Recent research amongst 17-25 year olds found that learning to drive was perceived as better value for money than getting a degree.

More than 30% of respondents said learning to drive offered the best value for money, with around 25% saying a deposit for a house was important and 18% who opted for a degree. Buying a car, travelling and being fashionable were also important.

Could the younger generation be right? With university fees sky high and the housing market so unstable, learning to drive could be seen as the best value for money. It could in turn increase job opportunities, as holding a driving licence is often required, it also allows individuals freedom and independence.

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

Car insurance provider, Esure, estimate that 2.7 million drivers on UK roads are putting themselves and other road users in danger by driving with bad eyesight.According to insurer Esure who carried out the study, 2.7 million drivers admitted they’d probably fail their driving test if they were to take it again because of their poor eyesight, with 50% of those questioned by the insurer revealing their eyesight had deteriorated since the time they’d first taken their driving test.The insurance provider discovered that the number of drivers banned from the roads as a result of poor eyesight in 2009 stood at just over 4,000 which is a significant jump of over 50% compared to just three years previously when 1,597 drivers were banned in 2006 as a result of poor eyesight.42% of respondents who took part in the Esure study revealed they squint in order to read road signs, while 28% even ask their passenger to read the signs out for them. Despite the shocking admissions, 43% of those polled said they felt confident they’d be able to pass the distance reading aspect of the driving test if they were re-tested.Another 24% of drivers who took part in the Esure poll admitted to getting behind the wheel without wearing their prescription glasses.Insurance experts believe the results of the study are extremely worrying as driving with poor eyesight can lead to an increase in accidents, and a rise in the cost of insurance premiums for those involved in any claims.

Death by dangerous driving is a recognised crime and the consequence is a jail sentence, but what about victims that are seriously injured.

Under proposals being discussed in the next parliamentary session, the new offence ‘causing serious injury by dangerous driving’ will allow judges to impose tougher sentences, anywhere up to five years imprisonment.

Victims of dangerous drivers, their families, along with road safety groups and MPs have all had a lot to say on the matter and their experiences have directly informed the changes.

Dangerous drivers need to realise the damage they cause to those around them, five people died on our roads each day last year, all drivers need to take action and be responsible drivers.

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

More than 500 cars have been seized and 66 people arrested so far in an operation targeting uninsured drivers in London.
The day-long operation, overseen by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe, is also designed to disrupt other criminal activity.
Up to 80% of uninsured drivers were involved in other crimes, he said.
Incidents of uninsured driving on Merseyside fell by 40% after Mr Hogan-Howe used the measure there.
“[Uninsured drivers] are also more likely to be involved in crashes and have unsafe cars, so we’re taking this action to make London’s roads safer,” the commissioner added.
“This is the first of the operations I have asked for where officers across the Met will spend a dedicated day on a regular basis targeting uninsured drivers and those believed to be connected to crime.”

North Wales pensioners will be offered a two hour assessment course by a Road Safety Group free of charge in order to keep them up-to-date with traffic conditions which are a world apart from when these drivers may have first passed their test.

Anyone over the age of 60 years old will be offered the class to help with their driving skills and techniques. As an older driver, your reaction times may be slower, decisions take longer to make, and eyesight and hearing may have diminished.

The scheme is not meant to be a way of victimising drivers or threatening their licence but to help them and enable them to keep their independence.

It is hoped that the scheme will be introduced in other parts of the country in order to keep our roads safe and our older drivers happy and confident.

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

The DSA (Driving Standards Agency) has launched a new theory test application for iPhone users, to practice the theory and hazard perception components needed to pass your test.

The official DSA apps are available to download now for as little as £2.99 and include handy links such as a theory test centre locator.

It may be a little controversial to having a driving app on a mobile phone when phone use whilst driving contributes to thousands of accidents each year. However, for these learners (particularly the younger generation) this brings the DSA into the 21st century and makes revising for your driving test easy to do whilst on the go.

