October 23, 2013
Films Targeting Young London Drivers

Hounslow Council have produced two films to highlight to young drivers the ‘devastating impact of careless driving’ which were launched last week on YouTube and the council’s Facebook page.

The time-lapse films tell the stories of Georgia and Alex through their social network, as they prepare for a night out with their friends. Each film introduces the main characters through information they are sharing with friends.

In the last two years in Hounslow there have been 160 casualties involving 16-20 year olds, and the council is committed to reducing the number of young drivers killed or injured on the brother’s roads.

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October 17, 2013
Test Pass After Operation To Regain Blindness

Joseph Lewis, 26, passed his driving test just seven weeks after a complicated operation to prevent him from a lifetime of blindness and enabled him to see. He had suffered with poor vision his whole life and had developed cataracts six months ago, forcing him to lose the little sight he had.

The life-changing operation removed the cataracts and replaced his natural lenses with artificial ones which have been surgically implanted into his eyes and work in the same way as the most advanced lenses in a pair of glasses.

Lewis had always wanted to be able to drive but it seemed impossible for him to do so but this operation has now enabled to him to drive.

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October 16, 2013
Motoring ‘Loophole’ Solicitor Caught Twice Over Limit

Helen Dugdale, a partner at a Liverpool law firm who regularly defends clients facing traffic charges was disqualified for 18 months, fined £800 and ordered to pay £650 in costs. She was arrested in her own driveway after a passer-by spotted her driving erratically and called the police.

She claimed a lesser ban at Manchester Magistrates Court claiming it would have a detrimental effect on her family life and ‘dent’ her reputation. The district judge told her that he need not say anything about the offence as it is her line of work. Indeed on her firm’s websites it states that she has a ‘vast knowledge’ of dealing with drink-driving cases.

On arriving at her home in Mossley Hill on the date of the incident, police saw Dugdale on the drive smelling of alcohol and noticed the car’s engine was warm along with other signs that it had recently been driven. The breath test indicated that she had 76mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, the maximum legal limit being 35mg.

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October 11, 2013
New Restrictions on Teenage Learners

Changes are being made to the issuing of licences to young learners. A Green Paper is due to be published by ministers which recommends a one-year ‘learner stage’ beginning at 17, during which drivers would have to have at least 100 hours of daytime and 20 hours of night-time practice under supervision. Learners can then only take their test at 18 and will be issued with a 12-month probationary licence and would be required to display a green ‘P’ plate.

During the probationary stage, drivers would have a curfew between 22:00 and 05:00 and all those under 30 will be banned from carrying any passengers under 30.

Jane Hunt ADI of Britannia Driving School argues ‘education and changing driver attitude is the key to improving safety’.

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October 10, 2013
Foreign-Language Tests To Be Banned

Ministers plan to ban people from taking the driving test in a foreign language amid fears that they are unable to read English road signs. Further, the case of the Mandarin translator for the theory test who was jailed for 12 months for fraudulently indicating the correct answers to the theory test questions has caused concerns that interpreters enable learners to cheat.

The current rules allow the theory test to be sat in 19 foreign languages, aided by either an interpreter or voiceovers, and permit learners to attend the practical test with a translator.

In a consultation run earlier this year over 70 per cent of people supported the ban of foreign language voiceovers and interpreters on tests.

The changes are designed to mimic driving in real life and it is feared that in a lot of cases interpreters may be giving more help than they are supposed to.

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October 4, 2013
1 in 3 Drivers Not Ready to Drive

A recent survey has shown that a third of young drivers do not consider themselves ready to drive alone… despite recently passing their test.

29% of 18-30 year olds do not believe that their lessons or even their exam have equipped them with the tools necessary to begin driving without supervision.

Almost a quarter of the same group of 2,000 young drivers surveyed believe that if they had spent more time learning to drive, a previous accident would have been much more easily avoided.

Of this number, 21% still chose to avoid motorways, and almost 15% described themselves as “unprepared” to be behind the wheel in the first place.

The survey revealed other shocking statistics such as a third being too unconfident to drive in wet weather, over a fifth uncomfortable driving with others in the car, and even 8% being unwilling to perform a right-turn… despite this being a compulsory part of the driving test.

Like all things, driving requires some confidence. Remember, if you have passed your test, you are clearly capable of driving safely. Just remember to make sure you always do.

Safe driving from Britannia!

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September 25, 2013
Unlicensed Driving Instructors Warning

The Metropolitan Police are warning learner drivers to check that instructors are properly qualified before taking lessons. A suspected illegal instructor is, on average, reported to the Driving Standards Agency each day.

Vasim Choudhary, a DSA fraud investigator, states the importance of ensuring the instructors are properly qualified otherwise they are ‘someone who might just teach you skills which are very limited’. The police also concerned since these unlicensed driving instructors may not have been through the obligatory criminal background checks.

In the past four years, 123 suspected illegal instructors have been arrested, of whom 39 were convicted. However, it is often hard to secure convictions due to lack of proof that the learner has made payment. Therefore, it is imperative that learners check that their instructor is licensed before getting into the car.

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September 24, 2013
Music While Driving

It has long been suggested that the music you listen to whilst driving will affect how you drive.

According to new evidence from Ben-Gurion University, teenage drivers are the most greatly affected by their choice of listening material.

Young males especially are the most dangerous, as it was deemed that teenager boys generally listen to more aggressive music than their female counterparts, and their driving reflects this.

The higher number of mistakes made by younger drivers due to their in-car music was attributed to the inexperience of younger drivers, as well as their choice of stereotypically more aggressive dance and/or rock music.

Safe driving from Britannia!

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September 23, 2013
Elderly Drivers

It has been found that more than 4 million people aged over 70 have full UK driving licences with 191 people a century old or more. The country’s oldest licensed driver is an 107-year-old woman.

Motorists over 70 must declare that they are fit to drive every three years without the need for a medical exam; calls have been made for a full medical examination by a doctor to be carried out before they are deemed fit to drive. Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation said ‘many motorists simply do not have a realistic view of their capabilities’.

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September 20, 2013
Drive your child halfway to the moon!

Feel like you drive a lot? If you have children, there’s a very good reason for that.

Recent research by Insurance Company Aviva has suggested that parents spend a vastly proportional amount of time driving their children around.

With an average of 27 journeys per week, this equates to an estimate of approximately 148 miles for every 168 hours.

This figure suggests that by the time their offspring has reached 17 – the ages where they can legally begin driving themselves around- their parents have driven them roughly 125,000 miles… or in other terms, half way to the moon.

So next time you think about how much your children are driving you mad, think about how much you are driving them around too.

Safe driving from Britannia!

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