More than 1000 drivers have been caught breaking the law whilst driving in just two weeks.

Each of these was guilty of either failing to wear a seat belt, or using a mobile phone whilst driving.

The figures have come as part of a crackdown carried out by Nottingham Police – however the results are far from inspiring.

Andy Charlton (Chief Inspector of Nottinghamshire Police) has said of the issue: “Sadly this isn’t a surprise – despite similar campaigns in 2012 and 2013 – it shows a significant number of people still regard their addiction to their phone as more important than the safety of others and themselves. Wearing a seatbelt was made compulsory over thirty years ago, there can be no excuse for not wearing one. Nor can there be for using a phone at the wheel.”

The drivers that were found guilty of the driving offences were offered a choice between a driving awareness course, or three points on the license as well as a £100 fine. Those guilty of failing to wear a seat belt faced a similar punishment.

Britannia has recently reported on the most hated habits of drivers on UK roads… and it seems that these are more common than ever.

What are your thoughts on this article? Sound off in the comments below!

A recent survey carried out on over 2000 UK drivers, has revealed that motorists having a chat on the phone is the UK’s most despised driving habit.

A whopping 47 per cent of those questioned have said that this is the worse driving activity, followed closely by the previous bug of tailgating at 42%.

The survey, carried out on behalf of Kwik-Fit, also shows that 35% hate those that fail to indicate, with just less than a third loathing dangerous overtakers, and just over a quarter detesting lane-hoggers.

Last minute braking, undertaking, and nervous drivers also came into the top 10, followed by slow exits from traffic lights, and ironically skipping traffic lights altogether.

In response to the survey, the director of Communications Roger Griggs has released the following statement:

“These driving habits aren’t just annoying, they are dangerous and some of them against the law. You’re four times more likely to have an accident if you use a mobile while driving, in addition to the frustration it causes for fellow motorists.

“With on-the-spot penalties for motorists who hog the middle lane, tailgate or cut up other vehicles being introduced last year, it highlights just how serious these anti-social driving behaviours are being taken.”

What are your most hated driving habits? Let us know in the comments section below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

The UK government has plans to ban the use of translators in Driving Theory Tests.

Although this is likely to provoke cries of unfairness, many supporters of the plans say that it will help immigrants learn to speak English – helping to keep them safer on English-speaking roads.

Over 1,000 successful passes for the theory test have had to be revoked in the last 5 years, due to the outcome of investigations into claims of interpreters helping candidates to cheat.

In the years of 2008 and 2009, one in five tests involving a translator was discovered to be cheating. This suggests that a large proportion of candidates have erroneously passed their Theory tests, despite insufficient knowledge.

Transport Minister Stephen Hammond said: “By stopping driving tests in foreign languages we will cut out the risk of fraud and help to ensure that all drivers can read road signs and fully understand the rules of the road.”

Driving can be a dangerous practice, and allowing motorists behind the wheel who fall short of the requirements needed to drive in the UK would be inadvertently asking for trouble. Removing the use of interpreters in the theory test will resolve this issue.

What are your thoughts? Should we allow candidates to take the Theory test using an interpreter? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

We all know what’s it like on test day! You’ve prepared and you know you can pass it but you’ve got the jitters. What do you do?

You know us better than to think we wouldn’t have an answer. Here are our 5 top tips:

1) Get organised. You can do this is by having everything prepared the night before. Have your driving licence and papers ready so you’re not worrying about these the next day – which won’t help your nerves.
2) Know the car. Will you be taking your test in a car that you have learnt in? If you’re asked to open the car bonnet do you know how?
3) Make a good impression on your examiner – you know, a smile. Of course, if you make a serious mistake you’ll still fail, it’s much better doing your test in a pleasant environment.
4) Keep your eyes on your speed. We don’t need to explain this one.
5) Don’t give up! If you feel you’ve made a big mistake, keep going. Don’t give up. Show the examiner you can recover from mistakes.

Those are our tips!

Good luck.

What are your thoughts on this article? Send your views to Britannia Driving School by using the comments link below:

Recently the news reported that 80-year-old Coronation Street actress Barbara Knox had been arrested for drink driving.

The reason we bring this up is because many people, and we’re not saying Knox is one of them, lull themselves into the idea that because they’ve been driving for decades, they can push the limits.

What do we mean?

They drink one more than they should and feel that it will be okay because they’re experienced and they’re not driving far.

Or they think about the fact they’ve driven the same route for years and have never had an accident.

But there’s never an excuse. You shouldn’t get behind the wheel if you are over the limit. Of course, many of us won’t have our offences listed in the tabloids, but we risk so much more: losing our licence or causing a serious accident. And we don’t want either of those things for you.

What are your thoughts on this article? Send your views to Britannia Driving School by using the comments link below: