Here is the pre-watershed version:

Road Safety Minister Paul Clark said, “If you are involved in an accident while not wearing a seat belt then your body experiences a series of three collisions damaging vital internal organs.  This campaign reminds drivers that – no matter how short their journey or how slowly they are driving – they are risking their life if they set off without putting their seat belt on.

“I hope this campaign will help everyone realise that they need to belt up every time they get in a car.”

With recent research showing that drivers are less likely to belt up on low speed, short journeys on familiar roads, the £1.3 million THINK! Campaign hopes to show that drivers are still risking their lives.  Drivers are twice as likely to die in a crash if they do not wear a seat belt and if everyone belted up, one life a day could be saved.

The full advert can only be aired after 9pm due to its graphic content.

Coaching is not just a case of asking questions (which instructors do already as part of their everyday teaching).  It is about asking questions which raise the awareness and responsibility from within the coachee.  There are many tools that instructors can use from within the coaching toolbox and the effects of using coaching with learners can be quite profound.

Sir John Whitmore & Ged Wilmot

To date, there has been little information available about coaching specifically for driving instructors. Last year, the University of East London ran its pilot course – a Postgraduate qualification in ‘Coaching for Driver Development’ in which a handful of the best professional driver trainers and coaches from all aspects of the driving world were invited to attend.  I was fortunate enough to be one of the delegates invited to attend that course, along with my good friend and colleague Kathy Higgins of Insight2Drive. We have recognised that courses and workshops for driving instructors are few and far between and so we have developed a one day coaching course specifically designed for Approved Driving Instructors.

The one day ‘Practical Coaching Techniques for Driving Instructors’ interactive workshop offers driving instructors essential information which can be incorporated into the everyday work of an ADI.  The content will include basic principles and benefits of using coaching in driver training, what makes a good coach, and lots of practical coaching techniques.  There are two workshop dates currently available, Monday 22nd February 2010 in Oldham and Thursday 18th March 2010 in Liverpool.

Both courses will be run by me (Ged Wilmot), Claire Wilmot and Kathy Higgins. Having a wealth of driver coaching experience, we are excited to be able to offer such a course to ADI’s throughout the North West of England.

The course fee is £139, which includes lunch and refreshments. Spaces are limited and going fast, so you’ll need to act quickly!

If you would like further information about the course, please contact Claire Wilmot on 07956 104160 or complete the contact form on the Active Driving Solutions website.

Our new fast ‘pass in a week’ crash course means that customers can now start their lessons on a Monday and pass on the Friday!

Although these courses are referred to as ‘crash courses’, rest assured, we will not be teaching you to crash!  Quite the opposite.  Lessons taken intensively mean that with little time to forget in between lessons, learning is much quicker.

In fact, latest Government research found that of all successful test candidates, the average number of hours taken with an instructor was 47 and the average time taken to pass the test was 13 months!  With our pass in a week crash course, the cost will be much lower than taking weekly lessons.

Our all-inclusive ‘pass in a week’ crash course is being offered at an introductory price of just £599, which means that compared to taking lessons weekly, you could save hundreds of pounds.  Although the majority of our customers pass in less hours than the national average, based on the national average figures, you could save over £400 with our ‘pass in a week’ crash course!

We’re also so confident that the vast majority of our customers taking the ‘pass in a week’ crash course will achieve a pass at the end of the week that we guarantee to pay for your next test if you are unfortunate enough not to pass on the first attempt!

Places on the ‘pass in a week’ crash course are limited so to avoid disappointment, we recommend that you ring us on 0161 345 3452 or contact us through our website asking for an application form.

A meeting was held at DSA’s Headquarters with ADI representative organisations on 24^th September 2009. At the meeting, the DSA responded to the objections raised by ADI’s and ADI organisations to the original proposal of making it mandatory for supervising drivers to accompany candidates on all driving tests.

