July 2, 2014
Limits For New Drivers

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Older, experienced drivers do fear getting into a car with a newly qualified young driver, gritting their teeth and clutching at the sides of their seat. Is this a fair criticism of young drivers?

A poll of more than 2000 adults found that 68% supported some form of ‘graduated licensing’ for young drivers in their first year of driving. The type of restrictions backed by those who were polled included limitations on the number of passengers they could carry and restrictions on driving between midnight and 5am.

Almost one in eight of all injuries and deaths on the roads involved a driver aged 17 to 19 despite the fact the age group only represents one in 60 of all licensed drivers. This explains the reasoning behind placing some restriction on their driving to improve their safety.

However, is this a good idea? There are risky drivers of all ages, is it really fair to curtail the freedom of young drivers? Do restrictions really help young drivers learn safety on the road?

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June 30, 2014
Changes In Driving Test Statistics

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The DVSA has released statistics regarding the driving theory and practical tests for the January-March 2014 period. From the statistics, a number of trends can be deduced.

The total number of practical tests have been on a downward medium-trend from the period of 2007/08; an important factor that is potentially influencing this is the generally increasing practical test pass rates, hence fewer candidates taking retests. However, in this quarter the pass rate has decreased to 46.9% and the number of practical tests taken has increased which can be attributed to, as well as the lower pass rate, to the fact that there was an unusually low number of tests taken in the same period last year due to the severe weather.

In addition, the pass rate for the theory tests have decreased, standing at 50.5% which is 19% lower than last year’s pass rate in the same period. This may be affected by the withdrawal of voice-overs and translators for foreign language tests from April 2014 resulting in a surge of less well prepared candidates taking their test.

Previously, the economic recession from 2008 had discouraged some people from taking the theory and practical tests; however, the increase in test number suggests that the economic conditions are no longer a limiting factor.

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June 5, 2014
Learner ‘Car-Jacked’ Instructor During Lesson

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The incident occurred in Erdington, Birmingham after a row broke out over the learner’s debt to the instructor during a lesson. The learner then slammed on the brakes and punched the instructor in the face. He abandoned the car and walked away but returned to continue attacking his 56-year-old driving instructor who was attempting to call police for help.

The learner then demanded the instructor’s car keys and sped off in the driving school’s Nissan Note. Police were able to trace him back to his home address as the instructor still had his details.

However, attempts are still being made to locate the car which has not been seen since.

Det Con Darren Wilkie of West Midlands Police said ‘It appears the man owed money for earlier lessons. when the instructor asked for payment, his student responded aggressively.’

A 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery and assault.

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May 7, 2014
Instructor Caught Eating Muesli Whilst Driving

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A driving instructor from Oxford has been fined £100 and given three penalty points on his licence after being caught by the police eating a bowl of muesli behind the week.

The instructor was spotted by police in Garsington Road, Cowley, Oxford this morning.

Officers from the Thames Valley Roads Policing team stopped a man between 8.30am and 9am on Garsington Road.

Police spokeswoman Hannah Williams confirmed that the driver was issued with a fixed penalty notice and stated that he was stopped by police for driving without full control of the vehicle.

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May 1, 2014
Compulsory Motorway Lessons?

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As it stands, motorway lessons are not compulsory. Once you pass your practical driving test, you are automatically entitled to drive on the motorway. However, as a learner you are barred from driving on the motorway.

This is potentially problematic since a driver with no experience on the motorway at all, having not been taught motorway driving, can freely drive on the motorway. This leads to motorists developing various bad habits such as tailgating and middle-lane hogging as they have never been taught how to drive on the motorway properly.

The Pass Plus course is an opportunity to practice driving on the motorway alongside a driving instructor; alternatively, newly qualified drivers can take motorway lessons from an instructor.

However, this is voluntary and there is no requirement that newly qualified drivers take motorway lessons.

There are calls for motorway lessons to be compulsory with the government announcing plans to let learner drives use motorways in 2012 provided they were accompanied by a qualified instructor. However, to date, there is no sign of this law yet being implemented. There are also practical problems in including motorways in the driving test, in particular, with individuals who live nowhere near a motorway and so would having experience of the motorway let along including it in their test.

