MSA Newslink March 2013
MOTOR SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
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Issue 249
The ADI’s Voice
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ADIs stand on brink of major change: tell us what you think Sharp fall by John Lepine MSA General Manager Consultations are, it seems, like the proverbial buses: you wait for one for ages and then two come along together. In January we reported on the Department for Transport (DfT) Consultation on Motoring Services Strategy and now we also have the DSA consultation paper discussing a Review of Language Support Provided for Driving Test Candidates. How should the MSA respond to these consultations? What follows are some draft ideas about how the MSA might respond to the pair. If you have thoughts about our responses, please get in touch. The consultation period for the DfT’s Motoring Services Strategy has been open for a while and closes on 5 March, while the Review of Language Support Provided for Driving Test Candidates closes at the end of March. The Review of Language Support Provided for Driving Test Candidates sets out proposals to remove or reduce the language support given to non-Englishspeaking candidates taking theory and practical driving tests. It seeks views on whether foreign language voiceovers and interpreters should continue to be provided or whether the statutory driving tests should be conducted only in the national languages (English and, in Wales, English and Welsh).
Consultation paper opens debate on potential changes to the DSA The paper puts forward four principal reasons for change. It says its overarching goals are to: Improve road safety – there is concern about the ability of non-English or Welsh speakers to understand road signs and other advice to drivers. Enhance social cohesion – to encourage integration in society by learning the national language. Reduce fraud – to address the problem of an interpreter attending for test with a learner driver and communicating advice beyond a strict translation of the theory test questions or the instructions given by the examiner. Reduce costs – there will be a small saving to the DSA from not paying a fee to the theory test service provider for the annual update of voiceovers. DSA estimates of the number of candidates likely to be effected by removal of the opportunity for voiceovers or the use of a translator is relatively small. In the year to April 2012 there were 1.5 million theory tests and 1.57 million practical car driving tests. Of these 57,361 theory test candidates requested voiceovers, 1,690 theory test candidates requested interpreters and 9,555 practical test candidates requested
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interpreters. Experience in the other EU member states indicates that there is no clear standard for provision of language support across the EU. In addition to the national language or languages of that country 15 of the 27 EU member countries also offer the theory test in English. No other country offers as many languages as the 21 we offer in Great Britain; runners up are Sweden, with 14 languages offered and Germany with 12. Interpreters are allowed on theory tests in 19 countries and in 18 countries interpreters are allowed on practical tests. The consultation paper offers four options for change. • Remove voiceovers and interpreters • Remove voiceovers on the theory test but retain the use of interpreters on all tests • Remove interpreters on both tests but retain the use of voiceovers for the theory test • Do nothing From the small number of members MSA has spoken to so far on this subject, all have favoured option one – the removal of voiceovers and interpreters.
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See page 6
Police arrest six in L-test fraud case DSA’s Fraud and Integrity team led a raid in Greater London on 20 February as part of a joint operation with the Metropolitan Police into ‘cash-for-pass’ allegations. The raid resulted in the arrest of a DSA driving examiner, an ADI and four driving test candidates suspected of conspiracy to commit fraud.
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Contents
This issue: Welcome to MSA EeziBuy – your new one-stop-shop for business suppliers The MSA has teamed up with PartnerSave to provide you with access to the EeziBuy procurement solution, especially designed to deliver real cash savings on key products and services to trade association members...
See page 16
Newslink talks to... AA/BSM
DSA: Privatisation would do it good
We need to get the right type of people on the bus, says Jim Kirkwood, managing director of AA Driving Services, as he talks to Newslink about how to intends to help his ADIs make a better living
“His is a ‘jobs for the boys’ manifesto which concentrates on regulation and ignores the wider aspects of the picture, such as customer service and value for money...”
See page 24 Electric cars... they’ll never catch on with ADIs... or will they, as we talk to a pioneer
See page 28 Editor: John Lepine MBE t: 0161 429 9669 e: john.lepine@msagb.co.uk mail@msagb.co.uk f: 0161 429 9779 Motor Schools Association of Great Britain Ltd (MSA), 101 Wellington Road North, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 2LP The paper for this magazine has been sourced from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources. See www.pefc.org
Will you just LISTEN Coaching expert Sue McCormack turns her attention to the listening skills an ADI must have if they are to build a strong pupilcentred relationship
See page 14
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The lights are switched off, a pension pickle for ADIs, examiner in a bad mood and staggering central reservations
Regional news, page 37
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Let’s hear your views on interpreters The DSA has formally opened consultation over the use of interpreters in the driver testing sector. The official request said: A consultation on the use of foreign language voiceovers and interpreters on theory tests and practical driving tests has been launched. DSA is reviewing the level of foreign language support available to candidates because of issues concerning: • social cohesion • road safety • fraud • cost savings The consultation sets out three options for changing the current level of language support:
Letters, page 12
• removing voiceovers (except English and Welsh) on the theory test and the use of interpreters on all tests • removing voiceovers (except English and Welsh) on the theory test but keeping the use of interpreters on all tests • removing interpreters on both theory and practical tests but keeping the use of voiceovers on theory tests Any change to the current arrangements will be subject to the outcome of the consultation, which runs until 2 April 2013. Let the MSA know what you think: contact the editor, Newslink (address above) over this crucial issue.
Views expressed in Newslink are not necessarily those of the MSA.
©2013 The Motor Schools Association of Great Britain Ltd. Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden without express permission of the editor.
DTC changes Nottingham’s Chalfont Drive test centre closed on 1 March, with tests transferred to two temporary premises: the DSA’s existing LGV test centre at Watnall and the DVLA offices in Nottingham Business Park. The transferred bookings will be for the same date and time as the existing appointment. Candidates will be told in writing of the new location of their test. Candidates will soon be able to book car tests at Watnall test centre. The DVLA premises will only be used for existing bookings transferred from Chalfont Drive. Tests are now also available to book at two new sites located at Nottingham Trent University’s city centre and Clifton campuses. The existing test centre at Colwick will also remain open. DSA’s plan is still to open a new centre as a replacement for the Chalfont Drive test centre. It hopes to have details of the new test centre and its operational date soon.
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News
‘Too busy’ minister finds time to write As members will be aware, when Stephen Hammond was appointed road safety minister in November 2012 the MSA requested a meeting to discuss various concerns we had over the direction of driver training. The minister declined our request, stating a ‘busy diary’, but agreed to answer a letter detailing our concerns. His response is as follows: You asked about the end of trainee licences for potential driving instructors and the possibility of learner drivers, accompanied by an approved driving instructor, being allowed on the motorway for training purposes. I understand the safety concerns regarding the current trainee licence arrangements, which allow partly-qualified instructors to provide unsupervised on-road instruction to learner drivers. As you know, the DSA has been looking at the future of the scheme as part of their overall plans to modernise the driver training industry. I very much welcome considering a range of options which include proposals to allow learners to gain experience of motorway driving before the driving test. I hope to be in a position to announce further steps in this area in the near future. You asked when we will open the
consultation regarding the introduction of higher fixed penalty fines and an option to make more offences open to NDORS courses. I am afraid the consultation is now closed and we are currently analysing responses to the consultation. You asked about the future of multipurpose test centres in light of the review of the motorcycle test. The review is still ongoing and no decisions have been made at this point. You asked about out-of-date photocard driving licences. It is a legal requirement for drivers to renew their photograph on their licence every 10 years to ensure it remains a current likeness. A driver will not lose their entitlement to driver if they fail to renew, but failure to do so is an offence and would leave a driver liable to a prosecution resulting in a fine of up to £1,000 under Section 99 (2A) Road Traffic Act 1988. The DVLA is not an enforcement body and prosecution is a police matter. You asked about mandatory CPD for the ADI industry. At a time when we are committed
to reducing the burden on small businesses, a mandatory CPD scheme would create added burden in terms of both cost and time. It would also mean substantial enforcement costs for the DSA, which would ultimately have to be recovered through an increase to ADI registration fees. You asked about the steps we are taking to combat illegal driving instruction. As you know, the DSA has a dedicated team investigating illegal driving instruction. I cannot agree that the DSA has failed hopelessly; since April the DSA has received 175 allegations of suspected illegal instruction, of which 103 are current live investigations. Ten individuals have been arrested - two have been convicted in a court of law, six have received police cautions and two are in the criminal justice system. You asked about the DSA’s Taking Testing to the Customer initiative. Later this month the DSA is
scheduled to commence testing from premises hosted by Mantra Learning, a private sector organisation in Manchester. It also plans to introduce testing from Halfords and some fire stations in the New Year. These are all additional points of service that are being provided free of charge. When the DSA has sufficient feedback to inform an evaluation I will be in a position to decide whether the initiative should be widened. You asked about reducing the drinkdrive limit. We believe that improving enforcement is likely to be the best use of resources and will have the most impact on those who drink and drive, rather than lowering the alcohol limit. It is also worth noting that the penalties for drink-driving in the UK are more severe than other countries with lower drink-drive limits. Finally, you suggested mandatory training for drivers who exchange their driving licences for a UK driving licence. I can confirm we have no plans to introduce some training. • The MSA response: We note the number of items that are ‘still ongoing’ or awaiting further developments. We will continue to press the minister for action over key areas, in particular learners on motorways and progress on trainee licences.
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News
Mayor Boris plans ‘ultra-low’ zone for cars ADIs working in central London may have to consider their next tuition vehicle carefully if they don’t want to fall foul of Boris Johnson’s latest plans. The city’s mayor is looking at creating the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone in central London, in a move that he believes will deliver dramatic benefits in air quality and provide a major spur for the further development and mass take-up of zero and low emission vehicles. He hopes that by 2020, all vehicles driving in the centre of the capital during working hours would be zero or low emission. Johnson said: “Creating the world’s first big city ultra low emission zone has the potential to be a game changing moment in the quality of life of our great capital. My vision is a central zone where almost all the vehicles running during working hours are either zero or low emission. This would deliver incredible benefits in air quality and stimulate the delivery and mass use of low emission technology.” Transport for London will begin consulting on an ultra-low emission zone soon. A spokesman said: “By 2020, all central London buses will be hybrid, zero emission taxis will be plying London’s streets, low emission options for freight will be available and electric cars have the potential to be in far greater use.” The plans were announced at the same time as a subtle change in future emissions planning suggested technology alone could not improve air quality and pollution levels. London’s current Low Emission Zone demands all LGVs operate to Euro 5 emission levels, but it has emerged that these standards have not actually reduced NOx emissions from vehicles to the level that was originally forecast when the rules were brought in.
Police arrest six in L-test fraud case Can we have a word, sir?: A surprised examiner (far right of the three seated) has an unwelcome visit from the police. The other two examiners are unconnected to the allegations Pictures taken from BBC News coverage
DSA’s Fraud and Integrity team led a raid in Greater London on 20 February as part of a joint operation with the Metropolitan Police into ‘cash-for-pass’ allegations. It resulted in the arrest of a DSA driving examiner, an ADI and four candidates suspected of conspiracy to commit fraud. As a result of this operation 100 driving licences are being revoked. The BBC report of the arrests was broadcast on the lunchtime national news and was a main headline on that day’s BBC news website. Andy Rice, DSA head of fraud and integrity, joined the officers in making the arrests and commented: “Although rare, when it happens, driving test fraud is a serious offence that puts the lives of innocent road users at risk. We believe the candidates have approached their driving instructor, they’ve had a conversation saying for x amount of money we can guarantee you a pass. “The candidate then agrees to that. The driving instructor then speaks to our member of staff and tells them which candidate to pass.” “We have stringent procedures in place to ensure that any fraudulent activity will be detected. As today’s operation demonstrates, we take all allegations extremely seriously and will work with the police to bring offenders to justice.
“The safety of the general public and the integrity of the driving test are paramount.” The police arrived at the north London driving test centre at 8am and took the examiner into custody before seizing boxes of documents. It is alleged the examiner was bribed, taking as much as £3,000 for each test that he agreed to pass in advance. The other arrests were made in London and Walsall in the West Midlands. Across the country investigators are also examining nearly 900 cases of alleged identity fraud, where a candidate pays somebody else to sit the driving test for them. The DSA has reminded ADIs that they can report anything you know about driving test fraud to the Fraud and Integrity team on 0115 936 6051 or email integrity.team@dsa.gsi.gov.uk.
Texters are increasing menace on the roads The number of motorists who admit to texting while driving has doubled in the space of a year – while those who confess to using social media have quadrupled, according to new research from Halfords. The results reveal that more than a third of drivers now admit to regularly checking a text, email, or accessing social media while at the wheel. Some 35 per cent of drivers admitted reading text messages, rising to 57 per cent among under 25s, while almost one in five (19 per cent) have gone onto social networking sites or used the internet, the survey found. The annual study by Halfords marks the
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sixth anniversary of tougher legal sanctions being introduced to discourage the use of hand-held phones, or similar devices, when driving – which saw fixed penalty fines rise to £60 and three penalty points being added to offenders’ licences. Halfords in-car technology manager Dave Poulter said: “These findings paint a disturbing picture of what is happening on the UK’s roads and the emerging trend towards using mobile phones to link with social media while driving is extremely worrying.” Overall 48 per cent of drivers admitted to taking or making a call at least once in
the past 12 months and 36 per cent confessed to committing the offence at least once a week. Using a mobile phone without Bluetooth or a hands-free kit is deemed the third most hated behaviour on the road, after inconsiderate driving and drink driving, and 88 per cent of those questioned agreed that the use of hand held phone while driving was a danger to themselves as well as other road users. And it’s not just the UK that has this problem – and it has become so endemic in the United States that the authorities there have come up with an unusual
solution to try to stop young people texting while driving. Police in Florida are now urging motorists to have a ‘designated texter’ when driving in groups so that the driver is not tempted to look at their phone or text while at the wheel. Unbelievably, texting while driving is not currently illegal in Florida because some people have argued that restricting texting while driving is going too far to regulate people’s behaviour while inside their vehicles – though this decision is currently being challenged by road safety groups.
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France drops plans to fine drivers over breathalysers French transport officials have dropped plans to fine drivers who neglect to carry a breathalyser kit in their cars. As previously reported in Newslink, for 12 months the French authorities have been saying €11 fines would be introduced for non-compliance. However, in a surprise move, the Minister of Interior has announced an indefinite delay to the plans. Currently, all drivers in France, including motorcyclists, are required to carry a breathalyser kit as well as a warning triangle and safety vest. Additionally UK motorists and motorcyclists must display a GB plate. IAM director of policy and research Neil Greig said: “The law for carrying breathalysers will no longer be enforced through fines, but in order to comply with the law we still recommend that you keep a breathalyser kit in the car whenever you’re travelling to or through France.”
News
DSA’s new rules over DL26 Published right is the latest version of the DL26 (the driving test booking form for those who haven’t seen one for a while!) The major change with this form, which is posted to the DVLA, is that you can now pay for the L-test only by cheque or postal order. Previously you could pay using your debit or credit card on this form but this facility has been withdrawn. The postal application forms are available on request by calling DSA. John Lepine MBE, MSA general manager, commented: “I telephoned DSA for a form and they offered to email it to me...” With nearly nine out of every 10 tests now booked online it is clear that the days of the DL26 and postal applications are numbered. The latest change to prevent applicants from paying with credit or debit cards is another example of the DSA’s determination to be at the forefront of the Government’s ‘digital by default’ agenda.
Surprise rise in new car sales New car sales have shown a positive start to 2013, with January registrations rising 11.5 per cent, to 143,643 units in. Growth was boosted by 15.9 per cent rise in private registrations during the month. All fuel types showed growth in January. Alternatively-fuelled cars posted a 7.9 per
cent rise in volumes, while growth in private and small car demand helped petrol cars see their market share rise. SMMT revises full year forecast to show modest growth in 2013, after an encouraging 2012 performance. “The new car market has started the year
confidently with registrations climbing 11.5 per cent in January,” said Mike Baunton, Interim Chief Executive, SMMT. “Lifted by a solid rise in private demand, the new car market posted its 11th successive month of growth with motorists attracted to forecourts by the latest models and competitive deals.”
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Sharp fall in L-test candidates as economic woes hit the young The number of young people taking driving tests has dropped almost a fifth in the past five years, according to figures released by the Department for Transport – and the fall could be the start of a “demographic change that will transform a generation’s relationship with cars.” The number of 17-to-19-year-olds taking their practical driving tests has dropped about 18 per cent since 2007. The number of people in their 20s taking their tests has dropped more than 10 per cent. Even among young people who have passed their tests, the number with access to cars has fallen, while those who do have cars appear to be driving fewer miles each week. The decline has been sharper among young men than young women. This is not just a UK phenomenon, either: similar figures reported in other developed countries, including the United States, Germany and Japan. The change has been picked up by big business with an eye on future profits. Dr Tobias Kuhnimhof, an academic at the Institute for Mobility Research, the research facility for German carmaker BMW, said recently that there was a “strong indication of profound changes in the travel behaviour among young adults in industrialised countries”. The global financial crisis has been the largest single factor behind the cooling of young people’s love of cars. Youth
unemployment has increased sharply in Britain, while even those in employment who were born between 1985 and 95 are seeing their incomes falling faster than any other age group. This situation has been exacerbated by the rising cost of motoring, with higher fuel prices and insurance premiums for young drivers. 17-22-year-old drivers have seen a rise of more than 80 per cent over
the past three years, with average premiums now getting closer to £2,000 a year. However, the obvious financial drivers are not the only reason for the downturn. A spokesman for the DfT admitted the fall had been noted in Whitehall, and the DSA was keeping its options open as to how this would impact on its operations in the future. However, changes in lifestyle was
DSA looks to change regulations on vocational vehicles The DSA has announced that it is introducing a real total mass (RTM) requirement for vehicles used for tests and is proposing to consult on drivers who pass vocational tests in vehicles with automatic transmissions. The real total mass requirement for vocational vehicles used for tests will be introduced from Monday 30 September 2013. It will affect vehicles in categories C, C+E; trailers of categories B+E, C1+E; and trailers of categories D+E, D1+E. Initially it will only apply to vehicles registered after 19 January 2007. If you have vehicles registered before this date, you can continue to use them for tests, unladen, until 19 January 2017. On automatic transmissions, the DSA plans to consult on gear configuration changes for vehicles used in test categories: C, C+E; D, D+E; and B+E. If agreed, candidates taking a test in an automatic vehicle won’t be restricted to driving automatics when they pass their vocational test if they’ve already passed their test in a manual vehicle – in at least
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one of the following categories: B, B+E; C, C+E, C1, C1+E; and D, D1, D+E This won’t affect the vehicles that can currently be used for tests and candidates will have the choice of using any manual gear configuration or automatic vehicle with only two pedals.
