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.
If you haven’t already heard from your other sources of information, the DSA booking systems will be closed from 5.15pm on Thursday July 30th until 8.00am on Tuesday August 4th (approximate times) for essential IT maintenance on their operational systems.
All online services to book or amend practical tests and other instructor services including updating your contact details, applying for registration, renewing your certificate and ordering Pass Plus packs will be unavailable. The Contact Centre will be offering a limited service between 8am and 6pm on Friday 31st July.
For any enquiries, please call the DSA on 0300 200 11 22.
Recent statistics released by Comma Oil show that 13% of candidates taking their practical driving test fail the vehicle safety checks element.
The ‘show me, tell me’ questions were added to the practical driving test in 2003 and ask candidates to show or tell the examiner how to carry out basic maintenance checks such as checking the headlights and tail lights are working.
Statistics show that the number of driving test candidates failing the vehicle safety checks element has increased from 9.89% in January 2008, to 12.85% in March 2009.The figure peaked in July 2008 at 13.71%, with 21,814 incorrect responses.
To download a FREE complete set of ‘show me tell me’ vehicle safety check questions and comprehensive recommended answers, click here.
There are many reasons that driving tests get cancelled, but this one really takes the biscuit!
Learner driver, Jack Hyde had his test cancelled when the driving test examiner refused to conduct the test due to his car being too dirty. The teenager alleges that he had only cleaned the car that same morning having returned from France the night before, and that there were only a few croissant crumbs on the passenger seat and a dog biscuit in the footwell.
Jack, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, said: ‘As soon as the examiner opened the passenger door he said: ‘I can’t take you out in this’. I couldn’t believe it.
‘He said he came to work in suit trousers and expected to sit on a tidy seat. He could have at least given us five minutes to clean it, but there was just no negotiation. It wasn’t even particularly dirty. There were old stains that you get in any car, but they wouldn’t come off on anyone’s clothes.
‘I know I may not have passed, but it has ruined my summer because it’s a big thing to be able to drive.’”
It certainly wasn’t third time lucky for Jack as his previous two tests had also been cancelled due to examiner illness and standing water from heavy rain.
Ged Wilmot with Trevor Wedge (DSA Chief Driving Examiner)
Congratulations to Ged Wilmot, Manager and ADI Trainer at Active Driving Solutions, who achieved faultless results in his recent DSA ORDIT assessment.
Ged and Claire Wilmot, who provide DSA ORDIT Approved Driving Instructor Training to clients from throughout the UK (as well as for Latics Driver Training) achieved fantastic results on their bi-annual assessment with Ged gaining straight 6’s, the best result you can possibly get.
This is the second time Ged has achieved the ultimate result of straight 6’s as he also managed it on his recent ADI Fleet Check Test.
All instructors trained by Ged and Claire can be assured that they are certainly getting the best ADI training out there.Thisbenefits Latics Driver Training and the people who learn with Latics as all instructors trained by Ged and Claire really are trained to the highest standard.
The Department for Transport has published statistics on road casualties in accidents reported to the police in Great Britain in 2008, according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority
The number of people killed in road accidents reported to the police, fell by 14 per cent from 2,946 in 2007 to 2,538 in 2008. 28,567 people were killed or seriously injured in 2008, 7 per cent fewer than in 2007. There were just under 231,000 road casualties in Great Britain in 2008, 7 per cent less than in 2007.
The number of deaths among car users in 2008 was 1,257, 12 per cent less than in the previous year. The reported number of seriously injured fell by 7 per cent to 10,707. Total reported casualties among car users were 149,169, 8 per cent lower than 2007. Traffic estimates indicate a 1 per cent fall in car and taxi traffic over the period.
Child casualties fell by 8 per cent. The number of children killed or seriously injured in 2008 was 2,807 (down 9 per cent on 2007). Of those, 1,784 were pedestrians, 6 per cent down on 2007. 124 children died on the roads, 2 per cent higher than in the previous year, when the lowest ever child fatality figure of 121 was recorded.
