August 18th, 2010 Administrator
BOROUGH libraries are helping people get into the driving seat with a free online practise test.
The service is offering learner drivers to have a go at the Theory Test Pro online – a highly realistic simulation of the driving theory test which allows people to test their knowledge ahead of a real test.
The full set of official questions, Highway Code and hazard perception clips are all available free of charge.
The website – dudley.gov.uk/libraries – can be accessed from any computer, whether at home or in the library but a library card and PIN is required to log on. People should follow the link to online resources.
Councillor David Simms, cabinet member for housing, libraries and adult learning, said: “This is a great learning resource for people learning to drive and best of all it’s free to use.”
From : Dudley News website
Bedford driving instructors from the driving school Txt-Drive can offer help & advise on the DSA Theory Test which you will be required to pass before you can take your practical driving test in Bedford. Txt-Drive driving school in Bedford offer driving lessons in Bedford from just £12.00 per hour. Visit www.txt-drive.co.uk or call 0800 8600 983 (FREEPHONE) for more information or to book driving lessons.
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August 4th, 2010 Administrator
Drivers are risking fines, disqualification or jail because they do not know the rules on supervising learners, according to the AA.
The motoring group’s survey of 19,000 members suggested nearly a quarter did not know it was illegal to use a mobile phone while out with a learner driver.
Nearly one in 10 respondents was unaware falling asleep was not allowed.
The law states that somebody supervising a learner driver is effectively in control of the car.
The AA said that in one case a supervisor was jailed after the learner was involved in a crash that killed two people.
It said many learners benefited from time spent with more experienced drivers, but suggested short driving courses for supervisors might be needed.
The AA/Populus survey suggested drivers were also breaking the law by drinking, sending text messages, or failing to wear their glasses while on practice runs with learners.
Some 23% of respondents did not know they would be breaking the law by using a mobile phone while supervising a learner.
And 13% were unaware of the need to wear glasses if they used them when driving themselves, while 9% did not realise that falling asleep in the passenger seat was illegal.
A total of 4% of respondents who had supervised learners admitted breaking at least one of these laws. The figure rose to 22% among supervisors aged 21 to 24.
The president of the AA, Edmund King, said the issue was highlighted by a case in which a person who was supposed to be supervising was over the drink-drive limit.
“This is where the legal point is quite serious because you are actually deemed to be in control of the car, even when you’re supervising. And in fact there has been a case where tragically the learner driver actually had a crash, two people died and the supervisor was actually deemed responsible and actually went to jail.”
Reducing risk
AA Driving School director Simon Douglas said: “Learners who build on skills they gain in formal lessons by practising with family or friends have a better chance of passing their test and are likely to be safer behind the wheel.
“Yet drivers often lack confidence or don’t know their responsibilities when supervising learners
“Many are passing on bad driving habits or even risking a run-in with the law.”
Road safety charity Brake said it wanted to see the minimum age for accompanying drivers raised to at least 25.
Katie Shephard from the charity said: “It is vital that learner drivers gain suitable supervised experience behind the wheel, to ensure their safety and the safety of other road users. Accompanying drivers should also be registered as ‘approved accompanying drivers’ by completing a questionnaire to prove their suitability, which could be checked by their insurer.”
Duncan Vernon, road safety manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said there was “no doubt” those who supervised learner drivers would benefit from being given more information about how best to teach.
“All-round good practice should involve better co-ordination with approved driving instructors, as well-planned private practice can be invaluable,” he said.
“It gives the novice more experience in all kinds of conditions, thereby reducing the risk of them being involved in a crash once they have passed their test.”
From : BBC website
If you want to learn to drive in Bedford with a FULLY QUALIFIED, LOCAL, FRIENDLY driving instructor, in an insured BMW MINI then call Txt-Drive driving school in Bedford on 0800 8600 983 (FREEPHONE) or text DRIVE to 80039 (standard text rate) or visit www.txt-drive.co.uk to book driving lessons.
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July 30th, 2010 Administrator
A learner driver has been quoted a staggering £17,000 to insure his £2,000 Vauxhall Corsa.
Student James Hayes, who turns 17 next week, saved for months to buy his modest one-litre car but has been astonished at the sky-high quotes for insurance.
He will have to work flat out over the summer to pay the premiums.
His case highlights how insurers are increasingly using prohibitive premiums as a weapon against young male drivers.
The failure of insurers to offer reasonably priced insurance is being blamed on an explosion in uninsured drivers, which drives up the cost of cover for others and leads middle-class parents to commit a crime by putting themselves as the main driver on their children’s cars.
This reluctance to insure young men is based on accident statistics.
