John Mandy’s retirement dreams have stalled after being told he can’t go on the mechanics course he wanted because he’s the wrong sex.

Mr Mandy, 58, of Stockport, Manchester, had sensibly planned to tune up his skills ahead of a trip of a lifetime around Europe in a VW camper van with wife Joy, 57.

But his plan failed as the one local evening class he could find – at Trafford College – only accepts women so that men can’t ‘intimidate’ them in lessons

Mr Mandy, who works at Kellogg’s in Old Trafford, said: ‘I just can’t get my head around it.

‘I could understand if it was swimming classes or something like that, but it would just be a group of people in overalls learning about cars. I don’t see what difference it makes whether you’re a man or a woman.

‘I wouldn’t be any sort of threat to anyone learning there. I doubt anyone knows as little about mechanics as me.’

John, who hopes to retire in the next two years, bought a 1972 VW ambulance for £6,500 on Ebay and plans to convert it into a camper van for his big trip.

He said: ‘I’m completely clueless about cars and need to learn how to be able to maintain an engine if we’re to go travelling, but it seems that men just aren’t catered for.

Sixteen year old Justin Bieber failed his theory test the first time round, almost reducing him to tears. With a brand new Range Rover brought for him by his mentor Usher, no wonder it nearly reduced him to tears.

Welsh Singer Tom Jones had to re-take his driving test in order to keep hold of his Californian licence, as he is now 70 years old. Despite driving for 25 years and reading up on the Highway Code, it must still be very daunting re-sitting your driving exam.

Not all stars want a driving licence, Kate Beckinsale doesn’t want to learn how to drive saying she much prefers to be a passenger.

The proposed closure of the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) Cardiff office will have a huge impact on not only the staff but examiners across the country and pupils too.

The public sector union – Paul William’s thoughts are that the closure would have a devastating effect on so many people. It would ultimately increase driving examiners workloads when they are already stressed and under pressure to keep waiting times down to a minimum.

There are concerns that examiners would be asked to effectively work from home and collect candidates from their home address. This would make them extremely vulnerable and make their job extremely difficult.

Thoughts also lie with the 80 people that work at the Cardiff office that would lose their job. They have an important role booking all tests for Welsh speakers and organising the deployment of examiners across the country.

A full internal consultation will be carried out before the final decision is made.

Emily Smith of Britannia Driving School said: “With economic times as they are, job losses are inevitable with companies making cut backs. However, this would have a detrimental effect on all learners, with waits of up to three months for a test date at present, removing a key part in the DSA process could increase the waiting time even more.”

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A MOTORIST caught talking on his mobile phone told police it was a packet of chewing gum, a court heard.

John Brown was driving his Mercedes C220 on the A590 near to Ulverston when an off-duty officer on a motorbike says he saw him talking on his phone.

The officer, PC Ian D’Arcy, told Furness Magistrates that he signalled to on-duty colleague PC Russ Kitchin, who happened to be parked nearby at Newlands, and they stopped Brown.

Furness Magistrates were told that when Brown was approached, he told PC D’Arcy the phone had been on loud speaker – but then told PC Kitchin the item he had been holding was a blue packet of chewing gum.

The charge of driving while using a handheld mobile phone was proved in Brown’s absence during a trial on Monday. (4)

Mr John Appleby, prosecuting, said: “A statement from PC Kitchin says he was on duty at 12.20pm on March 23 in an unmarked Volvo when he was informed of a man driving while on his phone.

“He said when he approached the man he said it wasn’t a phone, but picked up a packet of chewing gum and said it was that he was holding.

“He then told the officer: ‘You can’t do this.

“Haven’t you anything better to do?’”

The court heard Brown, who was not represented by a solicitor, was fined £175 in December last year for a similar offence.

PC D’Arcy, who is part of the Ulverston road policing unit, appeared on the witness stand.

Brown, of Railway Terrace, Lindal, was fined £250 and ordered to pay £60 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

His driving licence was endorsed with three penalty points.

Children are vulnerable road users in all aspects. They will often open car doors without looking first, which not only puts them in danger but other road users as well.

You may find them walking in-between cars, making them difficult to notice.

Despite the presence of a lollypop lady or man (although we do not see as many as we used to), we should all slow down and drive taking extra care around schools.

It is often the parents of other school children that are the culprits, they are rushing to drop their children off or make it too work afterwards, without thinking of pedestrians and other vehicles.

There is no set age when a child should be allowed out alone, it is simply when you feel it is safe for them to do so and when they can interpret and use the Green Cross Code effectively.