The proposals aim for a more flexible approach to testing, taking into account vehicle technology developments, and are part of an amendment to the EU 3rd directive. The DSA has said firm proposals should be available by late spring.
increasingly being hailed as a factor behind the fall. “It’s too easy to say this decrease is solely down to young people being put off learning to drive because lesson prices are high, or fuel is too expensive,” said a spokesman. “There has been a huge rise in the number of young people opting to live in city centre locations, where possibly there is less need for a car as public transport availability is good, or because lack of parking space makes car ownership impractical.” There are more people putting off big lifestyle decisions until later in life, too. Society has changed from the time when people would automatically leave home at 18-21. More young people are living at home with their parents, they are marrying later and having children later, too – all of which makes learning to drive a little later than the traditional 18-25 window more likely. Social media experts also believe that the increasing use of Facebook and other internet sites makes it easier for young people to stay in touch with their friends and decrease the need to make physical journeys to meet them. Research conducted for the RAC by academics at Imperial College London and University College London found that average “car driver mileage” for Londoners aged 16 to 29 fell by nearly half between 1996 and 2010, with the rest of the country seeing a fall of a third.
Free look at the future of motoring The Energy Saving Trust (EST) is partnering Future Drive for a motor show with a difference at ExCel London on Wednesday, 8 May. The event includes opportunities to: - Test-drive the latest technology including the latest low-carbon and plug-in vehicles - Speak with an adviser from EST on a one-to-one basis - Learn more about current transport topics and take part in live Q&As with transport professionals As part of this partnership, EST is offering professionals free tickets to the event. You can book tickets online at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/ by entering the code FD35T. Only one ticket is available per booking but the code can be used multiple times. Free tickets are only available for the fleet day on 8 May. There are a limited number of tickets available so early booking is recommended. Tickets should be printed out at home and brought along to the event. See www.futuredrivelive. com for more details.
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Industry on brink of major change: tell us what you think Continued from page 1 Under this option there would be no voiceovers available in non-national languages for theory tests. Interpreters would not be available for theory or practical tests. All candidates would be required to understand the national language. Agree or disagree? Please let the MSA know in order that your views can influence the MSA’s final submission on this consultation. The second of the consultations seeks your views on a number of proposals for reform of the Department for Transport (DfT) motoring services agencies. The agencies concerned are: Driving Standards Agency (DSA); the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA); the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA); and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). In his forward to the consultation Stephen Hammond MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, aka, the Minister for Road Safety and the man responsible for motoring agencies, says: “Our vision is for motoring services that have the customer and businesses at their heart.” The DfT states in the consultation paper that its guiding principles, its vision, is “Putting consumers and businesses at the heart of what we do Rationalising the number of bodies and agencies involved - Working more closely and collaboratively” It says it wants to put the consumer and business at the heart of what it does by offering a costeffective and high-quality service, pushing the ‘digital by default’ agenda, so that services are delivered better on the web or via mobile devices like phones and tablets. It goes on to say that where it delivers face-to-face services, such as testing, it wants to make the service more convenient and accessible. To achieve these aims the plan is to rationalise – in plain English, to cut the number of agencies and bodies to achieve best value for money. It intends to have shared properties and shared services such as back office administrative functions and combine business areas such as ICT, corporate support, and customer contact centres where it makes sense to do so. They also want to work with a broader range of partners, including partners in the public, private and third sectors; to allow service providers more freedom to innovate; and to support economic growth by creating new opportunities for small and medium size businesses. In a section entitled Delivering the Vision the paper talks about ‘Bringing the driving test closer to you’. This means doing a number of things, some of which the DSA has already started, such as looking at the locations from which it delivers tests and piloting delivery of tests from a greater range of locations, including from colleges, retail premises and other public buildings Officials also want to explore the options for the delivery of the practical test, including the options for private sector involvement and greater
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diversity of provision, as well as considering other commercial and mutual options. As it is put in the consultation, “we are keen to explore all options that maintain the integrity of the test and high quality standards, whoever is the provider.” There are 18 questions posed in the consultation document, including: Which of “Our Guiding Principles”, if any, would help you in our dealings with us? Do you support plans to bring the driving test closer to the customer? How would plans to bring the driving test closer to the customer affect you? And so to how the MSA should respond to this consultation. It seems for many members that while they would quite like a return to more local driving test centres, the response should be: no change please, we are happy as we are. Unfortunately, while this response might appear attractive, little or no change is unlikely to be an available option. So if we move to the point where we accept some change is inevitable, what safeguards should we seek if, for example, DSA was to merge back into the DfT or with another agency or agencies? If driving tests were to be privatised? If the ADI Register was to be privatised? If established DTCs are scrapped in favour of retail premises with surplus floor space? If driving test bookings were to be privatised? In our initial discussions with members, we have
“Our vision is for motoring services that have the customer and businesses at their heart.” Stephen Hammond MP been asked to raise a number of issues, which include the effects privatisation or the merger of agencies might have on the cost of all theory and practical tests. In addition, how would test waiting times, standards and the uniformity of test routes be guaranteed in the private sector? What assurances could we obtain from Government that the pass rate was not going to be profit driven? If you have further concerns you wish MSA to raise, please let us know as quickly as possible. • Full details of both consultations – Consultation on Motoring Services Strategy and the Review of Language Support Provided for Driving Test Candidates – can be found on www.gov.uk.
Would the sale of the DSA be simply a way for Government to raise some finance to pay back national debt, without worrying too much about potential procedural difficulties for future driving tests?
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ADI groups dissect the DSA’s modernising agenda MSA officials Peter Harvey and John Lepine attended the Modernising Driver Training Stakeholder Group Meeting at the DSA Nottingham headquarters on 11 February. Other ADIs groups invited to attend included the ADINJC; DISC; DIB UU; DIDU; DIA; IAM, RoSPA, as well as RED Driving School; AA/BSM; and the DVA from Northern Ireland. A full and comprehensive set of minutes of the meeting will be released in due course. However, below is an overview of the meeting and the issues discussed. A wide range of subjects were on the agenda, including the results of the ‘Learning to Drive’ trial which has taken place over the last two years. Those present were asked to keep the results of this trial under wraps until the final report is published later this year. It is hoped that this will be in conjunction with a consultation on modernising driver training. The group received a presentation on a report entitled Evaluating Independent Driving, which was first introduced into the practical test in October 2010. An internal evaluation by DSA has looked into both the after-test effect on new drivers and how well it has been received and viewed by candidates. We will publish details in Newslink when available.
A discussion took place around the qualification route that may be available if some of the ideas due to be put forward to ministers are acceptable. These include ending the trainee licence, enhancing the DSA qualification route and the introduction of a vocational qualification. The idea would be to introduce these alongside a new Standards Check (a replacement for the check test) in April 2014. At this time it is expected that the role play option will cease. Various other matters were discussed including a review of fee arrangements, with a possibility of splitting the check test fee from the ADI registration fee. The possibility of replacing check test numerical gradings with competency descriptors was also discussed. As previously reported ADI national statistics are now regularly published on Gov. uk but the Registrar was able to offer one extra very interesting statistic. Over the financial year 2011/12, over 44,000 ADIs presented at least one candidate for test. Most present found that figure surprising as it suggests that only about 2,000 ADIs never take any tests. The figures were broken down thus: 14,712 ADIs presented 1-9 candidates for test; 13,258 ADIs presented 10-20 candidates for test; and 16,706 ADIs
FTA urges big cut in fuel duty
presented more than 21 candidates for test. Under AOB a brief discussion took place around the revision of the Code of Practice. The MSA, DIA, ADINJC and DISC are all keen to take this forward and further information will be published soon. At the ADI Online Forum which followed all the ADI consultative organisations were represented. Again, official minutes will be published in due course. The principal action points from this meeting were that the DSA would create a ‘how to’ guide including screen shots with links to GOV.UK for instructors struggling to use the online services and that when available ADI groups will promote the ‘how to guide’ to increase ADI take-up. DSA will look into the new online system to see if it would be possible for the check test team to check an ADI’s availability before the check test invitation is sent out.
“A discussion took place around the qualification route... including ending the trainee licence, enhancing the DSA qualification route and vocational qualifications...”
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has renewed its demand that the Chancellor reduces road fuel duty by three pence per litre to help ease the pressure on domestic freight operators in his 2013 Budget. FTA has said that this cut is imperative to the UK’s freight transport sector, which has faced a particularly challenging business environment in 2012. The pre-Budget submission by the FTA is set against the economic background where the UK economy experienced no growth over the past year.
80mph limit plans to fail? A number of road safety groups have claimed victory after Whitehall sources suggested the Government was going to abandon its plan to increase the speed limit on motorways to 80mph. “It looks likely that the environmental and road safety arguments will win the day,” said a spokesman for the DfT. “There was some support for the limit to rise from motoring organisations but their argument lacks conviction.”
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Comment: the DSA’s view
It’s a first as ‘local’ university rises to DSA’s L-test challenge updating voiceovers for the theory test is met by DSA. The consultation sets out four options: • removing voiceovers (except English and Welsh) and the use of interpreters on driving tests • removing voiceovers (except English and Welsh) on the theory test but retaining the use of interpreters on all tests • removing interpreters on both theory and practical tests but retaining the use of voiceovers on theory tests; and • making no changes. The consultation will last eight weeks.
ROSEMARY THEW Chief Executive, DSA
I am pleased to let you know that Nottingham Trent University is taking part in a ‘first’ trial in Britain where driving tests will be taken from university premises. Bookings have now opened for tests in March, which will be operational two days a week at the centres located at Clarendon Street, at the university’s City Site, and at the Clifton campus. The trial is expected to last three to six months and the tests will be conducted by DSA examiners. The trial will help us understand how we can best provide a service for driving test candidates using universities. I am pleased that Nottingham Trent University is leading the way on opening up its sites not only to students but also to the public. This builds on our recent announcement to conduct driving tests from branches of Halfords, and DSA is also in discussion with areas of the Fire and Rescue Service. The first driving tests from Halfords premises took place in Wellingborough on 5 February.
Foreign language policy
I also want to let you know about a consultation which is taking place concerning our foreign language support policy. The Government wants to encourage more integration from people whose first language is not English or Welsh. The
Enforcement issues
withdrawal of voiceovers from driving tests would be an incentive to learn English and therefore help candidates be able to get more involved in British society. We are also reviewing the level of foreign language support available to candidates in response to concerns about potential road safety implications – such as being able to respond to emergency messages – and the risk of fraud, as well as the cost of providing translations. Currently, people whose first language is not English or Welsh can request pre-recorded voiceovers for the computer-based car and motorcycle theory tests in 19 different foreign languages. Candidates can also use approved interpreters on theory tests, usually if a voiceover is not available in a candidate’s native language, or where a candidate speaks a dialect that would make a voiceover difficult to understand. Interpreters can also be used in practical tests to translate the examiner’s instructions. Candidates have to pay for interpreters themselves, but the cost of developing and
University challenge: Nottingham Trent University is a suitable place for the DSA to begin its trial of L-tests on campuses
Andy Rice, the head of DSA’s Fraud and Integrity Team, joined the Metropolitan Police in dawn raids as they visited more than a dozen addresses across London at the end of last month (Thursday, 31 January.) Around 40 police officers carried out search warrants during the joint operation with DSA and arrested a number of people suspected of being involved in organised driving test fraud. They are accused of paying others to impersonate them during tests or of taking tests for other people.
Motoring services
I would also like to remind you about the Government’s plans to reform motoring services. I wrote about the reform and the consultation in last month’s column and there is still time to make your views known. You can read the full consultation document on GOV.UK. You can respond to the consultation using Citizen Space. It will run until 7 March 2013.
MSA Conference
Lastly I would like to say how much I am looking forward to attending MSA’s conference at the Hellidon lakes Hotel, Daventry, Northamptonshire on 16 March. It promises to be a lively event and I will be answering your questions as well as speaking at the conference. See you there!
Minister sees potential in university testing Commenting on the decision to use Nottingham Trent University as a base from which to conduct driving tests (see Rosemary Thew’s article above), road safety minister Stephen Hammond said: “The trial will help us understand how we can best provide a service for driving test candidates using universities. I am delighted that Nottingham Trent University is leading the way on opening up their sites not only to students but also the general public. “This builds on our recent announcement to conduct driving tests from branches of Halfords and DSA is also in discussion with areas of the Fire and Rescue Service.” Michael Lees, Nottingham Trent University’s head of customer services, said: “This is a great scheme for us to be involved in and we’re extremely proud to become the first university that will have on-site
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driving test centres. “Not only will it benefit our students, but because members of the public will also take their tests from two of our campuses, it will help increase our links with the wider community as a whole.” The government is currently consulting on proposals to improve the way all motoring services are delivered. The Motoring Services Strategy consultation, which runs until 7 March, outlines long-term proposals to put customers firmly at the heart of the way motoring services are delivered. This includes exploring opportunities to improve the convenience to customers of both practical and theory driving tests and considering how tests could be provided from a greater range of locations, including from colleges, retail premises and other public buildings. It is thought that recent demographic changes,
and the longer time it takes learners to develop the skills needed to pass their driving test, have led to more test applications from over-19s and fewer from 17-19-year-olds. This has led to an increase in university students being at test standard and wishing to take their driving test. As a result the DSA believes university campuses could prove a natural home from which to conduct more L-tests in the future.
“Not only will it benefit our students, but because members of the public will also take their tests from two of our campuses, it will help increase our links with the wider community as a whole.”
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Comment
JOHN LEPINE MBE General Manager, MSA
A touch of déjà vu FURTHER work on the so-called modernising driver training (MDT) agenda is moving forward slowly but surely. During February there was an interesting meeting of the MDT steering group which discussed a whole host of matters and hopefully a full report on this will appear in the April issue of Newslink. If you’re a regular reader of Newslink you may have a strange sense of déjà vu reading the paragraph above. That would not be entirely surprising as it appeared as the first paragraph of this column in a previous issue of Newslink - in March 2010, but it is just as applicable today as it was then. On page 9 of this issue you can read a preliminary report of that meeting and the full minutes, as in 2010, will probably be published in the April issue of Newslink. Back in 2010 discussions also took place around the provision of an updated Code of Practice for driver trainers. Also discussed was how to improve the qualification process for new ADIs and the provision of trainee licences. At the time I wrote: “This is a fascinating subject as most ADIs (including me) are against the trainee licence system despite many (including me) entering the register via the scheme. Various suggestions are being bandied about as to how the entry qualifications can be improved, from the idea of a minimum educational standard to the possibility of a basic teaching qualification. We also discussed then the question of whether there be a limit on the number of attempts at the ADI theory test, whether commentary driving be included in the Part 2 examination and should half-hour PSTs be replaced by a more realistic one-hour real world type assessment? Since then we have had a change of government and two changes of minister. First up in the brave new world of Coalition Government was Mike Penning, who promised us compulsory CPD, the scrapping of trainee licences and learners on motorways. Now we have Stephen Hammond, who seems to want to privatise the DSA or at best merge it with some other agency and as yet does not even have time to talk to us about it. It is very easy for us to blame the DSA for lack of progress on these matters but it is difficult not to have sympathy with an agency that seems to be given orders to change direction on a regular basis and consequently fails to make much progress in the direction of travel most ADIs would like to see taken. Finally, I hope to see lots of Newslink readers at the MSA Training Day & Conference at Hellidon Lakes Hotel. Be there – Be informed – Be up to date.
12 : MARCH 2013 : MSA NEWSLINK
Newslink Postbag. We welcome contributions from our members. Would all contributors please remember that Newslink cannot publish letters anonymously. Pen names will be used to protect the identity of the author if necessary. Please address all correspondence to The Editor, Newslink, 101 Wellington Road North, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 2LP. Letters can also be sent by email, to mail@msagb.co.uk
Privatisation will do the DSA some good Dear Sir Writing in the February issue of Newslink was Brian Austin, ADI Registrar (retired). How long ago he held this post I’m not sure; I don’t remember him and I have been an ADI for nearly 10 years. In his letter he stated that privatisation of the driving test is: “difficult to discuss in any meaningful way because its sole justification appears to be based on political dogma, rather than logic.” Political dogma! I think it’s Mr Austin who is spouting the worst type of left-wing Civil Service political dogma. His is a ‘jobs for the boys’ manifesto which concentrates on the little bit of the subject that concerns regulation and ignores the wider aspects of the picture, such as customer service and value for money. Economic salvation for this country lies not in ‘big Government’ but in a well-run free market economy. Does Mr Austin really think that private enterprise, unencumbered by silly union strikes, index-linked pensions and massive bureaucracy and red tape would not make a better job of a system with a minimum charge out rate of over £65 per hour? As to his concerns about the paranoia that exists in Government circles about identity fraud, and that “it is difficult to understand how contracting out driving tests could be acceptable” – one has to wonder what planet or far-off retirement home he occupies. The theory test has, I think from its inception, been contracted out. As far as I know the company carrying out the contract does so in an efficient manner, including proper and thorough ID checks, presumably makes a profit and never sends out notices of strike action. I don’t wish to give my name or location as I do not wish to open myself up to prejudice from local examiners who may also support the left-wing Civil Service political dogma put forward by Mr Austin rather than championing free enterprise. Right-thinking ADI Name and address supplied
Keep quiet and keep on working Dear Sir In last month’s Newslink (February) you had a letter from an organisation looking to recruit Grade 6 instructors. How short-sighted is that? In my experience most of the Grade 6 instructors I meet are so far up themselves they are unlikely to have any time to pass on the huge amount of unrivalled knowledge they have about anything and everything to do with driving to anyone else. I’m a Grade 6 but I never tell anyone. I don’t want to be seen as a know-all, just a nice guy who teaches people how to drive safely and pass their test in a reasonable number of lessons. How did I get a grade 6? Simple: I went to a very good
trainer and paid him to teach me how to do it. It is not the grade that matters or the pass rate, it’s the bottom line on my profit and loss account that matters. Tim Stevens By email
Pupils still come the old-fashioned way Dear Sir Is social media the best way to attract new business? I note that the DSA has about 3,000 likes, MSA 500 and John Lepine well over a 1,000 friends. Yet when you consider there are some 46,000 ADIs and well over 500,000 test passes a year these seem like very small numbers. I, like many others, have a Facebook page and I make sure I post pictures of all my pupils when they pass. I also have a basic website. However, careful analysis of new pupils coming to me over the year 2012 suggest that although I did not quite reach my target of 78 – an average of 1½ a week – the vast majority did not come via social media or any of my web-based activities. Exactly half – 39 – come from personal recommendations, including from my recommend-afriend scheme for existing pupils; 10 from seeing the roof sign/car advertising; nine from my web page; eight from leafleting, seven from posters and one each from Yellow Pages and Facebook. Are other members experiencing the same sort of split when it comes to attracting new business? Richard Cleavely, Kent
Check test is past it’s sell-by date Dear Sir Rosemary Thew says that DSA is developing proposals to improve ADI check tests and better align them with the ‘National driver and rider training standard.’ Is it not time the DSA dropped this archaic test, which virtually no-one ever fails, and just judges everyone on their pass rates or some sort of pupil satisfaction score? David Metcalf, York
What’s your view?
