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October 29th, 2011 admin
Twenty-three years after failing her third test, Lucy Etherington managed to overcome her fears and is now a proud driver.
When I was 18, I failed my driving test three times. The first was down to “undue hesitancy”. In the second test, I tried to be more assertive and… well, let’s just say I’d have scored highly in PlayStation’s Grand Theft Auto.
Five minutes into the third test, I signalled left, turned right and stalled, causing four traffic jams. “Have I failed?” I asked the examiner, amid a cacophony of horns. “I can’t tell you until you’ve completed the course,” he said, clutching his clipboard. “But,” he looked at me pleadingly, “you can ask to end the test now.”
Perhaps it wasn’t surprising that I put off taking my fourth test. Only the delay might seem unusual – 23 years.
To be fair, I had perfectly valid excuses. I lived in central London and my partner drove. Even when the kids came along, I scoffed at my friends’ people carriers and gamely balanced buggies, babies and hyperactive toddlers on escalators and buses, claiming it was good for my biceps and the environment. I could have happily remained a non-driver forever.
Then we moved to rural Suffolk. It was four miles to the nearest shop, two to the school. There were no pavements and only one wheezing bus a day. I was 41, but I couldn’t put it off any longer. I had to drive.
I was scared. Scared of the horrible things that can happen, the death and mayhem you could potentially cause. When you’re young, you’re invincible. The
older driver has to wrestle with her sense of mortality.
Yet Steve Garrod of the Driving Instructors Association says this is an advantage. “Older learners have much better road sense, judgment skills and speed awareness,” he told me. “They’ve usually been passengers for years, and are often parents, so more likely to recognise potential hazards. They take safety seriously.”
Driving Standards Agency (DSA) statistics aren’t too discouraging. The highest percentage passes are among 17-year-olds. These drop in your thirties and forties – but not by a huge amount. In fact, the 2011 figures show that the second highest rate of passes (60 per cent) is women in their sixties. No excuses, then.
I spoke to a couple of the major driving schools to see if they could suggest anything for older learners. None offered specific courses. Most, reassuringly perhaps, felt that age was not going to be an issue, but some recommended asking for an older instructor.
I plumped for a local company – Total Driving in Stowmarket – because it offered great deals on intensive courses (I wanted it over with as quickly as possible).
As I had requested a mature, ideally female, instructor I struck gold. My tutor, Debbie, owned the company, and had tons of qualifications and experience.
She never once mentioned my age, and scoffed whenever I did. It was simply not an issue – it was only when I walked into the exam room that I realised everyone was half my age, which was a bit disconcerting, but ultimately no one cared. We were there to take a test.
I admit that I found intensive lessons exhausting, maybe more so than in my twenties, but Debbie made sure that we had regular breaks, and I did notice a vast improvement in a short space of time.
As the day of terror loomed, I can’t tell you the amount of times I nearly called to cancel. On the morning of my test there was a partial eclipse of the sun. We passed a crash on the A14. Short of plagues of frogs and women in black pointy hats screaming, the signs were ominous.
Having bodged a simple manoeuvre in a supermarket car park, I went miserably to the scaffold. In fact it was fine. Well, it wasn’t, in that I accidentall mounted a kerb and failed outright… But apart from that, I had learnt the most valuable lesson of all: the test was, if anything, quite dull. And painless. The examiner was absolutely lovely.
A month later, after lots more practice, I took it again. And passed.
The feeling was incredible. Elated, I wanted to smother my examiner in kisses. He said he’d take a polite handshake if that was all right.
The change wasn’t immediate. It took a while to get used to the New Driving Me. At first I felt like a fraud, easily intimidated by aggressive speed freaks, sweating buckets on motorways while trying to look relaxed in front of the kids. But now, six months on, I’m at the point where I can’t remember what i was like not to drive, not to have that freedom, not to relish a stretch of open road.
I feel like I have been a driver all my life.
It’s never too late to learn, or refresh
* The AA doesn’t offer specific “older” learner driving lessons, but if someone is very nervous, their instructor will tailor the lessons to suit them. Customers can also request older instructors. The driving school webpage is www.theaa.com/driving-school/learn-to-drive. Lesson prices start at £21 per hour (£18 per hour for AA members), but it is best to check online for the latest offers.
