MSA Newslink March 2014
MOTOR SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION
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Issue 261
The ADI’s Voice
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Conference 2014
From the start of our conference... to the first Standards Check... there’s just over two weeks... 15 : 23 : 30 : 00 MSA Conference is your last chance to find out about the DVSA’s new check on your instruction before it is introduced. Hear our special focus on the new Standards Check and the latest news on the L-test from Lesley Young, Chief Driving Examiner
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Key changes:
n New design contains a number
of security features, including new holographs to deter counterfeiters and raised surface pattern to make copying difficult n But there’s concern over lack of information on endorsements as paper counterpart nears its end
ADIs urged to keep an eye on the new licence
A
DIs need to keep an eye out for a new-look driving licence after the DVLA took the wraps off the latest version in February. The new card, provided by Gemalto (UK), has a refreshed design and incorporates a host of improved security features including a new holograph, raised surface pattern and an Optical Variable Ink (OVI) which its designers hope will continue to keep the driving licence secure and help in the fight against fraud. Holders of valid driving licences don’t
need to replace their current driving licence as the old driving licence format is still valid. Old licences will be updated gradually as they are renewed and replaced. MSA general manager John Lepine wondered how long that process would take. “According to the regulations, it’s feasible that the current licence will be around for a decade yet – but no longer, as every photocard licence needs to be renewed every 10 years. “However, as we know (Newslink passim) there are around two million
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New-style: The licences feature a number of innovative security features to prevent fraud
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drivers still using out-of-date photocard licences, so it will be interesting to see how far in the future ADIs will come across the old style.” The DVLA has urged ADIs, and other groups who have to check driving licences, to make sure they are aware of what the new licence looks like and the changes that have been introduced in the new version so they can make proper checks. However, the arrival of new full and provisional driving licences comes as the motoring world is becoming increasingly concerned over a lack of detail on the scrapping of the paper counterpart of the licence, which carries details of any endorsements the holder has received. According to the DVLA, the paper counterpart will be abolished in 2014-15, with the latest date for paper to be issued now just over 12 months off – April 5, 2015. However, while it was announced early last year that a new database would be set up to allow those who had a legitimate reason to check on someone’s licence status to do so, no firm date has been given for its launch. Continued on page 8
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Contents 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 Production editor: Rob Beswick t: 0161 426 7957 e: rob@chambermediaservices.co.uk beswick@cssystems.net Advertising contacts: Joanne Cantwell t: 0161 432 9717 e: joanne.cantwell@hotmail.com Colin Regan t: 01925 468403 e: colinregan001@yahoo.co.uk Newslink is published monthly on behalf of the MSA and distributed to MSA members throughout Great Britain by Chamber Media Services, 4 West Park Road, Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 3JX Views expressed in Newslink are not necessarily those of the MSA. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material contained within this publication, neither the MSA nor the publishers can accept any responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributors in either advertising or editorial content. ©2014 The Motor Schools Association of Great Britain Ltd. Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden without express permission of the editor. The paper for this magazine has been sourced from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources. See www.pefc.org
This issue: BBC on bus lane signage case
The BBC has launched an investigation into the fines generated by bus lanes after a number of complaints over poor and misleading signage
News, page 5
Here’s what we think The MSA responds to Transport Select Committee’s request for evidence over the work of the DVSA and its predecessor, the DSA
News, page 6
Could ADIs cope with Wilshaw?
Ever wondered why teachers tremble at the thought of Ofsted? Fancy its inspectors taking over the new Standards Check? One ADI wouldn’t mind the challenge
ADIs’ Viewpoint, page 12
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Standards Check: Latest news as April deadline looms Are you ready? This issue has more information on the new Standards Check - plus details of the conference where you’ll find out even more - page 20
Towards your CPD
MSA AGM
Let’s get to work
MSA Annual General Meeting, 22 March, 2013
It might sound like something a labourer would use when visiting a site, but setting up a Scheme of Work is important for successful lesson planning, says Steve Garrod page 22
Bikeability gives you a new angle on safety
Mike Yeomans dons his cycle helmet to see what life’s like on the road when you are a cyclist page 28
FORMAL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the seventy-ninth Annual General Meeting of the Motor Schools Association of Great Britain Limited will be held at Holiday Inn Bristol – Filton, Filton Road, Bristol, BS16 1QX on Saturday, 22 March 2013. The meeting will commence at 12.30 pm. John Lepine MBE, Company Secretary
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MSA membership benefits
The MSA: here to
you
Your priority is your pupils, training them to be the safest drivers they can possibly be...
...but at the same time you’ve got to keep an eye on the business, making sure the new pupils are rolling in and you’re prepared to grasp new opportunities when they come along... And for many ADIs, even franchisees, you’re doing this mostly on your own, without anyone to support you.
That’s where the MSA comes in. Our team is committed to being your support service, providing you with all the information, practical advice and training opportunities you need to stay at the top of the ADI profession.
We’re the MSA and we’re committed to supporting you Whether you need help with CPD, support in a problem with the DSA, the peace of mind that the MSA’s professional indemnity insurance gives you, or you just want to take advantage of our great money-saving offers through our many partners, then the MSA is there for you. Think of us as your own support service...
And all for around 17p a day!
Membership benefits: All the news you need... keeping you informed through our industryleading monthly membership magazine Newslink, our website and regular membership contact through emails, texts and our many social media outlets.
Professional support... Who do you turn to if you’ve got a problem with the DVSA? Your boss - but you’re a one-man band... your trades union... but you’re not in a union... that’s where the MSA comes in, to advise and support you
Representing your views... The MSA represents driver training at the highest levels of Government, with regular meetings with key officials at the DSA and other agencies, including the DVLA, the DfT and local government bodies
Professional indemnity insurance... £5m cover for your business... and £10m third party liability cover give you peace of mind should a pupil or member of the public take legal action against you as an ADI through your job.
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News
Mum and daughter’s pride after double L-test success A mum and daughter from Stockport in Cheshire achieved a notable feat when they recorded first time passes in their driving tests on the same day, at the same test centre – and with the help of the same ADI. Mum Shirley and daughter Natalie have been learning to drive with John Smith, a Bill Plant ADI from Handforth. The pair had passed their theory tests in the same week in October and once it was felt they were at test standard, John booked their tests for the earliest date possible. The DVSA test centre based at Cheadle Hulme Fire Station – as featured in Newslink as one of the agency’s new ad hoc DTCs – was available, and they received the same day, January 14. Mum went first, with a test at 10:19, and she was delighted when the examiner said she had made only six faults and had passed. But to avoid putting pressure on Natalie, who was at college at the time, she kept ‘mum’ about her success until after her daughter had taken her own test later in the afternoon.
Bad weather hits Ore DTC work The bad winter weather has forced the DVSA to postpone the re-opening of the Ore test centre for LGVs. The test centre has been closed since the start of the year for work on its manoeuvring areas but it had been planned to re-open the centre on February 25. However, the storms and heavy rain of January and February have forced the end of the work to be put back, and it now will not re-open until ‘early March’. In a statement the DVSA apologised for any inconvenience but hoped instructors would appreciate that the recent atrocious weather had seriously affected its contractors’ ability to keep work on schedule.
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She need not have worried, as Natalie’s test was a success, too – though mum has slight bragging rights, as Natalie picked up seven faults during her drive. ADI John was delighted for the pair: “For both a mother and daughter to pass first time isn’t necessarily unusual but on the same day, at the same test centre, is a very rare event and I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t unique. “Both Natalie and Shirley were a pleasure to teach. They were not what would be called ‘natural drivers’ when they first started out but the important thing was that they perservered, praticsed hard and listened to what I said. They are now both confident behind the wheel and they’ve both turned out to be very good and safe drivers.” n Do you have any unusual stories concerning your pupils - or their tests? Newslink is always keen to hear the lighter side of the instructor’s world email the Editor at mail@msagb.co.uk
Shirley and Natalie proudly display their pass certificates
DVSA adds B+E trailer option to its motorcycle test centres THE DVSA has announced plans to introduce car and trailer testing to test centres with motorcycle manoeuvring areas. Motorcycle instructors may have noticed already that an additional rectangular area has been marked out on some motorcycle manoeuvring areas. The new markings are so the agency can conduct car and trailer testing (B+E) at the same sites as the bikes. The DVSA commented: “We have made this change to ensure we make the most efficient use possible of our test
centre estate. However, before we made this change we made sure any revisions were safe and would not impact on motorcycle testing. “The manoeuvring areas are safe for use by multiple testing categories. This includes designing the reversing area so it doesn’t interfere with any of the highspeed manoeuvres. “Although non-slip paint has been used and slow manoeuvring is safe when crossing the painted areas, we advise that the wide yellow stopping box area is not used for any manoeuvres.”
The DVSA was at pains to stress that before any motorcycle testing activity takes place the area is checked by the motorcycle examiner for damage and spillages. It has asked all users of its centres to do the same – “it’s important you do the same if you are using the area for training”, a spokesman said. The DVSA added: “These tests will offer better utilisation of our motorcycle manoeuvring areas and should not affect the number of motorcycle test bookings at these centres.”
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News
BBC picks up campaign over bus lane signage Where Newslink goes, the BBC follows... after our West Midlands editor Terry Pearce used his column in this publication to report concerns over the signage used to mark bus lanes in his region, the BBC has picked up the cudgels to investigate complaints against local councils on the same issue. BBC Radio 5 Live’s popular Adrian Goldberg Investigates programme looked at the issue at the start of February, and found many people who claimed they had been fined as a result of confusion caused by poorly or incorrectly marked bus lanes. What was more worrying, it appears that some of the lanes complained about had been previously labelled as misleading by an independent adjudicator. The BBC continued the story on its website. It claimed that councils are making millions of pounds from drivers straying into bus lanes. Last year, 984,000 people in England and Scotland were issued with penalty charge notices, worth an estimated £76 million. However, some councils are continuing to issue tickets on stretches of road where drivers have previously successfully lodged appeals over inadequate or misleading signs. It has been found that fewer than one per cent of drivers fined appeal against the notices, but reports suggest that 50% of those who do are successful. When fines are appealed, an independent adjudicator will look at them on a case-by-case basis and its ruling is binding. However, its decision does not set a legal precedent and a council does not have to do anything apart from waive the penalty charge notice. What this means in effect is that the local authorities know
that their signage is incorrect but are under no compunction to change it and can continue to issue penalty notices despite other motorists successfully appealing against them. The AA told the BBC that this was “ludicrous” to carry on collecting fines “without remedying the problem”. Birmingham City Council’s attitude was a particular concern: it has issued over 80,000 fines worth an estimated £4.8m after installing 10 cameras to police bus lanes in the city last September. Yet an independent adjudicator has ruled in favour of a number of motorists who say that the fines are unfair as the signage used is inadequate. While the council stood by its signage, even some of its own councillors are doubtful of its legitimacy. Councillor Tim Evans, a member of Birmingham City Council’s transport scrutiny committee, said: “Common sense tells you this is not right; issuing 80,000 tickets is not right.” Hammersmith and Fulham Council was another to be heavily criticised by the BBC, after it was revealed that a single bus lane in Shepherd’s Bush had generated over £1 million in fines – despite the lane being criticised by the adjudicator. Councils in Medway in Kent and Camden and Harrow in London have also refused to make changes after adjudicators found their signage around bus lanes to be confusing. MSA general manager John Lepine commented: “This story is a salutory warning: take great care around bus lanes and if you are issued with a penalty notice, check the signage carefully to make sure it is legal, clear and fair. The number of times the adjudicator overturns fines clearly suggests there is a problem.”
Cheetham Hill DTC to close in summer for refurbishment The DVSA has announced that refurbishment work at the Cheetham Hill Driving Test Centre will result in the centre being closed between Thursday, 29 May and Tuesday, 8 July. Tests will be reallocated to local alternative centres instead. Pupils who require a driving test between these dates will be allocated a test at one of three other local sites: Failsworth, Middleton or Salford Fire Station. The full addresses of the three alternative sites are: • Failsworth Driving Test Centre, 2 Partington Street, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9RD; • Salford (Fire Station) Driving Test Centre, Liverpool Street, Salford M5 4LE; and • Middleton Driving Test Centre, Greengate, Middleton Greater Manchester M24 1RU. In the case of the latter two centres test availability will increase from two to five days a week to satisfy what is anticipated to be greater demand. Pupils will get the address details of their chosen centre in their booking confirmation. DSA is sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 05
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News
Inbrief Fleet concerns over licences
The trade association that represents fleet managers is becoming concerned at the lack of a timetable for the introduction of online driver licence validation. ACFO says it is receiving inquiries from fleet decision-makers requiring clarification on when online checks will be available in the wake of Government plans to abolish the paper counterpart of the driving licence in 2014/15 - by April 5, 2015 at the latest. It says that the DVLA has “no currently agreed timescales” for when public and private sector bodies will be able to access the new database. That comes despite ACFO being told at a meeting with the DVLA last July that the paper counterpart of the driving licence highlighting driver category exemptions and licence points was expected to be abolished from January 1, 2015.
Drivers admit to bad eating habits
Drivers are being urged to stop eating at the wheel after a survey by road safety charity Brake and Direct Line revealed that 62 per cent have eaten at the wheel in the past year. Three in ten (29 per cent) unwrapped food themselves at the wheel. Studies suggest that eating at the wheel increases your risk of a crash as much as talking on a phone. The survey, of more than 1,000 people, also found that one in 50 has narrowly avoided a crash in the past year, having had to brake or swerve to avoid a hazard because they were distracted by food or drink.
Safety in speed The Association of British Drivers has urged the UK Government to respond positively to a speed limit experiment in Denmark during which it is claimed traffic casualties fell while the speed limit was raised. Stretches of two-way rural roads had their limit raised from 80 to 90 km/h, and according to ABD crashes decreased due to a reduction in the speed differential between the slowest and fastest cars, which reduced the need for overtaking.
Too much action... but sometimes not enough MSA offers MPs a critique of DSA’s performance The MSA has criticised the DSA’s recent past record of failing to convince Government to act on its own road safety policy statements in an otherwise positive report to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on the agency’s work. In addition, while the MSA acknowledged to MPs that overall the DSA had provided a good service to ADIs and the general public, there are growing concerns that the current drive towards ‘digital by default’ services is leaving non-digital ADIs behind. On the other side of the digital debate, however, the MSA criticised the agency for taking so long to introduce an online booking service for Check Tests (Standards Checks). The submission, requested by Select Committee chair Louise Ellison at the start of the year, has now been delivered and will be used as part of an overall review into the effectiveness of all the Department for Transport’s motoring agencies. The MSA states that while our members have been generally satisfied with the work of the DSA, at least some of the blame for the inertia which has gripped the driver testing and training industry over the past 18 months must be laid at its door. “We believe that overall, the DSA and its officers did a good job and we’re sure this will continue now it is a new agency, as the DVSA,” said MSA general manager John Lepine. “Most of the key systems work well and it is noticeable that complaints about L-tests and Check Tests are low. “Waiting times are acceptable in most places and predictable, which is often a more important consideration, and it is hard to find fault with the employees – when you get to talk to them, that is. “One of our biggest complaints is that the agency has become a flagship for the Government’s ‘digital by default’ programme, and increasingly we are concerned that there are driving instructors being left behind if they don’t want to access services online.
Over to you: It will be interesting to see if Transport Select Committee chair Louise Ellman will act over our comments “A non-digital option must always be available for all services but increasingly we are hearing members say that they cannot find a paper alternative to online. “Ironically, we think the agency has not done enough to provide a digital system of booking and particularly re-booking check tests: the current system is archaic and anachronistic and is in desperate need of updating. “It will waste DVSA resources and those of ADIs. It also creates unnecessary stress for driver trainers attempting to rearrange their check tests. DVSA should now move quickly to provide an online booking service for ADI Standards Checks. “Our other chief criticism of the DSA’s performance in the past is not a direct one, but it is that the agency appears to have no clout within the corridors of power. “Perhaps it is seen as isolated in Nottingham and its views aren’t heard in
London, but the lack of action over key issues – the end of the trainee licence, learners on motorways, the fabled Green Paper on new drivers, all initially promoted by Government ministers – continues to rankle. Here we have positive, powerful and popular reforms which would improve road safety, tuition standards and cut casualties among new drivers, yet no action has been taken. One has to ask why the agency which controls driver testing and training cannot carry these necessary reforms or convince ministers to act.” Our submission also points out that progress has been painfully slow in establishing a compulsory register of the trainers of ADIs. Despite setting up the first voluntary register back in 1990, and then merging the voluntary registers to form ORDIT in 1998, there has been no progress on a compulsory register – despite the DSA chief executive at the time stating: “Joining the two directories together will mean we are able to move towards a compulsory register much more quickly.” We point out to the Select Committee that this wasn’t a single boast either: it was backed up in 2005 when the then ADI Registrar, speaking about the 2006 Road Safety Act, said “Compulsory ORDIT is the first thing we want to do when the Road Safety Bill is passed.” ORDIT remains a voluntary register despite many hours of talks, the use of a large amount of resources from both the agency and the trainers and an Act of Parliament which sets out a legislative framework for a statutory register. It is hoped that our submission will provide the MPs with the ammunition they need to urge the dvsa to make progress on these vital issues. If the agency is not happy with being blamed in this way, perhaps they could suggest where ADIs and the MPs should target their fire? • The MSA thanks those members who contacted us to suggest issues we may wish to cover in our submission.
Smart idea gives driver protection after crash The question of whether to install in-car cameras to protect ADIs in the event of an insurance claim is one Newslink has discussed extensively in recent issues, with their merits being hailed by many who use them. One Glasgow driver is very grateful he took the decision to install one after his car was badly damaged in a collision. John Brown, a former IT business analyst, had fitted a SmartWitness video camera system to his VW Tiguana – and it came in very handy when a Skoda Fabia driven by a Russian national drove into him. It meant his £5,000 damages claim against the other party could be settled easily. Even when police arrived at the scene they insisted that the video evidence be used to establish blame. Mr Brown told Fleet News: “Obviously I knew that I had done
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nothing wrong but it was good to view the footage later and see that I had been driving responsibly, within the speed limit and could be seen clearly going through a green light.” “The other driver hit me at between 20mph and 25mph. It was a quite a big impact because my VW was shunted around by 90-degrees.” The other driver was fully insured and co-operative. Brown said that he was relieved he had invested in the SmartWitness camera. He said: “The footage caught on the camera was excellent. The images were clear and showed exactly who was to blame.” “Ironically, accident cameras are very popular in Russia where the other driver was from. I can see them becoming increasingly popular here, too, after my experience.”