Get in touch: There are a number of consultation documents out there which the MSA wants your views on. Drop us a line with your views on the future shape of the DSA, translators on L-tests and the ‘local tests for local people’ initiative. Write to the Editor, Newslink, c/o of the MSA at the address above
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News
New era dawns for CA Cars
In charge: Pictured left, the new line-up at CA Cars, ready to help ADIs source the best contract hire deal for ADIs
£50 off your first month’s rental offer CA Cars, one of the UK’s leading specialists of contract hire vehicles to driving instructors and schools, has recruited a new management team to lead ambitious growth plans. Sylvia Yeo, managing director, has been joined by Clara Gibson, formerly sales manager at Hitachi Driving Instructor Centre, as general manager and Karen Laundon, founder of Robinsons Contracts, The Driving Instructor Centre. Sylvia Yeo commented: “These are great additions to the CA Cars team. Their wealth of experience in the driving instructor contract hire sector will help drive this business forward into a new era.” Clara added: “I’m looking forward to this opportunity to help drive this already great business forward. I believe that CA Cars is big enough to produce great economies of scale but is still small enough to care. Our aim is provide a fantastic ‘value for money’ option with our fully maintained contract hire, as a more cost-
Head office: Below, the Leicester-based HQ of CA Cars
effective alternative to purchase for instructors.” Karen Laundon added: “We pride ourselves on the highest levels of customer service, with our friendly, personal but professional approach. Each call is answered by a person not an automated service. We like to think that we treat each customer as an individual not just a number and have a great track record of repeat business and customer referrals. With a head office in Leicester and a branch in Northern Ireland, CA Cars is well-placed to service driving instructors throughout the UK.”
CA Cars is trading name of Commercial Associates Ltd, a family business established in 1986. As the only contract
hire company linked to a driving school, they benefit from being independently ran from our sister company, Acclaim, while being able to tap into expert driving tuition advice. Its on-site instructor trainer can provide assistance, ranging from help and advice on future check tests for ADIs to help on how to obtain the coveted green badge for PDIs. As a special introductory offer, CA Cars are offering all readers £50 off their first month’s rental for all new car orders placed and delivered before the end of April 2013 with free nationwide delivery.* So put yourself in the driving seat and contract hire from CA Cars. *T&Cs apply. Offer available to new customers only.
MSA NEWSLINK : MARCH 2013 : 13
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Towards your CPD: Coaching
Will you just listen! In the third of her series of ADI improvement articles on coaching, Sue McCormack turns her attention to the instructor’s listening skills
In my last article I looked at how rapport in a client-centred relationship differs from that in an instructor-led relationship, and how important it is to establish a client-centred relationship that is equal and non-judgemental because we need our clients to feel they can open up to us without fear of being judged or being made to feel they are stupid. This article will take this a step further by focusing on another essential coaching skill – listening. There are a number of different levels of listening, and in coaching only the most active are effective. The following five levels of listening are based on a chapter called ‘What is coaching?’ in Excellence in Coaching (edited by Jonathan Passmore). The worst level of listening is where the listener is planning what to say instead of listening to what the speaker is saying. This is the most irritating level of listening because the speaker can tell that the listener is not listening. For example, ADI: ‘Hi, how are you today?’ Client: ‘Oh, feeling stressed. You know how it is ….’ ADI: ‘Good, good. Today we are going to work on roundabouts.’ In this example the driving instructor is clearly firmly on their own agenda. Often it can be difficult to make the switch into client-centred learning because we get caught up in our long-held beliefs that this is how we were trained and therefore this is what we must do on each lesson. We have a set format to follow, which we know will get our customers ready for their test and it is difficult for us to hear anything else. But, in a client-centred relationship, how the client is feeling is critical to their ability to learn and their ability to drive. The next level of listening is where the listener gives a reply that is about themselves and not about the speaker. This is probably how the majority of conventional conversations are conducted. For example: ADI: ‘Hi, how are you today?’ Client: ‘Oh, feeling stressed. You know how it is ….’ ADI: ‘You think you’re stressed! There’s so much going on in my life at the moment you wouldn’t believe. My son …… blah, blah, blah.’ If you were sitting with a group of friends chatting then this would be an okay way of holding a conversation because communication in groups tends to meander and then make its way back to the beginning so someone would eventually ask the
14 : MARCH 2013 : MSA NEWSLINK
“
original person why they are feeling stressed. However, in a client-centred relationship the client is the most important person in the conversation. How they are thinking and feeling will affect their ability to control the vehicle and also will potentially create barriers to their ability to learn. As ADIs it is important that we actively listen and stay on the client’s agenda because learning to drive is about so much more than dealing with faults. We are not giving value for money and allowing learning to take place if we jump in and tell our own stories. The next level of listening is about giving advice, which is still more about the listener than the speaker, and can be close to the lowest level of listening in the irritation stakes if the speaker is looking for a sympathetic ear rather than direction. For example, ADI: ‘Hi, how are you today?’ Client: ‘Oh, feeling stressed. You know how it is ….’ ADI: ‘Well, let’s get these roundabouts sorted and then things will look a lot brighter.’ Or, ‘Cheer up, it might never happen.’ In a client-centred relationship the word ‘stressed’ is like a golden nugget because it gives us an opportunity to explore with the client how their emotional state impacts on the way they handle the
It is really important to listen to the words clients are using and the way they use them, rather than to assume we have the answers and know how they are thinking and feeling; or, worse still, to dismiss what they are saying and move straight back onto our agenda...”
vehicle and how this could be an issue once they are driving unsupervised. It is really important to listen to the words clients are using and the way they use them, rather than to assume we have the answers and know how they are thinking and feeling; or, worse still, to dismiss what they are saying and move straight back onto our agenda. The fourth level of listening is getting into active listening and is moving onto the client’s agenda. It is about listening and inviting more. People often work things out while they are talking and a prompt from the coach may help the flow. For example, ADI: ‘Hi, how are you today? Client: ‘Oh, feeling stressed. You know how it is ….’ ADI: ‘What are you feeling stressed about?’ How easy is that? All that needs to be done is repeat the words the client used and you will find yourself right on their agenda. Often people get confused about coaching because they think they have to come up with complicated questions and spend their time planning their questions rather than listening. Repeating back allows both ADI and client to check meaning. The client hears the words they used and might respond: ‘I didn’t actually mean stressed … I meant ….’. The ADI has focused on the words that were used and, in doing so, has not had the opportunity to wander off on a different track and has demonstrated to the client that what they are saying is valued. The highest level of listening is all about listening behind and between the words; listening to the silences; using one’s intuition. For example, ADI: ‘Hi, how are you today?’ Client: ‘Oh, feeling stressed. You know how it is ….’ ADI: ‘What are you feeling stressed about?’ Client: ‘I have to book my theory test and I never
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Towards your CPD: Coaching
‘Look man, you can listen to Jimi (Hendrix) but you can’t hear him. There’s a difference man. Just because you’re listening to him doesn’t mean you’re hearing him’
New theory test help for LGV drivers
Quote taken from White Men Can’t Jump, starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson
The 2013 edition of The Official DSA Theory Test for Drivers of Large Vehicles has been published and contains more help than ever before. Here are five reasons to get it, says the DSA and its official publishers, the TSO. • Bite-size information It’s written in an easy-to-remember way which links the theory to your practical driving experience to help you really understand. • Practice questions It includes hundreds of official DSA theory test revision questions for all 15 topics so you can see how much you’ve learnt. • Learn your way It has loads of photos and diagrams, links to information and videos online, plus hints and tips to help you learn. • Extra help There are explanations and references for every answer so you can really understand the theory • Easy to use You can test yourself so you can see when you’re ready to pass, plus get expert advice on what to expect on the day.
seem to find the time to do it.’ ADI: ‘What’s getting in the way?’ Client: ‘Oh, I don’t know. I’m busy or someone else is on my laptop when I want to be. I don’t seem to be able to stop long enough to work out how and when to do it.’ ADI: ‘Is there anything else that’s stopping you?’ Client: ‘Actually, I keep putting it off because I don’t want to book it.’ ADI: ‘And why don’t you want to book it?’ Client: ‘Because I’m afraid I’ll fail it.’ Bingo! What started off looking like a timemanagement issue ends up being about selfesteem. If the client’s self-esteem affects their ability to make decisions and gets in the way of their progress, then that is going to have a serious impact on both their learning and their driving. One powerful listening technique is silence. Sometimes we take a lack of response from the client as meaning they don’t want to talk when in reality they are still preparing what they want to say. If we sit and wait we will often be surprised by
how much they will share with us. In my next article I am going to look at another essential coaching skill, which is questioning and the different types of questions we can use. About the author: Susan McCormack has been in the driver training industry for over 25 years as an ADI, instructor trainer and producer of training materials, and has an MSc in Driver Behaviour and Education from Cranfield University. She is a director of Tri-Coaching Partnership Limited, which delivers driver training and coaching courses to all driver trainers. In particular, the company offers a BTEC Level 4 and Level 3 in Coaching for Driver Development, as well as a two-day course called ‘aCCeLerate’. Visit the website for further information: www.tricoachingpartnership.co.uk. Susan can be contacted on 07817 646970.
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age 70 when hospitalised on holiday or business while temporarily outside the UK or Ireland or country of residence other than in India. Maternity grant HMCA pays a maternity grant of £1,000 when both you and your spouse have been members of the plan for at least 12 months and covered for £40 a day. 24 Hour world-wide protection You are covered anywhere in the world, including when travelling by air. • HMCA is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (reference no. 307587) and has been providing these services to membership groups for over 30 years. Key benefits above are correct as at 01/02/2013.
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MSA Conference and Training Day
Still time to book for the MSA Conference and Training Day... Who’s speaking? DSA chief executive Rosemary Thew
is our keynote speaker. With so many changes in the pipeline at the DSA, there’s no doubt her address will prompt a host of questions from the conference floor. In addition we’ll hear presentations on: • Diversifying your business • Understanding coaching, from regular Newslink columnist Sue McCormack • Drink and drugs, and how they effect the driving task • Modernising the driver training agenda • The Standards Check – the replacement for the Check Test PLUS Workshops, exhibitors’ stands, plenty of networking opportunities and a chance to ‘talk shop’ with your peers
Exhibitors announce special offers for delegates Have you booked your place yet...? For the MSA National Conference, we mean. If not, there is still time to reserve your place at this year’s Annual Training Day and Conference, which is being hosted by Hellidon Lakes Hotel, Northamptonshire. We’ve got a great line-up of speakers for you. But in addition, we’ve got even more space for exhibitors this year than ever before – and most are coming with some very special offers for MSA members. Focus Multimedia and He-Man Dual Controls have once again donated several prizes. Those of you who have joined the MSA over the last few months have been entered into a free draw to win a £50 voucher for Driving School Supplies, which will be drawn on the day. If you’re
a non-member but attend conference and join us on the day, you will be entered into the draw. Hitachi Capital Driving Instructor Centre is also running a free draw for those who attend and are thinking about leasing a tuition car. As a special offer, Hitachi is offering you a chance to win your first month payment free on a one-year contract, which could be worth around £250 + VAT. If that’s of interest, make sure you visit the Hitachi stand on Saturday, 16 March and fill in the form for the free prize draw. There may be other special offers at the event, however those above were the ones confirmed when going to press. I hope you can join us. There will be plenty to learn and lots of ideas to help you improve the way you teach and, inevitably, boost your business.
It’s so easy to secure your place. You can book over the phone – just call 0800 0265986 (free from a landline) or 0161 429 9669 from your mobile – or book online, at www.msagb.com. Are you concerned about the changes taking place in driver training?
Worried that your voice on learner drivers issues is not being heard?
Then join us at the MSA Conference and Training Day Prices start from just
Get in the swing with the MSA MSA Open Golf Tournament, Friday, 15 March Price – just £30 This year’s venue for the MSA Training Day and Conference, Hellidon Lakes Golf & Spa Hotel, Daventry, has a 27- hole golf course – and that seemed an ideal opportunity to host our first MSA Open Golf Tournament! The event takes place on Friday, 15 March – the day before the Training Day. We’ll start the day with tea, coffee and
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bacon butties before a draw will put us into groups of three and we’ll embark on a Stableford competition, which means everyone, no matter what their handicap, has a chance of winning. Although we hope to get support from golfers who are MSA members, this event is also open to non-MSA members and non-ADIs at a cost of just £30 to include a
light meal and presentation after all have completed their rounds. Whatever your choice, whether you come just for the golf day or you stay for longer, we look forward to welcoming you to the first MSA Golf Tournament. To book your place, for what should be a great day’s golf in friendly company, call the MSA head office on 0161 429 9669.
£ 40
Want to update your skills and increase your driver training knowledge? Looking to add to your CPD? New to the industry and want the latest from the DSA and to network with your fellow ADIs?
LAST C HAN TO BOO CE K!
Need to learn more about marketing your business, about training aids and new teaching techniques? Then can we ask....
...are you free on
March 16?
msa Annual Conference and Training Day 2013
MSA Conference and Training Day: Full day for just
£40
for members – saving £10 on the non-members’ rate Why should you attend? Changes are heading for the ADI industry from all directions. Keeping up to date has never been more important... Did you know about the following news... • The ABI is calling for learners to start at 16 1/2
Hellidon Lakes Hotel, Northamptonshire
· DfT has said learners will be allowed on motorways
This is the ADI Event of the Year. Not a stuffy room being lectured to – we make our events as interactive as possible, with short presentations followed by Q&A, breakout groups to focus on particular issues and plenty of down-time for networking.
· DSA are talking about conducting driving tests without marking any faults – they have already started this with DVLA driver appraisals
In just one day you’ll have access to information and knowledge that’s priceless. This is a great opportunity to hear the latest from the people who run the driver testing and training industry. So come along and gear teaching tips, business ideas and the inside track on what changes are coming to the industry If you are serious about your career as an ADI, you must attend the MSA National Conference and Training Day.
· What do you know about social media, and how your customers view it? · The EU are talking about a 4th directive on driver licensing, training and testing. What’s that about? Stay ahead of the game – book your place. It will be the best £40 you’ve ever spent.
IN D – IONLAN 40 T M D CA LO ENG AN 6 ING RT OF1, M A M STUNNHE TO THELOSE C
Use this QR code to book.
BOOK NOW: Free from a landline on 0800 0265986 or call 0161 429 9669 from your mobile. Or book online - scan the QR code (right) or go to www.msagb.com MSA CONFERENCE AND TRAINING DAY 2013
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News feature If you subscribe to DSA emails, you’ll have noticed the growing number talking about potential strike action by members of the PCS union. While many are subsequently cancelled, what are the examiners complaining about? Why the increase in militancy? And can we see a future where examiners are out on strike in larger numbers, and more increasingly, as we go forward to a period where the DSA moves out of public control and into private sector ownership? Steve Grigor, a PCS official, offers the following explanation of the reasons why your next test could be cancelled by strike action
PCS threatens a testing year for the DSA as demand for action grows The ‘Condemn’ Government is currently consulting about the future of the motoring and freight services agencies – including DSA, VOSA, DVLA and VCA. The consultation closes on 17 March 2013 and all PCS members are encouraged to either respond personally or send their views for incorporation into a collective response from the union. It will also help if members are able to encourage friends and family members to respond to the consultation because of the clear and present danger to our jobs posed by the prejudiced position adopted by the paper. The background to this consultation lies with the Open Public Services White Paper. This was produced last year by the cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude and it sets out a view of public services run by “other providers”. The usual excuse for this has been made, ie, the supposedly dire financial state of public sector finances. However, this is in our view a smokescreen for an extremist ideology that simply wants to reduce Government and the public sector to absolute minimal levels; leave the poorest members of society with no support and cut taxes for the very richest. It is a view of society that is not only ugly but hugely wasteful and costly. Recent years have seen successive DSA Chief Driving Examiners cowed by political pressure. The driving test has been undermined by superficial ‘customer service’ initiatives such as ‘independent’ driving and relentless but undocumented interference with examiners’ ability to rigorously assess driving competence. As an example of how little value is placed on the professional opinion of the chief driving examiner, the reality is that the post doesn’t even exist any more since the departure of Trevor Wedge Now this consultation asks loaded questions that
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Threat of action: The PCS is growing increasingly militant in the face of what it perceives as a threat to its members’ jobs and road safety standards
“
are designed to elicit the desired responses. So what is the Condem ideology saying about driving tests? Well, first we have to understand that this administration does not seem to see road safety as part of its remit. We say this because they have consistently refused to set national targets for casualty reduction. For decades, successive Governments have set targets and have seen casualties fall. This one has not set targets and has seen casualties increase for the first time in decades. Second, the Condems see our job as just another opportunity for their cronies in big business to make a profit. That is what we are up against. Factor in the ‘dumbing down’ we have mentioned earlier and we predict that casualties will be on an upward trend again this year. In fact, a perfect storm could be brewing. This is because allied to falling standards of VOSA enforcement work, the continuing low standards of bus driver testing by delegated examiners and the potential increase in delegated testing of LGV drivers by the
likes of Tesco, we could see more accidents as a result of poor driving standards by car, bus and truck drivers who exceed their hours and/or are operating defective vehicles. PCS maintains that first, it is absolutely the function of a responsible Government to set road safety standards and targets. Second, it has to be the function of the state to provide impartial testing services, free of commercial influence or interest, in order to deliver road safety. That means civil servants are best placed to provide those services while remaining accountable to ministers. Therefore, please respond directly to the consultation on this basis at www.gov.uk/ government/consultations/motoring-servicesstrategy, or send an email with your thoughts to steve.dftgroup@talktalk.net and I will include your views in our PCS response document. Remember, ‘Don’t Say Anything’ cannot be an option: - it’s our jobs and your future so have your say on DSA, together with its sister organisations.
So what is the Condem ideology saying about driving tests? Well, first we have to understand that this administration does not seem to see road safety as part of its remit. We say this because they have consistently refused to set national targets for casualty reduction. For decades, successive Governments have set targets and have seen casualties fall. This one has not set targets and has seen casualties increase for the first time in decades.
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News feature: LGV training
dsa accused of ignoring the LGV Register
How would car ADIs feel if they had to re-qualify every four years, rather than take a check test? That’s the position LGV instructors are in, and Alan Wilson, an MSA member from Scotland, thinks it is time something was done about ending this unfair practice I first qualified on the Road Transport Industry Training Board (RTITB) register in 1994. At that time this was the only recognised qualification for professional LGV instructors. When the DSA produced a consultation paper in 1997 on how they proposed to set up the register they consulted organisations which had no vested interest in practical LGV training. However, the FTA and RHA proposed that LGV instructors have to re-qualify every four years, stating the reason for this that technology changes very quickly. I personally found this proposal an insult to the integrity of professional instructors. I replied to the consultation paper stating that as professional LGV instructors, we should not be subject to requalification and that a check test by the DSA was a more sensible, practical and acceptable way forward, as is the case with my ADI colleagues. As we now know, this view was totally ignored. Did anyone in the DSA policy branch ever stop to
ask LGV instructors what they thought by writing to them individually? I have campaigned since 1997 against the gross injustice and incompetence in the setting up of this register. At training seminars I have asked various chief driving examiners and DSA registrars, if this is a voluntary register why can’t the DSA make it a check test? The reply has always been, we are looking in to it. The first was back in 2000. I was also told by the DSA that there would be difficulties in introducing a check test due to seating in the cab of a commercial vehicle. Comments like this from the DSA beggar belief as all training vehicles are capable of a two-to-one training ratio. The way LGV instructors have been treated by the DSA is a disgrace. There is no practical reason why LGV instructors cannot be assessed on their ability to give instruction by way of a check test. Professional LGV instructors have supported this voluntary register since 1997. The fact remains that
a number of instructors are not re-qualifying as they see no real benefit in doing so. The cost of requalifying could be in excess of £700, this in itself is unacceptable and cannot continue. On the other hand, instructors working on MoD and public contracts must be on the register of LGV instructors, as the DSA is well aware. Time after time the DSA, when questioned, have promised this register would be compulsory. The DSA has had plenty of time to make good on its promise. We on the voluntary register have waited long enough for proper recognition. If the DSA at the very least introduces a check test then I firmly believe that it will encourage not only existing instructors to reregister but also embrace new entrants.
