July 28, 2014
Driving Licence Fees To Fall

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Driving licence fees are set to fall by up to 32% under plans announced today by Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, and Transport Minister Claire Petty.

The proposals to reduce the fees have been set out in a public consultation on driver licensing fees. The consultation sets out a proposed reduction in driving licence fees of 32% for digital transactions and 15% for paper applications.

As part of the proposals, drivers who apply online for their first driving licence would see the fee drop from £50 to £34. Drivers who renew their licence after 10 years would see the fee drop from £20 to £14. All driver tachograph cards would fall from £38 to £32.

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July 14, 2014
A Record Number Of Theory Test Attempts

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A 28-year-old woman from Southwark has spent £3,410 sitting her theory test 110 times and is still yet to pass her test. After that, she then has to attempt the practical test.

The driving theory test, costing £31 a time but set to drop down in price, comprises multiple-choice questions and a hazard perception exam.

Although no learner has come close to this incredible number of theory test attempts there a number of learners who have taken significant attempts to pass. A 41-year-old from Birmingham passed on his 80th attempt whilst a 27-year-old man from Pembrokeshire failed 64 tests and a 46-year-old male from Reading failed 61 times.

Figures from a Freedom of Information request to the DVSA also showed that even when learners managed to pass the theory test, they still struggled to master the practical exam. The highest number of practical test attempts comes from a 40-year-old man from Stoke-On-Trent who took 37 attempts to pass the practical test. A high proportion of the top 20 of highest number of practical test attempts taken come from candidates of the Heckmondwike test centre, renowed as the worst test centre. In London, Hendon and South Norwood feature with the learner taking 33 and 32 attempts respectively. The majority of these learners were aged over 35 whilst those candidates struggling with the theory test range in ages.

A DVSA spokesman stated that ‘It is essential that all drivers demonstrate they have the right skills, knowledge and attitude to drive safely.’

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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.

Do you know of any strange stories surrounding driving tests and lessons? Send your views to Britannia Driving School by using the comments link below:

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July 8, 2014
Ambulance Drivers to Take Driving Lessons

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Many drivers are well aware of the presence of emergency vehicles on the road. With their flashing blue and red lights, and screeching sirens wailing from half way down the road, we are taught as driving pupils to notice these from as far off as possible, and to allow them to pass wherever is possible.

If only they were just as cautious.

Ambulance bosses at East Midlands Ambulance Service have decided to draft in a series of driving instructors to train their ambulance drivers in the skill of driving, after a recent amount of road traffic accidents involving the vehicles.

In the year running up to April 5th, over 400 incidents were recorded of ambulances colliding with other vehicles – however even this figure was down from 462 the previous year. The cost of these mishaps totalled over £400,000.

In light of these shocking figures, a team of skilled driving instructors has been called in to help improve the skill of those behind the wheel of ambulances, to reduce the number of collisions, and to reduce the bill of funding repairs to other vehicles.

A review of the situation revealed that the most common flaw was ambulance drivers leaving the hand-brake off – followed closely by clipping wing mirrors, bumping into parked cars, and poor reversing technique.

Whilst it is true that ambulance drivers are often required to drive in high-risk situations, it is surely a great idea to help improve the amount of accidents caused by these vehicles.

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

Safe driving from Britannia!

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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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July 3, 2014
When To Take Your Lessons

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It is very common for learners to be fitting their lessons into a schedule around school or work. The result of this is that learners will tend to take their lessons at the same time each day and even the same days each week.

This is not the productive way to take lessons since you must get used to all driving conditions to prepare you for the road. Over the course of the day, there are a number of different conditions – quiet roads in the early morning, the rush hour commute, steady daytime traffic, the evening rush-hour and night-time.

It is important to experience all these conditions before going for your practical test. In particular, tests take place during the day and so only having lessons in the evenings will not prepare you for the conditions when you take your test. Even if you work during the week, most driving instructors work weekends and so you should be able to take a lesson in the weekend in addition to your evening lessons during the week.

If you can experience as many conditions as possible once taking your lessons, you will become a much more confident driver once you pass.

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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 26, 2014
Penalty Points Before Passing The Test

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Almost 54,000 of learner drivers already have penalty points for speeding and going through red lights before they pass their test with the majority being for driving too fast. Other reasons include not having any insurance or driving carelessly.

A third of people believe driving instructors or the person accompanying learners should be responsible if learners are penalised, with more than one in ten believing that it is these individuals that should take the points – despite this practice being illegal.

It is understandable that learners should make mistakes along the way but picking up bad habits such as speeding or jumping lights before even passing a driving test is not a good way to start and these individuals should be made aware of the consequences of their actions.

One in three people do not realise that they can get points while learning to drive and 40% don’t know that if they accumulate six points in their first two years of driving they will lose their licence.

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June 25, 2014
Your Driving Test Result

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You’ll pass your practical test if you make:

– 15 or fewer driving faults
– No serious or dangerous faults

Once the driving test has ended, the examiner will ask whether you want to call your instructor over. The examiner will then tell you whether you passed or fail your test and give you some feedback on how you did during the test.

There are 3 types of faults that could be marked during your test:

-A dangerous fault – this would involve actual danger to you, the examiner, the public or property
– A serious fault – this could potentially become dangerous
– A driving fault – this is not potentially dangerous, but if you make the same fault throughout your test it could become a serious fault

If you pass your test, the examiner will give you a pass certificate and will immediately take your provisional licence to get your full licence sent out to you automatically. You do not need to wait for your full licence to arrive before driving; you can drive straight after passing your test.

If you don’t pass, you will have to wait another 10 working days before you can take another test.

Let us know your driving test experiences and thoughts by using the comments link below

Good luck from Britannia!

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