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News
DVSA to investigate proposed L-driver reality TV show THE DVSA has promised to investigate claims that TV producers are preparing a new reality show in which celebrities teach members of the public how to drive. The agency promised to pass details on to its fraud department after the MSA contacted it to voice our concerns over media reports on the new show, tentatively called Driving With the Stars. According to reports in The Sun on February 24, the new show is to filmed during spring and early summer, to be shown on TV over summer. Stars rumoured to be lined up to appear include comedian and recent Celebrity Big Brother winner Jim Davidson, former Coronation Street actress julie Hesmondhalgh, who played recently deceased Hayley Cropper and Amy Childs, already a reality TV star after her appearances in The Only Way is Essex. However, the MSA believes the show’s producers will be guilty of breaking the Road Traffic Act 1988, which stipulates that only registered ADIs can receive “money or monies worth” for teaching
learners how to drive. While the likes of Davidson and Childs will clearly not wrap up each lesson by asking for a £25 tuition fee, their appearance on the show would generate payment and this would clearly be linked to giving driving tuition. We asked the DVSA: “If we assume the celebrities will receive a fee for appearing on a show in which their principal task is to teach driving to members of the public, that would surely be in contravention of the Road Traffic Act Part V 1988 covering paid instruction. They might not be receiving ‘money’ directly for their tuition but they would be receiving compensation for their time doing so (covered by the Act’s use of the phrase ‘monies worth’). To say they are not receiving a fee for instruction has to
be viewed as little short of sleight of hand to avoid falling foul of the law.” The DVSA agreed: “The law states that anyone who receives a reward for giving driving instruction needs to be an approved driving instructor. “It is our view that this applies regardless of whether a person receives a fee for the instruction itself, or as compensation for their time.” The DVSA expressed the hope that the story has come from a production company that is at the stage of pitching the idea. As reality TV shows were ‘invented’ by Driving School in 1997, starring Maureen (Mo) Rees, it would be somewhat ironic if Driving with the Stars were to be commissioned and could be said to have brought this TV genre full circle.
Who wants to be an ADI?
Comedian Jim Davidson with fellow Big Brother housemate Dappy at the end of the reality TV show. Jim, who has served a driving ban after failing a breath test, is rumoured to be one of the famous ‘ADIs’ being lined up by the TV show.
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 07
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News
Check out the new licences New UK Driving Licence: key information you need to know The new card licences: n began to be issued from Feb 2014 n are fully compliant with the European Union 3rd Directive. Holders of valid cards: n do not need to replace their current card. n receive the new-style card upon renewal of their current card or if they need to replace their current card for any reason.
Driving Licence Card - front of card
Holographic feature This feature contains a steering wheel, road and speedometer, in which the needle appears to move when the card is held along the short edges and tilted back and forth. Raised lettering Surname, category entitlement and date in the bottom left-hand corner of the photo contains raised lettering. This can be felt when a finger is run across the card and can be seen when viewed at an angle. Raised surface pattern Raised tactile pattern and text positioned horizontally across the centre of the card and EU flag. It can be felt when a finger is run across the card and can be seen when viewed at an angle. Optical Variable Ink (OVI) Feature The wheel image illustrated on the right-hand side of the card is produced with colour changing ink. The achieved effect is that the ink changes from green to gold when tilted on either axis.
Driving Licence Card - back of card
Changing images Within the egg-shaped lens in the lower left corner of the card, two different images will be seen when viewed at different angles. The images are of the card holder changing to the month and year of card expiry (e.g. MAR18).
The new driving licence from the back
Continued from page 1
The concern for ADIs is that currently, if they do need to check a driving licence and there is no paper counterpart available, the only way to check a driver’s status is to call the DVLA’s very expensive driver entitlement checking service. Once the paper counterpart is scrapped, this could become a major battleground for ADIs if they are not allowed access to an online database free of charge. The DVLA checking service (0906 139 3837) costs 51p a minute. This allows you to check licence validity dates, the categories of vehicle that the driver can drive, if there are any current endorsements on the licence or if the driver is disqualified. The driver must give their permission for the enquiry. They can do this by calling 0300 790 6801 before you call, or they can be with you when you call DVLA. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm. The MSA suggests that if you need to make this call because a client has not provided a counterpart, you make the call on their phone. Raised surface pattern Raised tactile pattern positioned horizontally across the centre of the card. Unique number (bottom right hand corner) This number is a 10-digit alphanumeric character set and is unique to every card. Raised Lettering The number identifier for each field will be raised. This can be felt when a finger is run across the card and can be seen when viewed at an angle.
New UK Provisional Driving Licence information
The provisional cards operate under the same rules as the full counterparts. Holders of old-style licence cards do not need to replace their current card and will receive the new-style card upon renewal of their current card or if they need to replace their current licence for any reason.
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However, as provisional licences tend to be exchanged for a full licence within a couple of years, it is thought old-style licence will cease to be around in large numbers by 2016.
Provisional Driving Licence Card front of card
Holographic feature This feature contains a steering wheel, road and speedometer, in which the needle appears to move when the card is held along the short edges and tilted back and forth. Raised lettering Surname, category entitlement and date in the bottom left hand corner of the photo will contain raised lettering. This can be felt when a finger is run across the card and can be seen when viewed at an angle
Raised surface pattern Raised tactile pattern and text positioned horizontally across the centre of the card and EU flag. It can be felt when a finger is run across the card and can be seen when viewed at an angle. Optical Variable Ink (OVI) Feature The wheel image illustrated on the right-hand side of the card is produced with colour changing ink. The achieved effect is that the ink changes from green to gold when tilted on either axis.
Provisional Driving Licence Card back of card
Changing images Within the egg-shaped lens in the lower left corner of the card, two different images will be seen when viewed at different angles. The images are of the card holder changing to the month and year of card expiry (e.g. MAR18). Raised surface pattern Raised tactile pattern positioned horizontally across the centre of the card. Unique number (bottom right hand corner) This number is a 10-digit alphanumeric character set and is unique to every card. Raised Lettering The number identifier for each field will be raised. This can be felt when a finger is run across the card and can be seen when viewed at an angle.
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News
Hammond in cost cut for motorists as more DVLA services go online Roads Minister Stephen Hammond has announced a number of minor changes to Department for Transport services, taking more services online and making further changes to reduce notoring-related business costs. He claimed that over £54 million-worth of savings would result from two initiatives which will help professional drivers and freight operators: • development of a guide for professional drivers to clarify drivers’ hours and working time rules • the frequency with which digital drivers’ hours records must be downloaded from tachographs will be relaxed – helping drivers on long international journeys Changes made to transport rules since the Red Tape Challenge was launched in
2011 are already saving business over £70 million a year and private motorists over £100 million a year, the minister said during the announcement. In addition, drivers will now be able to access more DVLA services online. The changes, set to be implemented following a wide-ranging review, will also mean services are tailored more towards drivers’ individual needs. Roads Minister Stephen Hammond said: “The DVLA already provides an excellent service for customers, as the review acknowledges, but we want to ensure this continues to improve. “These changes will mean drivers will find it easier to access more services online rather than filling out paper forms or spending valuable time on the phone.
“The review found that not every customer has the same needs and the changes will reflect this - for example, by providing simpler bulk transactions for key customers such as the motor trade, fleet operators and hire companies.” On the recommendation of the review, following the changes to online services the DVLA will also become a centre of digital excellence which will provide training and guidance for other Government departments. More details on the review and Ministerial response can be found at https:// www.gov.uk/government/speeches/ a-reviewof-the-driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency--2, and see www.gov.uk/government/news/ launch-of-review-into-dvla-to-deliver-betterservices
Good sports in Bradford stand in for DTC Between Monday, 19 May and Friday 20 June, driving tests usually taken from the Bradford Heaton test centre will take place from an alternative location in Bradford. This is to allow refurbishment works to take place at Bradford Heaton. If your pupils need to book a driving test
between 19 May and 20 June, they should continue to book it at Bradford Heaton and the following new address will appear on their appointment notification: Manningham Mills Sports Association, Scotchman Road, Bradford BD9 5AT When you arrive you and your candidate
MSA Approved
should park in an available parking bay and report to reception to be directed to DSA’s waiting room. Driving tests are due to re-start from Bradford Heaton test centre from Tuesday 24 June. DVSA has apologised for any inconvenience this may cause.
DRIVING SCHOO
Inbrief Google drops unofficial ads Google has agreed to remove unofficial Congestion Charge payment adverts after talks with Transport from London. About 1,000 people per day have been paying up to £8 extra for additional services which either do not exist or are being provided for free. Some of these unofficial sites have also accepted payments from customers when the Congestion Charge has not been in operation. TfL advises people to use its official site to pay to avoid being duped.
Be quiet in the back, please
Children in the car are the number one distraction for drivers, according to the latest survey of 1,500 drivers by IAM and Vision Critical. Twentynine per cent of drivers admit that their children are their biggest distraction while driving.
