A woman has been charged after ignoring a road closure sign resulting in her car becoming submerged in the floods at Kelso in the Scottish Borders.

The 49-year-old drove past the sign and through two barriers whilst attempting to enter Kelso last week. Her car became immersed in water and was swept down the river becoming wedged between two trees.

The driver has been charged and police in the Scottish Borders have issued advice for drivers following the severe weather over the past few days. The advice also focuses on the importance of adhering to road closures, and the dangers of ignoring advice from the emergency services.

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One of the most common reasons driving test candidates will give for failing their driving test is nerves – Almost all qualified drivers will tell you how nerve-racking it can be to sit the test and the effect this may have had on their performance.

The best way to beat the driving test nerves is to be fully prepared – Get to know your car or your instructors car inside out, and practise those manoeuvres until you’re sure you can do them with your eyes closed (Although Britannia does not recommend attempting this!)

Once you are fully prepared, you should pass the test with flying colours.

Safe driving from Britannia!

Two-thirds of motorists who drive after drinking alcohol would not have drink at all if the drink-driving limit was reduced, according to a survey. The Populus survey findings have prompted alcohol and public health campaigners to urge minister to impose Scotland’s lower limit across the rest of the UK.

The legal blood-alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 80mg per 100ml, is one of the highest in Europe. Only Malta allows people to have more alcohol in their body when driving.

Scotland last year reduced its limit to 50mg, a move credited with cutting drink-driving offences by 5%. Extending the same policy UK-wide would save lives and lead many drivers to be more responsible, it is claimed.

In the Populus survey, 568 of the 1,833 people who took part said they had driven after drinking alcohol. Of those who had, 66% said they would not drink at all if the limit was lowered. The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), which commissioned the survey, said that was because some would be unsure how much it was safe to consume and others would decide it was not worth drinking at all.

While consuming any alcohol at all increases the chance of having an accident while behind the wheel, research shows that drivers who are just under the current 80mg limit are twice as likely to die in crash than those just under the 50mg limit campaigners are backing.

The 5% fall in drink-driving offences in Scotland in the year since it introduced the lower limit shows that people have changed their behaviour and are drinking less before getting behind the wheel.

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

One of the problems with learning to drive can be the cost of lessons – Of course, as a learner driver you really need to be having weekly lessons to stay up to date and keep fresh with your skills behind the wheel, but it can be expensive to maintain all these lessons in a relatively short space of time leading up to your driving test.

So what if you could start driving from a younger age?

Jaguar has recently revealed a scheme called “Jaguar First” to allow drivers as young as 11 to take lessons in its XE Saloon car – With qualified driving instructors taking youngsters onto tracks designed to replicate real-world driving conditions in a plan to improve driving safety in teen drivers.

What are your thoughts on this scheme? Let us know in the comment section below!

Safe driving from Britannia!

The age of the self-driving car is imminent – With autonomous vehicles legally allowed on the roads in US states such as Nevada, it clearly is only a matter of time until they are as commonplace as normal cars.

As Nissan have been testing their self-driving cars on public roads in Japan, the results were astounding – Using complex algorithms and advanced hardware, these vehicles are able to complete a variety of safe driving techniques such as recognising the difference between a red light and a tail light, make turns safely, change lanes on dual carriageways, cross bridges and intersections and even stop if a car brakes abruptly or a person steps out in front of the car.

Some more advanced skills are yet to be programmed in – Such as pulling aside for an ambulance or recognising safe positioning in unclearly-drawn lanes – But one thing is for sure, this is the start of the end of driving as we know it.

Safe driving from Britannia!

We are all only human – We are prone to making mistakes in our day to day life, and it is no different when it comes to driving. Ask yourself honestly how many mistakes you make when you are behind the wheel, and you will know this is true.

Unfortunately the same goes for the driving test – Some of us just won’t pass on the first attempt – And that’s not a problem. The trick is to not let it get you down – Just bounce back and learn from your mistakes, and hopefully pass on your next attempt.

Driving can be tricky – Some of us take more attempts than others. It’s very hard to get something 100% right on your first attempt – Just think of your failed tests as practice for the one successful one.

Good luck on your driving test from Britannia!