Truck teaching: LGV instructors should be treated in the same way as their car colleagues
• Alan Wilson is a DSA ADI, Fleet, LGV/PCV SAFED Instructor
Police close eyesight loophole as ‘Cassie’s Law’ comes into effect The Government has toughened up the rules surrounding drivers whose eyesight is deemed deficient in the wake of a road tragedy. The police were officially given enhanced powers to take immediate action against any motorist who fails a roadside eye test from February 7. From that date, any driver stopped by police who is unable to read a licence plate at a distance of 20 metres will now have their
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driving licence taken off them within a matter of hours. Previously, motorists whose eyesight was found to be defective were able to continue driving for several days until their licence was officially revoked by the DVLA by post. However, under the new rules, officers can email their request to have a licence stripped straight to the DVLA from the roadside using a smartphone or other
hand-held device. The DVLA can then email back a formal revocation notice to the nearest police station which can be printed out and delivered to the offending driver that same day. The licence will not be returned until a driver can demonstrate that their eyesight meets the required standards. Ian Gallagher of the FTA was supportive of the change: “This change in legislation makes sense – it’s covering
a gap in what existed.” The rule change has been dubbed ‘Cassie’s Law’ after Cassie McCord, 16, who was killed in February last year by an 87-year-old driver in Colchester, Essex, three days after he refused to surrender his licence despite failing a roadside eye test. The rule change has increased pressure on older motorists to have regular eyesight checks.
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In the spotlight: AA/BSM’s MD, Jim Kirkwood
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Upskilling the industry has to be the new focus Jim Kirkwood, managing director of AA Driving Services, talks to Rob Beswick about juggling two iconic driving schools, trainee licences – and why some ADIs struggle to make a good living
T
o open, a question. Does the driving instruction industry attract the right calibre of applicants to its ranks? It’s a question that’s been debated for some time, with the high drop-off rates among PDIs entering the industry a continuing concern for many. Glib ‘30k and a car’ adverts and a vetting process that appears to think that ‘being a good driver’ is all it takes don’t help. It’s certainly something that worries Jim Kirkwood, managing director of AA Driving Services and the man in charge of two of the UK’s most iconic driver training brands: the AA Driving School and BSM. “In the past, we haven’t always got the right people on the bus,” as he puts it. “Too many people enter the industry with the right intentions but not the right skills to make a success of the job.” But the skills missing aren’t those that will be picked up by the DSA’s check test. “We have a lot of people who come in to driving instruction because they like driving and are good at it, and think they can teach. But the fact that they are now running a small business, and they have to self-market, to sell their services, is something they don’t consider. It’s an area we want to improve at the AA.” Jim joined the AA in 2009, when it bought his then employer, DriveTech. His involvement with that company came after years working with big corporates, including Eastman Kodak, Goldstar – better known today as LG – Barclays and Fujitsu Siemens. “A friend of mine, Chris Howell, had set up DriveTech, originally as a driver training business but one that had really grown into a force in fleet training. When his original partner stepped away from the business Chris asked me to get involved. “That was back in 2004. It was a major change for me but one that I enjoyed.” A sharp contrast to previous roles, but a very successful switch. The business expanded quickly, and in 2009 it was snapped up by the AA, which was looking to expand its portfolio of driving services. Jim moved DriveTech over to the AA, and took over the reins with a remit to grow the business. There was some fortunate timing behind the success, Jim admits. “My arrival in the sector coincided with the concept of corporate social responsibility really taking hold in the UK, closely
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followed by corporate manslaughter legislation which further focused business minds on driver behaviour. “Directors started worrying about the reputational risks to their business if one of their drivers was involved in a crash, or caught drink-driving or speeding.” DriveTech was perfectly placed to take advantage of this concern, and the business tripled in size quite quickly. Jim’s stewardship of this growth was so successful that last year he took over control of The AA Driving School – giving him, as he puts it, two businesses to run: “We have pre-test, with the driving schools, and post-test, with DriveTech, fleet training and other services.” Only it isn’t quite that simple, as the pre-test part is also split. “We brought BSM out of administration early in 2011 to sit alongside the existing AA Driving School. The two are run separately.” Kind-of, as our discussions discovered later. The addition of BSM to the portfolio gives the AA control over the largest body of ADIs in the country – 3,500 according to Jim. It’s well known that the AA paid £1 for BSM – and I couldn’t resist asking if they paid too much for it. “Not at all,” he laughed. “It was a great business, a really great brand, but it had been very badly managed. We saw the potential with the right investment and we have put a lot of money in, freshened up the marketing and played on its strengths. BSM made a profit last year.” But have they got rid of all the dreaded Fiat 500s – the purchase of which, some people have suggested, was instrumental in BSM entering administration in the first place? “Yes, we have. There may be one or two lying around somewhere but I think we’ve sorted out that problem.” AA’s ownership of BSM often takes members of the public by surprise. “I don’t think it is widely known among the general public that we own BSM,” he admits. It is more of a surprise to me that the brand was retained at all – wouldn’t modern business thinking suggest a better tack would be to roll BSM into the AA to create one single, super-sized driving school? That was considered, says Jim, but dismissed. “We looked at every option: running it separately, absorbing into the AA, but from the start we saw the potential in BSM. It is a really well-loved brand. It has an appeal with many people and complements the AA’s own driving school well.” The two schools can co-exist for years to come, he
insists. “BSM has a younger demographic; AA has more of a quality heritage. Both brands are strong and there’s no reason to remove one.” There may come a time in the future when that changes but Jim doesn’t feel it is likely. “BSM brings value to the owners – and it returned a profit. It is still very popular.” There is one big difference between the two schools, however: the use of PDIs. I point out that back in 1990, when AA launched its driving school, a big deal was made of it only using qualified ADIs; there were to be no PDIs on the books, as was the case with its then main rival, BSM. While Jim can’t be held responsible for the AA’s somewhat pious press releases of the time, I wonder if he is entirely comfortable with having one arm using only qualified ADIs while the other retains trainees? “Yes, totally comfortable. I have no problem with the current trainee position. We are open to change and we would be happy to do so. When the DSA consults on the issue of what to do with the trainee position, we’ll be happy to contribute. Our mind is not yet made up but we can see the advantages of PDIs, but we’re happy to phase them out, too.” But does the public know the difference? “BSM customers are told if their ADI is, in fact, a PDI. We make it very clear.” With consultations on-going over what to do with
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the trainee licence system, would AA be talking to the DSA as two separate divisions, or with one voice? “We’ll talk to the DSA as AA Driving Services. However the DSA wishes to proceed, we can accommodate them. “The only thing we’ll insist on is that any changes must be driven by the desire to improve standards. It’s no good just changing for changing’s sake. Let’s improve the quality of tuition and the quality of newcomers to the industry.” The current debate over trainee instructors was begun by the then road safety minister Mike Penning back in 2011, when he promised that the pink badge scheme would be scrapped – and soon. “I met him a few weeks after he made his announcement,” recalls Jim, “and he told me how unhappy he had been when he found out his daughter was taught by a trainee. But as I said, we’re keeping an open mind over the future of PDIs.” I wondered whether his marketing department knew why potential customers gravitated to one school over the other, whether as a pupil or a trainer? “There’s no obvious reason. I don’t think you can say ‘this type of person will favour the AA, that one BSM’. The AA has an advantage through parents. People like the brand, will perhaps be members of our road recovery service and will like our values and service levels, and when their children need driving lessons it will be their automatic choice. “With BSM, much of the marketing is aimed around young people. It’s well known, and that will bring in new business. But for all that the key to being successful is word of mouth. If someone you know learns with an ADI and has a positive experience, that recommendation counts for more than anything else.” The ability of AA and BSM instructors to make a living is helped by the contact centre. “Our people get a lot of new work through the centre. We aim to provide one new pupil, per ADI, every week. They usually come in block bookings, of five-10 lessons, and after that the franchisee needs to keep the business and sell more lessons.” It’s here where Jim thinks the ADI industry often lets itself down. “People come to us for all sorts of reasons – perhaps as a back stop against redundancy, because they have been made redundant. Often they enjoy driving and think they are good at it. But to succeed you need to do more that just be a good driver and have teaching skills. You’ve become a small business and you need to know how to make a success of that. “You need to sell lessons, handle marketing, understand how a business operates. Too many people come into the sector without those crucial skills and struggle.” It’s Jim’s belief that the industry as a whole doesn’t do enough to make this side of the job clear to newcomers. “It’s not just about taking on a new franchisee, banking a cheque and hoping they succeed. If they leave the industry because they can’t make a living out of it that does no-one any favours. The industry needs to be more honest, more up front about what the job entails.” Going forward, Jim is determined to make sure his company better prepares ADIs for the job in hand. Would that
In the spotlight “From the start we saw the potential in BSM. It is a really well-loved brand. It has an appeal with many people and complements the AA’s own driving school well...”
involve turning away a potential franchisee with the right driving and teaching skills but no business sense? “Possibly, yes. I want us to improve our retention levels. It’s good for business. I want the brands to grow. The best way to do that is to have franchise holders with all the skills they need, who can make a good living out of teaching people to drive. For too long the industry has been a conveyor belt, with people jumping on and off. I’m determined to change that and make sure that our offer is one that sets us apart from the rest of the industry.” At present, AA and BSM account for around 3,500 ADIs but the breakdown of who works for which arm of the business isn’t information Jim will share. “We get a small number that switch between the two schools but the main churn is between newly qualified instructors joining us, long standing instructors who are quite happy and those leaving to become independents.” This switching between the two is an example of how closely these ‘separate’ businesses operate. “There are stong links between the two,” says Jim. Interestingly, these links can extend to the
“It’s not just about getting people on the ground. We know how many instructors an area can support...” contact centres favouring one brand over the other. “If we get a call about taking on a franchise with the AA, we do suggest BSM positions are available if it works better,” he says. “We operate a ‘red, amber and green’ coding system for all areas. We know how many of our franchisees any area can cope with, so if one school is coded ‘red’ we may suggest which other areas are available, or to consider the other brand if that were coded ‘green’ and there was availability.” Jim thinks he has a responsibility not to flood the market. “It’s not just about getting people on the ground. We know how many instructors an area can support. It’s in no-one’s interest to put too many
ADIs in the same area.” Interestingly, only two postcodes in the entire country don’t have one or the other. “We looked at them to see if they could be developed but decided they were too rural and sparsely populated.” The geographical spread of the two schools is fairly even but there are patches where one dominates. “AA is strong in London and the South whereas BSM has a greater relative presence in Scotland and the North of England. But there’s no reason
behind it.” So does Jim think his franchisees, whatever the school, are doing well? “Yes, I think many of them are.” ‘30k and a car’ well, I ask, recalling the many adverts that draw members of the public to the industry? That’s not a figure AA quotes, says Jim. “I’ve no hard figures for this but I think most of our franchisees are earning £20-22,000. There are many earning a lot more than that, however. If they’ve got the skills to sell themselves, they’ll earn far more.” To Jim, the USP as to why an ADI should join AA/BSM lies in the potential to earn more in different sectors. “We offer fleet training, speed awareness courses, police training, CPC; there are a number of areas where our people can get involved if they
Continued on page 26 » » »
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In the spotlight: AA/BSM’s MD, Jim Kirkwood « « « Continued from page 25 want to broaden their horizons. These are areas of the business which are expanding and we want our ADIs to get involved. There’s real scope for increasing your earnings.” He accepts, however, that it is challenging to make a good living for some. There is help available but frustratingly, often ADIs who are struggling don’t contact the company and ask for advice. “Often the first we hear about an ADI who isn’t doing very well is when they ring the contact centre and say they want to give up the franchise.” To try to counter this, a new regional structure is being put in place to try to get “our managers closer to the coalface”. “We want to find out earlier if franchisees are struggling and offer our help.” There’s help, too, with check test. “We record all check test grades. We have a lot of Grade 4s. But we want to improve this. We are launching an e-learning programme and the new regional structure will help us identify instructors who need some extra coaching.” Looking to the future, Jim accepts that the industry needs to work harder if ADIs are to continue to make a decent living. “Our pupil numbers are holding up but we know overall they are down. Post-test costs are clearly a factor for young people. You have a number of issues – high insurance premiums and other motoring costs post-test, tuition fees, loss of educational maintenance allowance, they have all driven down demand. “We’ve noticed a demographic switch. Teenagers used to learn to drive as a matter of course when they were 17, 18, but now we’re finding some learning a little older, when they are looking for a job or after they get a job. “That has got us thinking about other ways our franchisees can expand, into vocational training. We offer CPC training, but why not add-on towing training, or specialist training such as fork-lifts?” Could the problem be that there are simply too many ADIs on the register? “If you take it at 46,000, it sounds like there are too many. We think there are around 30,000 working full-time, which is a better figure.” But this brings Jim back to his major concern: making sure the industry can provide a sustainable income for instructors. “We’ve got to make sure our instructors have the right business skills. We’re all teaching the same curriculum, to people who take the same test. “That’s what I call the meat in the sandwich. What we need to do is improve the rest of the package that surrounds it.” Looking to the bigger picture of road safety, Jim is convinced the country as a whole needs to work harder to install the right attitude into drivers. “I sat in on one of our speed awareness courses recently. Most of the people came in
complaining ‘what am I doing here; I was only doing 35 in a 30 zone’. “By the end of the session they’re all saying ‘my lad should be made to sit in on one of these courses’. They’ve really learned something – and these are experienced drivers. “We’ve got to instil a new attitude in people and it has to start earlier. I’d like to see schools and colleges include an L-driver training element when they talk about road safety, perhaps linked to insurance discounts at a later date.” AA/BSM is also keen to increase its own range of training. “A new idea for us is what we’ve christened ‘sunrise and sunset’ – teaching people at both ends of the age spectrum. “I’d like to increase the number of ADIs teaching driving to under 17-year-olds on off-road centres, to establish the right habits.” And Jim is convinced there’s a real need for extra training and guidance for older drivers: “We’ve got more motorists than ever before over the age of 70; we need to offer them our help to keep them on the road. It’s so important to keep older citizens mobile and I think many could carry on driving if they had a little bit of help from a professional trainer.” As to new drivers, some need a little help remembering the lessons they were taught before they passed the L-test. “(AA President) Edmund King has been pressing for a ‘code of practice’ to be introduced, setting out the ‘rules’ for new drivers.” “He proposes that we say to new drivers, you
can drive at night, if it’s for work or you’re being sensible, but if you’re caught messing about, if you are speeding, on the mobile, with a gang of mates in the car, the licence is taken off you.” That all sounds a little voluntary, I point out. “No, it needs backing up with legislative teeth but we’re talking about an extension of the New Drivers’ Act, but with tougher sanctions.” A graduated licence of kinds: it has merit but is
“Post-test costs are clearly a factor (in lower pupil numbers)... you have a number of issues: insurance, and fuel costs, tuition fees, loss of the EMA ...” it hard to implement, as many suggest? “The theory’s great isn’t it, but in practice, application is more difficult. But it’s a necessarys step.” Change is needed, however, and change is coming to the AA Driving School and BSM, too. “The two schools are on a journey,” says Jim. “I’m really optimistic about the future for both schools, working separately and making the most of the potential of the two brands. “We have a lot of plans in the pipeline that hopefully will change the way the schools operate, improve our offer to franchisees and put in place the support they need to make the most of their career. “I think it is a very exciting time.”
Fuel campaigners call for fuel duty cut FairFuel UK has renewed its call for the Chancellor to slash fuel duty, as industry experts predict record high petrol and diesel prices around Easter. A combination of soaring worldwide demand and the deteriorating value of the Pound has forced up wholesale prices, and UK motorists have been warned to expect sharp increases in pump prices in the coming weeks. In addition, the recent downgrading of the UK’s credit rating, which the
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Chancellor had vowed to protect, hints at a future economic downturn that will impact on jobs and prosperity. Against this backdrop, Quentin Willson of FairFuelUK commented: “We are now staring into an economic abyss. There is huge frustration across the country that our politicians cannot see that economic growth will remain a distant dream when most families are spending the greater part of their disposable income just to fill up the family car. Hundreds of
thousands of businesses that rely on vans and trucks are seeing high fuel costs destroy their margins. They cannot invest for jobs and growth. In April 2011, two years ago, the Chancellor took the bold decision to cut fuel duty by 1p. In his words, he said it was to put ‘fuel in the tank of the British economy’. This major loss of the top AAA rating means he needs to cut it again – but this time by a significant amount’. Peter Carroll of FairFuelUK said:
“Surveys show that the number one financial worry that is holding back spending and growth is the price of petrol and diesel. A substantial cut in fuel duty is one of the quickest and easiest ways that the Chancellor can inject money into people’s pockets and lift the pressure on businesses. It’s no longer a case of ‘We can’t afford to cut fuel duty’. Now it’s a case of ‘We can’t afford not to cut fuel duty’ • The MSA is a FairFuelUK supporter.
