Having a disability or medical conditions does not mean you cannot take to the roads and obtain a driving licence.

When applying for a licence you must be truthful with your answers when informing the DVLA of your condition. Conditions such as epilepsy, strokes, mental health issues, physical disabilities and visual impairments are all notifiable medical conditions.

However, it’s equally as important to keep the DVLA updated to any changes to your health or any impairment that may affect your driving once you are a full licence holder.

It can be very daunting when you are thinking of learning to drive and looking for somebody to teach you especially when you may require specially adapted lesson plans or a specially adapted vehicle. However, there are courses for instructors that enable them to acquire the skills needed to make learning to drive for those that require an adapted car a more pleasurable learning experience.

Ellie Simmonds, Britain’s youngest Paralympics gold medallist has recently taken up learning to drive after finding herself on the road a lot of the time travelling between her training base and visiting family. She has a specially adapted car and is hoping to pass her test before the London games.

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Everybody would start feeling the heat soon! Diesel vehicles make a large part of transportation means used all over in the country. The diesel prices have increased again to the disliking of many. It is increased by 2p per litre. It is an uncomfortable situation to be in. The price of essential items is soon going to be affected by it. It is not gong to do any good to the already troubled economical structure. It is a known fact that hauliers use diesel vehicles to run their business. They are going to pass it to the next standing person in the line. It is an added burden which is going to be shared by everyone of us together.

The situation is getting from bad to worse! There are not much options left here. It is getting more and more difficult with each passing day. The diesel prices are seem to be falling out of the comfort zone. There is no assurance that people would be able to drive frequently and passionately. The respective Government authorities have been made aware of it. The next few weeks and months would shape the future course of the event.

A BBC investigation has exposed how the DVLA have issued thousands of licences to foreign nationals who shouldn’t have been issued with one.

Nationals from certain countries such as India, the USA, China and Pakistan are not permitted to exchange a licence from their country automatically into a full UK licence without sitting our tests. However, there are some licences from certain countries that can be swapped automatically such as Hong Kong, Canada, Malta and Australia amongst others.

The investigation showed that there are agents in the Capital who are arranging to swap foreign licences into UK ones via a Hong Kong licence. A BBC researcher handed over his passport and Indian licence and within a few weeks he received a legitimate full UK driving licence. The BBC tracked the applications and it showed a fraudulent Hong Kong address and licence.

The DVLA do not keep records of where the drivers of Hong Kong licences, swapped into British ones, originally came from and this has caused concern for many.

Firstly those who are issued a UK licence without sitting the tests here or having any lessons are a danger to other drivers and members of the public. Yet even more alarming is the prospect that some individuals may use these documents for dubious purposes such as people or drug trafficking or terrorism.

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Former England footballer Paul Merson, pleaded guilty to drink-driving after crashing into a lorry in October 2011.

Merson crashed his Mercedes into a government department 38-tonne lorry after falling asleep at the wheel. He was found to be over the drink drive limit after driving his car home from a charity event.

He previously spoke out about his long-term problems with alcohol, drug addiction and gambling and received help in 2003 from former Arsenal and England team mate Tony Adams who set up the Sporting Chance Clinic.

He has since been fined £1,500, ordered to pay £105 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge along with a 14 month driving ban.

Considering he had been at a charity do for children, his actions were irresponsible and the consequences much worse than just two damaged vehicles.

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Is it really going to happen? The Brighton and Hove City Councils are planning to reduce the amount of funding for highway and road maintenance in the next financial year. It is highly unlikely that the plan would go through without stiff opposition. There are safety and security issues to be addressed here. We fail to understand that how something as necessary and important as road funding can be cut down. The opposition councillors are also not in the favour of supporting it. It completely goes against the legal system set in place. There must be a way to find the balance here. The respective councils have to sit down and dig deep to come with a positive solution.

People are not going to accept it under any given circumstances. It seems that we are not paying proper attention to the kind of dangerous situation we are creating by not maintaining the roads in the first place. The emergency work or operations would pile-up the agony. The administration would end up spending more than saving anything here. The statistics should be checked again to find a better solution to the the Government-imposed financial cuts.