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Comment
‘As long as I’ve got my suit and tie...’ JOHN LEPINE MBE General Manager, MSA
On the very day that this month’s contribution to our ADI’S Viewpoint column landed in the office (see page 12), I read an article in the Daily Telegraph by its education editor Graeme Paton, titled Ofsted launches new clampdown on scruffy teachers. The story appeared in a number of other daily papers. It seems that Ofsted wants a focus on teachers’ clothes. According to the report “education inspectors are to launch a clampdown on scruffy teachers amid fears adults may be setting a bad example to pupils by wearing casual clothes in lessons.” Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector, has previously emphasised the importance of teachers adopting “business-like” attire. He wants ties, shirts and suits for men and smart skirts or dresses for women, with jeans and T-shirts being frowned upon. A spokesman said it was “not being prescriptive about what teachers should and should not wear”, but added: “We are clear that teachers must conduct themselves and be dressed in a manner which befits their professional status.” Some schools already set their own uniform policies for staff – as do some driving schools. St Ignatius College in Enfield says that men must wear a shirt, tie, trousers and smart shoes. Females should wear smart dresses or separate blouses and skirts no shorter than “just above knee length”. It also says “extreme hairstyles” are banned, visible tattoos are discouraged, jewellery should be discreet and piercing should be restricted to the ears, although single nose studs may be worn for religious reasons. Further rules ban denim. North Leamington School in Warwickshire says its staff should adopt “smart professional work wear”: no jeans, shorts or leggings. Flip flops, excessively high-heeled shoes and Ugg-style boots are banned. Trainers can only be worn by PE teachers. Similarly the AA Driving School Instructor Code of Conduct states. “You must be dressed appropriately. Denim, tracksuits, tee-shirts and trainers are not permissible.” I take the view that all professional driver trainers should look in a full-length mirror every morning and ask themselves the question: ‘Is this the image I want to portray of myself as a professional person to my pupils, their parents and the wider public?’ If the answer is yes, great; if no – get changed. I would be interested to hear readers’ opinions on this. This year’s MSA National Conference looks like being one of the best attended yet, with ADIs heading towards the Western region for some interesting, informative and educational talk about teaching driving. Hopefully there will also be some fun and laughter, new friends to be made and old ones to become reacquainted with. With the new Standards Check dominating conversations between ADIs this promises to be an interesting event. At the time of writing there are a small number of tickets still available. Be there – be informed – be up to date. I look forward to seeing you in Bristol.
10 n MARCH 2014 n 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
Young drivers - trust Government or ADIs Dear Sir, Rob Beswick (Newslink, issue 259, January) draws attention to the powerlessness of Government and how life not only goes on but thrives without it; he tells us how Belgium easily managed 589 days without a proper Government. This appeals to my anarchic tendency; you may recall how enthusiastic I was about the shared space scheme in Poynton, Cheshire (Newslink, passim). But both John Lepine and Peter Harvey seem to have faith in the Government passing a law to change young drivers’ behaviour and provide legislation that would work. The fact that the Government has shelved the proposal to reform regulations covering new drivers is an admission that they agree with what Rob says, “Government... is pretty much incapable of controlling events”, although later, in contradiction, he says that the Government has to act. Personally, I think it is refreshing that a Government is willing to admit that the problem is beyond their capability; so often they pass laws that later are found to be either unworkable or counterproductive. I agree with David Davies, the executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee of Transport safety (PACTS) who says, “Successive governments have not managed to resolve the risks for young drivers and their passengers in the period immediately after passing the test”. While he thinks that they would be capable of the task, I think that the Government is not up to this job, as they seem to admit by cancelling or postponing the promised Green Paper on young driver safety. So, with the Government unwilling or unable to do the
job it falls to us to do it ourselves. John Lepine says, “The MSA will continue, with others, to try and build on the acknowledged consensus for change among road safety professionals ...” Well said, but he should not continue to expect much from politicians, who have opted out. What I call for is consultation with the real experts in how and why 17 – 25 year old male drivers cause collisions so frequently and with such devastation, and that is the boys themselves. They complain about a £5,000 insurance premium without realising that that is only a small contribution towards the 24/7 care needed for their girlfriend who has become quadriplegic because of their dangerous driving; that could easily come to many millions. We need to listen as they explain why they turn from mild L-driver to rampant road racers in a few months. I am especially interested in those who have crashed and survived – what was in their minds before the crash and what was their thinking after? Were they in denial or remorseful? The 19-year-old who tells of how his crash was caused, and how it should have been prevented, is most likely to convince a 17-year-old to avoid a similar scenario. Driving instructors are proud of their vast knowledge but nothing beats peer influence, where someone similar to oneself, someone you can identify with, can tell how it is for them. The MSA, PACTS, etc, will need to work with psychologists, universities and many others to research into what goes on in young drivers’ minds and find what can turn their dangerous mindset to a constructive entity. Enlist the BBC, who must be coming to the end of its fixation with cooking and baking, to promote continuous driver development. Bad driving makes “good TV” but that is no good unless coupled with how driving should be done, with the resulting reduction in crashes. Stanley McWhirter, Edinburgh
Newcomers are a new way to earn
More work to be done after fee cut
Dear Sir, Rod Came’s Viewpoint (February Newslink) struck a chord with me (Immigrants? Welcome here!). I stumbled upon an unlikely ‘Auf Wiedersehn Pet in reverse’ group of eastern European builders around 12 months ago. All are hard-working, keen to get on and tempted to settle down in the UK. One by one they approached me (through their site manager, who happens to be my brother-in-law) for driving lessons, and once I’d got one through the L-test the rest have come along willingly, for either a test or just a familiarisation session. I’ve now taken 11 newcomers out on the road. All had prior experience of driving, but only four actually had official licences that could be converted – make of that what you will. Two more had licences that UK didn’t recognise and they took the test so they could have our licence. The ones whose licences could be switched over didn’t take a test but took a short course of familiarisation lessons, prompted by one with a more sensitive attitude thinking it was the right thing to do, and that pushed his mates to follow his example. Any ADI looking to tap into a new market could do a lot worse than have a few business cards printed in Polish, Bulgarian and Latvian, if only to extend a hand of friendship that could well prove profitable in the long run. Name and address supplied
Dear Sir, While the news that the DfT is promising a small cut in the theory test fee is to be welcomed, I’m baffled as to why anyone will think it will make a drop of difference in the current flight of young people away from learning to drive. Even if the entire saving is passed on to the consumer a saving of £8 on the theory test will not swing anyone to starting to learn to drive. It’s £8 more for a night out, but it won’t end up in ADIs’ pockets. I’d much rather see ministers putting in place a system for regulating new drivers in such a way that they are forced to improve their driving post-test, and then once that’s in place start to put pressure on insurers to reduce new driver premiums, which are the real killers of any desire to learn to drive among our young people. Ian Logan, West Midlands
What’s the story?
Is the MSA conspiring to cover-up a Government foul-up by not reporting what has gone on with this theory test contract (Newslink, Feb, pg 1)? Should I fire off a Freedom of Information request to get to the truth? Rob Griffiths, South Wales Editor’s note: No cover up, Rob; we’re as intrigued and mystified by the ministerial statement as the rest of you. We’ll endeavour to get to the bottom of this.
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Comment ADI’S VIEWPOINT: Setting the standards
No offence, DVSA, but I don’t think you’re tough enough to raise ADI standards, says this month’s guest contributor to Newslink’s Viewpoint. So who are you going to call to put things right? Try the man teachers call ‘the sergeant-major’
Time to ‘Get some in!’
