Driving Instructors in Bedford urge drivers to keep up to date with the Highway Code and brush up on their driving skills.

New research has revealed that British people have so little knowledge of the Highway Code that two thirds of us are totally confused by basic road signs on a daily basis.  The study found one in three drivers admit they get so bemused they simply follow the car in front when they are not sure what to do.  Despite such understanding being an essential part of the modern driving test, more than half of us simply ignore signs. 

Confusion: Many British drivers do not pay attention to road signs and others have admitted that they don’t understand them.  The research by motor oil company Castrol discovered that one in 20 motorists even confess they ‘never’ take notice of highway signposts.  And three per cent of drivers said their confusion over road signs had led them to have an accident – that’s the equivalent of just over 1.3 million incidents.

Expert: Quentin Wilson said he was shocked that 28.6 million motorists appear to be baffled by road signs.  When shown ‘give way’ road markings, half did not know what it meant and one in 20 even believed it meant they should wind their window down and listen for approaching vehicles.  A third believed the ‘no motor vehicles allowed’ sign meant the complete opposite – that only cars and motorbikes were allowed.  More than half thought the ‘no waiting’ sign meant ‘no entry’ or ‘no parking’ and one in three believed diversion signs were not applicable to cars, and were instead for truck drivers only.

Disturbingly, one in four British people believe the ‘end of 30mph speed limit’ means they are not allowed to dip below 30mph.  Just over half of drivers have not looked at the Highway Code since taking their theory test.

Motoring expert Quentin Willson said he was shocked that 28.6 million motorists appear to be baffled by road signs.  He said: ‘It’s worrying to think the vast majority of British motorists have not got a clue about the road signs they see every day.  Signs are in place not only to help motorists navigate the road, but also for safety, and not taking the time to learn the most basic of instructions is lazy and irresponsible.  ‘There’s only a few pages of road signs in the Highway Code. It’s not War And Peace and reading five pages could one day save your life.’

Danny Edwards, 29, an office worker from London, said: ‘I do get caught out by the odd road sign and it can throw you off for a second.  ‘I have to admit I thought a sign that said no motor vehicles actually meant the opposite and have believed that for years.  ‘Some of them can be confusing and everyone ignores road signs from time to time. I see people pulling left turns all the time when they’re not meant to.  ‘I threw my Highway Code away when I passed my theory test and should probably brush up on it.’ 

By Daily Mail Reporter  2nd January 2012 

If you would like some expert advice and guidance from your local driving instructor in Bedford please call one of our BADDIA driving schools listed on the homepage.

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.

An advertising campaign is being launched to publicise the change, which means from 20 June people can be fined without actually driving the car.

There are estimated to be about 1.4 million motorists without insurance.

At the moment uninsured drivers are prosecuted only after they have been caught actually driving.

Although police cars have number plate recognition technology which can check cars against a database, it still requires police time to enforce.

The new offence will allow motorists to be prosecuted for simply owning a vehicle without insurance.

Letters will be sent to drivers and, if they do nothing, they face a £100 fine followed by court action.

If the vehicle remains uninsured – regardless of whether the fine is paid – further action will be taken. If the vehicle is on public land it could then be clamped, seized and destroyed.

Alternatively court action could be taken, with the offender facing a fine of up to £1,000.

Motorists who have declared their car as off the road will not be fined.

‘Nowhere to hide’

Ministers say the change will allow police to concentrate their efforts on hard core offenders, who drive unregistered cars which the automatic system will not be able to trace.

Road Safety minister Mike Penning said: “Uninsured drivers are a danger on our roads, killing 160 and injuring a further 23,000 people each year, and they cost honest motorists £500m in extra premiums.

“That is why we are introducing this tough new law which will leave uninsured drivers with nowhere to hide.

“Our message is clear – get insured or face a fine, court action or seeing your car seized and destroyed.”

Ashton West, chief executive at the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, said the change in law is a “stepping up of enforcement activity”.

He added: “Now the registered keeper must make sure that their vehicle is insured all the time.

“Around four percent of vehicles have no motor insurance at any given time, and this needs to change so that is why this new enforcement approach is so important.”

Have something to say?

Driving Instructors in Bedford would be interested to know your views on this report.  Do you think £100 fine is enough to deter motorists from not having insurance? 

23 May 2011 Last updated at 01:37

BBC News

Bedford Driving Instructors advise a package of measures to tackle drink and drug driving was announced today by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

Improved testing equipment to detect drink and drug drivers will be given the green light and key changes made to streamline enforcement of both offences.

The government will also examine the case for a new specific drug driving offence – alongside the existing one – which would remove the need for the police to prove impairment on a case-by-case basis where a specified drug has been detected.

The measures are set out in the government’s response to the North Report on Drink and Drug Driving, which was published last year.

The prescribed alcohol limit for driving will not be changed, with the focus instead on improving enforcement and education to tackle the drink and drug drivers who put lives at risk.

Philip Hammond said:

“Drink and drug driving are serious offences and we are determined to ensure they are detected and punished effectively.