What are your thoughts, are compulsory motorway lessons the only way to tackle bad motorway habits? Send your views to Britannia Driving School by using the comments link below:

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April 17, 2014
The New Standards Check

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The Check Test has been updated into the new Standards Check on 7th April, which with it brings a new grading system.

The standards check involves the driving examiner accompanying and observing the ADI on a normal one hour lesson. It is purely a practical in-car assessment and no off-road or classroom alternatives will be offered.

The typical scenarios that you might be assessed for include: inexperienced learner, experienced learner, new full licence holder and experienced full licence holder.

The assessment looks at 3 broad areas: lesson planning, risk management, teaching and learning strategies.

To pass the ADI must:

– Actively recognise the need to understand the pupil’s experience and background
– Ask suitable questions
– Encourage the pupil to talk about their goals, concerns etc. and actively listen to what the pupil has to say
– Understand the significant of what they say
– Recognise other indications, e.g. body language, that the pupil is trying to express something but perhaps cannot find the right words

You have the opportunity to gain up to 51 marks which will dictate your final grade.

What are your thoughts on the replacement of the Check Test with the Standards Check? Send your views to Britannia Driving School by using the comments link below:

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April 14, 2014
Theory Test Fees Review

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A consultation was launched on 10th April on changes to theory test fees. The cost of the driving theory test could be cut by 25% which would save learners £14.5m a year.

The proposals have been set out in a public consultation which would see the cost of the theory test fall by £6 in October this year to £25 with a further drop of £2 planned in October 2015.

The consultation follows the government’s commitment to reduce the cost of motoring which so far includes a cap on the maximum price of MOTs at £54.85 until 2015 and an extension of the fuel duty freeze until spring 2015. It also sets out proposed reductions for motorcycle, bus and lorry theory tests.

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April 10, 2014
DVSA Has Been Launched

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The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) have been merged to form the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency from 2nd April.

Roads Minister Stephen Hammond launched the DVSA, bringing together a range of motoring services including driving tests, goods and passenger vehicle testing, operator licensing and the supervision of MOTs. The merge of the two agencies is to provide more convenient and cost effective services for motorists.

The merger follows a consultation last year looking at how the government can reform its motoring services agencies to put customers first, reduce costs and improve consistency.

DVSA will be responsible for setting, testing and enforcing driver and vehicle standards in Great Britain and will this year conduct 1.5 million theory tests and 1.6 million practical driving tests amongst other services

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April 7, 2014
Still Teaching At The Age Of 94

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Great-grandmother Laura Thomas is Britain’s oldest driving instructor at the age of 94 and has taught over 1000 learners in her 76 years as a fully qualified driver.

She argues that you are never too old to drive; she has seen big changes in cars and how busy the roads are but believes that the basics of driving haven’t changed.

She has taught grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren from the same family and none of her pupils have taken more than two attempts to pass their test. She has never advertised her services but has enjoyed a steady stream of pupils for almost 80 years. Even though she has cut back on the number of lessons she takes recently, she has no plans to quit driving.

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April 2, 2014
New ADI Grading System

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The DVSA has now announced a new grading structure for driving instructors which is to come into operation on 7 April 2014. Under the new Standards Check, ADIs being assessed will be given one of the following grades:

– A grade (85% or over) – an overall high standard of instruction
– B grade (60% or over) – a sufficient level of competence
– Fail (less than 60%) – an unsatisfactory performance

If an instructor receives a fail grade, they will be given another standards check within 12 weeks, to allow them to show that their level of tuition has improved and they meet the required standard.

Until an ADI is assessed under the new system, their current grade of 4-6 remains valid. Instructors who fail three successive assessments under the Standards Check can be removed from the register.

The new structure replaces the current six grades, which is not widely understood by the general public. The move is part of a series of changes aimed at modernising the driver training industry.

The DVSA has stated that it expects all ADIs to strive to become Grade A instructors whilst, according to the DVSA, a lot of instructors are grade 4 on the current structure, which means that they have demonstrated sufficient competence to remain on the register.

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