Business quiet? Fancy a bit of variety in your job? Interested in expanding your skill-set and training people to drive other types of vehicle? Then you need to hurry!
Good quality minibus and lorry drivers (including ambulance drivers) are needed throughout the UK, so demand for training is still high. It’s always good to have an additional string to your bow, so if you’re interested in becoming a minibus, small lorry or ambulance driver trainer, read on!
If you passed your car driving test before 1997 and want to supervise learners in some other categories of vehicle, you only have until April 2010 to get the necessary new qualification.
Almost a quarter of a million young motorists are driving illegally because they do not have any insurance cover, according to a report released today by BBC’s Newsbeat.
They found that more than 20% of 17 to 20 year olds are not covered by a valid car insurance policy, which amounts to a staggering 243,000 illegal young drivers on our roads.
Many illegal drivers cite the huge cost of an insurance policy as being the reason for not having cover. Yet the risks of not having a policy are huge, not just for themselves, but also for anybody they may be unfortunate enough to crash into.
The BBC reports the story of 21 year old Gary Street, who was hit by an uninsured driver at 30mph in Manchester two years ago.
An off-duty traffic warden who assaulted a Driving Instructor from Failsworth in front of CCTV cameras faces the sack after a recent road rage incident. Peter Robinson ADI was chased by off-duty traffic warden, Jason Pheasey, after the instructor had accused him of jumping a red traffic light.
Mr Pheasey telephoned colleagues in the CCTV Operations Room to focus cameras on him in Moston one morning last May, and then proceeded to chase Mr Robinson’s car, blocking his progress and forcing him to stop, before getting out of his car and punching Mr Robinson in the face.
The victim suffered a nasty gash to his lip which has left him with permanent scarring and damage to his dentures. In a statement, Mr Robinson said the attack has also left him shocked and had lost some of his driving confidence.
Mr Pheasey, from Chadderton appeared in Manchester Magistrates Court and admitted assaulting Mr Robinson in a “moment of madness”, causing him bodily harm. He was given a three month curfew from 7pm to 6am with £60 costs and was also ordered to pay £250 in compensation and £200 to cover Mr Robinson’s loss of earnings.
Court Chairman Roger Walker told Mr Pheasey, “This was a dreadful act, you are lucky not to be going to prison”. Tim Hopley, defending, said Mr Pheasey was facing disciplinary action and would probably lose his job over the incident.
A £2.3m advertising campaign launched last week to warn of the risks of driving whilst under the influence of drugs has received a mixed reception from the British public and road safety experts.
The television advert warns motorists that police can spot the involuntary signs of someone being under the influence of drugs if they are stopped. These signs include severely dilated or constricted pupils. The advert shows a car carrying several young people with their eyes enlarged, adding: “Your eyes will give you away.”
Young men aged between 17 and 29 are thought to be most likely to drive while on illegal drugs. Indeed, a recent survey in Scotland suggested that 81% of clubbers have driven whilst under the influence of illegal drugs.
The Department for Transport (DfT) estimates that as many as one in five drivers or motorcyclists killed in road accidents may have an impairing drug (legal or illegal) in their system. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said in a recent interview, “Whatever one’s views on drug taking, we’ve got to make it absolutely socially unacceptable to drive while under the influence of drugs, because it can kill.”
A shocking new video has been made for school pupils in an attempt to reduce crashes caused by drivers texting whilst driving.
The short 30-minute film called ‘COW’ shows Cassie Cowan, a teenage girl, killing four people as a result of her using her mobile phone to send a text. A clip from the film is shown below…
It includes footage of all the emergency services attending the crash scene, including the air ambulance, police and firefighters.
The Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) will affect all driving instructors who teach anyone under the age of 17.
The changes in legislation were prompted by the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002.
Under new legislation from July 2010, the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) have powers to bar unsuitable people from undertaking paid or volunteer work with children (up to age 18) and vulnerable adults.
ISA registration uses data collected by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to decide if a person is unsuitable. Any person who has to apply for an enhanced CRB for work purposes will automatically have to gain ISA registration which means that all driving instructors will have to comply with the scheme. It also means that to comply with the ‘fit and proper person’ requirement for Driving Standards Agency (DSA) registration, anyone starting the qualification process to become a driving instructor from July 2010 will have to have an enhanced CRB check and gain ISA registration, even before they intend to teach either on a trainee licence or a full licence.
Existing driving instructors will have until 2015 to register.
It’s always great to get positive feedback from our customers. When Rachel Richardson passed her driving test at the first attempt yesterday, she was so pleased that she just felt compelled to send us an email.
“I felt the need to write after completing my training today with Keith in his Fiat Punto, I have passed first time at the Rochdale test centre today and feel I couldn’t have done this without his superb teaching skills. Keith is everything you would want in an instructor, I have found him to be very patient and teaches at a level that is easy to understand and follow. As a nervous driver on my first lesson with Keith, he easily calmed me down and gave me the confidence I was lacking. I am so happy I chose Latics and that you directed me to this instructor and will be recommending you to my friends. Please pass on my sincere thanks to Keith.”
Thanks for your email Rachel and congratulations! (And well done to you too, Keith!)
Look out for updates to our website coming soon – our ‘Recent Passes’ page will be updated with photographs of all our students who’ve recently passed, and we’ll also be launching our ‘Pupil of the Month’ feature.
Marie Law DSA ADI became the newest member of the team at Latics this month.Marie, who previously worked for another driving school in Manchester is really pleased to be working with Latics and said ‘I knew Latics was the right move for me, I’m delighted to be part of the team’.
Marie is a fully qualified female driving instructor in Milnrow and offers driving lessons in Rochdale, Royton, Shaw and most of Oldham.
Welcome on board Marie, we know you’ll be a great asset to the team!
Good quality minibus and lorry drivers (including ambulance drivers) are needed throughout the UK, so demand for training is still high. It’s always good to have an additional string to your bow, so if you’re interested in becoming a minibus, small lorry or ambulance driver trainer, read on!
They found that more than 20% of 17 to 20 year olds are not covered by a valid car insurance policy, which amounts to a staggering 243,000 illegal young drivers on our roads.
The changes in legislation were prompted by the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002.
“I felt the need to write after completing my training today with Keith in his Fiat Punto, I have passed first time at the Rochdale test centre today and feel I couldn’t have done this without his superb teaching skills. Keith is everything you would want in an instructor, I have found him to be very patient and teaches at a level that is easy to understand and follow. As a nervous driver on my first lesson with Keith, he easily calmed me down and gave me the confidence I was lacking. I am so happy I chose Latics and that you directed me to this instructor and will be recommending you to my friends. Please pass on my sincere thanks to Keith.”