“It is just as dangerous to drive impaired by drugs as alcohol so we need to send a clear message that drug drivers are as likely to be caught as drink drivers and that drug driving is as socially unacceptable as drink driving has become. That is why we will approve drug-testing devices and change the law to speed up the testing process, ensuring the police can bring drug drivers to justice.

“The number of drink driving deaths has fallen by more than 75 per cent since 1979. But drink driving still kills hundreds of people so we need to take tough action against the small minority of drivers who flagrantly ignore the limit. Their behaviour is entrenched and after careful consideration we have concluded that improving enforcement is likely to have more impact on these dangerous people than lowering the limit.

“We are therefore taking forward a package of measures which will streamline enforcement, helping the police to target these most dangerous offenders and protect law-abiding road users.”

On drink driving the government will:

• revoke the right for people whose evidential breath test result is less than 40% over the limit to opt for a blood test (the ‘statutory option’). The breath testing equipment used in police stations is now very accurate and technically sophisticated so a blood sample is not needed to confirm the breath test. The need to organise a blood sample can mean that drivers who were over the limit when breath tested have fallen below the limit by the time their blood sample is taken – removing the statutory option will eliminate this loophole
• introduce a more robust drink drive rehabilitation scheme, so that we can require those drink drivers who are substantially in excess of the limit to take remedial training and a linked driving assessment before recovering their licence
• approve portable evidential breath testing equipment for the police – this will speed up the testing process and free up police time
• close a loophole used by high risk offenders to delay their medical examinations
• streamline the procedure for testing drink drivers in hospital

On drug driving the Government will:

• approve preliminary drug-testing equipment – initially for use in police stations, and at the roadside as soon as possible. The Home Office is currently testing six drug-testing devices and hopes to be able to take decisions on type-approval by the end of June.
• allow custody nurses to advise the police whether or not a suspected driver has a condition that may be due to a drug. This will remove the need to call out police doctors and so speed up the testing process – ensuring that drug drivers do not escape punishment because a doctor is not available and also freeing up police time.
• examine the case for a new specific drug driving offence – alongside the existing one – which would remove the need for the police to prove impairment on a case-by-case basis where a specified drug has been detected.

Martins Money Saving Tips – 15th Feb,2011

BADDIA Bedford Driving Instructors warn that new powers to tackle uninsured driving will come into force within months, Road Safety Minister Mike Penning announced on Tuesday.

Under the new powers it will be an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle, rather than just to drive when uninsured.

Currently every responsible motorist pays an average £30 each year within their premiums to cover crashes involving uninsured and untraced drivers. It is also estimated that uninsured and untraced drivers kill 160 people and injure 23,000 every year.

Mike Penning said:

“Uninsured drivers push up premiums for other motorists and often drive with no regard for other road users, so it is vital that we do everything we can to keep them off the roads.

“More than 400 uninsured vehicles are already being seized by the police every day but it is simply not possible to catch every uninsured driver in this way. That is why we are bringing in these new powers which will help us to take targeted action while freeing up police time to deal with the hard core of offenders.”

Ashton West, Chief Executive at the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, said:

“Today’s news marks a significant step forward in the fight against uninsured driving. This means that as enforcement can take place for both keeping and driving a vehicle without insurance there will be no place for illegal motorists to hide.

“Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) will complement and run alongside existing police roadside enforcement, which has already reduced uninsured driving by 20 per cent.”

Under the new system:

• the DVLA will work in partnership with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau to identify uninsured vehicles
• motorists will receive a letter telling them that their vehicle appears to be uninsured and warning them that they will be fined unless they take action
• if the keeper fails to insure the vehicle they will be given a £100 fine
• if the vehicle remains uninsured – regardless of whether the fine is paid – it could then be seized and destroyed

Vehicles with a valid Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN) will not be required to be insured.

The Department for Transport today made the Commencement Order to make it an offence to be the registered keeper of a vehicle which does not have insurance, as well as regulations to support this. Further regulations will be made shortly, allowing the scheme to come into force in the Spring.

Driving Standards Agency – Tue, 11 Jan 2011

Study also says prohibiting young drivers from carrying peers or drinking any alcohol would cut number of road accidents

Published by guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 21 September 2010 10.16 BST

Researchers say a ban on newly qualified young drivers from driving at night would reduce accidents. Photograph: Rex Features

DSA press release

Real driving experience for learners

To help make the driving test more representative of real driving, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) will no longer publish details of test routes, Road Safety Minister Mike Penning announced today.

Currently test routes used by each driving test centre are published online but this will stop when new routes are introduced at the beginning of October.

This change is being made to support the introduction of independent driving, which will allow candidates to demonstrate their ability to drive safely in more realistic driving situations rather than memorising a particular test route.

Mike Penning said:

“We want new drivers to be able to drive safely and independently and learning to drive test routes by rote isn’t the way to achieve this.