DSA Chief Executive Rosemary Thew explained that the DSA had reflected on the points raised.  Chief Operating Manager Brian Gilhooley read out the following statement:

“The proposal that candidates should be required to take an observer with them on their practical car driving test from October 2010 has generated a great deal of debate. DSA has received comments from a variety of stakeholders and has met with the ADI Consultative Groups and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). We have listened carefully to all the views expressed. We remain convinced that an observer sitting in on test will enhance the learning process, which, in turn, will provide road safety benefits. We recognise, however, that there are valid reasons why an approach based on education and incentivisation might be preferable to mandating through regulation at this stage.

“So this is the approach we suggest: at the start of the test, driving examiners will ask all candidates if they would like their driving instructor (or another observer, such as a parent, guardian or friend who has taught the candidate to drive) to sit in on their test. The examiner will then ask the candidate if they would like their instructor be present for the test result and debrief. This will allow candidates to take advantage of the opportunities available to support their ongoing learning and development, but will leave the final decision with them.

“From the feedback received on this issue we also recognise that a full review of the minimum test vehicle (MTV) for Cat B tests should be carried out. However, a mandatory change to the MTV would be a long process and we want you to work with us on this. In the meantime, we will seek to develop a set of guidelines to help to deal with the health and safety issues raised by some of the vehicles now in use. This will ensure that we can continue to maintain the integrity of the test through quality assurance and check testing.

“We want to work in partnership with the driver training profession to help candidates get the most from their training and from their practical test experience. We want candidates to understand that driving instructors and driving examiners are professional experts working together to help them to be safe and responsible drivers with the overall aim of improving road safety.

“We hope that you will work with us to support and promote this approach by encouraging your members to always:

• observe their pupils’ tests

• listen to the examiner’s debrief, to help inform their pupils’ ongoing learning and development

• display their ADI badge on test.

“We would value your response to this proposal. The choice remains with the candidate and this will be explained to them in all correspondence relating to their driving test. We know that many ADIs already accompany candidates and make themselves available for the debrief. Displaying the ADI badge will still be voluntary.”

At Latics, we already encourage our instructors accompany their pupils on test if the pupil wishes them to.  The assessment nature of the driving test at the moment means that candidates normally only get feedback on what went wrong on their test from the examiner whether they pass or fail .  Hearing from the instructor what they did well on the test goes a long way to restoring confidence for when they drive for the first time on the road alone.

BBC Radio 1’s newsbeat reports the story of Adam, an 18-year-old who works for his father’s waste company.  Until now he’s been helping out, knowing that it would probably be a while before he got to drive the lorries himself. But today, he took his first lesson in an LGV.

Adam said: “I was over the moon that I could do it. It’s just better money, it’s just better everything. It means more responsibility.”

He says the lessons are hard: “They make you reverse into really tight gaps, it’s quite nerve-wracking.  You’ve got to drive around narrow streets, you feel a bit worried about what you’re doing. But it’s all good.”

An extra qualification has also been brought in – the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), and all professional lorry drivers will need to have one.  For more information on Driver CPC, click here.

But even with all the extra training, is 18 still too young to drive a vehicle of this size?  Adam doesn’t think so: “I should be alright because I’ve got more driving experience anyway.  Driving this means I should be a better driver for later on in the future.”

Jo Tanner from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) also thinks 18 is a suitable age: “You don’t get many people trying to do a hand-brake turn in an HGV.  There are no boy racers behind the wheel of an HGV truck but there may well be behind the wheel of a souped-up hatchback.”

However, concerns have been expressed about just how many driving jobs are out there for teenagers who do get their licence.

Jo said this should improve once the recession’s over: “Sadly there have been an awful lot of redundancies in the industry, so when the recession is over we’re concerned there’ll be a severe skills shortage because the older drivers will have gone into retirement.

“So having these younger drivers come in now and get trained up, so they’ll be ready and raring to go when the jobs are there, is great news.”

