Learning to drive is a daunting process for most; however this can be exacerbated if you do not have the right driving instructor at your side. Whilst you may think that any instructor will be as appropriate as the next, your likelihood of progress within your lessons, and therefore your road to eventual success in your test, depends greatly upon if your instructor is suitable for you.

Here are some tips to help you find the best driving instructor for you;

–          At the end of each lesson, review the lesson yourself, and see if you feel you have made much progress today – if several lessons with one instructor pass without a noticeable improvement in your driving skill, this could well be due to the instructor’s lack of aptitude more than your own. Start considering if the instructor is right for you.

–          Do you enjoy your lessons? Whilst the aim of driving lessons is to get you on the road, it can never hurt to enjoy yourself along the way. Research shows that students who enjoy learning have a much quicker learning time frame than those who have a negative view of their education. This can mean anything from having a laugh and joke with your instructor to simply considering them a good teacher – but enjoyment is vital.

–          Don’t be afraid to shop around – Some students can spend up to £1000 or more on driving lessons- this is your money, and if you feel that you’re not getting your money’s worth, you are in no obligation whatsoever to stick with one instructor. Whilst it would be preferable to have the stability of one constant instructor, if you feel they are not right for you, then you are more than welcome to move on to another instructor.

Finding the right instructor is a vital part of learning to drive- make sure you choose carefully!

Stephen Mansbridge, 51, leader of Guildford Borough Council was handed a 40 month driving ban after he was caught over the drink drive limit.

The ban, a £1665 fine, £87 court costs and a surcharge of £120 were handed to Cllr Mansbridge at Guildford Magistrates Court on April 30th. The ban and fine were decided after looking at a previous offence committed by Cllr Mansbridge nine years earlier.

He said: “I am deeply sorry for this dreadful lapse of judgement and regret my actions in every sense possible….I commend the officers of Surrey Police for acting quickly and sensibly and fully accept the punishment of the court, which I did not seek to contest in any way.”

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A legislative committee in America has passed a bill that will allow judges to impose prison sentences for repeat offenders who drink and drive.

Those that have offended between seven and nine times will receive a three year prison sentence and those that have offended 10 times or more will receive a minimum of four years behind bars.

The changes come after current laws leave judges to use their discretion whether or not to impose a jail sentence.

Judges will now also have to impose a mandatory 30 day jail sentence to any driver who is over the drink drive limit and causes an injury.

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Entrepreneurial whiz-kid and self-made billionaire Elon Musk is back in the spotlight this week, after his claims of a joint venture with Google to develop the self-driving car.

The founder of SpaceX and PayPal has announced his talks with Google brains to develop the autonomous vehicle- although he has said that he prefers the title “Autopilot” to “Self-driving”, as the latter suggests the vehicle having a mind of its own.

Musk has said: “Autopilot is a good thing to have in planes, and we should have it in cars.”

Although the partnership seems like a powerhouse for the future of motoring, Musk also suggested a potential flaw in Google’s design; it costs too much.

Musk has stated that rather than Google’s advanced yet expensive sensory system- which uses sci-fi like technology to analyse its surroundings, collating over 1000 pieces of data a second –he would much prefer to use a simpler optical system, which he describes as being “basically cameras, with software that is able to figure out what’s going on just by looking at things”.

It is said that Google is in “technical discussions” with Tesla Motors – of which Musk is CEO – however the likelihood is that rather than collaborating on a joint project to further Google’s Lidar laser tracking system, Tesla will most likely begin to develop its own version of the autonomous automobile, using Musk’s own camera-based concept – although Musk has not ruled out a joint venture with the search engine giants.

Whilst this may suggest a dynamic collaboration of technical geniuses that will change the way we drive forever, or even an exciting space-race style contest to release the first Auto-Piloted car, Musk was quick to quell the rumours he began himself just ten minutes earlier. He tweeted shortly afterwards that this project is “not yet top priority”, that they were “still a few years from production”, and somewhat ironically, “No big announcement here.”

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A motorist who has killed two cyclists more than 25 year apart, was handed just a five year driving ban.

The Cyclists Touring Club has branded the sentence given to Gary McCourt “scandalous” after he killed a cyclist in 2011.

Audrey Fyfe, 75, who was not wearing a helmet at the time, was knocked off her bike, after Mr McCourt clipped her back wheel. She unfortunately died two days later. The courts found Mr McCourt guilty of killing Audrey however, he was only given a five year driving ban.

Mrs Fyfe’s widower, Ian was clearly unhappy with the sentence and said: “I feel with him having killed two cyclists already he shouldn’t be allowed to drive for life and I don’t think that is unreasonable.”

He went on to say: “How many times is he going to have to kill someone before he is banned for life?”

Cyclists are fast becoming a big part of our roads and more provisions are being made for them with Boris Johnson’s bikes, cycle lanes and bike incentives offered by employers.