“Stopping the publication of test routes will help to make sure that the driving test better reflects realistic driving conditions and will give new drivers the skills and confidence they need to stay safe on the roads.”

DSA’s Chief Driving Examiner Trevor Wedge said:

“Evidence shows that the biggest challenge newly qualified drivers face after passing their test is learning how to cope when they no longer have their instructor there to help and prompt them.”

“We want to make sure that new drivers and riders are ready to make their own decisions when driving alone; learning how to do that in preparation for their test should lead to better and safer drivers.”

To better assess whether a learner driver is ready to drive unsupervised, independent driving will be introduced into the test on 4 October 2010. Candidates will drive for about 10 minutes, without step-by-step direction from their examiner. This will involve either following a series of directions, following traffic signs, or a combination of both. To help candidates visualise the directions, the examiner may also show them a simple diagram. The remainder of the test is unchanged.

In January 2010, DSA published independent research showing that with careful route design, candidates were able to complete the independent driving tasks without any significant impact on pass rates. Additional research found widespread support for inclusion of independent driving in the practical test.

08 September 2010

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

Wheel clamping on private land is to be banned in England and Wales. The ban, which will be introduced in the new Freedom Bill in November, will impose tough penalties on anyone who clamps a vehicle or tows it away on private land. Wheel clamping on private land.  Who manages parking and parking fines parking fines Once the ban comes into force it will be illegal to clamp, tow away or in any way immobilise a vehicle on private land. Anyone who clamps, immobilises or tows away a vehicle on private land without the specific legal authority to do so will face criminal charges or civil penalties.  However, the ban will only apply to private land.  It will not affect local authorities’ and the police’s right to clamp vehicles. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will continue to clamp or tow away vehicles if the vehicle tax has not been paid. The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) will also continue to clamp or tow away un-roadworthy vehicles to stop them being used on the road. At the moment, if someone wants to work clamping vehicles, they must hold a frontline licence from the Security Industry Authority (SIA).   This will stop once the ban comes into force. There are currently 2,150 people who are licensed by the SIA to clamp vehicles.

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

Published: Tuesday, 17 August 2010 by Directgov

Bedford Driving Instructors warn of new Drug-driving test equipment.

Drug-driving test equipment to be trialled By Richard Scott
 
A recent advert warned young people their eyes could betray drug use.  The government is planning trials of equipment to test if drivers are under the influence of drugs.

The move could lead to a roll-out of the technology across all police forces in England, Scotland and Wales within two years.

Manufacturers are to be given specifications for the devices by the end of September.

It follows publication of a review into the problem of drug-driving, which found that major changes were needed.

Tackling drug-driving Call to reduce drink-drive limit The review by Sir Peter North, which was published in June, concluded that the drug-driving problem was “out of all proportion” to the official figures.

That is partly because of the difficulty in testing for drugs, which means many cases go unrecorded.

‘Selfish minority’
 
At the moment police first need a doctor to decide whether the suspect has a “condition which might be due to a drug”, and then a blood test has to be carried out.

Getting a doctor to the police station and the examination itself both take time – and could mean the drugs have left the suspect’s system before the blood sample is taken.

There is another reason for thinking the current figures relating to drug-driving - 56 fatal accidents and 207 serious injury accidents in 2008 – are too low. If a suspect has been breathalysed and found to be over the drink-drive limit, police will rarely continue with further tests to decide if drugs are present too.

The government now says it will give manufacturers specifications for new testing equipment by the end of  September. The resulting products are set to be trialled in police stations within a year and then rolled out to forces within two years.

“We believe that having a ‘drugalyser’ in police stations will make police work easier”

Edmund King
 
Tackling drug-driving Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “It is vital that the police have the tools they need to tackle those who drive while impaired by drugs.”

“This selfish minority show a flagrant disregard, not only for their own lives, but for the safety of others and we are determined to tackle this menace. That is why we are taking urgent steps to make drug screening technology available as soon as possible.”

The specifications are still being decided, but it is understood the Home Office wants the equipment to be capable of testing for the most common drugs, such as cannabis and cocaine.

Zero tolerance
 
It is not known yet if the test will use a sample of a suspect’s saliva, as suggested by Sir Peter.

What is also uncertain is whether there will be a drug-drive limit, similar to the drink-drive limit, based on the level of driving impairment.

An alternative approach would be zero tolerance, where any amount of illegal drugs resulted in a prosecution regardless of whether driving was impaired.

The Home Office and Department for Transport are also to spend £300,000 on research into roadside testing equipment, with the eventual aim that all evidence for prosecutions could be gathered on site by traffic police.

The money will also be used to develop technology that can test for a wider range of drugs than is currently possible.

Edmund King, president of the AA motoring organisation, said: “The AA has long been highlighting the hidden problems of drugs and driving so we are delighted that these issues are being addressed.

“We believe that having a ‘drugalyser’ in police stations will make police work easier and act as a deterrent to drug-drivers.”

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, added: “At last the technology has caught up with the political will and the public mood.”

Taken from correspondent, BBC News

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