For many learner drivers, taking the driving test can be one of the more daunting prospects to face – However it is an essential life skill needed to finally become a fully-fledged driver.

If you suffer from driving test nerves, you may be happy to know a good tip for passing your driving test; Preparation.

Yes, with the right amount of preparation, you can maximise your chances of passing the driving test with flying colours – But how exactly can you prepare?

Try learning the roads you may be asked to drive on your test route. Any pot-holes, roadworks, awkward junctions, etc that you are aware of in advance will help you to deal with these situations much better in your test.

Also book a lesson around the test route immediately before your test – This will ensure you don’t start driving “cold”, and also put you more at ease during your test.

Safe driving from Britannia!

John Prescott has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding in his Jaguar. The Labour peer and former Hull East MP was caught doing 60mph in a 50mph zone in his Jaguar after helping his son David move house in Lincolnshire.

The 77-year-old was caught by a police speed gun and the extra points pushed him over the limit, leading to a totting up ban. Prescott agreed that he committed the offence and so he won’t be back behind the wheel until the end of November.

Prescott says that he has been involved in bringing speeding legislation in and so he has to face the consequences and there is no excuse. He had nine points on his licence when he was caught travelling home; the extra three points awarded gave him 12, leading to an automatic ban.

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A whopping one in six drivers currently on the roads would fail their driving test if they were made to take it again, a new survey has revealed.

Up to 16% of motorists believe that they would struggle mainly with the Theory test if they had to sit the exam again – Leading for many to question the standard of those behind the wheel on UK roads.

Some of the more common reasons for failing a driving re-test include being unable to remember what road signs mean, and questions regarding safety when overtaking and even down to stopping distances in different conditions.

However motorcyclists seem to have fared better in the results of the research – Due to needing to stay more alert when on the roads, the results suggest that bikers would succeed in far greater numbers than car drivers in a re-test.

What are your thoughts on this article? Let us know in the comments below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

Smart cars of the near future could refuse to start if the driver exceeds the drink-drive limit. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), working with a consortium of car makers including Ford, GM and Volkswagen has developed an alcohol detection system for vehicles that will prevent those over the limit from driving.

The NHTSA unveiled a prototype car fitted with its new Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety technology. The technology includes a steering wheel-mounted breathalyser and an engine start button that detects blood alcohol level via an infrared light.

Both will operate as passive systems, detecting alcohol level as the driver breathes normally, presses a button or holds the wheel. If the system detects the driver is over the limit it will refuse to start the car.

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A move to scrap the paper driving licence and digitise drivers’ records ended in chaos for holidaymakers yesterday as DVLA’s website suffered a technical breakdown.

In the biggest change since the introduction of the photocard licence, the DVLA officially abolished the paper driving licence on 8 June in a bid to streamline services and save money.

But British holidaymakers’ plans were ‘left in chaos’ after the agency’s website, which provides a code which can be passed on to car hire companies in replacement of the counterpart, crashed on the day of its official launch.

Drivers trying to get a DVLA code to give to car hire companies instead of their paper driving licence were left frustrated as the site showed an online error message.

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Smart cars are paving the way for the future of drink-driving prevention – By refusing to allow a person who has been drinking to drive them.

The revolutionary technology, titled DADSS (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) works via a breathaliser mounted on the steering wheel as well as an intelligent engine “Start” button that is capable of detecting alcohol in the drivers blood via an infared light.

These will operate passively – Meaning that as the driver breathes normally, or attempts to start the car whilst under the influence of alcohol, the car will refuse to start.

What are your thoughts on this article? Sound off in the comments below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

Today, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence will no longer be valid or issued by the DVLA.

Here are the ways the changes could affect you:

If you already hold a paper counterpart, it no longer has any legal status. You should destroy your paper counterpart, but you still need to keep your current photocard licence.

If you hold a paper licence which was issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998, this will remain valid and should not be destroyed. If you need to update your name, address or renew your licence, you will be issued with a photocard only.

If you drive for a living and are asked to provide evidence of your driving record, you can do this online for free by accessing the Share Driving Licence service. The service should be used by both paper and photocard licence holders. You can generate a “check code” to pass to the person that needs to view your licence details.

If you will be hiring a car and are asked for evidence of what vehicles you can drive or confirmation of any penalty points, you can request a unique code from www.gov.uk which allows you to share your licence details or download a summary of your record.

What are your thoughts on this article? Send your views to Britannia Driving School by using the comments link below:

As summer rapidly approaches, many of us will be planning our holidays for the coming weeks and months, and along with this comes the task of hiring a car when on your holidays – not an easy task for anyone who has experience of this!

Due to changes being made from Monday 8th June onwards, the paper driving license counterpart will become invalid – And as the information regarding your license will be held only on the DVLA’s computerised system, when you rent your car whilst abroad the rental company will need to access your details online.

All sounds simple, right? Not quite.

To enable this, you will need to order a special code from the DVLA website, using your driving license number, National Insurance Number and Postcode – However this code can only be used for 72 hours after being generated, so you will need to order it just before you travel.

From Monday onwards, we expect to hear tales from the headache of renting cars abroad – Let us know if this includes you in the comments below!

Safe driving from Britannia!