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Our office is closed Monday 3rd of May due to being Bank holiday, should you wish to purchase vouchers you can fill in a secure booking form on our website, any enquiries taken over the weekend will be dealt with on Tuesday.
Enjoy the long weekend!
Monthly Archives: April 2021
April 30, 2021
April 28, 2021
Britain’s roads will have DRIVERLESS cars travelling on them by end of year!
Today Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is said to announce that vehicles with new technology enabling them to stay in their lanes automatically will be legal within months.
The bold move will help to prevent up to 47,000 serious accidents and save 3,900 lives over the next decade as it cuts out human error, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
It will mean motorists in Britain may be the first in the world to be able to legally take their hands off the steering wheel and check their emails while driving.
The cars will travel at a maximum of 37mph and on motorways only.
They will not be able to change lanes, but will automatically slow down as they react to other traffic.
The driver will be able to take control in an emergency.
The cars will help to improve the traffic flow, reduce commute times and slash emissions as the ride will be smoother, ministers said.
Announcing a consultation, Transport Minister Rachel Maclean said: “This is a major step for the safe use of self-driving vehicles in the UK, making future journeys greener, easier and more reliable.”
The tech will appear only in newly-built cars.
It cannot be adapted for use in cars already on the road.
But Edmund King, of the AA, said: “More needs to be done to test these systems.”
Comments(0) April 20, 2021
DVSA refuses to extend expired theory tests
LEARNER drivers have lost £1.14million as a result of car theory tests expiring due to Covid backlogs.
Driving tests and lessons have been suspended during much of the pandemic, causing a pile-up of 420,000 car driving tests and 380,000 car theory tests.
But the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has resisted calls from learners to extend expiry dates on tests or suspend charges for repeat tests.
When the test booking system reopened in August it crashed following almost seven million applications for just 35,000 driving test slots.
With practical driving tests set to restart on April 22 in England and Wales, there will be 50,000 learner car drivers whose theory tests certificates will have expired.
Many drivers have also experienced multiple cancellations for driving test due to Covid restrictions.
The theory test costs £23 and is valid for two years.
Almost 50,000 car theory tests expired during the first and second lockdown, according to a Freedom of Information request made by Marmalade Insurance.
Learner drivers now face a 17 week wait to book a driving test, meaning many more theory tests will expire.
Over 79,000 people have signed an online petition for theory tests to be extended, with another petition calling upon the UK Government and Parliament to reconsider waiving theory test resit fees.
Experts have called for certificates to be extended or for the fee to be waived.
“We’d like them [the DVSA] to extend theory test certificates, because it’s not the fault of learner drivers that they can’t take their driving tests,” Howard Redwood, head of road safety at the Driving Instructors Association (DIA), said.
Gunnar Peters, CEO at learner driver insurance specialist, Veygo said: “This will be understandably frustrating for many learner drivers who will find themselves out of pocket if forced to retake expired theory tests through no fault of their own, so we’d like to see the DVSA waiving fees for those affected.”
Robert Cowell, interim managing director of AA Driving School said: “With the unprecedented demand for driving lessons that we’ve seen as lockdown restrictions lift, we anticipate the backlog will only increase.
“Our hope is that the recent DVSA recruitment drive to recruit an additional 300 examiners will make more test slots available for learners who have waited months to re-start their driving journey.
“If theory test certificates which expired in one of the UK’s lockdowns are extended in the same way MOTs and driving licences were, these learners could be on the road to passing their test sooner.”
Despite the backlog the DVSA has warned that extending theory test certificates could be a safety issue.
It is also feared that an extension to tests could cause costs to rise for others.
A DVSA spokesperson told The Sun: “Those with theory test certificates expiring will have taken their test in early 2019.
“Since then, their more recent lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their skills base will have diminished. “Research shows that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety.”
“We are advising customers to regularly check the booking system as they might find an earlier date due to a cancellation or more tests being added.”
Driving tests were given the go ahead to resume from April 12th, so learner drivers will be able to get back out on the road now.
There are new rules around the test too, but we have the lowdown on how to book.
For example, one new rule is that test-takers must wear a mask while driving.
If you need to practise your theory test we have a fully equipt classroom here at Britannia, we also offer free interactive help on our website.
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April 14, 2021
New Road Laws for Common offence
Proposals for an outright ban on pavement parking have been mooted.
Most of us have done it occasionally, some of us even do it semi regularly.
Parking on the pavement, or at least partially on the pavement is a common site on London’s streets with spaces at a premium.
But the act could soon be banned across England with £70 penalty fines under new laws expected to be rolled out this year reports state.
The new legislation would ban antisocial parking to make pavements safer for families and people with disabilities and visual impairments.
This law change – which already exists in London – is in response to complaints about pavement parking and the increased risks it poses to those who rely on them to travel.
The Department for Transport (DfT) first launched a proposal into the new rules last September.
It set out three options to make it easier for councils to ban pavement parking – giving local authorities powers to fine drivers who park on paths and an outright ban.
A DfT spokeswoman told us the government is now collating responses after receiving “overwhelming” feedback.
The proposals follow a review that found that a third of visually impaired people and almost half of wheelchair users were less willing to go out alone because of “antisocial” pavement parking.
Of course, regulations have been in place across London for years.
Rule 244 of the Highway Code states: “You must not park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it.”
If the rest of the UK follows London, parking on grass verges and ramps linking private property to roads would also be prohibited.
The only exceptions to London pavement parking rules are when signage states it is safe to do so, or for unloading deliveries. Outside of the capital, only lorries are currently prevented from pavement parking
Comments(0) April 1, 2021
Britannia After Lockdown
On Tuesday the 6th of April our dedicated office staff will be returning back to the office after working from home since December.
This will be to carry on answering the telephones, emails, livechats and to process an payments, once the instructors return back to teaching on the 12th April the office will remain closed to the public, if you have any enquiries this can be done online or over the phone, please if you need to purchase lessons this too needs to be online or over the phone.
Any vouchers that need extending can be posted in and we will look at extending them.
All lesson instructors and pupils unless exempt will need to wear a facial covering and sanitize hands,the teaching cars will be fully sanitized before and after each lesson.
We would like to wish everyone a safe , happy bank holiday and happy easter!
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