Australian great-grandmother Mrs. Griffiths turns 100 on Monday and still enjoys the freedom driving her car brings.

She recalls being taken too school when she was a child in a horse and buggy and when her family got their first car, she had learnt how to drive it by the early age of 12.

At 18 years old, she visited her local police station, took the officer for a drive (you had to show the policeman you could do it, there were no tests back then) and has been driving ever since.

She has been driving for 82 years now and in that time has never received a speeding fine, parking ticket or been involved in an accident.

She still enjoys driving and will take to the wheel at least 10 times per week and on Monday she will drive herself to her 100th birthday party that friends and family have organised.

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We often make mistakes when complacency starts creeping in! The experts claim it to be the major reason behind most of the fatal incidents taking place on the roads. The night-time driving has its own set of safety guidelines to be followed. We cannot run away from the fact that a feeling of tiredness starts growing as we approach towards later half of the day. You should not drive in case you are not able to focus properly. This is the golden rule. You can take a break or drink coffee to get it started again. A recent study suggests that a huge percentage of drivers cannot read road-signs properly due to poor eye-sight problems. It is a shame!. There is every possibility that someone would take a wrong turn or ignore the instructions to cause an accident. It is highly advisable to wear spectacles or contact lenses.

All such warning signs are too common to be taken seriously. Isn’t it right? We fall victim to our own poor judgments in the end. You cannot drive on the roads without following the rules carefully. These rules are meant to be followed by one and all.

With February set to see even more snow, ice and cold weather conditions, drivers are being warned.

Police have released video clips giving drivers tips on how to drive in these wintery conditions.

The advice starts with ensuring you prepare your car before you even start the journey. Making sure your car is safe to drive and that you have the necessary provisions should you get stuck in your car.

Other information includes, making sure the car is fully defrosted and that you have complete visibility out of all windows and mirrors, how to control the car should you skid or get stuck and many other tips to help reduce an accident in these cold weather conditions.

Holly Harper of Britannia Driving School said: “I think the most important piece of advice I could give to drivers in harsh weather conditions is, don’t drive unless you really have to, the easiest way to avoid an accident is to not be on the roads in the first place.”

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Gwent police have had to pay out nearly £100,000 in legal costs, repairs and compensation after they smashed in 73 year old Robert Whatley’s car in 2009 when he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt.

One police officer hit the window glass 15 times with his baton, whilst another jumped on the bonnet and kicked in the windscreen.

The grandfather claimed he was not wearing his seatbelt as he had been reversing earlier and was fined for failing to stop for police and not wearing his seatbelt to a cost of £235. However, Mr Whatley said ‘The police went completely over the top – you would have thought I had robbed a bank…I feel the rogue officers were too quick to turn to aggression. I brought this claim as a matter of principle and not for compensation’.

Mr Whatley sued the police for post traumatic stress disorder and was awarded £20,000 out of court, along with having his car repaired and his legal fees paid.

Gwent police force, removed the two officers from front-line duty to carry out internal enquiries but they were allowed back on duty after the force claimed they ‘met the highest standards of professional behaviour’.

Yet Mr Whatley’s solicitor feels that by the police paying outside of court, they were concerned that an independent court would not reach the same conclusions as they had.

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The new program is aiming at making young drivers stand committed to the rule-book guidelines. The ‘More 16 and More Drive’ program would offer three workshops on safety, maintenance and driving skills. The primary objective is to infuse a strong sense of ownership and responsibility in youngsters while driving on the roads. It is an interesting proposal as young people in Central Bedfordshire can learn a great deal of experience from the best in the industry. We can expect a better approach from young drivers now. Can’t we? The workshops are focused on bringing the experience and support of the family members into practice as well. They can also come up with different ideas to make their kids learn in the right manner.

It is a positive initiative. We often complain about the kind of immaturity or restlessness shown by young drivers. This is the time when we can enroll our sons and daughters to find a solution to it. A family or society should encourage it for all the right reasons. It educates young drivers to stay alert and active while driving. The underlying purpose is to spread a message of awareness.