DRIVING while suffering from flu increases the risk of a road accident by as much as two glasses of whisky, according to a British new study.

 Drivers ‘under the influenza’ were less aware of hazards             Photo: GETTY

Using a driving simulator, researchers found that people who drove with heavy colds or the flu took 10 per cent longer to react than healthy drivers.

This caused them to travel up to two extra metres at 60 mph before they started to break.

The drivers “under the influenza” were also less aware of hazards on the road if they were feeling ill, the study found.

Road safety experts warned that the effects could be compounded by cold remedies, which can cause drowsiness, and by drinking alcohol.

Department for Transport figures show that there were at least 93 fatal accidents on Britain’s roads in 2007 for which illness or disability was a contributing factor.

The study compared the reaction times of 60 volunteers suffering from a cold or the flu with those of 50 healthy drivers.

Having a headache or suffering from premenstrual tension also impaired drivers’ abilities, but not as much as the flu, the study, carried out by the firm PCP in York, on behalf of Lloyds TSB Insurance, found.

Jo Stagg, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: “If you are not well enough to undertake your journey you could be putting yourself and other people on the road at risk.

“We know that illnesses can impair driving ability as they can slow reactions, reduce observation and even limit the ability to make good judgements.

“Drivers who are feeling ill should also exercise care with the medicines they use, for instance cough syrups which can cause drowsiness, and always read the label.”

Experiments by the Australian Academy of Science have shown that drinking two units of alcohol, the equivalent of two glasses of whisky, can impair reaction times by 10 per cent. The legal drink-drive limit is 80mg per 100 millilitres of blood, although the Department of Health warns that this cannot easily be translated into units of alcohol.

Source: Telegraph website, By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent

Comments please from driving instructors and driving schools who are BADDIA (Bedford and District Driving Instructors Association) members giving driving lessons, Pass Plus, a2om BTEC in Driving Science, advanced lessons, automatic lessons, disabled lessons, towing lessons, refresher courses, motorway lessons, fleet training, instructor training, in preparation for driving tests or driver improvement in the Bedford area.

LEAVING enough space on the road ahead, turning down the air con and shifting up a gear are all ways to make driving more efficient and save car owners up to GBP250 a year, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

More importantly, if every driver in the UK was trained to improve their fuel economy, the Trust claim that drivers could cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 10 million tonnes every year.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said: “Smarter driving means driving more efficiently, which in turn can lead to reducing fuel usage by an average 15 per cent and a typical annual saving of between £200 and £250 per person.

“If everyone started driving smarter we as a nation would save ourselves £5 billion.

“At times like these that’s not to be sniffed at.”

TelegraphTV took a lesson with one of the Trust’s instructors who are aiming to teach employees to make better use of their company cars – to drive more efficiently, reduce fuel consumption and to save money by implementing “smarter driving”.

Tips include:

• Revs: Change up before 2,500rpm (petrol) and 2,000rpm (diesel).
• Drive smoothly: Anticipate road conditions and drive smoothly, avoiding sharp acceleration and heavy braking. This saves fuel and reduces accident rates.
• Air con: Use air conditioning sparingly as it significantly increases fuel consumption. The most efficient speed depends upon the car in question but is typically around 45 – 50mph. Faster speed will greatly increase your fuel consumption.
• Don’t warm the engine: Drive away immediately when starting from cold – idling to heat the engine wastes fuel and causes rapid engine wear.
• Accessories: Roof racks, bike carriers, and roof boxes significantly affect the car’s aerodynamics and reduce fuel efficiency, so remove them when not in use.
• Avoid short journeys: A cold engine uses almost twice as much fuel and catalytic converters can take five miles to become effective.
• Plan: Try to avoid congestion, road works and getting lost.
• Tyres: Check your tyre pressure regularly – under-inflated tyres are dangerous and can increase fuel consumption by up to 3%.
• Switch the engine off: If you’re stuck in a jam, switch the engine off if you expect to be there for more than a minute or two.

CLICK HERE for video

Source: Telegraph website By Jessica Salter

Comments please from driving instructors and driving schools who are BADDIA (Bedford and District Driving Instructors Association) members giving driving lessons, Pass Plus, a2om BTEC in Driving Science, advanced lessons, automatic lessons, disabled lessons, towing lessons, refresher courses, motorway lessons, fleet training, instructor training, in preparation for driving tests or driver improvement in the Bedford area.