A
sk any teacher and they’ll tell you the three words that strike fear into their hearts: ‘Sir’, ‘Michael’ and ‘Wilshaw’, the boss of Ofsted. Under his reign, the rules of the game are simple: a school headteacher gets a phone call before lunch on any day, announcing that Ofsted inspectors will be arriving the next day at 8am. If you’re a teacher you are in for two days of hell. You have no chance to select pupils, coach a class or cram up on stuff you should have known before. Instead you have a frantic dash to smarten up your classroom, spend an evening genning up on the latest wisdom as to what the inspectors are looking for and then stumble into school at dawn, textbooks clasped in sweaty palms and praying that the class will behave for the next two days. The staff then face intense pressure, knowing only too well that their weaknesses will be the ones targeted by the inspectors. Any good things are glossed over; any positives ignored. The focus is purely on the school’s weak spots, with challenge after challenge as the school is turned inside out. I bumped into a teacher last year who had just been on the receiving end of a visit. Her exact words: “Childbirth? Easy. Compared to that.” For the record her son was quite possibly the largest baby I’ve ever seen, and arrived in the world only a smidge shy of 10-and-a-half pounds. Naturally. Ofsted rules the roost over education in England and Wales (in Scotland it’s the HMiE). Its inspectors don’t just look at schools and colleges: their brief is far more wide-ranging. It oversees teaching standards in further education and 14-to-19 provision as well as a wide range of work-based learning and skills training, as well as adult and community learning centres. When the Ofsted inspectors arrive they look very deeply at the teaching on offer. They interview forensically, questioning staff and getting to grips with their strategy, looking into their background, establishing a picture of their CPD, training and teaching methodology. They don’t have a ‘preferred style’. Instead inspectors will judge performance on whether pupils are engaged, focused, learning and – crucially – making progress, with clearly defined LOs (learning objectives). They also like to see pupils being given a chance to lead the teaching experience, to be put in the centre of their learning, allowing them to gain knowledge their way. Now does any of that sound familiar to you as an ADI? The bit about clear LOs, structure, pupil progress, pupil-centred learning... Sounds a bit like the utterings coming out of the DVSA, doesn’t it. So ADIs are getting closer to ‘teachers’, are we? If so, here’s a radical thought: why don’t we go the whole hog and give Ofsted the gig to carry out our Standards Checks rather than the DVSA? Why shouldn’t Ofsted inspect ADIs? After all, ADIs teach. Our area of expertise could be comfortably covered by the heading ‘work-based learning and skills training’ where Ofsted already holds sway. It might be a bit scary, and very intense, but there are some good outcomes: One, it would raise ADIs’ standing among the general public, putting us on the same pedestal as teachers. And two, it wouldn’t half drive the rubbish out of profession, don’t you think? Even the biggest detractor of Ofsted’s work would admit, begrudgingly, that it has helped raise the bar in schools. Its inspections have forced teachers to adopt a more professional approach to teaching. Sure, it was always fun back at school when you had the lesson with the cavalier, solo flier, the teach-by-the-seat-of-my-pants maverick, but
12 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
your parents didn’t fancy him or her taking you through your O-Levels/GCSEs or A-Levels for a reason. Form, structure, goals and progress, making sure attainment and knowledge are embedded into the lesson plan, are buzzwords that Ofsted has rammed down the throat of the teaching profession for years until they are now second nature. Imagine ADIs receiving the same going over as a school teacher. It would scare the proverbial out of about a third of ADIs – those who don’t know what CPD stands for, let alone take any, those who don’t join ADI associations to improve their knowledge or keep up to date, those whose lesson plans and tuition standards haven’t moved since they joined the profession. Those that get by by back-sliding and doing just enough, who thrive on low lesson rates and equally low pass rates. The thought of a Wilshaw-programmed inspector sitting in the back of my car would probably scare me – but I’d be confident that I’d cope. But for many of my rivals? They’d be looking for the ejector seat. The fact is, much as DVSA likes to think the Check Test was tough, the statistics suggest it isn’t. I saw some Check Test grade figures the other day. Of ADIs inspected, fewer than one per cent failed (Grades 3-1). That means that over 99 per cent of all ADIs are good or better. Honestly? We’re that good, are we? And we have a pass rate at L-test of below 50 per cent? Do you want to compare those figures with education, you know the place where exam pass rates regularly hit 80-85% at GCSE? OFSTED has four grades: Outstanding; Good; Requires improvement / satisfactory; and Inadequate. The first two are a clean bill of health; the last two mean the inspectors don’t rate you much. In a sense, you’ve failed. The stats make interesting comparison with our industry. Around 67 per cent of schools get the first two; 33 per cent the latter. That means the Ofsted team is crawling all over your back for the next 12 months in a third of schools. So either someone is too tough... or someone else is too
soft. What’s your view? Mine is the DVSA is too soft and we should hand the Standards Check over to Ofsted. We could copy its grades. Imagine being able to put ‘Outstanding’ on your business cards! Or, alternatively, the impact of those two simple words, Requires Improvement. Every prospective pupil could look up your Ofsted inspection on a website. “Ah, Mr Brown, yes, first three lessons free... after that £14 an hour... very good, oh hang on, your grade is... RI. What does that mean? Requires improvement...” Do you know, that one at £25 an hour, rated ‘Outstanding’, might be better value. What else do we know of the Ofsted revolution? Well, parents have voted with their feet in the wake of many a damning report. Schools have gone from being full to half-empty with 12 months of a very critical inspection. ADIs could see our industry shaken up in the same way. Instructors leaving in their droves, to be replaced by a new, smaller, group of people for whom teaching is a vocation and road safety a mantra, rather than someone with a redundancy cheque and a fondness for driving. So go on, Alastair Peoples. I dare you. Give Sir Michael Wilshaw a call. Ask him to handle ADI standards. He might just be able to deliver the kick up the backside some in this profession need.
Let’s have your view This month’s Viewpoint contributor is a female ADI who hails from Yorkshire. She requested that she remain anonymous. If you would like to be a future Viewpoint columnist, please write to the Editor, MSA Newslink, at mail@msagb.co.uk, outlining the subject matter. We’re happy to print your name or respect a request for anonymity, if you would prefer.
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News
DVSA eases gear rules on LGV testing
Changes will start to be made to some driving test rules for motorcyclists, lorry, bus and coach drivers from later this year after the DVSA published a response to the public consultation about these changes that ran in 2013. Lorry, bus and coach drivers The main changes affecting lorry, bus and coach drivers are: • removing the need to use a vehicle with 8-forward gear ratios for large test vehicles (category C) • allowing people who take a
lorry or bus test (category C and D) in an automatic vehicle to get manual entitlement for those vehicles, if they already have a manual entitlement for cars, lorries or buses, with or without trailers (category B, B+E, C, C+E, C1, C1+E, D, D+E, D1+E) Existing drivers You can also get this manual entitlement when you pay the fee and exchange or upgrade your licence if you’re a lorry, bus or coach driver and have a manual licence in any of those categories.
Motorcycle riders DSA will reduce the minimum engine power requirement for medium motorcycles (category A2) from 25kW to 20kW. There will be more changes from 2019. DSA will: • raise the minimum engine power requirement for large motorcycles (category A) from 40kW to 50kW • introduce a minimum mass weight requirement for large motorcycles (category A) of 180kg.
MSA West Midlands meeting Hosts: MSA West Midlands Venue: Westlands Toyota, Stourbridge Date: Tuesday, April 8 Topics: To include Standards Check and industry updates Cost: £5 members £8 non-members
MSA West Midlands is holding a meeting for all ADIs to be held on Tuesday, 8 April at Westlands Toyota, 75 Brettell Lane, Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands. DY8 4BP. We have invited speakers to give presentations on topics including the new Standards Check, coming into force in April, and a driver training industry update. Doors open 18.30,
meeting to start at 19.00 and finish at 21.00. Price is £5 for members, non-members £8. To book and guarantee your place, go to www.msagb.com, access the Sales drop down menu and click on sales, where you will be able to book and pay by debit/credit card. Alternatively book by contacting the MSA Head Office on 0161 429 9669
DIGA is looking to hook some new members The long-running Driving Instructor’s Golf Association (DIGA) is recruiting new members. The association has been established for 23 years and plays on high-quality courses, not just here in the UK but overseas, too, with competitions held as far afield as Europe and the USA. It is a very friendly society and welcomes players of all abilities, with both driving instructors and their guests welcome. We meet four or five times a year and include a weekend away, in which partners and families are more than welcome to join us. For the past 23 years the association has been run by Rod Spiers but Rod has now stepped down as secretary and Richard Tookey and Phil Macdonnell have taken over the role of organising DIGA golf days. Richard said: “This is a great way for ADIs to meet up with fellow instructors and enjoy a great game of golf. Our golf days are organised around the UK on top-quality courses, and over the years many life-long friendships have been made that are still going strong to this day. We would love to hear from other ADIs who share our love of golf and would like to join us a for a round.” For more information on joining, contact Richard Tookey on 02476 362456 or text 07711518877 or Phil Macdonnell on 01905 28561 or text 07752610754.
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 13
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Membership offers
MSA offers
Giving you the benefits of membership Save cash on MoTs and servicing at Halfords
MSA members are reaping the benefit of the association’s tie-up with Halfords Autocentres, which delivers major savings across a range of products and services. MSA members and their families are now able to access exclusive discounts on servicing and repairs at over 265 Halfords Autocentres nationwide. Members will receive • 33% off an MoT • Up to 15% off servicing • 5% off repairs Plus a FREE 15-point check! These translate into major savings, with over £35 off a major service and £18.10 off an MoT. MSA national chairman Peter Harvey commented: “I am delighted we have formed this partnership agreement with Halfords Autocentres. They are a trusted, well-known national brand, and with 265 centres around the country most members are within easy reach of one. “What is particularly pleasing is that this partnership delivers real value for money to our members at a time when I know many of them are struggling with the economic downturn. “By having your MoT and your major annual service at a Halfords Autocentre, members will save over £50 a year. When you consider that MSA membership is only £52 a year, this single deal virtually justifies your annual membership on its own.”
How to take advantage of this offer Members should visit www.halfordsautocentres.com/msa for full details of the discounts available, to find your nearest Halfords Autocentres and see what other services the company offers.
14 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
Offers and discounts
Our slogan at the MSA has always been Information Representation - Services and Support to explain the benefits you get as a member. But we want to help you in more ways than that. We know that some ADIs are struggling financially at the moment, so that’s why we are keener than ever to deliver real cost savings, special offers on goods and discounts on key services to our members, putting money back into your pocket and making your membership fee pay for itself many times over.
That‘s why we’ve negotiated special discounts with Halfords and through the EeziBuy scheme. But that’s not all: we’re also always on the look-out for companies who are happy to offer discounts to our members. In every isue of Newslink we’re going to feature some of the best. The goods and services you’ll see on this page will be ideally suited to ADIs: whether for the car, for the office or in line with a busy instructor’s lifestyle. So have a read of the latest offers and get saving!