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Special feature: Focus on electric vehicles Ever wondered if an ADI would gamble on swapping their petrol or diesel tuition car for an electric one? Rob Beswick’s found one – and he’s very happy with his choice
ADI switches on to the electric revolution typical: You wait two years for an ADI to use an electric vehicle for a driving test, then two come along at once... The question of whether electric vehicles were suitable for driving lessons and, ultimately, L-tests is one Newslink asked back in 2011. Then an extensive feature outlined their benefits but concluded two things would hold electrics back for the short-to-medium term as far as the general public were concerned: initial purchase price and limited range. As far as ADIs were concerned, you could add a third negative: automatic only lessons, which could suppress demand from learners. But, we said then, with vehicle range being extended as the billions manufacturers were pouring into battery life research paid off, and prices falling as a result, it was only a matter of time before electric vehicles became a more regular sight on UK roads – and as a natural consequence of that, ADIs would begin using them, too. And we waited. And waited. In truth, the ‘electric explosion’ short-circuited. The deepening worldwide economic downturn was a major factor in suppressing demand, as the dollars stopped flowing into electric research and Government promises of assistance for this fledgling industry ground to a halt. In addition, a major driver of new car sales and an obvious sector to buy electric in large numbers, business fleets, cut back on orders, and the electric vehicle ‘revolution’ effectively stalled. No ADIs took up the new technology. However, backed by some key industry players, in particular Nissan-Renault, the industry struggled on, picking up fans along the way. A Car of the Year award for the Vauxhall Ampera – a satisfying ‘extended range’ electric vehicle that utilises an ultra-efficient diesel power unit to deliver more miles – helped revitalise the concept, and the growing number of hybrids using electric
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motors prove that the logic behind battery power was sound. But pure electric couldn’t get a look-in. However, things may be changing. Sales of all-electrics have risen, albeit slowly. And now, to join the mix, we have our first ADIs, too. Newslink was intrigued to spot RED Driving School proudly proclaiming the news of its first L-test success (see page 30); this news came just days after we received a somewhat quieter announcement, from ASK Driving School and Nissan: ADI switches on to the Nissan Leaf. Paul Tomlin, the ADI in question, is no one-man band. Instead he is co-owner of the Ask Driving School brand. Based in Stoke-on-Trent he has been an instructor for 14 years, after starting his career in London. One of his reasons for buying a Leaf is that with over 200 instructors on the school’s books, Ask had the capacity to buy a Leaf as an experiment. “We wanted to see what an electric vehicle was like, to see if it worked for driving instruction,” he told me, “with the intention of expanding numbers if things went well. The car we have is earmarked for intensive teaching packages.” It would not be an exaggeration to say the experiment has worked – as Paul enthusiastically proclaims. “It’s a fantastic car, and it has really proved suitable as a tuition vehicle. Ignoring the electric side for the moment, it’s a great car to drive. Very easy to use for the pupils, very smooth and it has a really responsive engine. “It is also very stable. The balance is beautiful and makes cornering very smooth. I think the fact that it has the battery centrally located helps, making the central column very strong and distributing the weight more evenly than on traditional cars. “Pupils have been overwhelmingly positive. We had two pupils take their test in a Leaf within a week of getting hold of it and they were impressed
Vanguard: The Nissan Leaf – the car bought by Paul Tomlin. It has already proved popular with pupils and instructors alike
– as were the examiners, interestingly.” No matter how good the car is to drive, however, the unusual nature of its power unit means that on this car its driveability comes secondary to the engine. In the case of the Leaf, it’s the technology, stupid. How does the electric motor cope with life as an ADI’s car? How’s the range? “The range is around 100 miles, which I find okay for a day’s work, or a half day. I have worked it into my daily routine that I spend lunchtime re-charging the car. I have a fast charge point close by, at Holdcroft Nissan in Hanley and I can be fully re-charged from there in 30 minutes. “I also re-charge at home. I have a re-charging point at home and have got used to popping the Leaf on recharge each evening, in exactly the same way that you recharge the mobile phone. I have a 15 amp re-charging post and it takes around four-and-a-half hours to charge up fully.” No range anxiety? “No, not so far. You do find you keep an eye on the range counter, as do the pupils, but you can work that into your lessons as it can be used as part of eco-driving.” More on that later. It hasn’t been totally plain sailing for the switch to an electric vehicle, however. For a start, there was a problem over dual controls. “There were no duals on the market which would fit the Leaf. It is an unusual ask, I suppose, and the demand isn’t there at the moment. However, I approached Nissan about this and they couldn’t have been more helpful. They made me a set to use and they now have the design and the template for future ADIs.” The other big problem is the recharging system itself – and here came a few big surprises. “The biggest frustration is the recharging network. There’s been a lot of work put in on this over the years, and there is an infrastructure of sorts across the country, but it is very haphazard and in many
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ways badly organised. “For a start, it may surprise you to know that it’s not a ‘one-plug-fits-all’ operation as far as recharging goes. You can’t just turn up at a recharging point and assume the cable supplied with your car will fit the charging station.” Hearing that was a genuine shock, and I had a mental flash of Homer Simpson slapping his forehead. How can an infrastructure planned and run from central Government not use the same plugs and cables in every case? Actually, don’t answer that. “I know, I was shocked at first. You get used to it. The Leaf comes with a three-pin plug; some recharging points use a seven-point. I have bought an adaptor to slip on my charging cable if I turn up and it requires a different plug for the recharging point. It caught me out first time I went to Keele Motorway Services to re-charge.” Governments: allegedly, can’t live without them, could do with getting rid of them. Man the barricades.
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Special feature: Electric vehicles Continued from page 29 I did some separate digging and came up with the following explanation, from the Energy Saving Trust (EST), which goes someway to explain what sounds a clearly daft situation: “All the public recharging posts installed since April 2012 are Mode 3 Type 2 sockets. This lead is standard on many models, such as the Renault Kangoo, but optional with a Nissan Leaf. Many of the older points are standard 3-pin plugs, which is the standard cable with the Leaf, Ampera, etc; again, if you were running but you need an optional one for the Kangoo. The answer therefore is that you shouldn’t need more than two, one of which will come with your vehicle and one which is an optional extra. If the car is equipped for rapid charge (eg, Leaf), the rapid chargers have tethered leads so you simply plug into the car. However, there are some legacy issues, with older style connectors still used on examples of the original infrastructure. EST commented: There are a couple of blue ‘commando connectors’ but these are pretty much legacy connectors and you won’t find many publically available. The recent PIP requirement has been for the Type 2 to be used. However, it must be stressed that creating a ‘universal connector’ issue is wider than the UK and there is much work going on in the industry to try to achieve worldwide harmonisation.” So perhaps, while the infrastructure at the moment might sound badly thought out, there is clearly work going on behind the scenes to pull together the various strands into a universal system. There are other challenges with recharging, however. “Holdrcoft Nissan in Crewe has a fast charging point, ” says Paul, “which I can use for the Leaf. Only problem is that it has been positioned in one of the service bays, which means if they have a car being worked on it’s a bit hard to get your car in and plug it in. It’s a pain; you have to ask someone if it’s okay. You don’t do that when you’re filling up with unleaded. You just fill up.” However, you ignore the problems when you consider the benefits. And the principal benefit is the amount of money you save. In Paul’s case, the amount saved is extraordinary. “I have solar panels on my house so I draw the electricity down from that to recharge. It means that much of the electricity I use is free. I’ve had the Leaf for three months and worked out that in that time I’ve covered 4,500 miles, and it has cost me £50 in electricity.” Sometimes you read things and they don’t go in first time, so I’ll repeat that last statement. £50. In three months. For 4,500 miles. Let’s break that down a little. Most modern ADI tuition cars have a fuel tank that holds around 10 gallons. Some a touch bigger, some a touch smaller, but most around that figure. If you are lucky you get 40mpg over lessons. Assuming that to get 40mpg you are running a diesel (and we’ll ignore the particulate filter issue here) you are looking at £1.40-ish a litre at present, or around £6.35 a gallon. So that’s about £63 a fill-up, to do 400 miles. £63 for 400 miles, or £50 for 4,500. Big difference. Paul accepts that not every ADI has access to solar panels, and if you are going to do a realistic comparison at this stage you need to factor in the cost of the panels at home, which isn’t the point of this article. We can, however, look at the industrystandard figures for recharging cost: around £2 per
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Navdeep stands proudly by the Ampera he passed his test in, with his instructor, Anthony Fuller
RED’s green light to e-vehicles Navdeep Singh, 18, has a bit of a claim to fame: he was the first RED Driving School pupil to pass his L-test in an electric vehicle. And it wasn’t just any e-vehicle either: rather, it was the current Car of the Year, the cutting-edge extended-range Vauxhall Ampera. Ian McIntosh, CEO of RED Driving School, “We think it’s important to get young people to experience the latest vehicle technologies. The Ampera is a
leading edge car and reflects the dynamic nature of RED Driving School. As well as being easy to drive, the Ampera offers great efficiency and good all-round performance.” Paul Adler, fleet marketing and motability manager at Vauxhall, was delighted with Navdeep’s success. “We’re delighted that Navdeep has passed his test in the Ampera, and look forward to more driver opting for environmentally friendly vehicles.”
100 miles, or 2p a mile. The diesel car above works out at nearly 16p a mile, a saving of 14p a mile. Do 20,000 miles a year and you are looking at a saving of £3,200 a year. Keep the Leaf for three years and you’ll pocket nearly £10k in fuel savings. Interested? As we talked about charging costs, another Homer moment: some recharging points are free. Okay, let’s do that again. Free fuel. Even a recipient of such, like Paul, agrees that’s nuts. “You can purchase a POD Card, which costs £15, and use it on a lot of recharging posts (but crucially, not all). These are then free.” However, things are changing in this regard. While the cost for most of the public networks averages out at about £100 per year with all electricity included, this is likely to move to pay-per-visit over time, which is a better solution for people travelling across networks. Indeed the POD system is moving that way now. However, in another example of the less-thanjoined up thinking of this fledgling industry, not all recharging points take the POD card Paul uses. “At Stoke-on-Trent’s main shopping centre it doesn’t, for instance, and I had to get the security guard who had the key to unlock the charging bay.” Clearly someone needs to get a grip on the fragmented nature of the charging infrastructure if the electric vehicle concept is going to move into the mainstream. The initial purchase price of electric vehicles was flagged up at the start as a potential problem for many buyers, and I struggle to see too many ADIs shelling out £25,000 to buy a Leaf. However, Paul found a way to lessen the pain of this high initial purchase price. “I received the Government’s £5,000 grant off the purchase price, but the Leaf I bought was an ex-demonstrator, with a few hundred miles on the
clock, so I picked it up for £17,000. “I compared the price with a similar sized car and it is a little pricey but not ridiculously so. More importantly, I started saving money on fuel straight away. If you save £3,000 a year on fuel it soons balances the books.” This isn’t the only financial bonus with the Leaf either. “Residual prices are higher than the average car and servicing costs are far lower.” Why? “No oil or water so those aspects of servicing are eradicated. The engine’s far simpler and there’s no clutch or traditional gearbox, so less to go wrong. The only additional cost is maintaining the battery.” But that is another potential pitfall, I point out, as everyone with a mobile phone or laptop knows a battery starts to lose its ability to hold charge from the moment you take it out of the box. Same problem with the Leaf? “Not quite. The battery is good for 10 years (according to Nissan, after 10 years you should see the battery operating at 70 per cent of its initial capacity) but the key to its life is the individual cells. These can be replaced individually (£400 a time) but once replaced battery life is restored to maximum capacity.” So what else should ADIs look out for that marks the Leaf out of the ordinary? “The heating system is very clever. It doesn’t have the usual heat from the engine to draw on so if you jump in and hit the heat button on the air con it takes a while for it to generate the warmth.” But this is a hi-tech car, so Nissan has thought up a different way to solve the problem. “You can start the air con remotely, via your mobile phone. I sit at the breakfast table and ask the car to start to warm up. It does – and even sends an email to confirm when it has reached the right temperature! You can then jump in and it’s warm and all the windows are defrosted.”
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Big tick for Nissan’s engineers on that one. But how about this for an unexpected consequence of all that technology: frozen headlights! “When it’s cold most people will jump in the car, start the engine and sit there while the windscreen defrosts and the temperature gets to the right level. While that’s happening the engine produces a huge amount of heat, which melts any ice or snow on the headlights. But I quickly realised that doesn’t happen on the Leaf; there’s no engine heat so the ice doesn’t melt. You have to scrape it away!” Nissan engineers obviously missed that one! So has this been a good buy? Certainly has been, says Paul. “To start with, pupils love it. They all took to it straight away.” The ability to really deliver eco-driving lessons is an added bonus. “Let’s face it, for most ADIs eco-driving is something you talk about but can’t prove to the pupil as they don’t have any figures to back up what you are saying. But with the Leaf pupils can see the amount of charge going down as they drive – and up.” Up? “Yes, up. As you brake, the energy produced is funnelled back to recharge the battery so you can watch the amount of power increase as you drive. “It is also really easy to show pupils how heavy accelerating draws power and reduces range. They have all the information they need and it teaches them to use the ‘gas’ more conservatively.” Is the fact that the Leaf is an automatic a problem? “I don’t know if this is impacting on other instructors but I’m finding more people asking for lessons in automatics. I think there are more good models on sale, and they’ve eliminated some of the problems in regard to performance. With congestion being so bad in many cities, I think people are looking more to automatic cars in the future.” Certainly green technology works hand-in-hand with automatics, so it is a growing area. Sales of automatics have risen as more people have moved over to hybrids such as the Prius and Insight, while top-end models now often find auto boxes equally as popular as manual shifts.
Special feature: Electric vehicles
Would he buy another? “Yes. It is a bit easier for us to buy the Leaf as we use it between a number of instructors but if you specialise in auto lessons then it would work. “The cost saving is a major factor. I put £3,500 deposit down and to pay for it every month, including fuel, is only £250. How does that compare with your figures?” The industry clearly needs to do some work, however. “They need to sort the recharging infrastructure out, and to increase the range. I would say 200 miles would be perfect. That way you could embark on a long journey knowing that you can get there without having to stop. “But if the industry keeps on going in the direction it is at the moment, I’m sure that will happen.” There is another subtle benefit, too. “You lose weight,” laughed Paul. “Every ADI I know does the same thing, goes to the petrol station, fills up with fuel and walks past all that chocolate when they go into pay and can’t resist picking up a bar. I know I do. Since I’ve had the Leaf I don’t fill up – with petrol or chocolate. I’m losing the right type of pounds!”
We’re all geared up to charge more e-vehicles (Top picture) Staff at a North East business park are getting ready to welcome e-vehicles after installing a quick charging point. The new charging point is located at the entrance to Wynyard Park on Wynyard Park Avenue in Teesside. The point was installed as part of the North East’s Charge your Car programme, and brings the number of quick charging points in the region up to eight and the number of standard points to over 300. The quick-charging point will charge electric vehicles in under 30 minutes. Matt Johnson, development manager at Wynyard Park, said he was “delighted” with the installation. “This will be of benefit to both site tenants and visitors, while also being a massive boost for our longterm development plans.” Other sites on Teesside with charging points include Teesside University. The full UK charging infrastructure can be viewed at http://www. nextgreencar.com/electric-cars/charging-points.php/. The two maps above show the number of charging points at present (above left), though there is a far greater density of them in central London (above right). By going on to the Next Green Car website you can use a postcode search option to locate your nearest charging station and whether it is a ‘Slow’, ‘Fast’ or ‘Rapid’ charging points.
MSA NEWSLINK : MARCH 2013 : 31
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Comment: Regular Newslink contributor Nigel Harries, former DSA Deputy Chief Driving Examiner, offers his views on privatising the L-test The ‘contracting out’ of Government services, such as the driving test, has been discussed from time to time in the corridors of power. I recall in the early 1990s a feasibility study looking at both the theory and the practical driving test in terms of whether either or both could be privatised. At this time the theoretical test was deemed suitable. Given the objectivity of the theory test the transition to an external provider has, over the years, appeared acceptable to all, including the end user. The Regulator oversees and manages the contract and from my experience the customer now has a far better service than prior to the change, when knowledge was briefly tested at the end of the driving test. Privatising the practical driving test is
Delivery of L-test requires a unique skill – and relies on strong business ethics
“The main issue for me... is the integrity of the assessment...”
far more problematic. Integrity and profit are uncomfortable bed partners when it comes to public service, although in some countries, including in the EU, it appears to work while delivering the practical driving test. The Department for Transport is currently consulting on the delivery of services provided by its agencies such as DSA and DVLA, covering driver and vehicle licensing and testing. In my opinion the main issue for decision makers is the comprehension underpinning the integrity of a practical assessment, within a moving, ever-changing, safety critical environment. It cannot be likened to academic or process-driven assessments. In addition, given the fluctuating volumes (between one and two million practical driving tests a year, depending on the economy) the process also cannot be compared to that of a pilot or a train driver, both of which use a more rigid, controlled and costly system. In my view, practical driving test assessment is a unique skill that takes time to develop and the impartiality of highly trained and accountable examiners (based on a National Safe Driving Standard) is a fundamental requirement to deliver
a fair and consistent driving test. If an organisation from the private sector is able to replicate and deliver these basic requirements, which incidentally are held in very high esteem around the world, they are likely to need an acceptable, ethical business model. Contracting out the practical driving test is perhaps a step too far at this time but I am sure that customer improvements can be achieved through the ‘shared services’ administration process of both licensing and testing. • This article was taken from Nigel’s regular blog. Other recent articles have covered the public’s poor driving skills in winter weather and the DSA’s suggestion that it could change the way vocational tests in automatics are considered in future (reproduced below).
More from Nigel Harries on http://nigelharries. blogspot.co.uk/
Automatic folly? by Nigel Harries I note the latest EU proposal to consult on gear configuration changes for vehicles used in vocational test categories. If agreed, candidates taking a test in an automatic vehicle won’t be restricted to driving automatics when they pass their vocational test if they’ve already passed a test in a manual vehicle such as a car or small van. Apparently the proposals aim for a more flexible approach to testing, taking into account vehicle technology developments, and are part of an amendment to the EU Third Directive. I recognise that in terms of bus operators, the vast majority of vehicles in use do not have manual transmission. As ‘green’ technology develops truck manufacturers are also producing higher volumes of semi / automatic transmission vehicles. However, does this justify a need to amend the current licence category test requirements? Over the years if a driver has passed a test in a manual vehicle, any smaller categories held have been amended if they
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were ‘automatic’ only. To me this seems logical, for example, someone passing a truck test using manually operated gears would possess the necessary skills to adapt them in a smaller vehicle. However, the new proposal would turn this system on its head! In other words if you can drive a city car with gears that means you have the knowledge, skill and understanding to drive a fully laden truck with manual transmission!
Given that environmentally friendly driving is the spirit underpinning Driver CPC, I am yet to be convinced that this new proposal does not cut directly across the aims of Driver CPC. If a new agency ‘automatic transmission’ driver turned up for work at a depot to drive a manual transmission truck would the paying customer be happy to provide ‘vehicle type’ training or perhaps accept potentially higher fuel usage?
“In other words, if you can drive a city car with gears that means you have the knowledge, skill and understanding to drive a fully laden truck with manual transmission...”
Regional view:
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Watch out: there might be a pedestrian scooter about! I’ve just thought if I go to visit somewhere it is no longer natural and it won’t be if you have been there either.
JOHN LOMAS
Editor, North West
Staggered crossings
Tipping
No, not an article about whether we receive or give gratuities, but rather a response to Mike Basset’s item in the January issue about signed vehicles visiting re-cycling centres. In Lancashire, users of vans, even if unsigned, have to obtain a permit in order to use these centres.