YOUNG people are most at risk of crashing within the first 250 miles they drive solo after passing the driving test.

During this time they are seven times more likely to be involved in a road collision than an experienced driver (Novice Driver Behaviour, Dr Sarah Fletcher, Cranfield University, 2005). There are numerous reasons why this might be the case but offering free post crash driver training is like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, especially considering that many of these post test crashes involve fatalities – in 2005 there were 19.2 fatalities per 100,000 licences amongst car drivers aged 17 to 20, compared with just 14.2 ten years earlier. (Fatality Rates for Car Drivers aged 17-20: 1992-2005, Department for Transport (Ev.192).

Young drivers need a fully comprehensive education before they pass their test not catch-up skills-based training after a crash. When learner drivers are coached to understand how their personality, beliefs and values affect the way they control the vehicle and integrate with other road users, they will be better equipped to manage their own risks and take responsibility for their driving. Losing control of a vehicle on a bend is as much to do with the driver’s lack of awareness of his or her personal strengths and limitations as it is to do with the road, weather or vehicle conditions.

Many Approved Driving Instructors understand that some of their learners are likely to be more at risk than others. Inexperience is a huge contributory factor in crashes caused by newly qualified drivers. A 17 year old male is capable of acquiring the skills he needs to demonstrate safe control of the vehicle during his driving test and pass with less than 20 hours of driving lessons but what experience does he have of handling complex traffic situations, forward planning and anticipating and negotiating hazards? Furthermore, where is his understanding of the motivation for the journey and how his personality impacts on the driving task, or the effects of drink and drugs?

Driving instruction must tackle all these issues through coaching before the learner passes their driving test. Waiting until they are involved in a crash and then offering free driver training is far too little too late.

Contact Details – Susan McCormack, Laurie-Jane Taylor (Company Directors) www.drive-ed.co.uk, sue@drive-ed.co.uk, laurie@drive-ed.co.uk. Mob: +44(0)7817-62-69-70

Source: prnewswire website

BADDIA members can meet Susan and Laurie at the next meeting on Wednesday 28/01/09

Comments please from driving instructors and driving schools who are BADDIA (Bedford and District Driving Instructors Association) members giving driving lessons, Pass Plus, a2om BTEC in Driving Science, advanced lessons, automatic lessons, disabled lessons, towing lessons, refresher courses, motorway lessons, fleet training, instructor training, in preparation for driving tests or driver improvement in the Bedford area.

VAUXHALL is attempting to renegotiate a supply agreement with British School of Motoring (BSM) to force the UK’s biggest driving school to pay for cars it currently gets free of charge.

Vauxhall Corsa

The talks threaten to scupper a planned sale of BSM by its parent, Aviva, the insurance giant.

For several years the carmaker has supplied BSM with a 3,500-strong fleet for learners to practise in, believing such an approach was a good way to market its Corsa and Astra models to young drivers.

The school did not pay for the cars, and after they had been used for six months Vauxhall would sell them on the secondhand market.

The British marque, owned by the troubled US car giant General Motors, decided several months ago that this arrangement was no longer viable.

Vauxhall is now in talks with the driving school to get it to pay for the fleet. The change in policy is expected to cost BSM several million pounds.

BSM tried to find an alternative supplier, but other motor manufacturers were unwilling to take on the contract.

While Aviva has never confirmed that BSM is for sale, it has solicited a number of bids for the business but these talks are said to have stalled while the car-supply agreement is renegotiated.

However, a deal could also be delayed by the economic situation and the lack of credit to finance any bids.

Vauxhall and Aviva both declined to comment.

Source: The Times Online, by Matthew Goodman 

 

Comments please from driving instructors and driving schools who are BADDIA (Bedford and District Driving Instructors Association) members giving driving lessons, Pass Plus, a2om BTEC in Driving Science, advanced lessons, automatic lessons, disabled lessons, towing lessons, refresher courses, motorway lessons, fleet training, instructor training, in preparation for driving tests or driver improvement in the Bedford area.

 

THE CASE against a man accused of robbing a woman in a terrifying gang attack was thrown out of court because his victim was deemed to be “too believable” in the witness box.