Men aged 17 to 20 are almost ten times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the roads than older drivers, while one in five new drivers has a crash within six months of passing their test, according to road safety charity Brake.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says the average claim of a younger driver is also three times more than older drivers.
But their refusal to cover male teenagers for affordable premiums has led to almost a quarter driving uninsured, according to Brake.
And this ends up costing all motorists as they foot the £500million annual bill for accidents caused by uninsured drivers. Fines for driving without insurance can be as small as £200 plus six points on the licence.
James Daley, editor of Which? Money, says: ‘Uninsured driving is just a knock-on effect of insurers charging high premiums. If insurers really want to combat this then they need to come up with innovative solutions to help young drivers reduce their costs.
‘It’s in everybody’s interests to encourage young people to be better drivers and those who are responsible and maybe need to drive for their job should not be made to feel as if they’re being discriminated against.’
Car insurance premiums have rocketed 11 per cent in the past three months, according to the AA. The average premium for drivers who shop around is £704, but most young drivers can expect to pay at least £1,500 more than this.
Mr Hayes says: ‘I used six comparison websites and the cheapest comprehensive quote I found as a learner driver was £2,257 with ibuyeco. This rises to £3,555 with Admiral when I pass my test. It’s ridiculous when my car is only worth £2,000.’
The most expensive comprehensive quote he received was from The Green Insurance Company at £17,000 per year.
Mr Hayes, who is studying for his A-levels, earns £5.60 per hour working at a supermarket during the holidays and weekends. As well as his insurance, road tax and MoT, he will also have to pay for driving lessons at £13 per hour.
Many youngsters get their parents to insure their car and go on the policy as a named driver – an illegal process known as ‘fronting’.
Mr Daley says: ‘This really is a middle-class crime. Families think: “Well, everybody else is doing it so why shouldn’t we?” ‘
Mr Hayes, who hopes to work in the film industry after he finishes his studies, does not want third party-only insurance and does not want to invalidate his insurance by fronting.
Direct line told him that it keeps all quotes generated by customers – so if someone initially got a quote for themselves, decided it was too expensive and got a new quote with their parent as the main driver instead, the insurer would not pay out on this policy because it has obviously been fronted.
A spokeswoman for Direct line says: ‘Fronting is fraud and the consequences could be grave – ranging from an additional premium being required, to the cancelling of a policy (and therefore non-payment of the claim) as well as the policyholder being added to the financial industry’s fraud database.’
Malcolm Tarling of the ABI says: ‘It is not uncommon for premiums for young drivers to exceed the value of their car.
‘The main risk is not loss or damage to the car itself, but the potential cost of personal injury awards made against the driver if they cause an accident. This can easily run into tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.’
The best way for young drivers to minimise the cost of insurance is to shop around using comparison sites, such as Moneysupermarket.com, GoCompare.com, ComparetheMarket.com, Compare.dailymail.co.uk and Tiger.co.uk.
You could also find a local specialist broker on the British Insurance Brokers’ Association website www. biba.org.uk or by calling 0870 950 1790. For the cheapest cars to insure, visit www.thisismoney.co.uk/cheap
Will Thomas of Confused.com says: ‘When you’ve passed your test, take the Pass Plus course. Only 6 per cent of 17 to 25-year-old males do, but it saves them £1,037 on average before they reach 25.
‘Start with a small-engine runaround in order to build driving experience.’
From : Dailymail.co.uk
Txt-Drive driving school in Bedford has FULLY QUALIFIED driving instructors that can deliver the PASS PLUS course to you. The PASS PLUS course costs just £150.00 for 6 hours of driving lessons. The PASS PLUS course is designed for new drivers that have recently passed their driving test as it helps to develop their existing skills & it also provides more experience for the new driver. The PASS PLUS course covers motorway driving, night driving, all weather driving & much more. To book driving lessons in Bedford with Bedford driving school Txt-Drive, please call : 0800 8600 983 (FREEPHONE). To book yourself on the PASS PLUS course after your driving test call a Txt-Drive driving instructor in Bedford on the above FREEPHONE number or visit www.txt-drive.co.uk.
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July 29th, 2010 Administrator
Learner drivers could fail their driving test if they pose a threat to the planet, under proposals being draw up by the European Commission.
Braking suddenly, revving the engine or wasting fuel by being too heavy on the accelerator pedal could prove costly.
This is because Brussels wants to include “eco-driving” – cutting carbon emissions at the wheel – in the practical driving test.
The plans, which could consign “boy racer” drivers to history, were unveiled earlier this week by Siim Kallas, the EU’s Transport Commissioner as part of a comprehensive road safety strategy for the next decade.
It would be achieved by widening the current EU Driving Licence Directive, which is binding on all member states.