* Red Driving offers introductory driving lessons for just £9 an hour, discounts on specifically tailored block bookings, and experienced instructors who understand the needs of older learners. www.reddrivingschool.com0800 840 3999.
* Most schools offer lessons in an automatic, which many drivers find easier and less stressful. It can also be a fast track to a licence.
* Refresher courses are designed for people who may already have a licence, but for various reasons have not driven for years, and have lost their nerve behind the wheel.
* Drive Confident through the AA Charitable Trust is aimed at nervous, rusty or lapsed drivers. Participants on the course receive two hours of in-car tuition. The Drive Confident web page is www.theaa.com/pupil/refreshertraining.do. The two hours of training are free through the charity.
* Britannia Driving School offers various refresher courses, the most popular is the six-hour plan which costs £149.70 (£24.95 per hour) in a manual car and £155.70 (£25.95 per hour) in an automatic. www.britannia-driving-school.co.uk.
From : Telegraph.co.uk
Many local Bedford driving schools & driving instructors in Bedford can offer refresher driving courses to people that have previously failed a driving test. Most driving instructors are fully qualified & will display a green badge (not a pink badge – which will be displayed by unqualified driving instructors). Bedford driving schools such as ASM, Independent, Txt-Drive & Elms School Of Motoring give discounts to new pupils.
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July 6th, 2011 admin
TONY Davison still remembers the knock on the door that dark winter’s morning.
“It was twenty to four,” he recites, the details as fresh now as the day they happened. “Fourth of November 2002.
“The policeman said there had been a serious road crash in Bramhope and there were fatalities. That’s all it took to shatter our lives.”
Tony’s son Adrian, 18, was a passenger in the car of a friend who drove after drinking. It crashed and both boys died.
It would have been Adrian’s birthday last Saturday, his 27th. What should have been a day of celebration was marked instead with a visit to his graveside.
“Life moves on, but at the same time he will never be forgotten,” says Tony. “Anniversaries are still difficult, even though it’s coming up to nine years ago. It’s as fresh in my mind now as it was the day we were told.
And it will be until the day I leave this mortal coil.”
Adrian was one of a disproportionate number of young men who die every year on our roads.
West Yorkshire road safety charity Brake used its annual international conference last week to put the issue under the spotlight.
Every year in Britain one young male driver in every 60 is involved in a crash that results in death or injury to themselves, a passenger or another road user.
While young drivers aged between 17 and 24 account for 12 per cent of licence holders they are involved in one in four road deaths and serious injuries.
One in five will crash in the first six months after passing their test and every year more than 3,300 young drivers and passengers aged 17 to 24 are killed or suffer a life-changing injury as a result of a road crash.
Brake says the current system under which young people learn to drive is inadequate, leaving young drivers without sufficient experience and maturity to face the complex challenges of driving unsupervised and unrestricted.
Its response has been to launch the Too Young to Die campaign, which calls for a system of graduated driver licensing so new drivers can build up their skills and experience bit by bit.
Under the scheme, learners would spend at least a year taking lessons before they were allowed to sit a test.
Once they passed, new drivers would be allowed to drive unsupervised but would have restrictions on their licence for at least two years.
These would include an effective zero tolerance drink drive limit, plus restrictions on passengers and driving at night.
“It’s all about finding a way to ensure young drivers learn to drive in a safe and protected way as much as possible,” says Ellen Booth, campaigns director for Brake.
“Young drivers are disproportionately affected by road crashes, significantly so. A young person is more likely to die on the road than any other cause.
“And the evidence is quite clear that males of all ages, not just young men, are more likely to take risks on the roads. So it’s all to do with driver attitude and behaviour.”
Speeding, taking unnecessary risks and using a mobile phone are some of the factors associated with an increased crash risk among men.
Males are also more likely to get behind the wheel when they’re tired and keep driving even if they feel sleepy.
The risks faced by young male drivers peak at 17, when they are in their first year of motoring.
“There are a number of factors, especially those of age and inexperience, that mean young drivers are more likely to have an accident,” says Ellen.
