Susan Barnard, 55, was branded as the worst teacher in Scotland and has been banned from the roads over a suspected drink-driving accident when she crashed into a parked vehicle just weeks after becoming the first teach in the country to be struck off for incompetence.

Perth Sheriff Court yesterday heard she had “something of a background” over drink-driving offences.
Fiscal depute Lucy Keane told the court: “On a Friday evening at 8.15pm, the accused was seen at a shop. She appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

“She was seen to leave the shop and go to her car, which was parked outside.

“She maneuvered her car and reversed into a parked vehicle, causing a small amount of damage to that vehicle.”

“Police officers spoke to her and it was apparent she was under the influence of alcohol. The breath test procedure was explained to her but she refused.”

Ironically learning to drive takes place in isolation in large metal boxes, but learning to drive is really the ultimate team game.

By that we mean it is an activity whereby, to a large extent, we are dependent on the actions of everyone else on the road; not just our safety – that ought to go without saying – but also for simple efficient progress, without which it becomes a fairly meaningless pursuit. In other words we all have to look out for each other on the roads.

But this team awareness operates on a less obvious and more fundamental level than just trying not to hit the car in front.

Britannia Driving School’s website focuses on several wider aspects of motoring as a team game. To that end we feature articles on Advanced Driving Courses and Eco-Driving.

Britannia is always looking at new ways to teach students so as to illuminate or reduce the terrible effects of road accidents on a national scale…perhaps the biggest team game in the UK.

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Hard pressed drivers are soon to be hard hit with another fuel duty hike over the next few weeks, making an average family around £104 a year worse off. The government will soon take 71p tax from every £1 spent by motorists purchasing fuel.

This hike is set to make the Treasury an extra £3.8 million per day more tax from unleaded petrol then it did 2 years ago, duty on unleaded and diesel will rise by 1.84p to 54.19p a litre next month. That means roughly 71 per cent of the price of petrol will go to the government via fuel duty and VAT.

Fuel duty rose by 2p a litre in late 2007 and again by another 2p last Decemeber, this new rise of 1.84p will increase fuel prices by around 2p a litre after VAT.

A motorist in Germany was arrested for drunk driving after he stopped at red traffic light and fell asleep. The 19-year old was arrested after police were called to try and wake him up and smelt alcohol on his breath. Other motorists had failed to stir him by blowing their horns as he blocked a main road at 10 o’clock in the morning. He was taken to a police station, to sober up and has now been slapped with a driving ban.

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A local London man is part of the British team duo that will travel to Timbuktu in the Parajet Skycar, a biofuel-powered vehicle which can transform itself from a car into an aircraft in minutes and can accelerate from 0-100kph (60mph) in 4.5 seconds. The journey is expected to take some 40 days, during which the Skycar plans to soar over the Pyrenees and Straits of Gibraltar between southern Spain and Africa. With four-wheel drive, it deals with the most rugged terrain, starting on the city streets of London and ending in the sands of the Sahara.

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Learner drivers in the UK pay £1 billion a year trying to pass their driving test. According to research by Churchill Car Insurance, on average they need 42 lessons before they can tear up their L-plates and at least two tests.

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Rinspeed, an experimental Swish car company revealed their latest work – a shape shifting car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board.

The one seater car, named the iChange has the ability to transform to accommodate three passengers simply by pressing a button. The idea behind this invention is to achieve maximum aerodynamics and improve efficiency.

The vehicle weighs 1,050 kg, powered by an electric motor which produces 150kW of power. This enables the car to have a top speed of 135mph and accelerating speed of 0 to 62mph in just above four seconds – based around a Subaru WRX six speed gear box.

The iChange’s adaptive body will transform its teardrop shape to an expanded rear end providing room for an extra two passengers, the car has no doors but instead accessed via the roof. Many of the controls can be operated by an iPhone including the locking systems and ignition.

Flirting while stationary in traffic is the latest craze according to a survey by Britannia Driving School. More than half of the women and three quarters of the men surveyed said they would consider exchanging phone numbers with a complete stranger while in traffic. Some 79 per cent of women and 64 per cent of men claimed to have been the target of another motorist’s flirting on the open road.

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Highway chiefs have introduced a new measure after reports became apparent that an increasing number of motorists were risking their lives by running out of fuel on the motorways.  Electronic signage is being used to remind motorists to check their fuel gauges, in order to ensure they have sufficient fuel to reach their destination.

The Highway Agency stated that last  year alone more then 5,500 motorists ran out of petrol / diesel on motorways in the south east of the country alone, some even stopped in lanes still busy with fast moving traffic – which could easily cause a catastrophe.

As the credit crunch hits and recession kicks in, it seems more motorists are letting their vehicles run dry before refuelling, but being court out on the motorway is no joke. The motorway hard shoulder is specifically for emergencies as it does not guarantee your safety, being on the hard shoulder simply because of running out of fuel is putting your life at risk for a reason that could have been easily avoided.

The AA reported that as many as 1/5 drivers have gone past or very close to the empty mark on their vehicles, half of young drivers admitted they had run their tanks close to dry. Some of the main excuses given were not being able to find cheaper fuel and thinking they had enough to reach their destination.

Tough New Powers to tackle the selfish minority of uninsured drivers who cost law-abiding motorists £400m each year have been set out by Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick.
The new measures will make it an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle-rather than just to drive when uninsured-making it easier to catch uninsured drivers and keep them off the roads.
Under the new system the DVLA will work in partnership with the insurance industry 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 insure it within a set period. 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.
The Government has already given the police powers to seize and destroy vehicles being driven uninsured, along with improved access to the Motor Insurance Database to enhance their capability to detect uninsured driving by using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANRP) equipment. Police removed around 150, 000 vehicles in 2007-more than 400 a day.

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