Claire Wilmot, Managing Director of Latics Driver Training believes otherwise: “Statistically, the 17 to 24-year-old age group is of the highest risk, mainly due to poor decsion-making by the driver.  Allowing 18-year-olds an LGV licence could potentially have disasterous consequences if the wrong decision is made behind the wheel.  There’s a big difference between the outcome of crashing a small car and crashing an LGV.”

What do you think?

Source:  BBC Website

From 28th September 2009, case-study style questions will be introduced into the Driving Theory Test for learner drivers and riders.

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) have introduced this change as one of the early initiatives following the results of their Learning to Drive Consultation, published earlier this year (see this blog entry for a summary of the consultation).

The Theory Test will remain in its present two-part format, with 50 multiple choice questions followed by the Hazard Perception Test.

The time permitted, the pass marks and the cost of the theory test remain unchanged.

The case study element will be included in the multiple choice part of the theory test, and it will ask five questions, some of which will be multiple choice, others multiple response, based around a single scenario that learner drivers and riders may encounter when driving on the road.

An example of one of the case study questions can be found here.

The main purpose of the case study questions is to help bring the theoretical element to life for novice drivers and riders.

As part of the same initiative, the DSA are aiming to introduce an abridged version of the theory test in October 2009.  Those eligible to take this test must have successfully completed the voluntary ‘Pre-Driver Qualification in Safe Road use’, which was introduced in January 2009 by the DSA and currently available in 10 locations across England and Scotland.

The consultation for the adbridged Theory Test ended on 20^th July (read the full consultation document here), but the results are yet to be announced.  Make sure you visit the Latics Driver Training Blog regularly for updates, or better still, why not subscribe for instant email notification?  Just enter your email address on the blog homepage and hit ‘subscribe’.

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.

“I was travelling through Manchester City Centre on my way to work when a car hit me from behind as I was stationary,” he said.

“I was sent off into the other side of the road, the airbags went off, the seat belts imploded. The car was in quite a state to be honest.”

Gary was left with neck and back injuries, and was in quite a lot of pain and out of action for over a month as a result of the crash.

But as the other driver had no insurance, Gary was left to foot the bill.  He said: “I had no other option but to claim on my own insurance which came to a cost of £900 excess.

“I lost my no claims bonus and obviously it’s costing me more now to insure my car.”

Whilst out on patrol, Police use ANPR technology (automatic number plate recognition) to scan hundreds of car registrations every few minutes.  The system is able to instantly check if a vehicle has a current valid MoT certificate, tax disc and whether the driver has insurance.

The BBC interviewed Chief Inspector Richard Joyce from Surrey Police, who recently carried out a joint operation with police officers from Kent and Sussex on the M25.

He said: “We have the power to stop, question, and in some cases, arrest drivers without insurance.  The consequences for them can be anything from a fine, to points on their licence to having their car scrapped.”

New drivers should be aware that, for the first two years of passing their driving test they are subject to a probationary period, during which they will automatically lose their full driving licence if they accumulate 6 points or more.  Their licence is revoked and they must apply for a provisional licence and pass both the theory and practical tests again before obtaining another full driving licence.  And the number of penalty points given for driving without insurance?  6 points – therefore instant disqualification.

22 year old Sam, from Kent, was caught driving without insurance when he was 18.  He said, “I was driving without insurance because basically I couldn’t afford it, the cost was too high.

“I knew I should have had it but I also knew I was a good driver and I was safe.”

Sadly, this is the view of many young drivers – they suffer from the “it’ll never happen to me” syndrome.  The Chief Executive of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Ashton West says that the high cost of covering young drivers is not just about what car they drive.  In fact, it is usually down to the risk the driver poses on the roads.

“Young drivers statistically are a bad risk. They are many times more likely to have an accident.”

With so many young drivers on the roads illegally without cover, insurance companies, the police and motorists all say something needs to be done to tackle the problem.

Gary thinks he has the answer: “If insurance wasn’t so expensive for young drivers, it would encourage people to actually have the insurance.

