June 22, 2015
Norwich Driving Instructor fired for sleeping

The driving instructor in Norwich City was photographed by a passenger in her father’s van when they pulled up next to the learner vehicle. The driving school immediately dismissed the instructor and stated that his behaviour was unacceptable.

The individual that took the picture said that the instructor was asleep for the entire time. The only thing that woke him up was her dad revving the van loudly to see if that would wake him up. as for the pupil he was teaching, he looked extremely flustered.

She posted the photo on her Facebook page and it has attracted a string of comments.

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June 18, 2015
Deregulation Act 2015 change

From Monday 8 June 2015, the qualification route for all approved driving instructors (ADIs) will be the same.

The changes brought in by the Deregulation Act 2015 have removed the ‘Disabled ADI’ category. This makes the qualification process for medically restricted licence holders the same as it is for those with a full licence.

Instructors with disabilities will no longer be made to pass the additional Emergency Control Assessment (ECA) automatically before registering and restricted to delivering paid post-test training in automatic cars.

This means that trainee instructors who hold a medically restricted licence can now become ADIs. The Registrar can ask any instructor to pass an ECA at any time during the qualification process or registration period – we would expect this to apply only in exceptional circumstances. It is also no longer an offence for ADIs with a medically restricted licence to provide paid instruction in a manual vehicle if the person receiving training has a full driving licence.

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April 22, 2015
Counterpart abolition update

From 8th June 2015, DVLA will no longer issue the paper counterpart to the photocard driving lessons. This means from that date, existing paper counterparts will no longer be valid and the DVSA is advising drivers to destroy their counterpart after this date. Drivers who hold a paper only driving licence (issued in 1998) remain valid and should not be destroyed.

The abolition of the counterpart campaign materials provide targeted messages to specific customer segments, notably, hiring a vehicle and professional driving such as for driving instructors.

The additional information contains advice for individuals and business who currently check the counterpart of their employees or customers. The materials also offer advice to people who may need to provide evidence of their record after 8 June 2015.

The communication toolkit is available online.

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February 25, 2015
Practical Driving Test Trials

Following the announcement that the driving test is to be updated, the DVSA have announced that they will shortly begin research into how these changes could be implemented.

The research, which is to be conducted at 20 test centres, will see how the driving test could be made more realistic and better prepare drivers for modern day driving. This will involve trialling a new version of the driving test where candidates will use a satellite navigation system, carry out different manoeuvres, answer ‘show me tell me’ questions on the move.

Amongst the 20 trial locations is Mitcham test centre, one used by some Britannia instructors with a few of our instructors looking to get involved in the research and help assess whether the changes will be an improvement to the driving test.

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January 29, 2015
Test Changes Update

Late last year we wrote of the Practical Test undergoing some changes which will see the Turn in the Road being dropped. There are now further updates on these changes.

Both the Turn in the Road and the Reverse Round the Corner are to be scrapped from the practical test. The independent drive will last for 20 minutes instead of 10 and will involve using a Sat Nav instead of following road signs.

A new manoeuvre is to be introduced which involves driving into a parking bay and reversing back out in a similar style to the Turn in the Road. Stopping on the right is also to be introduced since this is a manoeuvre that is not tested on the practical test but is widely used in real life.

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December 15, 2014
Changes Mean Longer Waiting Times

A shortage of examiners and difficult government reforms mean learners will suffer long delays before being able to take their driving tests.

Since the DVSA’s merger in April, it has missed its target of providing aspiring drivers with a test within six weeks of applying. This is in part due to the fact that the new body suffered from a shortfall of 60 examiners when it started. Since the merger, the average way has been 6.2 weeks, peaking at 8 weeks in August and the latest available figure, for October, showing a wait of 7 weeks.

Government reforms have also been blamed for placing motoring agencies, like the DVSA, into chaos leading to a number of resignations within the agency. However, the DVSA argue that the increase in waiting time is due to higher demand for driving tests and that they are working to recruit more examiners to meet this demand.

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December 11, 2014
Hazard Perception Wins Road Safety Award

The Hazard Perception components of the theory test won the top prize at this year’s Prince Michael International Road Safety awards.

Research has shown that hazard perception training and testing could account for an 11% reduction in collisions, helping to improve road safety and reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on Britain’s Roads.

The theory test plays a vital role in making sure that new drivers know the Highway Code and the rules of the road, helping them to drive safely and responsibly and making our roads safer.

The award shows that the hazard perception test ensures that learner drivers can identify risks and apply these skills once they have passed their driving test.

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July 23, 2014
50th Year As An Instructor

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Veteran instructor Chris Bloor, from Stoke-on-Trent, has celebrated her 50th year as a driving instructor.

She began her career very soon after passing her test at the age of 18 by taking on a few of her father’s clients. Back in the 60s, she was one of only two female driving instructors in Stoke-on-Trent.

She briefly left the company for several years to pursue a career in advertising but soon returned to her father’s driving school and remained there ever since.

After so many years in the job, she has seen many changes in the driving tests and learners. In the late 70s and early 80s, there was an influx of Chinese people, prompting her to learn to speak Cantonese and she can now conduct lessons in the language. Attitudes have also changed: at first a lot of Asian men refused a female instructor and the women had to have a chaperone in the back. She highlights that a few men even prefer a female instructor.

She adds the most rewarding part of her job is seeing her students pass their practical tests.

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July 9, 2014
The Worst Driving Experiences

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Nerves make learners commit the strangest of errors. We have heard of quite a few, and I am sure we have all committed various blunders whilst learning to drive.

It is commonplace to hear of learners driving on the wrong side of the road, cutting people up on roundabouts and crossing their hands over the steering wheel. We have even heard people selecting reverse gear instead of first gear and crashing into a wall. But have you heard of the pupil saluting each time they turned the corner or the pupil who wished to take her driving lessons in an Eskimo outfit? These are all real-life stories experienced by instructors in the UK.

Driving tests have seen even stranger occurrences. One particular learner from Guildford drove straight into the river Wye at the start of her 5th driving test. The car sank, she swam ashore and the examiner, who could not swim, crawled onto the roof of the vehicle screaming for help. Another learner accidentally drove the car straight through the test centre, demolishing the building.

On another test, the blunder was committed by the examiner. The examiner was working at a different test centre to usual and went out to conduct a test. Colleagues started to get concerned after the examiner hadn’t returned in two hours. The examiner and pupil then arrived back at the test centre in a taxi. The examiner had gotten completely lost and apologised to the driving instructor that he had no idea where his car was.

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July 7, 2014
Driving Test Superstitions

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Many learners are resorting to various rituals in the hope they pass their practical test. One particular student’s mother cracked an egg on every tyre before the test whilst another pupil spent the last lesson prior to the test parking up and standing on drain covers every time she spotted them in pairs.

These rituals may seem far-fetched but both students passed.

A driving instructor has been reported to make sure his cuddly monkey toy is safely strapped in for every test. He also gets his pupils to book tests in the morning.

Other anecdotes include a pupil wearing the same T-shirt on her test that she wore when she gave birth to her daughter.

With the number of first-time passes falling, the message is ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try again’. One 24-year-old pupil even took 24 attempts before passing her test and was one of either Britons who have racked-up at least 20 tests by the end of 2013 according to the DVSA.

In the end, it is good driving that will ensure a learner passes. However, if superstitions ease the nerves, then this can’t be harmless.

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