Buy one Show Me, Tell Me question pad... and receive a pack of two RV-16 mirrors free! The MSA has negotiated a special offer on the popular MSA ‘Show Me, Tell Me’ driving test question pad with our friends at Driving School Supplies. Buy one ‘Show Me, Tell Me’ pack for just £6.50 + p+p and you’ll receive a pack of two RV-16 mirrors absolutely free! The RV-16 is a convex blind spot mirror that helps to extend your field of vision while driving. Its small design enables you to fix them to the corner of your existing mirror and helps to cut down on blind spots. Simple to fix, they come highliy recommended. The mirrors we’re offering are made in the UK by leading supplier Summit. To take advantage of this offer, go to the MSA‘s official supplier, Driving School Supplies, at www.d-ss.co.uk. Quote this ref. number: 82WQT20 and your current MSA membership number. Alternatively call Driving School Supplies on 0121 328 6226 with the same information Buy the pads (top)... and get the mirrors free (right)
Keep safe:
Special UV keyring checks out licences and notes Just £5 gives you peace of mind Every ADI should carry out checks on the licences presented to them - but how do you spot a counterfeit licence from a real one? Don’t leave it to chance: get one of these special UV security key rings for just £5. It can be used to verify driving licences AND bank notes. Don’t chance being left with a load of dud cash or giving lessons to someone on a forged licence. Be safe, be certain with a UV securitykeyring. Available direct from the MSA; call 0161 429 9669 with your credit/debit card details.
Don’t forget - save cash with EeziBuy! Register now at www.MSA.eezibuy.co.uk and start saving money on key business products and services Running a business can be costly - so start saving money now on everything from printing and computers, energy to hotels, legal services to office supplies How to use MSA EeziBuy Register at www.MSA.eezibuy.co.uk/register/php. Your MSA membership will then be verified and you will receive access to the portal within 48 hours. Once you have received confirmation of your registration, go to www.eezibuy.co. uk/MSA/log_in.php then simply click the ‘Offers’ button and choose the category(s) of interest from the black navigation bar – click on the categories and start saving money! We hope you find it beneficial. Any questions please email PartnerSave at enquiries@partnersave.co.uk or call 01524 782830.
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News: Road safety technology
Time to change?
How hi-tech motoring could rip up the rule book on the way ADIs teach driving Sit back and relax: Google’s ‘driverless’ car. While the technology exists to put such a vehicle on the roads, US highways authorities believe the road network itself is incapable of supporting such technology for decades
Motoring has seen a number of major technological developments in recent years, and increasingly they are impacting on the world of driver training. In this article Dr Charles Johnson offers his view on how developments in road safety, particularly in cars, could impact on the way ADIs teach learners in the future
UN Decade of Action Pillars EU Road Safety Programme Objectives Road safety management Safer roads and mobility Safer vehicles Safer road users Post-crash response
Improve education and training of road users Increase enforcement of road rules Safer infrastructure Safer vehicles Promote the use of modern technology Improve emergency and post-injury care Protecting vulnerable road users with a focus on motorcyclists
16 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
B
oth the EU and the United Nations General Assembly have published action plans in recent years aimed at reducing the number of injuries and fatalities related to road transport. Versions of these plans have been adopted by many countries and introduced into national road safety policies. There seems to be general agreement in them about what the key areas for improvement are. The table below left shows the five ‘pillars’ taken from the UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety and the seven main objectives from the European Commission’s Road Safety Programme (2011 – 2020). Many, but not all, of these pillars and objectives are associated with technological advances and some, but not all, of these have important implications for driver training. Improvements in road safety management are largely aimed at policy makers and national agencies concerned with road safety strategy and the implementation of safety initiatives. As such they are unlikely to have a direct impact on driver training and, therefore, are not considered further in this article although it is recognised that they could have indirect implications. A number of improvements to road infrastructure have been identified. These include: n Removing or redesigning bends n Traffic calming measures n Removing or redesigning junctions
n Separation of road users n Signage, road furniture and visibility n Removal of roadside distractions Improvements in these areas are likely to change the content of training. Driving instructors will need to be aware of these improvements and their implications for learner driver knowledge and understanding but the improvements will not fundamentally change the way in which drivers are trained. The same can be said about improvements to and enforcement of legislation and regulation, for example involving: n European licences n The use of personal protective equipment such as seat belts n Drink driving n Driver rehabilitation n Graduated licences n and to improvements in post-crash response, where training may be needed to help learner drivers understand how these improvements will affect them. In both cases, however, this will result in changes to the learner driver curriculum but not to the process of driver training. Advances in the other pillars and objectives, however, could have significant impact on the way in which driving instructors provide driver training and these are considered in turn below.
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Safer vehicles
There are a number of improvements that have been made to vehicle design over the last several decades which have had a significant impact on road safety. These can be roughly divided into improvements in roadworthiness (eg, better braking, more effective steering, improvements in maintenance requirements, etc) and improvements in crashworthiness (eg, airbags, seat restraints, crumple zones, etc). Many of these improvements have implications for changes to the driver training curriculum and, indeed, for the content of driving tests, but for the purposes of this article the more interesting implication is the effect these improvements in vehicle design may have on driver attitudes. The concern has often been expressed that having safer cars may lead to drivers being more careless or even more reckless. As far as I can see, however, there is no particular evidence suggesting an increase in either carelessness or recklessness, though there have been some indications in recent years which could be interpreted that way. For example, for most of the time while fatalities and serious injuries have been decreasing on the roads in Europe and the USA, insurance claims for damage or personal injury have also been decreasing. However, in the past six or seven years in the UK and since 2010 in the USA there is evidence that although the number of claims for damage have continued to decrease, claims for personal injury have been increasing by about the same amount. This shift in the types of claim is probably a result of the introduction into the market of claims management companies but the important issue is that while fatality and serious injury rates have continued to decrease, insurance claims appear to have plateaued. The importance of this for driving instructors is the role they may be expected to play in the process of attitude change and management, increasing social awareness and responsibility, and other facets of driver behaviour which can be found in the higher levels of the GDE matrix.
News: Road safety technology
Driving in line: While driverless cars may be a long way off, the development of automatic ‘road trains’, as in the above example of a test on the technology by Volvo, could transform the way we drive, particularly on long-distance journeys
See, for example, Stephen Jones (2013) Cooperative adaptive cruise control: Human factors analysis. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Publication No. FHWA-HRT-13-045, Mclean, VA.
1
Use of modern technology
The uses of modern technology can be divided into two main groups: n Autonomous vehicles – essentially driverless cars n Driver assistance – essentially technological aids to drivers.
Autonomous vehicles
There has been considerable interest in the media in recent years about the possibility of the widespread introduction of driverless cars. Opinion on the likelihood of it happening in the foreseeable future varies considerably. The unveiling of the Google driverless car in 2005 and, more particularly, successful trials with the vehicle starting in 2012 have led to claims that a fully functioning driverless car could be mass manufactured within the next 20 years. Indeed, Nissan has committed to bringing a number of affordable autonomous models to market, based on its LEAF prototype, by 2020 and Tesla Motors has said it could have a driverless car available in the next three years. Almost all the other major motor manufacturers (such as Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen) have autonomous vehicles in development. A number of legislative authorities in the USA have been sufficiently impressed by the claims that, as of December 2013, four States (Nevada, Florida, California and Michigan) have passed laws permitting the use of autonomous cars and a fifth (Texas) may do so soon. Not everyone believes that the introduction of autonomous vehicles will happen on this timescale, if at all. For example, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cautioned that it
may be 75 years before road infrastructure is sufficiently well-developed for autonomous vehicles to drive on all routes. The major concern with fully autonomous vehicles is the issue of what happens if the controlling computer in the vehicle crashes, hangs or otherwise fails. As one cynic has recently noted, how often has this happened to your own laptop in the past year? As in other cases where automation has been introduced, eg, automatic pilots in aeroplanes, the driver will have to be fully competent to take over the driving of the vehicle when necessary. Numerous human factors issues are known to be consequences of full or increasing automation including increasing reliance on the automated systems, trust in the systems, maintenance of situational awareness and, indeed, maintenance of competence. The task of driver training will be radically different in this scenario. A different issue for training concerns the fact that for many years the competence requirements of drivers will go through a transition period where the precise demands on drivers will gradually change over time. For example, at the moment there are no prototype vehicles which are fully autonomous. All systems recognise a variety of situations where control has to be passed back to a human driver. This handover point is likely to change as the systems become more sophisticated. There may also be a migration through different types of automation over time. For example, one type of autonomous driving being considered at the moment is remote control convoys employing co-operative adaptive cruise control1.
Continued on page 18
About the author:
Dr Charles Johnson, Group Technical Director at CAS management consultancy Dr Charles Johnson BSc., PhD., CPsychol., AFBPsS is a leading occupational psychologist. His main fields are organisational and human performance assessment and organisational culture. Charles is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society; past Chairman of the BPS Steering Committee on Test Standards; Chairman of Johnson Doughty Ltd; Non-executive director of Cambridge Occupational Analysis; and, he is a member of the IAM Examinations Board.
