Bedford driving instructors are urging parents to set a good example to children by driving safely and in accordance with the law. 

Children start learning to carry out all sorts of skills from a very young age.  It may be surprising to know children copy and mimic their parents very early in life.  They start learning to drive as young as 2 years old.

We frequently see drivers, using mobile phones, smoking and eating whilst negotiating hazardous road conditions.  Young children, seeing this behaviour, will naturally believe it is quite acceptable and, when they themselves learn to drive, they will doubtless follow the example set by their parents.  After all, we teach our children everything they know, and driving is no exception.

So next time you take your children out in your car, bear in mind exactly how much notice they are taking of your skills behind the wheel.

 If you think you could benefit from some refresher lessons to improve your driving skills, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our instructors.  If you are finding any aspect of your driving difficult, BADDIA Driving instructors in Bedford will be pleased to help you.  Click here http://www.baddia.co.uk/index.php

Bedford Driving Instructors remind drivers to get their eyes tested

27.10.2011

By Alexa Kaczka

It is a well-known fact the people who require a prescription for their eyesight need to wear any required glasses or contact lenses when they are behind the wheel, but many motorists are failing to do so.

According to a new report by The Co-operative Motor Group, the number of drivers in the UK that have had their licenses revoked due to failing eyesight has more than doubled in the last four years.

New figures obtained following a Freedom of Information request by the Co-operative show that the number of drivers unfit to be on the road has risen from 1,597 in 2006 to 4,009 in 2010 – an increase of 151 per cent.

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said he is not sure whether the rise in the number of people having their licence revoked is because more of them are failing to tell if their eyesight has deteriorated, or if motorists have simply been caught driving without their contact lenses or glasses.

“People don’t have to fear losing their licence, they just have to go to the opticians. We can’t stress enough the importance of having an eye check every two years, or more often if your optician says so,” he explained.

He noted that this is also another reason why the government should not weaken the eyesight part of the driving test, which it has proposed to do.

Mr Clinton said there is also still a patent need for education about the importance of regular eyesight checks.

It comes after a campaign was launched by Royal Sun Alliance that aims to increase the frequency of motorists’ eye tests in a bid to reduce the number of accidents occurring on UK roads.

According to the organisation, if drivers were to regularly visit their optician or optometrists to ascertain whether they need glasses or contacts lenses to drive, their boosted vision could significantly reduce road accidents and deaths.

Driving Instructors in Bedford would  like your views on this.

If you live in Bedford you will know only too well the traffic situation drivers face on a daily basis.  Battling your way through the traffic is an arduous task and one which causes much frustration to drivers.  So spare a thought for driving instructors in Bedford who are teaching learners to drive in such conditions and how to cope with the heavy traffic.

Bedford driving instructors have a great link to a blog from a member of the public who has obviously gone to a lot of trouble to photograph the current situation with the St. Mary’s road works.  We hope you find it an interesting read!  Please excuse the title!

Please feel free to leave a comment about your own experience of this situation.

http://buggeredbedford.blogspot.com/2011/10/day-1-of-st-mary-street-roadworks.html

New theory test books published

Bedford driving instructors urge pupils to use official DSA study aids

New official driving and riding theory books were published on Monday 19th September to help candidates revise in preparation for changes to the test in January 2012.

Since theory tests began in 1996, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has published the questions and answers from the question banks for all categories of tests for cars, motorcycles, lorries and buses.

However, DSA announced last November that it was to stop publishing the multiple choice questions and answers, with unpublished questions being used from January 2012.

DSA’s Chief Executive Rosemary Thew said: “The reason behind the move is to stop candidates from simply memorising theory test questions and answers and learning by rote. The new books contain questions and answers for revision and also explain the theory behind each question.

“This approach to learning will help candidates to gain a better knowledge and understanding of driving theory which will help them respond correctly to the new, re-worded live questions used in the actual test.”

Other theory test products including CD Roms, downloadable PDFs and ebooks have been revised too and will be published shortly after the theory test books are published on 19 September.

The agency has also launched its first ever mobile phone apps for theory test revision, which have been developed to help candidates learn in this way.

To view the full range of official DSA products visit  tsoshop.co.uk/dsa.

Please be patient, you were a learner driver once!

How many times have you seen this on the back of driving school cars in Bedford?

Cast your mind back to the days when you sat behind the wheel of a car for the first time.  You may have had high expectations of your potential driving skills and took to driving easily and quickly.  On the other hand, you may have been nervous and things didn’t quiet go as well as you hoped.

In either case, you will probably remember the hard work it took to achieve reaching a high enough level of skill-full driving and confidence before your driving instructor was happy for you to undertake your driving test.

As time goes by, we all forget what it was like to learn this new skill and how dangerous it can be if we get things wrong.  So, the next time you are following a driving school car in Bedford, please spare a thought for the learner driver behind the wheel who is trying to learn how to control their car, at the same time, concentrating on what you are doing behind them!

Bedford driving instructors and their learner driver both know you are in a hurry and don’t want to hold you up.  The more patient you are, the less likely they are to stall their engine, and the quicker they will move off!