So for motorists, it is important to be considerate of cyclists and ensure they adopt a safe driving approach when near cyclists.

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Older drivers are being encouraged to take a specialised course to ensure their safety whilst driving, in a new move by Lancashire County Council.

The course is aimed at drivers of 65 and over, after concerns were raised about the high number of elderly drivers involved in serious road traffic accidents, after new figures were released revealing that 1 in 8 accidents in the area causing death and injury involved an elderly driver. It aims to boost confidence and correct any bad habits picked up over a lifetime behind the wheel.

The figures also revealed that whilst casualties involving younger drivers are in a slow decline, injuries sustained to drivers over 65 whilst driving have remained at a constant 13.4% for the previous 5 years.

Whilst there are few rules are in place regarding aged drivers, all motorists are required to reapply for their licence every 3 years after turning 70, along with a declaration of being in a good state of health.

The course – titled “Drive Safely for Longer” currently has 100 available places remaining. The process couldn’t be easier, with an instructor coming to the drivers home to carry out the course. Approximately 600 people have passed the course in its relatively short lifespan of two years, and more continue to opt for the course.

In 2011, almost 800 people were killed or seriously hurt in vehicle incidents in Lancashire. However the following year, this dropped 11.4% to 704. Whilst these figures suggest that the issue is slowly but surely improving, safety is still a priority for the council, with an 18% rise in pensioners in the area, bringing the total to 211, 200.

Of this population, three out of four said that they intended to continue driving after retirement – despite the fact that driving abilities are proven to decline with age. “Drive Safely for Longer” aims to encourage drivers of an older age to acknowledge their weaknesses or bad habits picked up after years of driving, and refresh their skills as a motorist.

County Road Safety Manager Paul Binks said: “We’re not interested in catching people out and trying to take their licenses away from them. Our only aim is to help older people to remain behind the wheel safely.”

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A 13 year old boy from Swinton was struck by a police van in 2011 when a Greater Manchester Police Officer ran a red light.

PC Stuart Richmond, was responding to an emergency call at the time, the van did have its lights and siren on at the time and the officer had reduced his speed to 40mph however, the 13 year old, Lucas stepped out into the road and was hit by the van.

IPCC commissioner James Dipple-Johnstone wanted to remind officers that ‘powers and rights must be used with caution and great care.’

He went on to say that: “PC Richmond drive through a red traffic light without any caution and seemingly without any perception of the risk….as a result a young boy sustained life changing injuries.”

The officer has since admitted careless driving and has been fined £350 and given five points on his licence.

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A Scottish Premier League footballer player, Mihael Kovacevic, 25, learnt the hard way after a misunderstanding lead to a four month driving ban.

The player had been convicted of a driving offence in 2011 and along side community service, a fine and a driving ban, he was also ordered to sit his driving test again.

The player who went on to play in Croatia for a period, obtained a licence there and thought the licence would entitle him to drive in the UK and not mean he had to sit the test here again.

Unfortunately, the player didn’t realise that it did not qualify in the UK and as a result had been driving without a licence and without valid driving insurance. Although he had purchased driving insurance, because he did not have a valid UK licence, his insurance was void.

Sheriff Margaret Neilson told Kovacevic that his case was an unusual one but was still a serious charge. She said: “However, I accept that it was not a wilful flouting of the law.

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Google continues to make headlines with its development of the autonomous automobile. Even this week a new image has appeared on the web of how the technology views its surroundings… And this may be familiar to Arnold Schwarzenegger fans around the world.

The image seems oddly reminiscent of the vision of Schwarzenegger’s famous sci-fi character ‘The Terminator’, made famous in the cult 1984 film of the same name. The shot demonstrates the 360-degree field of view of the technology.

The image comes courtesy of Idea lab’s founder Bill Gross, who also adds that the vehicle is capable of gathering almost 1GB of data per second- which translates as roughly 1000 separate pieces of information – as it simultaneously analyses the surrounding area and potential hazards.

Whilst Google launched their Self-Driving Cars three years ago, they were unable to obtain a licence to test their invention on public roads until this time last year. However they have certainly made up for lost time; by covering over 300,000 miles of test drives in Nevada – where the law was passed for autonomous cars to be legally operated – and all of this without one single accident. These findings led to Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles declaring last June that the car is just as safe as a human driver – if not even safer.

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An Indian businessman who owns more than 18 cars worth an estimated four millions dollars allowed his nine year old son to drive his Ferrari.

The boy’s mother said he was allowed to drive the car for his 9th birthday.

The boy, who had his five year old brother in the passenger seat at the time, was videoed by his dad Mohammed Nisham and after posting it on the internet the father was arrested for endangering the life of a child and allowing a minor to drive.

He is currently released on bail.

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