In wake of our recent post of a driver eating cereal at the wheel, it looks like this is not the only case of a motorist taking the opportunity to get in a quick snack whilst driving.

Elsa Harris, from Bournemouth was hit with a £100 fine and the choice of either three penalty points or needing to complete a driver awareness course – All for eating a banana when behind the wheel.

Despite the fact that most of the fruit had been pre-peeled at home, and that the car was actually stationary in a traffic jam at the time, Elsa momentarily took her hands away from the wheel to remove the remaining skin from the fruit – But was spotted by eagle-eyed police.

Was this punishment too severe? Let us know your thoughts below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

A motorist spotted apparently eating a bowl of cereal whilst driving in Hampton Court has been spoken to by police. The woman was filmed with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a white bowl.

On Friday, Surrey Police said a 51-year-old from East Molesey had ‘voluntarily attended’ Staines police station and was interviewed by officers from the Roads Policing Unit.

She was then issued with a Driver Referral Notice for the offence of driving whilst not in proper control of a motor vehicle. Police said the notice would be submitted to the force’s Traffic and Process Unit (TPU), for it to review the case and make a decision regarding any further action. This could include sending the woman on a driver improvement course or issuing a fixed penalty notice.

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Shane Rae sent his licence to the DVLA to amend his address after moving house and had an unblemished 30-year driving record. When his licence was returned, it was returned minus his entitlement to ride a motorcycle – and when he complained he was warned that his car licence would be revoked as well because the DVLA had no record of his qualification to ride a motorbike or drive a car.

He is just one of hundreds of motorists who have sent their licence to the DVLA to be amended and found themselves confronted with a demand that they provide proof that they passed their test, even if they took it decades ago.

DVLA has already been criticised with many motorists after a new online system that affects people hiring a car was plagued by technical hitches earlier this month, and the emergence of this latest problem will only add to the pressure on the DVLA.

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For many learner drivers, taking the driving test can be one of the more daunting prospects to face – However it is an essential life skill needed to finally become a fully-fledged driver.

If you suffer from driving test nerves, you may be happy to know a good tip for passing your driving test; Preparation.

Yes, with the right amount of preparation, you can maximise your chances of passing the driving test with flying colours – But how exactly can you prepare?

Try learning the roads you may be asked to drive on your test route. Any pot-holes, roadworks, awkward junctions, etc that you are aware of in advance will help you to deal with these situations much better in your test.

Also book a lesson around the test route immediately before your test – This will ensure you don’t start driving “cold”, and also put you more at ease during your test.

Safe driving from Britannia!

John Prescott has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding in his Jaguar. The Labour peer and former Hull East MP was caught doing 60mph in a 50mph zone in his Jaguar after helping his son David move house in Lincolnshire.

The 77-year-old was caught by a police speed gun and the extra points pushed him over the limit, leading to a totting up ban. Prescott agreed that he committed the offence and so he won’t be back behind the wheel until the end of November.

Prescott says that he has been involved in bringing speeding legislation in and so he has to face the consequences and there is no excuse. He had nine points on his licence when he was caught travelling home; the extra three points awarded gave him 12, leading to an automatic ban.

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A whopping one in six drivers currently on the roads would fail their driving test if they were made to take it again, a new survey has revealed.

Up to 16% of motorists believe that they would struggle mainly with the Theory test if they had to sit the exam again – Leading for many to question the standard of those behind the wheel on UK roads.

Some of the more common reasons for failing a driving re-test include being unable to remember what road signs mean, and questions regarding safety when overtaking and even down to stopping distances in different conditions.

However motorcyclists seem to have fared better in the results of the research – Due to needing to stay more alert when on the roads, the results suggest that bikers would succeed in far greater numbers than car drivers in a re-test.

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Safe driving from Britannia!

Smart cars of the near future could refuse to start if the driver exceeds the drink-drive limit. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), working with a consortium of car makers including Ford, GM and Volkswagen has developed an alcohol detection system for vehicles that will prevent those over the limit from driving.

The NHTSA unveiled a prototype car fitted with its new Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety technology. The technology includes a steering wheel-mounted breathalyser and an engine start button that detects blood alcohol level via an infrared light.

Both will operate as passive systems, detecting alcohol level as the driver breathes normally, presses a button or holds the wheel. If the system detects the driver is over the limit it will refuse to start the car.

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A move to scrap the paper driving licence and digitise drivers’ records ended in chaos for holidaymakers yesterday as DVLA’s website suffered a technical breakdown.

In the biggest change since the introduction of the photocard licence, the DVLA officially abolished the paper driving licence on 8 June in a bid to streamline services and save money.

But British holidaymakers’ plans were ‘left in chaos’ after the agency’s website, which provides a code which can be passed on to car hire companies in replacement of the counterpart, crashed on the day of its official launch.

Drivers trying to get a DVLA code to give to car hire companies instead of their paper driving licence were left frustrated as the site showed an online error message.

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