 Strange decision: Judge Jamie Tabor and Denise Dawson

Judge Jamie Tabor, QC, praised driving instructor Denise Dawson, 36, for being “honest, utterly decent and brave” in giving evidence against 20-year-old Liam Perks.

But he stopped the trial on the grounds that her good character would unfairly sway the jury against the defendant, a self-confessed burglar.

Mrs Dawson, a mother of two, was repeatedly punched in the face when her car was surrounded by a gang of youths while she gave a student a lesson on a Bristol housing estate.

She identified Perks as the man who had leaned into the car and rummaged through the glove compartment while her laptop and mobile phone were snatched.

But the judge halted the trial at Bristol crown court on its first day because it was based solely on the victim’s word against the defendant’s – and she was too credible.

Mrs Dawson said she felt she had been “kicked in the teeth” by the ruling. She said: “I was absolutely terrified after I heard he had pleaded not guilty and I would have to go to court to testify.

“The whole incident was a nightmare and I felt sick when I was told the trial had collapsed. What more can I do? I positively identified someone from a video ID parade and was prepared to risk everything in going to court but it’s still not enough.

“I considered giving up and quitting driving instructing because the attack left me scared but I just love it so much. Whenever I drive through the area I was attacked now I have the windows locked in fear of being attacked again.”

The judge told the court: “Denise Dawson was a particularly impressive witness because she showed courage, clarity of thought and was undoubtedly honest.

“The jury may lend more weight to her evidence than her facts allow.

“You cannot be sure she got it right… had this been the Archbishop of Canterbury‘s son, would I have allowed (the trial) to go on? The answer is no.”

He offered Mrs Dawson a £250 bravery award for her actions.

In a separate case, Perks admitted conspiracy to burgle for a gang which stole and sold on motorcycles and prestige cars. He will be sentenced for that offence later.

The court was told that Mrs Dawson had been giving a driving lesson on the Southmead estate in Bristol in December 2007.

Her student Jodie Dickinson, 26, was practising hill starts when a gang of youths surrounded the car.

The instructor locked the doors but her terrified pupil froze and stamped her foot on the brake, preventing them driving off.

Mrs Dawson locked the doors but one of the yobs smashed her rear window with a brick, reached in and grabbed her laptop before running off.

Mrs Dawson, who runs Denise’s Driving School, chased him and asked for her computer back but he simply clutched it in his arms and walked away. She then returned to her Ford Focus after she spotted one of the youths rifling through her glove box. She later picked out Perks as that man.

Mrs Dawson suffered a broken nose when she was repeatedly punched in the face by other gang members, who ran off with her mobile.

Mrs Dawson said after the trial: “I feel Liam Perks got a better deal out of it than I did..

“I feel very upset – what more do they want? I can’t sit there with a camera. How much more evidence can I get? My workload has gone down. It has knocked my confidence.”

A spokesman for Victim Support said: “Witnesses and victims expect the court to look after them and it can be a devastating experience, as I’m sure it is in this case, when someone is cleared on a technicality.”

Source: Evening Standard website, by Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent

Comments please from driving instructors and driving schools who are BADDIA (Bedford and District Driving Instructors Association) members giving driving lessons, Pass Plus, a2om BTEC in Driving Science, advanced lessons, automatic lessons, disabled lessons, towing lessons, refresher courses, motorway lessons, fleet training, instructor training, in preparation for driving tests or driver improvement in the Bedford area.

A TEAM of adventurers have launched an adventure of fairytale scope – from London to Timbuktu by flying car.

The group, led by Neil Laughton, will make the 3,600-mile journey by land and air in the Parajet Skycar, effectively a dune buggy with a fan motor and paragliding wing attached.

After taking off from the capital on Wednesday, the expedition will travel through France, Spain, Morocco, Western Sahara and Mali, and aims to reach Timbuktu on February 20.

The plan is to drive the Skycar where there are roads, and fly over the Straits of Gibraltar, the Atlas mountains in Morocco and the trackless wastes of the Empty Quarter of the Sahara.

A supporting group of experienced adventurers will follow the Skycar on the ground in all-terrain vehicles and on motorbikes.

The vehicle was designed by engineer Giles Cardozo in just 18 months, and the expedition team say it is the “world’s first road legal biofuelled flying car”.