Where is ‘Natural England...’
or Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for that matter? I have been following, with interest, the debate about where and when to build the HS2 lines from London to Birmingham (London in the midlands) and then on to Manchester (London plus Essex in the north) and Leeds (Leeds is just Leeds). The arguments used against are similar to those which are always used to try to stop large road projects: noise, NiMBY, SSSIs, AOBs, etc Among the things that the antis keep mentioning are beautiful, natural, unspoilt landscapes. Now I have travelled quite
Contact e: johnstar driving@ hotmail.com t: 01254 705999 m: 07796 091767 a: 7 Devon St, Darwen, Lancs BB3 2JZ
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widely in mainland Britain but I can’t remember seeing any appreciable areas that are devoid of man’s footprints. Anywhere that has field boundaries has been developed by man. Apart from some small areas of Welsh oak woodland and Scottish Scots pine forest (and, of course, they are only small areas because man has harvested timber up to their current bounds), the larger forests and woodlands are deliberate plantations either for timber for various industries, arboretum collections, stately home landscaping or royal hunting forests. Moorlands such as Bodmin and Dartmoor were forested before mankind denuded them of their trees and no doubt that also applies to the other areas of “high country”. Much of that thus exposed high country has since been quarried of stone and minerals for millennia, and today it all seems to be used for grazing by sheep farmers or deer hunting landowners in the Highlands. So please, could you let me know of any appreciable areas of “virgin” landscape (anything less than 25 sq miles is hardly worth reporting) that I can visit and find out what natural Britain looks like.
I am really disappointed when I have a need to perform an emergency stop. To me it is a sign of having missed the clues that something is about to happen or poor anticipation of possibilities. So you can imagine my feelings the other day when, while proceeding through a traffic light controlled T-junction on a dual carriageway, a pavement scooter was driven straight out from the staggered pedestrian refuge on my right. I wouldn’t have believed it possible for anyone to have zigzagged through the refuge without at least checking that the traffic was stopped and the lights were in favour for the pedestrians, etc. The person driving it didn’t even look in my direction while passing in front of me. Fortunately the person behind me was at a sensible distance and was also able to respond. The incident has also prompted me to have a look at these staggered crossings in more detail and something struck me that I hadn’t thought of before. The Highway Code shows a layout which turns people to look towards oncoming traffic in the lane they are about to cross. However, in the case of the junction mentioned above and indeed others along the same road, anybody entering the refuge actually turns their back towards traffic approaching on the carriageway they next want to cross. I have since been more observant of the layouts and have seen that both layouts can be found so there doesn’t appear to be a standard layout for these staggered crossings, whether at junctions or stand alone crossings. I have since found the DfT Design of Pedestrian Crossings manual at http://tinyurl.com/a9afymg 5.2.5 Staggered crossings on two-way roads should have a left-handed stagger so that pedestrians on the central refuge are guided to face the approaching traffic stream. At some crossings a right-handed stagger may be unavoidable. Where this is the case, and there are far-side pedestrian signals, confusion can be caused if the pedestrian signals can be seen simultaneously. Awaiting pedestrians may “see through” a red signal to a green signal at the opposite crossing. Careful alignment and special precautions to limit the field of view may be needed. I can’t immediately see why these instances require a right-hand stagger and it seems to be only the sight lines for the “green man/ red man” confusion that is being considered.
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Are you in a pensions pickle? Rod Came p36
Light switch off raises concern Terry Pearce p38
DVLA’s tax disc bombshell – but watch the date! by John Lomas MSA North West In a shock announcement, just before Easter, the Minister for Transport (Roads) announced that the DVLA would no longer be sending out road fund licences. He issued a press release at the 1st Annual Pancake Race in Llafporio, during a visit to the nearby DVLA at Swansea, on Shrove Tuesday. In an effort to further reduce government spending and in view of the fact that 99.9 per cent of all car tax renewals are now carried out online, the Government has withdrawn the pre-printed road fund licence. This follows on from the withdrawal of pre-printed MoT forms and the intention to stop having pre-printed documents altogether including V5Cs. In future, starting on Easter Monday this year, you will be required to print out your own disc, from the PDF document which will be sent on-line; in order to ensure security the document will only be sent to the registered email address of the vehicle keeper as identified on the V5C. In a gesture to the Classic Car fraternity, and because there has proved to be a lucrative market in reproduction tax discs, those cars first registered before January 1960, which no longer require MoT testing and of course are road tax-free (pre-January 1973), are to be given the option of having a disc design in line with those in use at the date of first registration. This is so owners can have the vehicle as close as possible to original when displaying them at car shows. This option will only be open to those also displaying the correct pattern of White/Silver on Black registration plates with the correct size and period font. Those car owners who don’t possess a colour printer will be able to take their document in digital form to an independent printshop or one of the multiples such as Staples and have it printed there. Alternatively, the DVLA will send a printed disc for a tax disc surcharge of £10 There will be printed circle of dots around the disc and by using a sewing machine (without thread) it will be possible to reproduce the perforations using a size 120 needle European (size 19 American) This correspondent understands that there are also plans on the drawing board to utilise the capability of most printers these days to print on plastic, ie printable DVDs and introduce next year a print-your-own version of the two-part driving licence. A spokesman for the DVLA was unavailable for comment, but the sounds of vocal protest could be heard clearly over the noise of people running away from the discharges from the squadron of overflyng British Landrace.
Stop Press
Further to the article about the car tax, we have just received a picture of this rarely seen porcine aviation phenomenon and it can be clearly seen that this example bears the fuselage number 01042013. It is believed that this was one of the porcine planes seen over South Wales that day. Editor’s note: Years of experience have warned us to watch dates carefully at this time of year where John Lomas is concerned...
Setting new standards Tony Phillips p40
Today’s news can knock the smile off the best of ’em Driverless cars around the corner; horsemeat on the menu; economic woes set to continue – I seem to spend a lot of time nowadays avoiding listening to the news! For sure, there is good news but the media don’t use so much of that. Whether your glass is half-full or half-empty influences how you see the news. I noticed an item recently which showed a Pathe News clip of a ‘horsemeat scandal’ in this country in 1948! When the news headlines appeared recently about a ‘near miss’ from an asteroid and what might happen to our world, I was reminded of stories that were headlines not so many years ago. I can recall the comments by experts, well-qualified ones, as well as many senior political figures around the world talking about the disastrous effects of greenhouse gases on the planet’s environment. Funny isn’t it when, just a few years on, we are seeing various organisations moving functions and staff to centralised locations for economic reasons which increases the travel costs for many. What about the effects on the environment now? It seems that news and politics follows fashions and it isn’t easy to see the positive side of many changes. Those who are at the top of the tree can see the ‘bigger picture’. Some people go a lot further with this and say that the top people are on a different planet to the rest of us. What about those who are at the roots? What should we do about the low numbers of new learners coming forward? Many say they can barely meet the cost of driving lessons. What can we do about it? One notion is that reducing costs will help. I am not arguing against that as it is always a good idea to cut waste and give good value for money. I was at an MSA seminar a few years ago and we used the MSA business tool to look at costs and pricing – it opened my eyes without a doubt. What I realised was that although I had worked hard to be the best I could be as a trainer, my business knowledge was lacking and I needed to update my skills in that area. It’s well worth looking at before making radical changes. It seems that even some individual examiners have concerns about the falling numbers of tests being booked. It is
DAVID JAMES
Editor, South Wales
becoming more common to see a couple of tests taking place and most of the test centre car park spaces empty. Driver trainers are at the start of the journey for most new learners so we have seen the potential for the empty spaces coming for a while. There has been much talk of modernising driver training as well as cleaning up the insurance claims system in order to lower premiums. There are many items under discussion but it seems to be a long time before there are results in place. So what are the prospects? I am still seeing a glass half-full but realistically I do not know more than anyone else how things may develop. All I can do is to carry on the best I can and hope for improvement!
“
I was at an MSA seminar a few years ago and we used the MSA business tool to look at costs and pricing – it opened my eyes without a doubt....”
Contact David James can be contacted via e: d.james869@ btinternet.com or via 07733 070888
MSA NEWSLINK : MARCH 2013 : 35
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Regional News: South East
Worried about your pension... well you should be! Private pensions aren’t all they are cracked up to be... and MSA South East editor Rod Came thinks there is trouble brewing for many ADIs who bought in to the Government’s ‘save for your future’ campaign If only I had known or appreciated what I know now would I have bought a pension? I can only speak from personal experience. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I am not a financial wizard. I am an ADI of 30 years standing. This article represents my opinion – not financial advice. I was a member of the Sussex Police force for 16 years. One of the best financial decisions was to leave my pension contributions with them when I resigned. I established myself in business as an independent ADI in 1981 and took ‘best advice’ at the time, which was to set up a private pension. My monthly contributions were predicted to create a considerable pot of money that would provide me with a comfortable pension for my retirement. Wrong! Every year my personal financial advisor would contact me with the express purpose of inviting me to contribute more each month. Sometimes I did, other times I resisted. Annually I received a return from the pension company showing how many units I had in each fund. I kept working and paying the contributions. After many years the thought of retiring, or at least winding down a bit, came to mind. That’s when reality hit. It was my own fault, I just accepted ‘best advice’ rather than looking into the mechanics of the system. The system is simple. You pay to a pension investment company a set amount of money each month, they invest it for you and eventually you end up with a pension pot with which you purchase an annuity. That will then give you an income for the rest of your life. The carrot is that your pension contributions can be set off against your income tax, which for most ADIs would
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currently be 20 per cent. Unfortunately, life is not that easy. Your pension pot can be severely affected by matters outside of your control. First, that nice personal financial advisor has taken their own advice and does not work for peanuts. They take almost all of your initial monthly payments as commission, your pension pot gains very little. You should become alert to this when they turn up at your house in a shiny new Jaguar. Second, you have to pay an annual fund management fee of about one or two per cent. On a £100K pot that could be £2,000 each and every year taken from it, but as I discovered, they don’t actually do anything to earn their money. There are other things to consider that are totally outside of your control. A Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, who removed tax relief from pension funds thereby relieving future pensioners of £5 billion annually; terrorists in New York knocking down the Twin Towers and sending the global economy into a downward spiral; the impending collapse of the Euro (still with us, it hasn’t gone away, just gone quiet). All these things affect the value of stocks and shares which the money from your pension pot is invested in, and you are the loser. Bear in mind also, that the money you first invested would buy a lot more then than it will 30 years later. Then comes the biggest con of all, you have to buy an annuity. If you buy something it generally has a value and can be disposed of for that value at a later date. You don’t buy an annuity you GIVE YOUR MONEY AWAY! Let me explain. You decide to draw your pension, let’s say you have a £100K pension pot, and many won’t have anywhere near that much. At
its simplest you are allowed to have 25 per cent of that as a tax-free return, the remaining £75,000 you give to a pension provider who currently will generously allow you a return of about £3,750pa or as little as £2,200pa if index-linked. But you will never see your £75,000 again – you gave it away – forever. Is that a super-con or what? Just work out how many years it will take for you to recoup your initial £75,000 at £3,750 a year, not forgetting the interest you would have received on it even at a paltry two or three per cent. Now wonder if you will live that long. Even better for the pension provider if you drop dead the week after you start to take your pension; your estate will lose the whole of your £75,000. How fair is that? There are, of course, variations on the theme such as index-linking and widow provision which will see you lose even more of your hard-earned cash. Have you ever wondered how it is that pension companies have such big glitzy office buildings, and are currently panicking because the likes of you and I are no longer paying into pension funds? Well, there’s your answer. Of course, we cannot fail to provide for our retirement, that would be stupid, so what can we do about it? The advice I have given my children, based on my own experiences, is as follows. Do not take out a private pension scheme, but if you are in an employer pension scheme stick with it unless the rules are changed to your disadvantage. Currently there is only one way of legitimately making tax-free money and that is to buy a house to live in. Then as finances permit buy a bigger house and then an even bigger house until you end up rattling around in a really big house. Hopefully your children will have left home by then, so at that point you can think about down-sizing and realising your assets. The basic premise promoted by the Government is that everybody should contribute to a pension scheme because once you have paid your money in you cannot get it out again and spend it. This ensures that the financial markets in the City continue to function, lubricated by cash from pension funds, and as a side benefit those people who have contributed will have some income over
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Regional News: North East
Examiner in a bad mood makes life tough for everyone PAULA MORRIS Editor, MSA North East
Contact e: camedt@one tel.com t: 01424 883333 or 07930 842833 a: Crown Cottage, Cackle Street, Brede, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6EA
and above the State pension for their retirement. If you are going to use your house as your retirement fund it is vital that you are not enticed into borrowing against it by extending the mortgage for whatever reason. In fact you should do quite the opposite, pay above the monthly repayments to the mortgage provider to reduce the amount owed and reduce the cost of the interest as much as possible. It will pay dividends in the long run. This scheme has the advantage that you are in control of your finances at all times. Any money you make (or lose) is down to your own judgement, subject to fluctuations in property prices. Additionally you will be in control of your pension pot and will not have to give it away in return for an annual pittance. Bear in mind that this is a long-term investment scheme, as is a pension, and will only pay dividends after a long period of time. This system appears to be able to work wherever you live in the UK. It is just that the amount of money you will be able to realise between the value of a large house and small one will vary according to location. So would I have bought a pension? The answer is a resounding ‘NO’. Run this past your personal financial advisor and watch the blood drain from their face. Next month: Do highway engineers cause crashes?
It appears that many places have problems with the test centres these days! I suppose it’s been this way since test centres existed, but I can’t really comment on those years as I’m not that old! But unfortunately, the more ADIs I speak to the more it appears that not all examiners sing from the same song sheet. For example, a little while ago I met up with a colleague of mine who had had three L-tests in one week. The first test came on the Tuesday, we shall call this examiner ‘examiner A’ to save confusion! Examiner A was informed by the ADI that there was a tiny cut in the wall of one of the tyres, but the car had had its MOT the day before and the mechanic had assured the ADI that the damage was purely cosmetic, the integrity of the tyre was not compromised and would not affect the MOT or driving safety. Examiner A was reassured by the ADI and proceeded to carry out the usual checks and take the pupil out on the driving test. When they returned the pupil had passed and all went about their business happy chaps! The day after, the second test was attended, and a similar conversation was held and the examiner B took the test, returning with yet another happy pupil, clutching a pass certificate. Yet two days later, on the Friday, the same instructor with the same car and the same tyres returned to the test centre for the third test, again with Examiner A. There was the very same tiny cut in the wall of the tyre, and the conversation took place again. Yes, it was
purely cosmetic, there was no damage, as he had explained previously to Examiner A and B, but this time examiner A decided to terminate the test because of it. Unfortunately the examiner proceeded to argue about the matter with the ADI in front of the pupil and in an extremely unprofessional manner. Fortunately, a replacement car was able to be used for the test as another ADI had arrived for some check test revision and offered their car as replacement. When the examiner was informed of this, the complaint was offered up that they would have to complete further paperwork as they had already destroyed the first set. As this car now appeared fit to be taken on test the pupil was placed in a very awkward situation, of taking a test in an unfamiliar car. However they agreed to give it a go. The pupil arrived back, successfully passing his test, jubilant and rightly so! The examiner exited the vehicle with no further comment and retreated back to the office. My colleague told the examiner they appreciated the fact that they had taken the test in a different car (he had calmed down by then!) but then was completely ignored by examiner A, who took off back into the test centre without so much as an ‘okay, you’re welcome’ –‘don’t worry about it, it’s my job!’ no, nothing but plain rudeness and ignorance. Now correct me if I’m wrong but does an examiner have to be having a ‘good day’ to be professional and courteous or do we the lowly ADIs have to accept the differing opinions depending on the mood of the examiners on the day?
Keep in touch
I’d love to hear your own views on this, and any other opinions or tales of woe you may have. You can contact me through my email pom72@icloud.com
Reforming DSA and other motoring services agencies: getting to the heart of the matter by ROD CAME According to the email many of us received in February, “The motoring services strategy is seeking views on reforms which will put customers and businesses closer to the hear of the 4 motoring services agencies.” OK, so I know it is a mistake, but what should it really say? Have the DSA added an ‘h’ or left off a
‘t’? Are we talking about getting to the ‘ear’ of the four motoring services (or should that be ‘ears’), or should it have been ‘heart’? Did anybody bother to proofread this before it was emailed, potentially to tens of thousands of ADIs and perhaps others? Is this indicative of how slack the DSA really is? If nothing else it demonstrates that reform is desperately needed.
Driving Standards Agency MSA NEWSLINK : MARCH 2013 : 37
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Regional News: West Midlands
Warwicks’ big light switch off sparks safety concerns TERRY PEARCE
Editor, West Midlands
Warwickshire County Council has started to implement its new policy of switching off street lighting at night. Sunday to Thursday, lights will switch off between midnight and 5:30am. On Friday and Saturday, lights will switch off between 1:00am and 6:30am. They started the programme in Warwick, Leamington Spa and Kenilworth last December and from February they included Nuneaton/ Bedworth and Rugby. The council states that it currently spends approximately £2.2 million on electricity for street lighting. By operating the lights on a part-night basis they anticipate they will save approximately £500,000 as well as reducing carbon emissions by 3,000 tonnes. ‘Sky glow’ or light pollution will also be significantly reduced. Not all street lights are affected by the changes. After consultation with the police, road safety and community safety groups, certain locations have been identified where they will not be operating part-night lighting. These areas include potential hazards on the highway such as roundabouts, traffic signal controlled junctions, central carriageway islands and traffic calming features. It also includes formal pedestrian crossings; areas covered by permanent local authority/police CCTV cameras and areas adjacent to elderly people care homes, sheltered accommodation complexes and A&E departments. It is only when you look at the map showing the street lighting that is switched off you realise how big an area is being plunged nightly into complete darkness. If we ask why we have street lighting the answer must be for the security of pedestrians and motorists, so why should people who for whatever reason go out in a town in the middle of the night
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not have the same security? Following the turn off in the Warwick area there was a road traffic crash and the police had to ask for the lights to be turned on to help in the rescue operation. The police also requested that they stayed on in the snow to help prevent pedestrians and vehicles being involved in accidents. I am lucky living in Coventry because it does not affect me and instead my council are spending lots of money improving the lighting across the city which, in the long run, will actually save light pollution and money by being more efficient. The lighting has improved so much that one letter writer in my local newspaper suggested that the new street lights were being installed to help the city’s motorists see pot holes in the roads more clearly! I asked a couple of Warwickshire driving instructors for their thoughts. Regional chairman Geoff Little said his street was now in total darkness and his neighbours were all worried about possible vandalism. Mike Brown from Rugby told me that his daughter, who lives nearby, has her streetlights cut off at midnight. One Saturday night her car, which was parked on the driveway, had a tyre slashed. About 11 other cars in the same road were similarly attacked; in fact, one car apparently had all four tyres slashed. If street lights had been operating there is chance that the offender could have been apprehended. Mike also went on to highlight the much greater likelihood of punctures being caused by vehicle drivers not being able to spot dangerous objects on the roads so easily. I must say that if I chose to live in a town where I was subjected to this I wouldn’t be very happy. The DVLA is, apparently, getting tough with
Contact e: terrysom@ aol.com t: 02476 335270 a: 20 Brownshill Green Road, Coventry CV6 2DT
Above, regional chairman Geoff Little hands over a token of appreciation to former committee member Peter Jones for all his hard work on behalf of the region
motorists who have out-of-date photographs on their driving licence. To make renewal easier you can use your passport picture as long as it is not more than five years old. Therefore, correct me if I am wrong but if your present picture is, for example, 12 years old, it is an offence. In ten years’ time when it is due for renewal again, if you used your passport picture, it could legally be 15 years old. Sorry, but that’s illogical! I enjoy reading the court lists in my local paper; it’s the best way to find out what some of my previous pupils get up to! Out of my first 200 test passes a number of years ago, four were banned for drink-driving. I am glad to say that they have been better behaved since. What interested me recently was the large number of people being prosecuted for failing to inform the DVLA of a vehicle transfer. Most were fined £200 with £90 costs and £15 victim surcharge; some also had to pay back duty. It’s nice to see the law being enforced; I only wish the list included motorists who use fog lights as a fashion accessory! Finally, Peter Jones, who resigned last year from the MSA regional committee, was invited to our latest committee meeting at Nuneaton to receive a Certificate of Appreciation from Geoff Little, West Midlands Regional Chairman, as a thank you for his work in the past. He was also given a set of champagne flutes and a bottle of champagne from the committee. There’s a photograph of the gift handover above. Thanks, Peter.