“When you combine those with the additional risk-taking habits that men exhibit they make young male drivers the most at risk group on the road.”
Tony Davison has been involved with Brake for several years, speaking to thousands of school and college students about his own experience.
He, for one, supports calls for the Government to make changes to the current system of driver licensing.
“The trouble is that young people don’t really learn to drive until after they have passed their test. All we do in this country is teach people to pass their test.
“In Germany it’s a totally different structure – they have to do night driving, motorway driving and there are none of these seven-day crash courses.
“We need to educate young people. They don’t think it’s going to happen to them, but it will happen to some of them.
“It’s not about scaremongering, it’s a proven fact: young males between 17 and 25 are the ones who are most likely to be involved in a serious crash.
“There needs to be a coherent strategy which first of all has to be incorporated into the national curriculum, not ad hoc as it is at the moment.
“Some schools are incredibly pro-active, but there are lots of high schools in Leeds we haven’t visited. To me it has to become part of the national curriculum, delivered to those youngsters who are coming up to learning to drive.”
Posted in Bedford, Car Insurance, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Schools, Driving Tests, Pass Plus, Road Safety | No Comments »
February 28th, 2011 admin
Speed limit could reach 80mph in Bedfordshire.
The UK Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, has proposed to increase the speed limit on UK motorways from 70- to 80mph.
The idea behind the change is to reduce journey times, as the Government believes that the economy could be improved if motorists spend less time behind the wheel.
Mr. Hammond said that safety might not be the only factor to consider when it comes to judging how fast cars travel on the roads.
Speaking to the ‘Daily Telegraph’, he said: “We need to do this on a pretty rigorous cost-benefit basis. At the moment there are a clear set of criteria for making these decisions. Perhaps we ought to ask if we are using the right set of criteria.”
Motorway speed limits in the UK are significantly lower than those in other European countries. The maximum speed on similar roads in France and Italy is 81mph. In Spain, Portugal and Ireland it is 75mph.
The UK’s 70mph motorway speed limit was introduced in 1965, following a series of reports of manufacturers and car owners testing high performance cars to their limits.
There were 132 deaths on UK motorways in 2009, which is the last year for which figures are available. However, motorists are more likely to experience an accident on town and country roads with lower speed limits, poorer visibility, less space and no division between oncoming traffic.
From : Yahoo!
Most driving instructors and driving schools in Bedford, Bedfordshire listed on www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk are able to offer motorway tuition, motorway driving lessons, motorway lessons in Bedford. Many of Bedford’s driving schools & driving instructors can also offer the Pass Plus course which is designed for new drivers, once they have passed their driving test. The Pass Plus course includes motorway driving & your driving instructor in Bedford will help you to build up your confidence with new driving skills. You can find contact details of various different Bedford driving instructors & Bedford driving schools on www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk. Give them a call & remember to mention you found their details on www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk.
Posted in Car Insurance, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Schools, Driving Tests, Pass Plus, Road Safety | No Comments »
February 21st, 2011 admin
MOST of us are certain to have done it – cursed when stuck behind a learner driver and wondered to ourselves how on Earth they are ever likely to pass their test.
But is learning to drive as easy as some of us like to remember? We challenged reader Terry Brownlee, news editor Karen Bowles and reporter Gemma Angell to retake their tests to find out.
Paul Hughes-King, owner of Countywide Driving School Ltd which has a branch in Crawley, climbed into the passenger seat to put our volunteers through mock tests.
Just to make them a little more uncomfortable, we also made them sit theory tests.
Having been a driving instructor for 18 years, Paul knows it has become harder to pass.
He said: “There are so many different things that have to be done before you pass your test nowadays.
“You have to take a hazard perception test. On the day of the test you have to take an eyesight test and answer vehicle safety questions.”
When put through their paces Gemma and Karen passed their tests – but Terry, who has been driving for more than 25 years, failed.
Paul was not surprised as he knows drivers pick up bad habits over the years.
He said: “Things crop up like people only holding the steering wheel with one hand with the other on the gear stick.
“People also don’t check their mirrors before braking and rarely check them before indicating.
