Black box covers are known to give motorists discounts on insurances which is why a lot of motorists, in particular young drivers, have opted for such covers. However, it has now been revealed that drivers who sign up for black box car cover can be hit with a £100 fine from their insurer if they speed.

Motorists who have opted for such policies are discovering that the reductions in insurance are impossible to get and that they are instead being subject to other fees. Sell your car, switch policy or breach the smallprint, and you could be hit with hefty penalties. Most insurers issue warnings if a motorist breaks rules such a regularly driving at 40mph in a 30mph zone. If these alerts are ignored and the driver carries on driving poorly, the insurer can fine them one a case-by-case basis. The fines can be as much as £100 and in the worst cases the insurer could cancel the policy altogether.

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It is a well known fact that car insurance costs for young new drivers are very high. In order to resolve this issue, a number of parents are committing fraud by pretending to be the main driver of a vehicle used predominately by their son or daughter.

The practice, named ‘fronting’, involves a low-risk and older driver insuring a vehicle in their name as the main driver, naming the higher risk driver, who will be predominately driving the vehicle, as the ‘second’ driver. Using this method, young drivers can avoid extortionate insurance premiums.

However, this practice is not as simple as it seems. It can have serious financial and legal implications. If detected, insurers can refuse to pay out for any claims and in such a situation the young driver could then be treated as ‘uninsured’ and could be fined hundreds of pounds, face prosecution and an automatic driving ban. They will also face higher insurance costs in future.

This practice is fraudulent and people should be made aware of the serious risks in engaging in ‘fronting’.

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Smart motorways are designed to make use of the hard shoulder and are managed by the Highways Agency regional control centres. They use CCTV so that Highways Agency traffic officers can be deployed to incidents if they occur and help to keep traffic moving.

Different types of smart motorway include:

– Controlled motorway – Controlled motorways have three or more lanes with variable speed limits. The hard shoulder should only be used in a genuine emergency.

– Hard shoulder running – The hard shoulder will be opened at busy times and the speed limit will be reduced. Drivers cannot use the hard shoulder unless overhead signs show that you can do so.

– All Lane running – There is no hard shoulder on these sections of motorway. Variable speed limits must be obeyed and no stopping is to be allowed on the motorway. If a motorists needs to stop in an emergency, they must use an emergency refuge area, motorway service area or leave at the next junction.

– A red X symbol will show that a lane is closed because of an incident or people working in the road.

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School says, ‘Making use of the hard shoulder is a great idea overall since traffic will flow better with four lanes instead of three.’

However, Jane Hunt of Britannia Driving School argues, ‘I totally disagree with completely removing the hard shoulder – in the event of an accident, it is going to make people harder to stop and how are emergency services meant to get through?’

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Young drivers seem less likely now to learn to drive, a new study has revealed.

During the peak times of 1995-1997, more than half of males aged 17-20 were driving their own cars. However it seems that this figure has taken a drastic plunge in more recent years, now at a slump just a little over the one-third mark.

The main reasons for this decline are attributed to be the rising costs of learning to drive, as well as the infamous costs of insurance premiums, buying a car, and the general costs of keeping a car on the road.

Another factor prevalent in modern-day travel is the use of mobile phones. Whereas driving your own car requires the driver to maintain focus on the roads at all times, using public travel as an alternative can prove to be more cost-effective, as well as allowing the traveller to spend some quality time on the internet.

What are your thoughts on this subject? Is driving less attractive for young people now than ever? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

Many driving pupils will testify to the fact that the secret of their success was purely down to the skill of their driving instructor. Likewise, many pupils struggling to pass their test may attribute their bad luck to their mentor’s lack of skill in the passenger seat. Whatever the case, Britannia knows that it is important to find a driving instructor that you like.

This does not necessarily mean that you have to become best friends with your driving instructor; think back to your days at school, and you will probably agree that some of the better teachers you had were some of the stricter ones. Whilst it is important to get along well with your driving instructor (nobody wants to be stuck in a car for an hour a week with someone they can’t stand, and the same goes for your instructor!), it is more important to focus on whether or not you consider them to be a GOOD instructor, as no matter how well you get on together, no amount of friendship is going to get you to pass your test.

Firstly try to identify their pass rate – get feedback from past pupils if possible, and try to go after an instructor based on good recommendations. This will give you a much better chance of success if you know your instructor has had a good amount of success in the past. Secondly, always listen to what they say. Even though you may be having private lessons from a parent or older friend or relative, the vast majority of the time the instructor will be correct in their instructions, so take in all that they have to say.

Finally try to relax – your instructor will want to strike up a good relationship with his or her pupils just as much as you do with them, so just try your best and enjoy the process of learning to drive.

Safe driving from Britannia!

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