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

As the evenings draw in and winter fast approaches Central Bedfordshire Council, in partnership with their Highways contractor Amey, have been busy preparing for the winter weather – getting salt stocks filled up and gritters at the ready.
To mark the start of their annual winter driving campaign both partners are hosting a launch event this Saturday, 22 October at Asda in Dunstable, offering free car safety checks, a children’s gritter competition, and winter weather road safety advice.
Following last year’s severe weather the council has replenished its salt stock to over 5000 tonnes, procured a fleet of 18 new gritters and carried out road improvements on local roads.
To get Central Bedfordshire’s roads ready for winter, Amey have completed 22 surfacing schemes, 15 footway schemes, 8 patching schemes and one carriageway recycling scheme. 24 patching and surface dressing schemes have also been carried out, as well as 33 smaller schemes across the county.
Cllr Budge Wells, Deputy Executive Member for Sustainable Communities Services at Central Bedfordshire Council said: “It’s crucial that we spend the summer months prioritising repair work to our roads, such as fixing potholes, to ensure our roads remain in a good condition during the winter. It’s more difficult to repair our roads in cold, wet or snowy conditions, and during this time we need road users to be extra careful when out on the roads.”
Earlier this year, the council also received a Government grant of over £700,000 to assist with pothole repairs. The grant was the council’s share of the additional funding supplied by the Department for Transport, in addition to the Council’s own allocated funding of £5.75m.
Cllr Wells, added; “With over 5000 tonnes of salt in stock and a fleet of 18 new gritters, we want local residents and motorists to be assured that we are getting ready for winter. As part of our commitment to ensure all drivers are aware of the relevant safety advice, we are launching our winter driving campaign to help prepare road users when travelling on our local roads this winter, so they know how to keep themselves and their vehicles safe.
“On Saturday, children will have the opportunity to enter our gritting competition, to name our new fleet of gritters, and adults will be offered free car safety checks to assess if their vehicles are ready for winter.”

Stone Roses front man Ian Brown nearly lost his driving licence as quickly as their gig sold out when he was clocked driving at 105mph.

Mr Brown was stopped at the roadside by police officers and offered a roadside fixed penalty, which considering the speed was very lucky. However, he refused as he disputed the speeds. In court he was given six penalty points, fined £650 and was ordered to pay £300 prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

The reason he didn’t receive a driving ban was thought to be down to his Lawyer Nick Freeman, nicknamed ‘Mr Loophole’. He told the court a sob story that giving his client a driving ban would seriously interfere with Brown seeing his 11 year old son who lives in London. But surely that’s the whole point of a driving ban, if there is no deterrent, people will continue to break the law. He should have thought about the consequences of his speed and what a driving ban would do to his family life and career.

However, Mr Freeman didn’t stop there, he also added that Mr Brown drives around 50,000 miles a year and as he has been driving for over 20 years and has only ever got three points on his licence (these have now expired) we should view this as a huge achievement. He also added that his car is very quiet and doesn’t give much sensation of speed.

How many excuses do they want to use, it’s evident that he knew what he was doing and police say he never dropped below 94mph (still way over the limit). People should be made an example of and have to suffer the consequences in order to learn from their mistakes, £650 is hardly a dent in Mr Brown’s wallet.

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

Surprisingly it is the younger motorists who are most fearful of failure, with 15 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds believing they were ‘quite unlikely’ or ‘very unlikely’ to achieve a pass, according to the AA/Populus study. Of the 16,961 AA members questioned, nine per cent said they were ‘quite likely’ to fail, while two per cent felt they were ‘very likely’ to do so. Londoners were the most confident of passing with only nine per cent fearing they would not be able to attain a pass, while drivers from the Tyne-Tees area were the most pessimistic about their chances, with 13 per cent believing a tester would fail them. AA president Edmund King said: ‘It is alarming to think more than three million drivers who have passed their test may not be safe on the roads due to a lack of confidence or competence to such a degree they don’t think they would pass their driving test. ‘It is particularly worrying so many young drivers think they would not pass a retest, when it can’t have been long since they took their test. ‘Driving is a skill for life and, although it is easy to let bad habits form after your test, drivers should make sure their skills are kept polished.’ Men were considerably more confident about their chances of passing a resit than woman with 32 per cent of the males surveyed believing they were ‘very likely’ to pass. Only 23 per cent of women shared that confidence. In total, 28 per cent of drivers felt they were ‘very likely’ to pass, with 55 per cent ‘quite likely’ to succeed.

Visitors  from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland plus certain other countries where driving on the left is standard, will have little difficulty with the UK driving test, the British test requirements are much the same.

Drivers from the USA and Canada will have to get used to driving on the left and also get to know European traffic signs.

Please beware; UK Test Examiners do not accept gifts, if you feel a gift would increase your chance of passing the test, your instructor will be only too happy to accept it! UK Driving Test Examiners are well paid and are not allowed to accept gifts.

It goes almost without saying that you should never act aggressively, shout or swear at the examiner under any circumstances whatsoever. If Examiners are threatened, the police will be informed.

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