“Going too fast, getting in the wrong road position and driving too close to others happens a lot too.”
Although he only passed two of them, Paul did have good things to say about all our driving guinea pigs – although he added that if Terry wanted to pass he would probably need five to ten hours of driving lessons.
He said: “Gemma maintained good general control of the vehicle and Karen seemed a little nervous in the first half of the drive but once she had overcome her nerves maintained good general control.
“Terry demonstrated a driving ability that mirrors the vast majority of drivers that have been driving for a number of years. But he was more aware than anyone of what he was doing and I put this down to the amount of years he has been driving.”
*Countywide Driving School is offering a free driving lesson for all new pupils who mention this article. Call 08000 930 920 for details.
From : thisissussex.co.uk
www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk offer a free to use website for learners & people looking for driving lessons, driving instructors, driving schools in Bedford. Compare local driving instructors in Bedford to national driving schools.
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November 25th, 2010 admin
Make sure you watch or record the BBC One programme ‘Rip Off Britain’ next Thursday 2nd December 2010 at 9.15am as this episode is about learning to drive.
If will give information about issues regarding booking a Theory or Practical test online & being charged a 50% booking fee and also information about some driving schools using partly trained driving instructors (PDIs) & not fully qualified driving instructors (ADIs).
Local Bedford driving school Txt-Drive took part in filming for this episode. One of the Txt-Drive driving instructors & two Txt-Drive pupils gave advice & warned other learners about potential ’rip offs’ when booking their Theory or Pracitcal tests online & not via the DSA website.
Set your Sky box, Virgin Media box or VHS recorder to record BBC One’s Rip Off Britain next Thursday 2nd December 2010 at 9.15am.
Posted in Bedford, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Schools, Driving Tests | No Comments »
October 17th, 2010 admin
Young drivers should learn how to drive for a year before being able to sit their practical driving test, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
A poll commissioned by the body revealed that three in four people think a 12-month learning period would effectively reduce the amount of young drivers involved in road accidents.
The proposed measures could also lead to a reduction in car insurance rates as fewer accidents could occur on British roads if the ABI’s findings were adopted by the Government.
Furthermore, 69% of 2,500 adults surveyed backed additional restrictions on the number of passengers that newly qualified drivers could legally carry, while 68% supported a more structured education programme to inform young drivers of the dangers of being behind the wheel.
ABI general insurance and health director Nick Starling said: “Introducing a longer and more structured learning period may frustrate some youngsters, eager to get behind the wheel. But better this than they become another tragic statistic.
“Too many young drivers are still killed or seriously injured on our roads. A car is a potential lethal weapon, and we must provide more help to young motorists to better deal with the dangers of driving.
“A minimum one-year learning period, and young driver passenger restrictions, would help ensure that today’s young drivers become tomorrow’s safer motorists.”
The calls for tougher guidelines have come after it emerged that that despite a fall in the overall number of road accident casualties, more young drivers are killed or seriously injured on the British roads now than 15 years ago.
Road safety minister Mike Penning revealed that the current driving test could be reviewed in the future.
He added: “We want all new drivers to be able to drive safely and independently and are considering how both training and testing can be improved to achieve this.”
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Articles are provided by the Press Association in association with LV=, providers of Car Insurance, Home Insurance, Travel Insurance, Pet Insurance, Over 50′s Life Insurance, Financial Advice and Savings & Investments.
From : LV.com
If this plan to have a minimum one year of learning to drive comes in to force you may want to think about learning to drive sooner rather than later!!! Contact a Bedford driving school or driving instructor in Bedford such as Txt-Drive Driving School in Bedford or ASM Driving School for information about learning to drive in Bedford.
There could be a new driving test to try to further cut road accidents & deaths which could make learning to drive harder to make the process longer! Don’t put off learning to drive - LEARN TO DRIVE NOW!!
Posted in Bedford, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Schools, Driving Tests, Road Safety | No Comments »
September 4th, 2010 admin
Millions of motorists could be risking their lives and the lives of others due to driving with poor eyesight, according to new research by LV= car insurance.
Despite 45 per cent of all motorists being prescribed glasses or contact lenses for driving, almost one in ten do not always wear them, posing a safety risk to themselves and other road users.