In Britain “eco-driving” has been included in the written test since September 2008.
But making it part of the practical examination would mean that learner drivers would not only have to be safe drivers but also “clean” ones as well.
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” said Claire Armstrong of the motoring group, Safe Speed.
“How is driving in an environmentally unfriendly manner posing a danger to other road users.
“In any case people want to drive in an economical manner, because keeping a car on the road is so expensive.”
Andrew Howard, the AA’s head of road safety, also voiced some misgivings.
“My concern that somebody could be mark down twice for the same piece of bad driving such as accelerating too fast,” he said.
“I suppose there would be one benefit, the young say they are short of money and this would encourage them to save fuel.”
But Stephen Joseph, executive director (check) of the Campaign for Better Transport, welcomed the initiative.
“This is a practical and common sense measure. Training people drive in this way would save them money and the planet as well.”
Eco-driving is one of a number of initiatives aimed at improving the next generation of drivers.
The EU also wants to introduce a probation period for newly qualified drivers, who would be subject to stricter restrictions than other motorists.
The Government gave the proposals a cool response. “We will study with interest the EU road safety strategy and the specific proposals within it,” said Mike Penning, a transport minister.
“This strategy outlines plans for the next ten years and at present there is no specific legislative proposal in this area.
“Any new proposals that emerge – including the widening of the EU driving licence directive – will be subject to scrutiny by the UK and European parliaments and subject to negotiations between Member States.
“We will negotiate strongly to ensure any changes to current legislation are consistent with our domestic road safety policy and represent the best interests of UK citizens.”
From : Telegraph.co.uk
Bedfor driving school Txt-Drive teaches learners on how to drive in an eco-friendly way. Driving lessons in Bedford with a Txt-Drive driving instructor cost from just £12.00 (call FREEPHONE 0800 8600 983 or visit www.txt-drive.co.uk for more information). Txt-Drive uses FULLY QUALIFIED driving instructors & give driving lessons in Bedford in the new BMW Minis.
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July 26th, 2010 Administrator
SWEEPING changes on how young motorists are taught to drive will be introduced before the end of the summer in an attempt to cut the carnage on our roads.
Tough new rules will force learner drivers to undertake compulsory training before applying to sit their driving test.
The new process could cost them up to €700, the Irish Independent has learned.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) last night said details of a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system would be announced within weeks. It will include a requirement that all learners take a set number of lessons from a qualified driving instructor.
The changes will also oblige a learner to keep a logbook detailing the hours spent practising. Only motorists who pass an approved syllabus will be allowed to sit a test.
The move comes after last week’s horrific road accident in Co Donegal in which eight people died — the worst single collision in the history of the State.
Eight young men were travelling in a Volkswagen Passat when it collided with a Toyota Corolla. Seven passengers were killed and the driver remains in hospital. The driver of the Corolla, a 66-year-old man, also died. Gardai are still probing the cause of the crash.
But statistics show that inexperienced drivers, particularly men aged 17 to 24, are most at risk of dying on the roads.
Despite the number of road deaths falling to a record low, Ireland is one of the only countries in the EU that does not have a formal programme on how people are taught to drive.
The current system allows anyone who has held a learner permit for six months to apply for a test. During that period they must be accompanied by a qualified driver, but once they pass they are free to drive alone.
The changes will only affect new learner permit holders. Anyone who holds a licence now will not be affected.
“This system is in place in the UK, Germany, Northern Ireland and France. There’s very few places that don’t have it. It’s very similar to getting a pilot’s licence, you have to do your hours,” RSA chief executive Noel Brett said last night.
“We have done the syllabus and are working on the regulations needed. It will include a number of hours of training, and the syllabus will also cover the responsibilities of drivers.
“The first step will be to get the permit, then engage with an approved instructor and cover the syllabus. Drivers will clock up practice hours and have a logbook signed by the accompanying driver.”
Curfew
However, some aspects of GDL systems used in other countries will not be introduced. A curfew on learner drivers and a ban on carrying passengers were “not needed” here, he said.
Last year, the RSA issued a public consultation document setting out a range of options for a GDL system.
It said: “There is evidence that the best approach to learning to drive is a mix of compulsory lessons and supervised practice. Compulsory lessons would involve learners taking structured lessons set out in a programme specially designed to meet the needs of learners.
“The number of lessons would depend on the ability of the learner working through the programme but would be of the order of 20 hours.”
Driving lessons cost €35 per hour — meaning the total for 20 hours would be about €700.
The RSA would not confirm how many hours of training would be required when the plan was formally rolled out.
The changes are awaiting final sign-off from the Department of Transport and will be announced before the end of the summer.
- Paul Melia
Irish Independent
From : Independent.ie
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