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 17
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News: Road safety technology Continued from page 17
With this technology, the vehicle can drive autonomously while in convoy and communicating with other vehicles in the convoy but has to return to human control when leaving the convoy and be in human control when joining. This might be an intermediate stage in the introduction of fully autonomous vehicles and would carry with it yet another set of different competence requirements and implications for driver training and driving instructor competence. This may mean that different levels of vehicular automation may be introduced before reaching the level of full autonomy. In the USA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has established an official classification system: n Level 0: The driver completely controls the vehicle at all times. n Level 1: Individual vehicle controls are automated, such as electronic stability control or automatic braking. n Level 2: At least two controls can be automated in unison, such as adaptive cruise control in combination with lane keeping. n Level 3: The driver can fully cede control of all safety-critical functions in certain conditions. The car senses when conditions require the driver to retake control and provides a “sufficiently comfortable transition time” for the driver to do so. n Level 4: The vehicle performs all safety-critical functions for the entire trip, with the driver not expected to control the vehicle at any time. This can include unoccupied cars. In fact, many aspects of levels 1 and 2 already exist. For example, there are already systems which can be fitted to vehicles which can control the brakes, the accelerator and the steering on the basis of sensor, GPS or roadside information. The main issue for driver competence where such systems are fitted is how drivers cope with the systems being switched off or failing or if they have to drive a vehicle which does not have the system
‘The issues for training... include helping the learner driver how to react to and make best use of the information being made available to them... the second concerns how to help learners cope with vehicles where the systems they are used to using are no longer operative or available...’ fitted. The challenge for driving instructors will be to create situations in which these competences can be trained and assessed.
Driver assistance
Most technological systems introduced to vehicles currently, however, do not take over full control of the vehicle. Largely they either provide information to the driver or make adjustments to the primary or secondary controls. Examples of the former are: n Telematics n Proximity sensors e.g. in-car radar n Motion sensors – either internal (e.g. passenger movement) or external Examples of the latter are: n Intelligent speed adaptation n Cruise control n Assisted steering and braking The distinction between these is not clear cut. For example, both telematics and proximity sensors could trigger assisted braking rather than simply alerting the driver as part of a collision avoidance system. Eye movement tracking devices monitoring the onset of fatigue could either produce warnings or adjust vehicle speed. Inter-vehicle communications and other sorts of intelligent transport communications can feed into either driver information or driver assistance systems. Alcolocks are an example of a system which takes control away from the driver but does not take autonomous control of driving. There are two issues here for training. The first is
helping the learner driver how to react to and make best use of the information being made available to them. The second concerns the same issue as for autonomous vehicles, namely how to help learners cope with vehicles where the systems they are used to using are no longer operative or available.
Safer Road Users
There are four main types of technology which have been promoted by people in the driver training industry in the last few decades and which have implications for driver training: n Driver information systems such as telematics n E-learning systems n Computer-based driving practice, eg, simulators n Computer-based cognitive and perceptual skills enhancement. The issue for driving instructors is how to integrate these systems into their training approach. All four types require the driving instructor to be familiar with the use of the technology, the content of the specific tools, the nature of the information (including any assessments) that the tools provide and how to give feedback to learners on the basis of the tools. They will also need to know when best to introduce and how best to apply such tools. In the case of skills enhancement, this may mean being able to assess the cognitive maturity of the learner. This might be based on an assessment using the same skills enhancement tools but implies an awareness of psychological testing and the underlying psychometric theory. Helping hand: Advancements in car technology such as electronic steering programmes (ESP) and traction control have transformed the way cars handle. Today’s cars have more invasive systems that take control away from the driver. It is vital, says Dr Johnson, that learner drivers are taught how about these systems, how to respond to them and how they impact on the car and driver
Corner traction control: how it works Braking the inner driven wheel and redistributing torque to the outer wheel help to maintain the desired line when turning into a corner
ESP: The main diagram shows a critical manoeuvre in a car fitted with an electronic stability programme and one without. A car coming around a sharp bend encounters a vehicle stationary in the road. The driver performs a violent swerve to avoid the car, and the ESP allows him to maintain control and avoid the other vehicle. Without ESP, his car is thrown into a spin - with possible disastrous consequences
18 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
Corner traction control significantly improves traction and performance on winding roads Torque distribution from inner to outer wheels reduces understeer when accelerating out of the corner
g w fe ainin lace t s La rem ur p 15 ts e yo CH e k v R tic ser MA re by
Conference 2014 Book now for MSA
Holiday Inn, Bristol n March 21-23
The MSA Conference is your last chance to get the latest on the most important change to the ADI industry in years before it’s implemented by the DVSA Date: March 22, 2014 Please note all places must be booked in advance
15 : 23 : 30 : 00
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We’re heading to the MSA Western Region for the 2014 Conference. The event will take place at the Holiday Inn Bristol-Filton. It’s a great venue well used to hosting high-profile conferences, with superb service standards from its team of dedicated staff. Guest speakers already confirmed include the Chief Driving Examiner, Lesley Young, who will be delivering the keynote address. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear direct from the most senior DVSA official the final details of the NEW STANDARDS CHECK, which will be introduced in April. In addition to hearing Lesley’s views, there will also be an opportunity to work through a series of questions regarding the new Standards Check. Also confirmed are: Garry Hawkes. The 2013 Blue Light Users conference chair, who is an emergency services trainer with Avon Fire & Rescue Kate Rock, Consumer & Brand Manager at Goodyear, who will be speaking about the recent Goodyear White Paper that consolidated driver trainer surveys from across Europe. Workshops: There will also be a choice of workshops covering ideas to improve your teaching and business skills, giving you the chance to decide which ones are best for you to attend. Trade stands and exhibits: Many trade stands offering you on-the-day discounts. Networking: This is a great opportunity to meet with fellow colleagues and develop your skills. Come along to hear respected speakers from your profession bringing you up to date with the current issues that affect your business. Social activities: There will also be social activities surrounding the conference. They will include an ‘ice breaker’ night on Friday 21st with a buffet and a Sports Relief-themed quiz, and on Saturday evening a Party Night with a disco. Prices of the social event and accommodation are shown on the facing page.
Exhibitors and supporters
In tandem with the conference there will be an Exhibition Area featuring stands particularly relevant to driver trainers. The following companies have already booked space and more are expected. n n n n n
Driving School Supplies TTC Group BG Insurance Driving Instructor Services TWD Accountants
n n n n n
Focus Multimedia Hitachi Capital Driving Instructor Solutions ADINDI AIRSO Driving School Office
n He-Man Dual Controls n Collingwood Learner Driver Insurance n Marmalade n Dal-Tec
To book for the training day, book online at www.msagb.com. To book for the full conference package, call the MSA Head Office on 0161 429 9669
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Towards your CPD
Let’s get to work: preparing learners for the road ahead A ‘scheme of work’ might sound like a handyman’s ‘to do’ list for the day but preparing one as part of lesson planning is an important step towards client-centred learning, says Steve Garrod
M
uch has been written, and will be written, about client-centred learning. The new Standards Check is still causing a bit of confusion about what is or is not going to be acceptable. True clientcentred learning is about working with your learner to achieve their goals. Regardless of the marking system, you need to make sure that your lesson is a natural progression from the last one and prepares your learner for the next one. In this series we have looked at individual learning plans (ILPs). Using an ILP helps you set targets with your learner and maintain a record of achievement; but it is also important to show where your lesson fits in the bigger picture. You may have heard the term ‘Scheme of Work’ (or Schedule of Learning as it is sometimes known). The Scheme of Work is an integral part of Ofsted inspections in schools and colleges. Producing one can be an interesting exercise. It will help you to think about how you intend to teach your lesson. It will make focus on: n teaching and assessment methods n activities n resources n training areas n timing n content The important thing to remember is to use it as a guide and that it should remain flexible. There is no point in producing something that is so rigid that it defeats the purpose of producing it. Effectively it becomes a working document. You can make adjustments as you complete each lesson to help keep your learners on track. For example, if you feel you frequently have to revisit a particular subject, say meeting traffic, it could be that you are being over-ambitious with your aims for that lesson. Using the Scheme of Work also means that you can show your learner, and their parents, the progress being made which helps to keep them motivated (and paying for lessons!). You will also have something positive to show the examiner on your Standards Check. In other words it acts as a map, insomuch as it shows you the starting and finishing points and the places of interest along the way. It will also show you the alternative routes to reach the same destination, should they be required. Content is just a cog in the big wheel of learning to drive. In his publication Evidence Based Teaching, Geoff Petty writes about ‘The content trap’. He suggests that weak teachers spend almost all their time teaching content, leaving thinking skills relatively ignored. In other words, they teach the easy stuff but ignore the hard (eg “You must check you mirrors before x, y and z”, but fail to ask “why/what are the dangers of not checking them?”) Teaching both skills and content gets much better results! When you plan your Scheme of Work, it is
22 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
important to think about the way you are going to assess your learner. This means being clear about what you want your learner to achieve during that lesson (aims and objectives). Ann Gravells describes this as covering the ‘five Ws and one H’, who, what, when, where, why and how. n Who the lessons are for, and what you want your learners to achieve (who and what) n The objective of the lesson (why) n The lesson number and location/training area (when and where) n Teaching and learning approaches, resources and assessment methods (how) If you recall (back in the day) when you studied for your Part One ADI theory examination, you will have come across the three stages we deal with when learning to drive. I’ll remind you! The stages relate to your learners’ thinking, emotions and actions, which Benjamin Bloom (1956) called the domains of learning. More commonly known as: Cognitive (thinking) Affective (emotions) Psychomotor (actions) When planning your subject, eg, meeting traffic, you need to think about which domain you are going to be dealing with in your aims and objectives. For example: n Cognitive domain (subject - pedestrian crossings): Learners will be able to state the reasons for accidents involving pedestrian in towns. n Affective domain (subject – fuel efficient driving) – Learners will explain ways of reducing
CO2 emissions. n Psychomotor (subject – dual carriageways) – Learners will join and leave motorways safely. Understanding a little bit about these theories will help you to realise which teaching, learning and assessment methods to use, and why learners find difficulties in different areas of the same subject. For example, emerging from junctions, you may have a learner who can move off without stalling but cannot identify a safe gap in which to emerge, while another learner understands when to go but repeatedly stalls. When planning your Scheme of Work be sure to think about what you want to achieve from each lesson in order for your learner to learn the whole subject correctly. It pays to have one learning outcome from each of the domains, this way you will be able to use a range of assessment methods. For example, using questions and answers, problem solving (eg, we need to get from A to B but we’re not allowed to use the motorway, which route would you choose?) and observation for practical skills. On the facing page is an example of how a Scheme of Work might look.