Bedford Driving Schools are doing our best to create safe, confident drivers and we can only do this with your help! 

This message is brought to you by Driving instructors in Bedford.  Please feel free to leave a comment.

Bedford driving instructors  encourage pupils to view these videos 

Four new videos are now available on YouTube.
Show me, tell me
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has published a new video playlist about the ‘show me, tell me’ part of the practical driving test.

• Watch the playlist on DSA’s YouTube channel

How to book your theory test
Directgov has published a new video showing how to book your theory test online.

• Watch the video on Directgov’s YouTube channel

Driving Instructors in Bedford encourage driving licence applicants to join organ donor register.  Anyone applying for a driving licence as of  1st August 2011 will be obliged to answer a question about joining the organ donor register, the health department has announced, in an attempt to boost the numbers of potential donors.  Those applying for a licence online will be obliged to tick one of three boxes about the register as a condition of completing the form.  A similar question existed previously but it was optional and many applicants missed or ignored it. The change is the latest salvo in a long-running campaign by the Department of Health to increase the number of organ donors, which currently stands at about 18 million – 29% of the population.

Driving Schools in Bedford warn Bedford learner drivers that they may be affected by the strike on Thursday 30th June.  Please read on…..

Driving examiner strike – candidates to attend tests The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is urging all driving test candidates booked to take a test on Thursday 30 June to attend as usual regardless of the threat of strike action by examiners who are members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union. DSA’s chief executive Rosemary Thew said: “Not all examiners are members of the PCS union and even if they are, we cannot be sure that they will not turn up for work. We therefore want candidates to attend so that practical tests can be delivered if possible. Theory tests are not affected and will be taking place as planned. “Candidates who turn up but are unable to take their tests because of industrial action will not have to contact DSA to re-book. They should hear from us with a new date within five to ten working days. We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause and will do everything we can to minimise disruption for our customers.” If no examiner is available for a test, a new date will be rebooked automatically by DSA and the candidate will be sent details of the new test. If candidates fail to attend they will not be able to claim out-of-pocket expenses if their tests are cancelled and they will need to rebook their own tests. DSA’s customer service centre for practical tests might also be affected by the strike action. Customers who wish to book a practical test will still be able to use DSA’s internet booking service at direct.gov.uk/drivingtest. Details about claiming out-of-pocket expenses can be found at direct.gov.uk/drivingtestexpenses.

Providing Driving Lessons in Bedford

For over fifteen years BDS has provided high quality driving tuition in Bedfordshire and surrounding areas. This has consistently produced driving test success and hundreds of satisfied customers.

 By providing a family run, friendly, personalised service we achieve most of our work through recommendation and our customers’ satisfaction and enjoyment of their learning experience has always been our main objective.

 Our experience shows us this approach works time and time again. (See our testimonials page at www.bdsdrivingschool.co.uk)

 So if you are looking for a driving school and are not sure who to choose get in contact, and we will be pleased to provide you with references from both current and past pupils. You can also try a FREE off road taster session. (Please ask for further details, must be 16 or over, no licence required) to get to know both the car you will be learning in and your selected instructor to suit your individual needs.

We will be pleased to discuss with you our BDS discounts and pupil benefit packages to tailor your learning experience.

 Please visit our website www.bdsdrivingschool.co.uk or contact Tim Chandler on 07901984943 tim@adiselect.co.uk

THREE SHIRES® Driving Centre is based in Raunds and covers Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire for learner driver training. We offer both manual and automatic tuition and in Bedford we can offer auto/disabled training too. We can also provide training for the Taxi test and Advanced Driving tests and delight in providing refresher and repatriation assessments and coaching.

Instructor Training is based in both Bedford and Northampton for those who want to train to be a Driving Instructor. If you are a qualified Instructor and want to progress to gain your Approved Fleet Driver Trainer Diploma we hold courses for this across the UK.

We also provide minibus training to gain the D1 licence category including driver CPC and D1 + E training to enable you to tow with the minibus. MiDAS training can also be undertaken in Beds, Bucks and Northants which is a course for those who drive or wish to drive minibuses on a voluntary basis for schools, clubs, churches, care homes etc.

Car and Trailer training (B + E) is also available for those who passed their test after 1996, on passing the test this allows you to tow the maximum permitted weight behind a vehicle weighing up to 3.5 tonnes. We use the Northampton and Peterborough LGV test centres for these tests. We cover from Oxford to Northampton and across to Peterborough down as far as Cambridge and of course Bedford.

Company car driver road risk assessments can be carried out throughout the UK with our team of Approved Fleet Driver Trainers which is twenty strong. These courses are required by companies to risk assess their drivers in accordance with the Health and Safety Act Work Related Road Safety guidelines.

Other training and assessing we can accommodate is Coach Driver assessments and LGV Class C (rigid lorry) assessments.

Please contact us on  0845 388 4078 or e-mail us on threeshires@threeshires.co.uk and our Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire Driving Instructors will be pleased to help.