Of the motorists who don’t currently wear prescribed glasses or lenses, nearly a quarter admitted their eyesight was “not perfect”, and one in ten have trouble seeing when driving at night.
The penalties for driving without meeting the visual requirements include a fine of £1,000, three penalty points and even disqualification from driving.
John O’Roarke, LV= car insurance managing director, said: “The number plate test is a compulsory requirement of the driving test for a very good reason. However, this is no substitute for regular eye examinations as eyesight can change significantly over time.
“Driving with poor eyesight is a criminal offence and can result in a fine, penalty points or even a ban, as well as invalidating your car insurance when it comes to making a claim.”
In other news, a police safety crackdown in Scotland this week has found 313 people not wearing a seatbelt.
Fuel costs mounting up? Visit fuelcards.co.uk for the best deals on fuel cards .
From : Fuelcards.co.uk
Many driving schools in Bedford and Bedford driving instructors will require a quick eye sight test before starting your first driving lesson in Bedford. Many will ask that you read a car number plate from the required distance (depending on if a new style or old style number plate).
At the start of your driving test in Bedford, the examiner will ask you to read a car number plate from the required distance (as described above), failure to do this will result in you being unable to continue with your driving test!! So www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk suggest that you get your eyes tested a few weeks BEFORE your driving test in Bedford to enure you CAN read the car number plate!!
Being able to see properly (reading a car number plate from the required distance) is essential to road safety in Bedford and elsewhere in the UK!!
You can compare driving lesson prices in Bedford from driving schools and driving instructors in Bedford. Compare by price, car, transmission, instructor gender, days worked etc. Just visit www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk for more information – it’s FREE to use & it’s FREE to list your details if you are a Bedford driving school or Bedford driving instructor!!! We DO NOT charge you for any pupil leads – it is a TOTALLY FREE service!!!
Posted in Bedford, Car Insurance, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Schools, Driving Tests, Road Safety | No Comments »
August 27th, 2010 admin
Bedford driving instructor Atif recently added his Bedford driving school details to www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk.
Atif’s driving school in Bedford is called : ASM Driving School.
ASM Driving School uses the Ford Fiesta car for driving tuition during the driving lessons.
Atif is available for driving lessons with ASM Driving School 7 days a week and offers driving lessons in the Ford Fiesta in Bedford in both manual & automatic cars. Driving lessons are available as one hour, one & a half hours or two hours. Discounts are given on Bedford driving lessons when block booking 10 hours or 20 hours.
ONE hour driving lessons in Bedford are £22 and TWO hour driving lessons in Bedford are £44. Block book 10 hours or 20 hours of driving lessons in Bedford & prices drop to £20 per hour.
ASM Driving School in Bedford can be contacted on (Mobile) 07904983276 or you can visit the ASM driving school website www.theasm.co.uk for more information.
If you are booking driving lessons in Bedford with ASM Driving School please ensure you mention www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk when contacting ASM Driving School.
Compare ASM Driving School against other Bedford driving schools & driving instructors in Bedford on the FREE to use www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk.
If you are a driving instructor in Bedford offering Bedford driving lessons or are a Bedford based driving school - you too can be listed on this website alongside ASM Driving School, PAT Driver Training, Txt-Drive Driving School etc. You need to complete a form by adding you details here.
Posted in Bedford, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Schools, Driving Tests, New Driving School or Instructor | No Comments »
August 4th, 2010 admin
www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk appears to have boosted the Google position for the driving instructors & driving schools listed on the Bedford driving school comparison website.
Pat Driver Training, BDS Driving School, Chandler Driving School & Txt-Drive all appear high up the result pages for various Google searches. Page ONE position ONE and TWO are taken by some of the mentioned Bedford driving schools & driving instructors in Bedford. With many other Page ONE positions occupied by these driving schools in Bedford & Bedford driving instructors.
If you would like your driving school to appear for FREE on www.bedford-driving-schools.co.uk then complete the online form found here.
Posted in Bedford, Driving, Driving Instructors, Driving Lessons, Driving Schools, Driving Tests | No Comments »