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MSA’s ADI guides:
A quartet of good advice THE MSA has four guides to help ADIs in key areas. The MSA Part 2 Guide is designed to assist those studying to take the ADI Part 2 examination by bringing much of the theoretical information together in one place. It is not a substitute for training or for a thorough study of other literature, in particular the DSA manual Driving - The Essential Skills and the Highway Code. It explains the three sections of the ADI Part 2 examination and gives advice on what to do when you arrive at the test centre, including the documentation you need to take with you and the way the safety check questions will be conducted. Advice is given on the Part 2 Test of driving ability. It is explained that this is an advanced driving test and a very high standard of driving competence is required. Candidates must show that they have a thorough knowledge of the principles of good driving and road safety and are able to apply them. The MSA Check Test Guide gives you full details of what is required on your check test. It is written for ADIs by ADIs and will demystify the whole business of the check test and help you to prepare properly. The guide gives details of the list of pre-set lesson plans that are used and advises what happens on the day; the type of pupil to take; the questions your examiner will ask you and the sort of answers s/he is looking for. It also explains the core competencies of fault identification, fault analysis and remedial action. The MSA Driving Test Guide is designed to explain how the driving test works, what examiners are looking for and what the markings on the DL25 marking sheet actually mean. It details the duties of a professional driving instructor who presents pupils for test and goes on to explain the driving test assessment guidelines, and gives full details of the differences between driving faults/serious faults and dangerous faults. The guide goes on to give details of how errors are categorised in order to assist ADIs in interpreting the DL25, the Driving Test Report form. The MSA PDI Guide provides help for those who want to become ADIs. It is not intended to be a substitute for instructor training or for the information contained in the DSA folder “Your Road to Becoming an Approved Driving Instructor” (ADI 14) which the MSA recommends all PDIs read. The guide gives details of all three sections of the ADI examinations and explains the qualification system. It gives help and advice on the test of theoretical knowledge and hazard perception skills and suggests strategies to help candidates to prepare for the test. It also includes a number of helpful tips for preparing for the Part 2 exam. These invaluable tools for all ADIs are available to purchase from MSA head office at a cost of £6 each. Telephone 0161 429 9669 now with a credit card number or send a cheque made payable to the MSA to MSA Head Office, 101 Wellington Road North, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 2LP.
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Regional News: Greater London
TONY PHILLIPS
Editor, Greater London
Well, what a great start to the 2013 seasonal round of seminars for MSA Greater London. The first took place on 20 February at St Alban’s Parish Church, Ilford, East London – and what a very successful event it was, too. Coming in from the cold, the delegates mingled with old colleagues and, very pleasingly, many new ones; in fact, we were joined by some who were only just starting out as PDIs and still studying for their theory test. A bumper turn-out was given a warm welcome by committee members Cheryl Andrews and Peter Turner behind the counter and doing sterling service by handing out very much appreciated hot teas and coffees. Vice-chairman and very dedicated MSA committee member Cos Antoniou opened the evening’s agenda. As most of us probably know, Cos had been chairman for 13 years previously but had to reduce his commitments due to ill-health. However, he was on top form on the night and set the mood for the evening. The first presentation was a bit of an experiment from the MSA Greater London’s editor and secretary – aka, yours truly – as having studied the subject of the presentation as part of an assignment for a training course, I looked at the concept of client-centred learning and how feedback plays a major part in our training sessions. As this was my own presentation it would be churlish of me to say that it was fantastic and brilliant for the delegates. But I enjoyed it any way and there was certainly a great deal of discussion
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London ADIs take the time to reflect on new Standards Check
Contact e: tony@tonys trainees. co.uk Please ensure all emails contain MSA Greater London in the subject box
during the presentation, and indeed afterwards, about how to look at teaching from a different view point, and more importantly, how it could be a lesson seller. Of course, our prime concern from a work point of view has to be road safety and improving the driving standards of our clients. However, it must also be our income stream and although I keep on banging on about it, if we can sell more lessons at higher prices because of our improved standards and training methods, then as far as I’m concerning, that’s something that should be emphasised. Cos was a very helpful stooge during the presentation and I have to say that he looked very dapper as far as I’m concerned, including his tie! (Those present will understand the point I’m making, so to make sure that you understand, be at the next meeting or remain in abject misery due to your ignorance!) There was a time when local SE (ADI)s , now DTAMs, would be present, but regrettably it seems that the DSA is not releasing these cherished individuals for our delectation. Truth be known, it really didn’t make any difference, as our chairman Tom Kwok gave an excellent presentation before the break on the merits of MSA membership. Belonging to a local
group is also of good use to ADIs, however the great difference with belonging to MSA are the various benefits membership gives. From representation at the very highest level within Government to really effective Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance; local and very informative seminars around the country and Newslink, with its great informative and relevant content, useful advertising and really fantastic and brilliant editorials (I had to get that in, didn’t I?); plus the fact that you get all that for an annual membership fee that’s less than a night out at the local curry house for two! Hot stuff! Breaking news was discussed concerning the arrest of a driving test examiner in North London amid allegations of bribery. The news had broken that evening on local news programmes. Various other snippets from DSA were also mentioned during the presentation. The delegates took the break as a great opportunity to network. There were a few business cards changing hands witnessed; there were impromptu group discussions about the presentations and, of course, there were many others simply happy to meet up and chatting. One newcomer said afterwards that it was a really great and positive experience and gave her enthusiasm for the job.
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Speakers’ corner: In action at the Ilford meeting are (top left) Tony Phillips, regional chairman Tom Kwok (left) and former chairman Cos Antoniou (above right)
The last presentation of the evening, you could say top of the bill, was Chairman Tom Kwok, who informed everyone about the new Standards Check, which will take the place of the current Check Test. For those of us that have been at the receiving end of one of Tom’s performances (it can really only be described thus), it was the full-on Tom Kwok. Jokes
and revelations; lots of Chinese wisdom and proverbs (purposely incorrect to make us laugh) but encompassed within the presentation was a great deal of very useful information and food for thought. What went down very well was the fact that a great deal of the new Standards Check will incorporate much of the feedback and pupil-centred
learning approach that I had put across to the delegates before the break. The evening finished well on time at 9pm but there were still groups of stragglers (not wishing to sound rude, of course!) chatting in small groups well towards 10pm. Overall the evening was a resounding success and we look forward to repeating it in south London soon as well as Enfield in north London in the summer. If you are an MSA Greater London member that reads this or was present, please tell everyone that you know that there will be more meetings as good as this coming up soon, and to attend. We need each other during these times as knowledge is the means to earn more and be more successful and MSA Greater London has that knowledge. Looking forward to seeing more of you soon. As every, get in touch if you have any ADI news.
MSA NEWSLINK : MARCH 2013 : 41
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Regional News: East Midlands
DAVE PEPPERDINE Editor, MSA East Midlands
HELLO EVERYBODY. I have recently returned to the post of regional editor after a lengthy break. It seems many years since I was last writing for Newslink and in fact it must be a decade since I held this post. I had a break from driver training and went into a vehicle delivery and collection job which for a car nut like myself was a dream job. As a consequence I’ve driven everything from a base Corsa to a Porsche Cayman, from a Fiat Panda to a Range Rover V8. The job was great but the organisation itself was appalling. It was no big surprise when the firm went down the pan – enough said! While working there I was often cajoled into talking about L-tests and what to do in various driving situations, and had to ride shotgun with some truly dangerous dangers – although I must say there were some good ones, too. The thing was I could never get away from my role as an ADI so when things began to fall apart at the firm I decided to return to what I know and enjoy – teaching driving. On my return to the fold, even in those seven years, things have moved on apace. Although I had kept my ADI licence and managed a grade six on a check test, and I stayed a member of the MSA, I was somewhat behind the times and was, shall we say, rusty. That’s why, on my return to the job, I landed a grade four on my check test. I am now due for the next one!
Industry has moved on a great deal while I took a few years out www.msagb.com
Regional News: North West
Losing control of reasons why drivers crash JOHN LOMAS
Editor, North West
Bl**dy Cyclists
Tony Phillips (Editor, Greater London) had an interesting article in the January Newslink re the BBC’s War on Britain’s Roads programme. While I broadly go along with his assertion that there was not a lot of balance to the programme, the principle spokesperson for cyclists, Gareth, showed himself up very poorly, in my opinion. I could have found many far harsher adjectives to describe him but they would have involved the use of too many ******* and tiptoed into personal abuse, so I will relent on this occasion. Incidentally, swearing at the screen during such a one-sided programme is preferable to letting one’s anger spill over into other areas of your life :)
Does skid pan training work?
I have recently been following a discussion on the internet on the subject of skid pan training. The person who started it had found that:Over at least the past 38 years (ie, since at least 1974), the body of research has grown which indicates that teaching either skid-recovery or evasive-swerve manoeuvres is likely to lead to an increase rather than a decrease in posttraining crashes and deaths – clearly an outrageously unacceptable situation. Research excerpts quoted include: • Advanced training aimed at increasing the vehicle control and handling skills of experienced drivers has not been shown to be effective in crash or violation reduction terms (Christie, 2001, p.23). • [Following] a debate in Sweden, ... the National Society for Road Safety (NTF) took the initiative for a research programme which
was carried out by VTI. This research programme resulted in proposals that a course syllabus should be formulated with the emphasis on risk awareness, anticipation in driving and recognition of the driver’s own limitations, instead of teaching the pupil how to handle the vehicle in critical situations, as in the previous course syllabus (Gregersen et al 1994). • In a road safety context, skid-control and emergency braking are seldom required by drivers in everyday driving... under these circumstances, a driver trained in these skills is highly unlikely to retain them... drivers quickly forget those behaviours which they do not have to use regularly. Malaterre (1989), who tested the competency of experienced drivers immediately after advanced training, concluded there was little point in training these drivers in such skills as they did not retain them (Christie, 2001, p.29). • A word of warning: taking a course in more advanced driving skills such as emergency braking, skid control, [or] collision avoidance maneuvers may create a new risk for you. If the extra skills make you overconfident, that cancels out the advantages of having the skills in the first place. Research has indicated that drivers who take advanced skills courses have a tendency to misuse the skills and actually have a higher crash rate... Advanced skills such as emergency braking and collision avoidance are not a substitute for good risk management. (Drivers.com,2007) • Traditional driver-training programs that aim to improve vehicle-handling skills, including manoeuvring exercises and skid training, have tended to be relatively ineffective in reducing crashes. In fact, the introduction of skid training into driver training programs has been found to increase certain crash types for young drivers. This has been attributed to associated increases in confidence that resulted in greater risk-taking. Rather than focusing on physical skills, insight training focuses on attitudinal-motivational skills. The aim is to raise drivers’ awareness of factors that contribute to crashes and potential risks when driving... Overall [the insight
training] program did not inflate the confidence of the young drivers, as found to be true of other driver-training programs... Overall, the insight-training program resulted in important road safety messages being relayed and adopted in a relatively short time period. Researchers and others involved in the field of road safety should consider the potential benefits of insight training... (Senserrick & Swinburne, 2001) If you wish to see more on this – and there is a lot more research to see (three separate entries in the one thread on Linkedin, running to three times more than I have quoted here), go to LinkedIn via the following tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/abtb33g You will need to be a member of LinkedIn to access the information. Now if we take such results too literally then we would probably not carry out any post-basic training; after all, it could be described as giving pupils an exaggerated impression of their own abilities and that may well be the cause of their higher-than-average crash statistics. But should we not also be wary of the dangers of ‘throwing the baby out with the dishwater’? I remember that, when we used to have the skidpan facility in Blackburn, we made a point of not only demonstrating skid recovery but also skid avoidance, which was done in a safe environment by recognising the signs that signal skid likelihood and the driving faults which actually cause the skid. If someone is NEVER shown these things then they are surely just as likely to get into trouble as someone who is overconfident because of such knowledge. I would be supportive of the ‘Insight training’ which focuses on attitudinal-motivational skills but not to the exclusion of advanced types of practical skill training. The particular group is designated as a worldwide group of driver trainers but what is not made clear in the thread I have been following is where all the research emanated from. Indeed, the originator was from the USA and responses have come from USA, Australia, Ireland and the UK. I suppose the question has to be asked: Have those of us who have given any form of advanced/ enhanced driver skills training actually unwittingly contributed to the crash statistics?
On the skid: “When we used to have the skidpan facility in Blackburn, we made a point of not only demonstrating skid recovery but also skid avoidance, which was done in a safe environment...”
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Anyway, to more interesting topics. There has been a lot of correspondence about shared space in Newslink over the past few months, some positive, some negative. Personally I am for it but quite rightly there is a solid argument against it and it would be very interesting to hear more on both sides. I tend to agree with regular Letters page contributor Stanley MacWhirter and Stephen Hayley, who have both said that relying on rules too much paralyses proper thinking and judgement, but by the same token too little in the way of rules could lead to a
Skid row: John Lomas’s article from February’s Newslink
free-for-all. Of course, there are also places where shared spaces would not work. In my humble opinion the only two stumbling blocks to it working perfectly are the people who just will not adapt or have not got the intelligence to think for themselves. Another very interesting topic in February’s Newslink was the article on skid pan training by John Lomas. I think I may have been one of the
contributors to the LinkedIn forum that John referred to who had ‘put a spanner in the works’ regarding skid control. If I am correct the correspondent John was talking about lives ‘over the pond’ and will never see a different point of view than his, as his is based on evidence and nothing else. I’ve talked with many people about this subject: clients, friends and anyone else that I get the chance to. They all agree that learning what happens when a vehicle loses grip could result in over confidence but, and it is a very big but, while it is surely safer to teach someone how NOT to get into a skid, I know that if I was a passenger in a car that is just going into a skid, I would feel safer if the driver had experienced it before, knew what was happening and could take measures to reduce the consequences rather than just sitting there as the side starts to go sideways. It goes without saying that simply teaching people HOW to skid just on its own is not clever. You see, some folk, including our friend from across the pond, live in a world where there are no grey areas and nobody, if driving correctly, will ever get into a skid. Now, I’m sorry but I keep hearing that the perfect driver does not exist. I go along with that so even the greatest driver in the world could get into an unforeseen skid. Yes, we can all reduce the risk to a minimum but...! Well, it is good to be stirring it again and I hope that you will also respond in the usual way. Don’t ignore it, write in, have your say. Opinions do matter so let’s hear yours.
MSA East Midlands meeting by Derek Brutnell Chairman, MSA East Midlands
Event details:
Date: Wednesday, 17 April Venue: Luffield Citroen, Loughborough Time: from 1930 Cost: FREE - but you must register to attend
Guest speakers to include representatives from Leicestershire CC Road Safety Dept, Network Rail, the MSA and Colin Martin, Instructor Apps 42 : MARCH 2013 : MSA NEWSLINK
I promised to update members on details of meetings MSA East Midlands has planned for the coming months. First, some changes. The January committee meeting saw a new face joining us: Andy Coward from Lincoln. Andrew has agreed to look for a venue in or around his home city to host a meeting some time in May. There will be more information on this in the next issue. We have also had another not-so-new face join us, David Pepperdine. Some members will recall David’s previous stint as our regional editor, a role he fulfilled for several years. He must have done it well because he was the first recipient of the Denis Phillips Trophy back in 2002 as the Newslink Editor of the Year. David still remains the last person from the region to have won this trophy and I am pleased he will be making contributions to this page in future. Finally, news about our NEXT meeting. It will be on Wednesday, 17 April, when we will
hold our first garage meeting for some time at Luffield Citroen, Belton Road, Loughborough, LE11 1LR starting at 7.30pm. Speakers for the evening include: • James Gibson from Leicestershire County Council Road Safety Department • Martin Brown from Network Rail • Colin Martin from Instructor apps Tea/coffee and buffet will be provided by our hosts at Luffield, and members of the dealership’s staff will be on hand to offer information on what is proving to be a popular vehicle choice for ADIs, the Citroen DS3. This will be a meeting not to be missed so come along and hear the latest industry news. This will be the first meeting after the closing date on the Government’s consultation on the possible privatisation of driving tests! Did I mention there is the chance to win the use of a DS3 for a weekend? And as to the price, well, it’s free. However, to attend you must register either through the MSA website or call me on 01509 216102. I hope to see lots of you there.
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Hi-tech motoring
Bosch offers a hi-tech answer to those traffic jam blues
Traffic jam assistant moves dawn of auto cars one step nearer The public is increasingly expecting future vehicles to be fully autonomous, according to Bosch – and is quite happy with that prospect. With systems such as adaptive cruise control, predictive emergency braking and steering assistance commonly available, Bosch believes the fully autonomous car will move a step nearer when its latest option is rolled out: traffic jam assistant. When activated, this system will brake, accelerate, and steer vehicles autonomously at speeds between 0 and 30 miles per hour. “The traffic jam assistant helps drivers arrive more relaxed at their destination, even in dense traffic,” said Gerhard Steiger,
president of the Bosch Chassis Systems Control division. The first generation of the traffic jam assistant is expected to enter series production in 2014. In the following years, the feature will be enhanced to cover ever-faster speeds and more complex driving situations. Eventually, the traffic jam assistant will make fully autonomous driving a reality.” The new system builds on existing technology. Adaptive cruise control already uses front-mounted sensors to keep a safe distance from the preceding vehicle in front, with lane departure warning using lane-detection cameras to keep vehicles on course.
Added to collision avoidance systems that automatically apply the brakes, it is easy to see why traffic jam assistant can be rolled out so soon. For fully autonomous driving, the next step would be automatic lane changing, which would require firstly a rear-mounted sensor to detect vehicles approaching from behind and secondly a dynamic navigation system to keep drivers informed of traffic situations and local speed restrictions. “Fully autonomous driving will come about one step at a time,” Steiger says. At first, driving on highways with an ever greater degree of automation and at ever higher speeds will be possible, until the highway pilot can take over the entire trip.
“Two major challenges remain: first, inner-city driving, since automated vehicle functions have to deal with dense traffic involving a large number of road users traveling in every direction; and second, developing a concept to ensure that the system’s functions operate reliably in all types of driving situation. Last year, Bosch surveyed UK motorists about their attitudes towards autonomous driving, finding that nearly one in three would already consider buying a vehicle that could be driven autonomously. More than a quarter of drivers – and more than half of young drivers – said they would enjoy an autonomous car as much as driving themselves.