Parents need to involve their children when they are both pedestrians and a passenger in a car. By asking your child whether it is safe to open their car door or safe to cross the road, they are learning by being actively involved and by being allowed to make decisions for themselves. In turn it will make them safer on our roads.

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Driving School by using the comments link below:

An 80-year-old man who took a wrong turning in his car and found himself driving up a train platform was arrested for dangerous driving, a police spokesman has confirmed.

Commuters were forced to jump out the way when the man found himself driving up the platform at Esher station in Weston Green at about 5pm on Saturday.

The man, who was accompanied by an elderly woman, took a wrong turn off Lower Green Road and drove down the footpath that leads from Sandown Park Racecourse to the station.

Due to the narrowness of the footpath, the driver was unable to manoeuvre a three point-turn in his dark blue saloon and was forced to drive all the way to the London-bound platform.

The car was eventually removed from the platform by a recovery vehicle.

There are fears for the Sugababe singer Amelle Berrabah’s safety, now that she may be forced to use public transport after being slapped with a 14 month driving ban.

The singer was given a roadside breath test which proved positive, she claims she had drunk alcohol the night before and did not think it would still be in her system.

Ms Berrabah’s defence said it would be difficult for the singer to be without a car when she has a busy work schedule and carries out charity work. However, the judge ruled that she should have thought of this prior to committing the offence.

The ban could be reduced to 10 months if she completes a drink-driving rehabilitation course. The singer states that although she was not driving dangerously or carrying any passengers, she is deeply sorry for her actions and realises that she was in the wrong.

Holly Harper of Britannia Driving School said: “Alcohol takes a long time to leave your body. There is no quick way to sober up. You may be over the legal drink drive limit for many hours after drinking.”

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Named drivers

By adding drivers to your insurance policy you can significantly affect the amount you pay as it may go down if you add an experienced driver such as your parents or an older sibling. On the other hand some new drivers are added as 2nd or 3rd drivers on their parent’s policy – however they won’t be able to build their no claims bonus if it has not been declared that they are the main driver.

No Claims Discount

This is effectively a reward for not making a claim. Eventually once you have built up your no claims discount (also known as no claims bonus) you could reduce the cost of your insurance by up to 60%.

Legal Protection

This is an added extra you can pay to have with your policy; it basically covers any legal disputes you may have as result of an accident, such as who is to blame.

Breakdown Cover

This is crucial to insure you have this cover included in your policy, as this service will be required in case of an accident or a fault with the car. You must check to see whether your policy includes this cover or whether you have to pay extra to add it in; furthermore a good idea would be to compare the prices with other companies to get the best deal. Some banks offer current accounts which come with this cover so it would be beneficial to check with your bank to see if you are covered.

Emily Smith at Britannia Driving School said: “Some insurance companies offer courtesy cars with fully comprehensive drivers but it’s always best to double check as it may cost extra to purchase. In addition if you do hire a car while your car is in the garage the cost of the hire may be covered for a certain period of time so it’s good to check that out”.

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Covering a period when the speed cameras increased dramatically as police forces also cut back on their dedicated traffic patrols, the figures gave further weight to those who argued that the reliance on automated traffic enforcement was missing some of the most dangerous motorists.

Detailed analysis of motoring prosecutions, in a study commissioned by the Department for Transport, showed that there was an 88 per cent rise in motorists who were hit with penalty points on their licence for speeding, while over the same period – 1997-2007 – there was a 53 per cent fall in prosecutions for careless driving.

In 1997 there were 2.6 million motorists were penalised for speeding, this rose to 4.9 million who received points on their licence in 2007. Over the same period prosecutions for careless driving dropped from 192,000 to 90,000.

The figures rekindled the controversy over the entire speed camera programme, especially with the latest road casualty statistics, which were released yesterday, that failure to look properly was the key cause of 38 per cent of accidents last year.

Exceeding the speed limit was a factor in five per cent of accidents – but 17 per cent of fatal crashes.

Since taking office the Coalition has moved to reverse the march of speed cameras by refusing to fund new devices.

Spending cuts have also seen a number of partnerships being forced to switch the cameras off because they do not have the money to maintain them or process the prosecutions they generate.

The Driving Standards Agency have changed their corporate website and linked up with the Department for Transport and their green coloured theme.

If you go to the old site, it will re-direct you automatically. With those that drive as their profession being directed to a new DSA information site called Businesslink.

The change was introduced in order to reduce the number of government websites. However DSA and road safety development news can be found on Facebook.

The chief driving examiner Mr Trevor Wedge has launched a Facebook page for people to follow changes and news from the DSA. With many drivers on the road being young people, Facebook is a key way to reach out to them and provide important information.

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