With the football season warming up Arsenal defender Andre Santos was sitting on the bench for Arsenals opening game last Saturday.

Santos also found himself sitting on another bench at a North London police station after police arrested him for dangerous driving.

He drew attention to himself when he was caught speeding in excess of 130pmh on the M25.

Santos was not breathalysed, he has been bailed due to return to a police station in mid-September.

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How do you feel about driving on the motorways? It’s amazing how many people, who have 20 years plus of driving experience, yet dread going on the motorway. For some people, the idea of joining fast moving traffic is scary. For others, the fact that you are driving between 60-70mph is a little overwhelming. Learning to drive on the motorway though is beneficial.

Once you have passed your test ask your instructor about motorway driving. You would have already been on duel-carriage ways so you should be comfortable with driving at a higher speed. Your instructor will teach you a lot about motorway driving such as: when to best join the motorway, how to overtake and when not to overtake. You will also see the difference when you overtake a lorry as compared to a normal vehicle. Other things you will learn will be when to effectively use the outside lanes, what to do in case of an emergency and how to deal with other road users who are joining the motorway. As with the rest of driving, learning to drive on the motorway is on going and you will learn something new each time you step into your car. Just remember to stay safe!

On the whole, driving on the motorway is a great experience. It can take you to so many places so it’s something that should be enjoyed and not feared.

Here are some of my top tips

1) When you first start learning to drive on the motorway, drive during quiet times
2) Ask your driving instructor or an experienced driver for lessons on the motorway
3) Never, ever, take risks on the motorway
4) Remember to take breaks, there are any number of service stations to use
5) Check your oil, brake and clutch fluid, tyre pressure and windscreen washer fluid. These things make a big difference.

A road in Leeds known to be used as a ‘drag strip’ by boy racers, has seen two children get knocked down in a hit and run.

Raham Saleem aged two and his sister Sabam aged ten were knocked down on Saturday afternoon and remain in a critical condition following surgery.

Witness Inzimaam Sulman aged just 12 said: “I was playing in my bedroom and I heard a car driving really fast up the road…I saw the children walking across the street and the car just smashed into them.”

Residents say that cars often hit speeds of 50mph down the street as it’s a long road, the speed humps seem to be no deterrent and nothing seems to be done about it.

Police are urging the driver to come forward and are currently studying CCTV footage.

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

Female Formula 1 driver Maria de Villota loses her right eye in an accident on Duxford airfield race track in Cambridgeshire.

Witnesses say that her car appeared to ‘suddenly accelerate’ into the back of a support lorry. She had been hitting speeds of 200mph on the test track but is thought to be travelling slower at the time of the accident.

She was taken to Addenbrooke Hospital in Cambridge, where she was operated on due to the serious head and facial injuries she sustained. She unfortunately lost her right eye.

Family and friends are grateful to the hospital staff and are thankful she is currently in a stable condition.

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

Although Pinterest came about in 2010, it is still a relatively new concept here in the UK. If you aren’t sure about it, it’s a social media platform that lets you pin images of your favourite things. You can pin up images of your favourite cars, the dream home, food that reminds you of your childhood, beautiful buildings and dreamy scenery.

So why am I mentioning it here?

Well, there’s no reason why you can’t use it to help you with your driving. I mean, we all have a car we dream about, a route that we dream of taking, a journey that makes us tingle.

So I thought that you may want to know about this site so that you can create your car themed dream board, or whatever board you may want to create.

Here are a few of my favourite car related pins:-
https://pinterest.com/pin/74590937548460274/
https://pinterest.com/pin/209839663858000586/
https://pinterest.com/pin/20477373276336561/

Tayside Police and Northern Constabulary are working together to reduce accidents and target poor driving along the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

They will heavily patrol the area and have mobile speed camera vans to encourage drivers to keep to the speed limit.

It is not about catching people out necessarily it’s about educating people. Inspector Julie Robertson from Tayside Police said: “…poor driver behaviour is at the root of many serious collisions and not the road itself…Drivers must concentrate on their driving and the ever changing traffic, road and weather conditions around them.”

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

We all like to learn of new ways to save petrol. Petrol prices aren’t at their most friendliest right now and so, we thought we should share some tips on how to reduce your fuel consumption.

Shopping
Yes, the weekly shop. Except for many of us we don’t just go shopping once, we go multiple times. Going to and from different shops is a sure way to use up petrol. We suggest shopping online. All the big stores from Asda to Tesco and Waitrose have very user friendly websites that make it easier to do your shopping. The very fact that you don’t have to spend an hour and a half walking through the shopping isles is a good enough reason for me to do the shopping online.

Public Transport
Yes, I know that we don’t have the best public transport here, but in many cities we do have a good service. Just have a look what your local bus route is and how often it runs. Or you may consider using the tram or train. If you are travelling a long distance and don’t fancy driving, look at booking your train ticket ahead. You can get some great deals.

We hope that these few tips help you save some petrol!

Anthony Chase at Britannia Driving School taught Olympic Gold Medallist Mo Farah how to drive and was overjoyed to see him excel himself in the Olympic games.

It is difficult to imagine world class athletes doing everyday activities such as shopping, banking or learning to drive.

With two gold medals from the London 2012 Olympics, I wonder if he will display them with his driving test pass certificate.

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

A van driver accused of knocking over Simon Richardson, Paralympics Gold Medallist whilst he was cycling near Bridgend was found to be twice over the drink drive limit and had poor eyesight.

Mr Richardson was out training for the London Paralympics back in August last year and was about 20 miles into his training when the van hit him.

The driver, Mr Adams said he had been blinded by the sunlight and when he felt a bump thought he had simply hit a sheep which he claims is why he failed to stop.

However, the jury was told that Mr Adams could not read a number plate from 4m away and could barely see one from 2m away even when wearing his driving glasses. He had also been drinking whiskey since 6am that morning.

Mr Richardson suffered serious injuries including a fractures spine and pelvis and a perforated bowel. The case continues but Mr Adams has been warned he faces a jail sentence.

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

A fatal error that we often see is people pulling off without looking around properly. This can cause fatal accidents and you should always exercise a duty of care when you pull off.

Remember to check your mirrors before you pull off, they help let you know what’s on either side of your car. Also remember to check your blind spots; cars, busses and especially motorbikes can very easily be hidden in your blind spots so do check.

If you are parked at the side of the road and waiting to pull off, analyse the traffic around you. If you pull out you need to make sure that you won’t slow down the traffic behind you. If a car is driving fast and you pull out, you are creating a potential accident that could easily be avoided. You also need to look at oncoming traffic. A car travelling in the opposite direction maybe over taking another car which may force them to come into your lane. These are all things you need to consider.