“Then if you didn’t have the insurance I think the consequences of the law should be a lot tougher.”

Source:  BBC Newsbeat

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.”

Police currently use a Field Impairment Test (FIT), which can include asking the driver to close their eyes and estimate when 30 seconds have passed.  Drugs impair the body’s internal clock so drug users tend to be very inaccurate.  Other tests include standing on one leg, touching your nose with the tip of your finger and walking heel-to-toe whilst counting the steps out loud.

Police officers can take a suspect to a police station to perform blood and urine tests to confirm their suspicions.

France and Germany have a zero tolerance approach to driving and drugs – driving does not have to be impaired, simply having illegal drugs in one’s system when driving is an offence.  Roadside saliva tests are used to check for the presence of drugs.

Brake, the Road safety charity, has welcomed the £2.3m campaign but has called on ministers to approve a breathalyser-style drug-testing device.   However, there is not yet a roadside testing device that can detect the wide range of drugs that drivers may have taken.  Cathy Keeler, deputy chief executive of Brake said, “The government has been dragging its heels on approving a roadside testing device even though police in countries like Germany are already using saliva wipes to catch lots of drug drivers.

“There are already some devices out there that can identify some of the most common drugs people take and there’s really no reason for the government to wait for some perfect device to detect all of them.”

Anyone caught drug-driving currently faces the same fate as those caught drink-driving: a minimum one year driving ban, up to six months in prison and a £5,000 fine.

Examples of the effects various illegal drugs can have include:

Cannabis - distorts a driver’s perception of time and distance so other vehicles seem closer than they really are.  Cannabis users often struggle to do two things at once, like changing gear and steering.

Cocaine - causes feelings of over-confidence which leads to aggressive, risky driving at high speeds.

Amphetamines (e.g. speed) – impair coordination and make drivers less likely to react to potential hazards.

Ecstasy - causes blurred vision and poor judgement.  Use may also lead to extreme anxiety and paranoia.

The television advert released last week focuses on illegal drugs, but other aspects of the campaign in print and on the internet will also address the issues surrounding legal prescription drugs, which can also be very dangerous when driving.  The rule with these is to ‘always read the label or ask a doctor or pharmacist’.  At this time of year, antihistamines used in hay fever remedies often cause drowsiness and reduce reaction times.  Anti-depressants and tranquillisers are also potentially risky.  Some ‘over the counter’ remedies such as those for colds an flu can also have unwanted effects.

Viewers of the campaign have given a mixed response – these are just two examples found on the BBC forums:

“Once again more money wasted attempting to prevent the impossible. Most accidents are caused by people not paying attention to what they are doing, or worse, not caring what they are doing. DD of both kinds (Drunk and Drugs) cause a small percentage of the 3000 deaths a year on the roads in this country.

To decide whether or not nick someone based on pupil dilation is ridiculous!!”

“Drink and drugs are clearly not good starting points for anyone driving. But if the object is to save lives on the road surely we should be improving the standards of driving among those that cause between 80 and 90% of the accidents. Which is to say the drug and drink free majority.”

The Road Safety Unit of Rochdale’s Impact Partnership are organising a driver safety evening presented by a range of road safety experts.  The event is open to 17-25 year olds and their parents.  It takes place at Rochdale Town Hall on 6th May 2009 at 6.30pm.

Pass Plus is available to any driver who recently passed their test, and it deals with 6 issues that may not have been covered during normal driving lessons (including motorway driving and driving in adverse weather conditions).  It also has the possibility of reducing how much you might pay on your car insurance.  93% of young driver who took Pass Plus felt they had more confidence on the road.

If both the parent and their driving-aged child attend on the night, they will be automatically entered into a draw offering one of 10 chances to win some higher level driving skill lessons.

There will be four presentations on the night, each one dealing with different angles of driver safety.

Tea and coffee will be available from 6.15pm, and parking is free after 6.00pm.

Book your place now!  Call Stuart on 01706 924605.