There were 572 pedestrian deaths, 11 per cent less than in 2007. Reported killed or serious injured casualties fell by 4 per cent to 6,642. The all pedestrian casualty figure fell to 28,481 in 2008, 6 per cent lower than 2007.
The number of pedal cyclists killed fell by 15 per cent from 136 in 2007 to 115 in 2008. The number of seriously injured rose by 1 per cent to 2,450. The total casualties among pedal cyclists rose by 1 per cent to 16,297.
There were 493 motorcycle user fatalities in accidents reported to the police in 2008, 16 per cent lower than during 2007. The reported number of killed or seriously injured fell compared to 2007 (down 10 percent from 6,737 in 2007 to 6,048 in 2008). The all motorcycle user casualties figure for 2008 of 21,549 is 8 per cent lower than in 2007.
There were 170,500 road accidents involving personal injury reported to the police in 2008, 6 per cent fewer than in 2007. Of these, 25,457 accidents involved death or serious injury, 6 percent fewer than in 2007 (27,036).
The industry is changing, and it’s about time! Out with the old-fashioned and largely ineffective teaching methods, and in with the successful new coaching style. Some may argue that their current instructional style is proving very effective, but they largely base this claim on their pass rates.
But pass rates mean nothing when young drivers pass their tests and go on to have crashes. The facts:
An 18-year-old driver is more than three times as likely to be involved in a crash as a 48 year-old.
One in five new drivers has a crash within six months of passing their test.
So at long last, it appears that the DSA are supporting the approaches that many driver trainers like myself have been pushing for for years – progressing from short-term instructional methods which tend to help learners pass the driving test, towards more active-learning methods which prepare learners for solo driving and to foster ongoing learning after passing their driving test.
Today, the goverment launches it’s latest campaign against drivers texting whilst on the move. The Think! campaign is especially targetted at young drivers, 30% of whom admit to texting at the wheel.
The Department for Transport noted that using a mobile phone at the wheel is considered the second most unacceptable driving behaviour among motorists with 93% agreeing that texting while driving is dangerous. However, 12% of all motorists admit to texting while driving.
Whilst online this morning, I came across this unbelivable video from CNN, showing a bus driver, driving disabled passengers in Texas, crashing into stationary traffic whilst texting:
The new radio campaign features a driver’s voice spelling out a text message followed by the harrowing sound of a car crash. Click here to listen to it.
An online ‘driving challenge’ game is also available, which demonstrates how using a mobile at the wheel can completely distract the driver. Try it out for yourself!
A report by insurance firm Swinton has revealed that as the recession bites, many learner drivers are relying more heavily on informal tuition from friends and relatives.
A survey of 1,000 new drivers found that the average number of lessons per driver has fallen from 43 in 2008 to 32 in 2009 (compiled from data taken during the first 3 months of each year).
On average, those who passed in March this year received 63 hours of tuition from friends or family, compared to just 41 hours in the first three months of 2008.
Following the recent publication of the results of the DSA’s Learning to Drive Consultation comes the Government’s latest document seeking views on the vision, targets and measures for improving road safety in Great Britain beyond 2010.
“Making Britain’s Roads Safer” is the title of the consultation document, and we would urge you all to get involved and make your opinions known. The full document and related research articles can be found here. The closing date for this consultation is 14th July 2009.
The key challenges for the new strategy are as follows:
reducing the number of road deaths, which have fallen at a slower rate than serious injuries;
pedestrian and cyclist casualties in our towns and cities – particularly in deprived communities;
The changes in legislation were prompted by the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002.
The Department for Transport has published statistics on road casualties in accidents reported to the police in Great Britain in 2008, according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority
The industry is changing, and it’s about time! Out with the old-fashioned and largely ineffective teaching methods, and in with the successful new coaching style. Some may argue that their current instructional style is proving very effective, but they largely base this claim on their pass rates.
A report by insurance firm Swinton has revealed that as the recession bites, many learner drivers are relying more heavily on informal tuition from friends and relatives.