The powerful fan propels the car forward and the “ParaWing” can give enough lift to allow the Skycar to take off from any field or airstrip 200m or more in length.

Once airborne, the pilot steers by using cables to alter the wing’s shape, and should the engine fail, the Skycar would float gently to the ground, the descent slowed by the wing.

The Skycar can change from ground to flying mode in just three minutes, can reach altitudes of up to 15,000 feet, and has a normal cruising height of 2,000-3,000 feet.

On the ground the car has a range of 240 miles, top speed of 108mph and independent four-wheel suspension means it can cope with the toughest terrain.

Computer visualisation around the ‘Gherkin’

Source: Virgin website

Looks like a great way to beat traffic jams!?

Comments please from driving instructors and driving schools who are BADDIA (Bedford and District Driving Instructors Association) members giving driving lessons, Pass Plus, a2om BTEC in Driving Science, advanced lessons, automatic lessons, disabled lessons, towing lessons, refresher courses, motorway lessons, fleet training, instructor training, in preparation for driving tests or driver improvement in the Bedford area.

A ‘Tales of the Road’ website for children showing the consequences of not using roads safely on foot and bikes has been launched by the UK’s Department for Transport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MOTORCYCLISTS are now allowed to use some of London’s bus lanes.

 

THE LATEST storyline in the long running soap opera features a couple making ‘Bio-Diesel‘ in the garden shed.

“As soon as this story line appeared, I knew exactly where it was going” Said Paul Burchell of Drive-Smart. “This story is going to end with an explosion in the back garden. This is exactly how the line between myth and truth becomes blurred. I have been making Bio-Diesel now for many months. I run my driving school car on 100% Bio-Diesel . Not only does it save me money, but it also helps the environment by re-cycling a waste material. Furthermore, Bio-Diesel is not a fossil fuel, so harmful emissions are significantly reduced”

Paul goes on to explain,

“There are many myths and misconceptions about so call “Bio-Diesel” One of the most common is that a car running on re-cycled “chip fat” emits a smell of fish and chips as it drives down the road. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bio-Diesel is made from waste vegetable oil, but by the time it has been filtered, processed and filtered again what emerges is good clean fuel. By comparison, the smell of the exhaust fumes is actually cleaner than mineral diesel.  On starting from cold, even in the winter there is no sooty smelling black smoke from the exhaust, just a white puff which more closely resembles a puff of steam.

On the safety issue, well, as most right thinking people will know, the flash point of diesel is very much higher than petrol. If you were to strike a match and throw it into a can of diesel, the match would go out. Diesel will not ignite unless it is under pressure. The flash point for mineral diesel should be low enough for it to be classed as “Non-flammable” (tested to ISO 2719). For those  “Home- Brewers” of Bio-Diesel, who are doing it properly, the finished product will meet the ISO standard.

To produce good quality Bio-Diesel one needs to do quite a bit of research and invest in some pretty costly equipment I have invested several thousands of pounds in buying some of the best equipment on the market. I attend on-going training sessions and have a technical support back-up system in place. Yes, you do have to use a few hazardous chemicals, Isopropyl alcohol, Methanol (wood alcohol) and Sodium or Potassium hydroxide, commonly known as Caustic soda, but these chemicals are widely available and commonly used in the house as everyday cleaning substances. So long as you observe a few very basic safety measures, such as no naked lights when dispensing 100% pure alcohol, and don’t stick your hand in a bucket of caustic soda! well then it is a perfectly safe procedure.

So far as the legality of making bio-diesel goes, a person is allowed to make 2,500 litres per year of Bio-Diesel, DUTY FREE! (That’s what makes it cheap). Anything more than that you would have to pay duty on it. The other significant consideration is that to collect and transport waste vegetable oil, you must be registered as a licensed waste carrier. Food outlets  such as chip shops would be breaking the law if they allowed anyone not registered to collect their waste oil. Of course, in order to comply with the law, Drive-Smart driver training is also an Environment Agency registered waste carrier”.

So, for the real low down on safe and legal Bio-Diesel production, you can contact Drive-Smart via the BADDIA web site or email drivesmart@ntlworld.com . Further information on the professional production of Bio-Diesel can be found at www.filtertechnik.co.uk

Source: Paul Burchell