Concern as car identified as next ‘digital playground’ ADIS who struggle to get the message across to young drivers that using a mobile phone while driving is both illegal and dangerous may have even tougher battles ahead, after technology experts identified the car as the next ‘obvious’ area into which digital connectivity could be expanded. Billions of research dollars are being invested by car manufacturers who hope that the technology regularly found on smartphones could change the way we use our cars. What this means is app-culture infiltrating the dashboard – from a parking space finder to a way to get coupons for local restaurants, or directions that can pop up on the windscreen. The systems rely on the car being connected to the internet, allowing all this information to arrive without too much searching or button pushing and a lot more focus on voice commands. The connected car is already the third fastest growing
technological device after phones and tablets, Intel believes, with Ford claiming that its lead in car connectivity is helping it clinch more sales. A spokesman said: “Over 50 per cent of consumers would be swayed by the presence of an internet-capable device in their car.” The internet could be used for many simple - and practical - things. There are already apps that can show local petrol stations and their prices, allowing drivers to save a few pence a litre when filling up a car. However, the new technology would focus on giving drivers information they might not want but would help them. For example, when stopped at a traffic light, the system could let drivers know how long until it changes. Or local shops could use the systems to announce sales or discounts on goods to drivers as they pass outside the shop. The question for road safety experts, however, is whether this deluge of useful – and sometimes useless – information will result in more crashes. Around a quarter of all traffic crashes in the US are
already caused by mobile phone use in some way, according to the National Safety Council. “The danger is safety,” John Ellis, global technologist for connected services and solutions at Ford, admitted. “You could get caught up in your experience and forget that you’re driving. Better, faster, cheaper is what consumers want – but with safety.” Clearly, this is the fear of many road safety experts. There are already enough distractions for drivers, with modern telephony, even if used hands-free, Sat Nav systems taking drivers’ eyes off the road, and outside the car, increasing use of interactive advertising billboards that can draw attention away from the main task, of driving safely. The fear is that if a driver is suddenly informed that such-and-such a shop is having a sale, and prices are discounted, the driver isn’t going to instinctively snap his or her head round to look, causing a potential danger. Or perhaps someone will invent an App for that?
MSA NEWSLINK : MARCH 2013 : 43
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Motoring news
AlloyGators pass first time with ADI Mike
AlloyGator, a patented alloy wheel protection system, can really help driving instructors protect their alloy wheels against curb damage - a major occupational hazard! Made of super tough nylon giving superior protection in all conditions, AlloyGator will extend the life of alloy wheels, saving time and money on expensive repairs, and gives driving school vehicles unrivalled protection against scuffs, scratches and other wheel damage. Designed in partnership with industry professionals, the AlloyGator protection system sits between the alloy wheel and the tyre, not only protecting the alloy wheel but also enhancing its appearance. The system is available in nine colours, silver that can make the rims and wheels look larger, black for discreet protection or red, blue, yellow, pink, green and white to add style. Mike Crawford, an ADI in Kent,
says: “Damaged rims are just a regular hazard of the job. I had AlloyGator’s fitted to my new Citroen DS3 on Monday, January 21 – and suffered my first kerb attack on Tuesday, 22 January! On checking the wheel I found a graze out of the Alloygator but absolutely no damage to my alloy wheel itself. To say I am pleased is an understatement.” Curt Rathbone of AlloyGator commented: “Even the most conscientious learner driver can fall foul of the many hazards that cause alloy damage and for ADIs this can prove costly. Traditionally, driving schools would have to invest in alloy wheel repairs and replacements to fix this problem, but by fitting AlloyGators to their alloy wheels they can prevent this issue from arising in the first place, saving time and most importantly money.” Curt continued: “On the road, AlloyGator’s stand up well to abuse and provided excellent
protection for alloys – and when scuffed, you can restore the finish with a specially supplied tool!” With an SRP of £95.95 that includes a set of five AlloyGators and fitting by an approved AlloyGator fitter, the AlloyGator patented alloy wheel protection system provides a costeffective solution that can save on alloy wheel repairs and replacements.
Yellow AlloyGators on a Mini... and pictured in close-up (above)
Want to know more
For more details or to find an approved AlloyGator fitter visit www.alloygator.co.uk or call 08450 707078. To see AlloyGators in action visit http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=-ITp2f0nNis
Fresh warning from HPI as one-in-three cars hide secret history HPI has issued a fresh warning over carrying out thorough checks before parting with your hard-earned cash to buy second-hand cars, particularly from private buyers. The company claims that an incredible one-in-three cars checked through its HPI system are found to have a hidden history. Nicola Johnson of HPI explains: “You could face some very real bad luck if you buy a second-hand car
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masquerading as a bargain. However, by taking a few simple precautions, you can avoid being conned out of your hard-earned cash by unscrupulous sellers out to make a fast profit.” There are a number of things a buyer could do to make sure their purchase is legitimate, says Nicola. “Always view vehicles in daylight, at the seller’s address, so you can match it with the address on the V5 registration document.
“In addition, check that all the documents match up, including service records, the V5/logbook and the MOT certificates. Check the V5 issue date and serial number and compare them with the results of an HPI Check to avoid the risk of forged documents. “Finally, if the car is low mileage, watch out that it has not been clocked; look for excessive wear on the steering wheel, gear stick, seats, and foot pedals, which could indicate an older
vehicle than the mileage suggests.” Another tip is beware of false car keys. Separate keys for the driver’s door and boot could indicate prior damage or theft. The HPI Check will verify whether a vehicle is currently recorded as stolen, has finance owing on it, is an insurance write-off or has had a number plate change. HPI also provides a financial guarantee,offering added protection to used car buyers.
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Motoring news
Driving campaign rewarded for delivering real results A regional campaign to help make Devon and Cornwall’s roads safer has been hailed as the country’s top public sector campaign by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Local Public Services Group. The Honest Truth joins up several public bodies with driving schools, providing ADIs across Devon and Cornwall with free teaching resources to help teach youngsters safer driving habits. The project has also been taken on by the Fire Service in Hertfordshire. At the national CIPR Local Public Services Conference in February the project was named ‘Campaign of the Year’ following its effectiveness in encouraging young drivers to develop better habits such as always wearing their seatbelts, not using mobile phones in the car, and lowering their speed. The project also won an award for its teaching Resource Booklet, which was named ‘Best Publication, Leaflet or Flyer’, while the partnership approach was recognised with Highly Commended status in the ‘Partnership Excellence’ category. In its judging summary the CIPR LPS Group said: “This campaign is an excellent example of how much can be achieved at relatively low cost by bringing together professional expertise through partnership working.” The event followed a string of successes for the campaign which in October 2012 won five awards at the CIPR’s regional ceremony and in December was Commended by the Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Awards. The plaudits follow thorough evaluation of the campaign, much of which was conducted in partnership with the University of Plymouth. The results since the project’s inception in 2009 and major rebranding in 2012 include: • Over 550 ADIs signed-up to date in Devon and Cornwall • A 73 per cent usage rate reported by member instructors • Over 80 per cent approval from young drivers and parents for campaign resources,
Members of the campaign team with CIPR representatives at the awards dinner: Sarah Pinch, CIPR; Sgt Olly Tayler, Honest Truth Partnership; Chantel Hobley, Teignbridge District Council; Rob Carlson, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service; Phil Martin, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service; Jane Wilson, CIPR; front row, Jenny Connor, Peppers School of Motoring; Tim Borrett, East Devon District Council; Becca Gordon, South Devon and Dartmoor Community Safety Partnership
with many commenting how the resources helped them driver safer • Young drivers exposed to the campaign are over three times more likely to know about key risk factors, their consequences, the Pass Plus scheme and Black Box insurance scheme. Nearly 80 per cent of students exposed to The Honest Truth knew these versus 21 per cent for those not exposed. • Of eight behaviour changes suggested by the campaign; such as not speeding or not using a mobile while driving; 70 per cent of young drivers exposed to the campaign would change their behaviour, while only 25 per cent of those not exposed would. • A 95 per cent approval rating for the rebranding and teaching resources amongst focus groups of young drivers and instructors. The Chair of The Honest Truth Partnership Board, Sgt. Olly Tayler from Devon and Cornwall Police said: “The results of the project are way above what we ever dreamed of, and it’s only getting bigger. In 20 years of roads policing I’ve never been part of a campaign like it, and it’s a great example of public services working together with the private sector for the greater good. “All this has been achieved with around £3,500 being spent on research, design, print and evaluation. Set that against this is the cost of a major collision – £1.5M in reacting, cleaning up, investigating and, where appropriate, prosecuting. If we stop just one
crash from happening then this has all been worth it, not only from a financial point of view but more importantly an emotional one. I’ve seen families destroyed by car accidents, and through The Honest Truth we’re making a proven difference to many young drivers’ behaviours.” With The Honest Truth already bought by Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, the team behind it are eyeing further expansion. Members of the Board are meeting with three more counties soon, as well as national organisations which might want to become involved in supporting the campaign. The Board hopes that this approach will help the project expand while becoming either self-funding or privately sponsored, making it even better value for local taxpayers. To find out more about The Honest Truth, visit www.thehonesttruth.co.uk. ADIs in Devon and Cornwall who wish to sign up for free can do so online or by calling 01626 215894. • The Honest Truth Partnership includes Devon and Cornwall Police, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, Devon County Council, Teignbridge District Council, East Devon District Council, Peppers School of Motoring and Community Safety Partnerships from around Devon and Cornwall. The DSA supported the scheme by carrying supplies of leaflets in its driving test centres.
Country counting cost of pothole epidemic The current ‘pothole epidemic’ blighting the UK’s roads is not only causing added financial burden for drivers and councils, but it is also in danger of leading to a rise in the number of tyre-related road casualties. The stark warning has been issued by TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation and comes after the consumer watchdog Which? found that councils in England and Wales paid out £22.8m in compensation to drivers for pothole-related damage in 2012. “Hitting a pothole can cause a
number of tyre and wheel problems which can have a serious impact on road safety,” explains Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. “Visible damage such as buckled wheels or lumps in the tyre are the most obvious signs of a problem which must be addressed by a qualified professional. However, hidden problems such as cracked alloys can be just as dangerous.” Indeed, such is the scale of the pothole problem that one TyreSafe member reported that more than 100 customers with
damaged alloy wheels visited one of its outlets in just the last month alone. Furthermore, following the recent ‘perfect storm’ conditions for the formation of potholes, many road experts are now predicting months of motoring misery ahead. “If drivers do hit a pothole, it’s important that they check their tyre pressures regularly over the next few days to see if there is any gradual loss of pressure,” adds Jackson. “Hairline fractures in the alloy wheel can lead to air
escaping and low pressure can have devastating consequences.” Other pothole-related damage that drivers are being advised to look out for include cuts, lumps or bulges in the tyre as well as any changes to the vehicle’s feel or handling which can be a sign of misalignment. “If you are in any doubt about the condition of your wheels and tyres, we’d advise popping along to your nearest tyre retailer so they can give them a thorough inspection and make sure they’re safe to use,” concluded Jackson.
Don’t argue with me! A SURVEY by GEM Motoring Assist has revealed in-car arguments between drivers and passengers – and highlighted how they can lead to crashes. 74 per cent admitted that their partner critiques their driving while they are in the car together, and the criticism and comments often lead to heated discussions and debates. What’s more, almost the same number admitted that such disagreements and difficult conversations in the car make them feel more stressed and tense while driving, and they become distracted.
New C3 with low CO2
Citroën will be using Geneva Motor Show to take the wraps of its new C3. The model has sold over three million units since its launch in 2002, and the new version will gain more efficient engines, with CO2 as low as 87g/km, more style cues with panoramic Zenith windscreen and more personality with assertive styling, a revitalised front end and new tail lights.
A-Class Car of the Year
The Mercedes A-Class has been named as the ‘AM New Car of the Year’. Tim Rose, managing editor of AM, commented: “The new A-Class has the style, dynamism and technology that’s required to punch its weight. It’s an all-round performer and just the product that MB dealers need to entice new customers into their showrooms.”
Car output grows According to the SMMT, UK car manufacturing grew modestly in January, up just 1.2% on the same period in 2012. Output is typically subdued in January as manufacturers extend holiday periods to upgrade plants and re-tool for new models.
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Motoring
Vauxhall offer sparks new life into e-vehicles Vauxhall has looked to boost take-up of its award-winning Ampera electric hybrid by offering customers free installation of a home charging unit. In February the Government announced funding for owners of electric vehicles (EVs) where it will cover 75 per cent of costs for home charging unit installations up to a maximum of £1,000 including VAT. Vauxhall will now meet the remaining 25 per cent on the same basis for new retail customers taking up the offer. The Government’s £37 million package of benefits also includes additional measures for local authorities to install on-street charging posts and rapid chargers. Train operators can also claim for charge point installations at railway stations for EV commuters. “We fully support the Government’s announcement and are very happy to meet the remaining home charging installation costs for Ampera customers,” said Ian Allen, Vauxhall’s environmental strategy manager and chairman of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ Electric Vehicle Committee. “Vauxhall welcomes a nationwide plan as it means all Ampera drivers will have the cost of their home charging solution covered, not just those who live in certain geographical areas.” The Government’s announcement is great news for Vauxhall and its revolutionary Ampera. Arriving in UK showrooms last year, Ampera has a real-world battery range of between 25-50 miles, after which a small range-extender motor intervenes to provide up to an additional 300-plus
“We are very happy to meet the remaining home charging installation costs for Ampera buyers”
mile range. At all times, the Ampera’s wheels are electrically driven, setting it apart from conventional hybrid vehicles. Ampera pricing starts at £29,995 on-the-road (including £5,000 government grant) for the Earth model. The car is available through a network of 24 specialist Vauxhall dealers and is covered by the manufacturer’s industry-leading Lifetime Warranty. Pioneering customers are also given further peace of mind thanks to the Love It or Return It
campaign available on Ampera whereby if purchasers find that within the first 30 days/1500 miles of ownership Ampera isn’t right for them after all, they can return it to Vauxhall. The revolutionary vehicle is also offered on the three-day test drive programme through which company car drivers can test a Vauxhall for three days, without paying a penny more than the electricity and/or the fuel used.
• ADIs and e-vehicles: See pg 28
‘Intuitive’ 208 gears up for a bumper spring for sales Peugeot dealerships are gearing up to selling the latest models in its popular 208 range The 208, launched in the summer last year, is a ‘Top Ten’ performer with over 28,000 orders received since launch in the UK and some 300,000 already produced. With a stylish design, low CO2, great performance and outstanding economy, there is the imminent prospect of luxurious and performance models coming soon in the form of the new 208 XY and the eagerly awaited 208 GTi. The latest 208 model is the 208 Intuitive which comes with Park Assist system as standard to take the hassle out of parking. With the press of a button, it can measure and guide the driver into a parking space, taking control of the steering to accomplish a perfect manoeuvre, alerting
46 : MARCH 2013 : MSA NEWSLINK
the driver to any likely incidents too. Peugeot’s director of marketing, Morgan Lecoupeur said: “Bearing in mind the 208 Intuitive can park itself, comes with Satellite Navigation and a glass panoramic roof, it is luxury at a great price. The Park
Assist system provides easy parking, less chance of a bump and is good fun to use too.” The 208 Intuitive is now in UK showrooms, with a choice of three engine variants – a 1.2-litre VTi 82 petrol, a
1.4-litre HDi 70 and 1.6-litre e-HDi 92 diesel – with prices starting at £14,245 for a 3-door VTi. While the ’13-plate registrations will be the first identity on the 208 XY and GTi, which will be available to order from the March 1 and available in showrooms from the April 18, March is also the busiest time of the year for new car registrations. Consumers can also benefit from Peugeot’s unique and highly popular ‘Just Add Fuel®’ offer which has recently been extended to include 21-year-old drivers. Just Add Fuel® provides three-years’ servicing, roadside assistance, warranty, road tax and insurance all for one monthly fixed payment and fixed over three years. It is now possible to get a brand new Peugeot 208 1.0-litre VTi Access from just £159 a month under Just Add Fuel®.
www.partnersprogramme.co.uk
LOGIN: DRIVING
DRIVING SCHOOL PARTNERS BENEFIT PLUS
Finance
Finance*
Choose your deposit, choose your term* PLUS Lifetime warranty.†
Take advantage of our latest offers, with Vauxhall Associate Partners you don’t just get your exclusive discount, you also get our unique Flexible Finance. Flexible Finance calculations below include Associate Partners discount and additional customer saving.
Corsa Active 1.0i 12v ecoFLEX 3dr
£139
per month 60 month term Customer Deposit ^
£2585
Mokka Exclusiv 1.6i 16v VVT (115PS) FWD Start/Stop
£199
per month 60 month term Customer Deposit
£5256
Offers end 2nd April 2013 so to find out more about our great Partners Programme offers, simply visit partnersprogramme.co.uk and use the login: DRIVING. Call the Partners helpline on 0844 875 2448 or visit your nearest Vauxhall retailer.
WARRANTY 100,000 MILE
Models shown for illustrative purposes only and may be fi tted with options available at extra cost. *Available on selected models only, at participating Retailers, exclusions apply. Refer to www.vauxhall.co.uk/offers or contact your local Vauxhall Retailer for details. 24-60 month term, excluding ADAM models (24-48 month term). Finance subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. Applicants must be 18 or over. Guarantee/Indemnity may be required. Finance supplied by either Vauxhall Motor Finance RH1 1SR or Vauxhall Finance, PO Box 6666, Cardiff, CF15 7YT. Offer will apply to private individuals, Vauxhall Partners and small businesses 1-24 (purchase only excluding B2B supported units). All other customers are excluded. Offer available on orders or registrations before 2 April 2013. ^Customer deposit shown after Vauxhall contribution. †Vauxhall Lifetime Warranty covers lifetime ownership of fi rst registered keeper, 100,000 mile limit. Terms and conditions apply. Offers available to private individuals, Vauxhall Partners and small businesses 1-24 (purchase only excluding B2B supported units). All other customers are excluded. Available at participating Retailers only. Vauxhall Partners includes all employees and pensioners of nominated companies and their nominated eligible Vauxhall relatives. Vauxhall Partners process/savings include Vauxhall Partners discount savings and additional customer savings (incl. VAT) where applicable, number plates, delivery, Vehicle Excise Duty and a fi rst registration fee. Excludes fuel and insurance. We reserve the right to change or withdraw any aspect of the Vauxhall Partners Programme without prior notice. Correct at time of going to press 18/12/12.
Official Government Test Environmental Data. Fuel consumption figures mpg (litres/100km) and CO 2 emissions (g/km). Vauxhall range (excl. Ampera): Urban: 14.4 (19.6) - 76.3 (3.7), Extra-urban: 27.4 (10.3) - 91.1 (3.1), Combined: 20.6 (13.7) - 85.6 (3.3). CO 2 emissions: 324 - 88g/km.