, we offer professional driving lessons, for learners of all ages and abilities,. For Bedford Driving Lessons contact ALPHA DRIVE on 0800 2118871. See comments from previous Alpha Drive students.
We also cover Sandy, St Neots and the local area for driving lessons.

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