MSA Courses
The MSA is accredited by Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC) to deliver nationally recognised qualifications. The first course available is the popular Award in Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS). PTLLS is the initial qualification for new teachers or ADIs wishing to move into adult education and classroom teaching.
The cost of the course is £360, and it will be run by Steve Garrod who has been involved in running teacher training courses for over 20 years, and we are delighted to be working alongside him on this exciting project. For further information email Steve at: msacpd@gmail.com
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Towards your CPD
Pupil’s schedule of Learning (‘Scheme of work’) Trainer A Taylor
Training area Anytown
Subject Basic car control
Number of sessions 25
Lesson Objectives - learners will:
Teaching and learning activities
Resources
Assessment activities
Demonstration of controls (preparation ñ selecting first gear/steering/moving off stopping) on route to training area Clutch control exercise- balancing clutch/ accelerator Identifying hazards in blind spots Dry run for moving off/stopping Discussion on moving off stopping Set homework (read up on next lesson) Set goals for this/ next lesson Fault correction Analysing faults with the learner
Nursery route
Questions about previous lesson (precautions on entering vehicle and controls) Questions on safe, legal convenient positions for stopping Questions on road signs/markings/theory Observation of activities and exercises Feedback from discussions Discussion on identified faults
Demonstrate changing from 1st to 2nd gear and stopping in 2nd gear (while driving to site) Discussion on homework Discussion on moving off up and down hill - problem-solving exercise (how do they think it can be done) Exercise – still on a hill. Balance the car on an incline with clutch and accelerator without rolling backwards Introduction to reversing – link to moving way in 1st gear Set goals for this/next lesson Fault correction Analysing faults with the learner
Nursery route
2
n Identify the correct location of the n n n n n n n
3
hand/foot controls Balance the accelerator and clutch correctly (biting point) Locate 1st gear Explain how to use progressive braking Explain how to prepare the car before moving off Explain the reason for checking blind spots before moving away Demonstrate moving away stopping safely on the level road Explain safe, legal and convenient places to stop
n Move off uphill/downhill n Move off from behind a stationary car
(angle start)
n Change from 1st into 2nd gear n Move and stop in reverse n Explain the correct procedure for
moving off and stopping
n Balance the car using the clutch and
accelerator on a hill
n Stop at identified locations (by a post
box, lamppost, behind and in front of a parked car.
Diagrams/tablet Whiteboard/dry pen Natural hazards on road Hand-out for next lesson
Diagrams/tablet Whiteboard/dry pen Natural hazards on road
Discussion and questions on previous lesson Feedback from homework Observation of exercises Problem solving- how to prevent the car from rolling backwards on a hill. On-going discussion and questions Discussion on identified faults
Hand-out for next lesson
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 23
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Membership service/European news
MSA members:
Are you looking for a high-quality dental plan? Dental work can be expensive; but having the right dental insurance in place means you no longer have to worry so much about unanticipated bills from the dentist. The HMCA Dental Plan is for MSA members and their immediate families. It provides cover with any private or NHS dentist for routine examinations, hygiene, x-rays, remedial work and restorative treatment. Cover is also provided for emergencies, accidents and oral cancer. Subscribers receive 24-hour worldwide cover. The plan costs £19.63 per person per month (for those aged 0 to 78). Making a claim is easy. All you need to do is submit a claim form signed by your dentist, together with your receipts, to HMCA. Rules of membership apply, which you can read on your HMCA membership certificate. This will be sent to you when you join. If you wish, you can receive a full refund within 30 days. HMCA is a specialist provider of benefits and services to associations and professional groups, and has 35 years of experience in the field. For some time now the MSA has participated in the Dental Plan and other excellent schemes.
To find out more visit the special MSA page on the HMCA website at www.hmca.co.uk/msagb.htm or telephone 01423 799949 to speak to our dedicated Enquiry Lime team.
ETSC calls for collective action to slash EU’s drink-drive casualties A major tragedy in Poland in which six pedestrians were killed by a drunken driver has prompted strong action by Government in an attempt to improve road safety and reduce fatalities as a result of drink-driving. The incident, on New Year’s Day, saw a 26-year-old man allegedly cause the deaths of six people, including a child, when his car veered onto a pavement in Kamien Pomorski on the Baltic Coast. A week later, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that courts will now issue fines of up to 5,000 zloty (EUR 1200) for causing accidents while driving drunk, licenses will be confiscated for three years and there will be less use of suspended sentences. The European Transport Safety Council has used the tragedy to make its case for stronger collective action by EU ministers, including alcohol interlocks as part of a broader strategy to tackle the problem. ETSC’s Antonio Avenoso explains more. The town of Kamienn Pomorski in Poland is still in shock following the tragedy on New Year’s Day. A 26-year-old drunk driver drove his BMW into a crowd of people, killing six. One boy who was seriously injured lost both his parents and his brother. The incident has provoked media outrage and a huge public debate in Poland. But the European Union, too, must take note and recognise the role that it can and must play in tackling the scourge of drink-driving. It is estimated that alcohol is linked to around 6,500 deaths each year on European roads. And while progress has been made in recent years, including in Poland, the figures are still far too high. Especially so considering that drink-driving is a risk factor that is totally avoidable. One key group to tackle is professional drivers. Lorries and buses crash less often than other vehicles, but when they do, the consequences can be catastrophic. In Belgium last month, a school bus driver transporting 49 children was tested and found to be over the limit. He was sacked within days. Zero
tolerance in such a case is a good thing, but surely it would be better if drivers who have been drinking were automatically blocked from starting the ignition? The technology to do that already exists and several European countries have laws that require so-called ‘alcohol interlocks’ to be installed in specific cases such as school buses, or to prevent convicted drink-drivers from re-offending. Finland was the first to introduce them, back in 2008, and now has a wellestablished rehabilitation programme. In neighbouring Sweden, it is estimated that there are now close to 100,000 of the devices in use. France requires alcohol interlocks on new school buses, and retrofitting of the rest of the fleet will be completed by next year. But despite these successes, wider take-up in the EU has been slow. There is a strong case for EU action to get things moving. But while the European Commission has set a target for halving the number of road deaths in the EU by 2020, it has done little to introduce legislation to tackle drink-driving. In September 2011, the European Parliament sensibly asked the Commission to deliver three legal measures. The first was a harmonised blood alcohol limit (there are currently six different levels allowed across the EU, ranging from zero in the Czech Republic to 0.8 grams per litre in the UK and Malta). The second was a zero-alcohol rule for professional and novice drivers. The third was the compulsory installation of alcohol interlocks in all new types of commercial vehicle, as well as in the vehicles of drivers who have more than one drink-driving conviction. All three measures are feasible, and would save lives. However, the Commission has barely lifted a legislative finger so far. A new study on alcohol interlocks has been delayed and there is no sign of new rules being proposed any time soon. Kamien Pomorski is yet another reminder that failing to deal with the scourge of drink-driving in Europe will only lead to more death, injury and lives ripped apart. The EU’s failure to act cannot be justified.
MEPs back plan for cars to call 112 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.
24 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
The European Parliament’s internal market committee has backed European Union plans for all new types of car and van to be fitted with automated emergency call devices, but opened the door to postponing their introduction beyond the proposed deadline of October 2015. The vote on ‘eCall’ gives a green light for a pan-European ‘type approval’ method to ensure the devices meet the necessary technical standards. The decision follows a vote in December by the transport committee to approve legislation for member states to develop the technical infrastructure for handling
calls from vehicles that have crashed. Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) said: “The key technologies for eCall are already available and in use, so there is no need to postpone the entry-into-force. “After a serious car crash, the time taken for emergency services to reach you can mean the difference between life and death. This system has the potential to save many lives because it will enable the emergency services to respond quicker. “It’s now crucial that Parliament negotiators support the strongest
possible implementation of the technology during negotiations with member states on the final deal and ensure these life-saving devices are in all new types of car and van from the end of next year.” The internal market committee has called on the European Commission to investigate extending the scope of the legislation to other vehicles by 2018. ETSC wants all drivers and riders to have access to the technology, including building it into lorries, buses and also motorcycles. Before becoming law, a deal will need to be struck with member state transport ministers and approved by the full Parliament.
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News feature
ROD CAME Editor, South East
U
nusually, five manufacturers of electric cars and the Government have joined together to promote a campaign called Go Ultra Low, the purpose of which is to show the benefits of electric cars to buyers. The promotion of electric cars is part of a drive to reduce emissions from vehicles which are supposedly killing the planet and going to leave nothing but a barren wasteland for our grandchildren to inherit. Quite how much difference taking a few thousand comparatively clean cars off the road and replacing them with other cars that have batteries which are very polluting to manufacture will make I am not quite sure, but we ADIs as responsible road users should do our bit. Unfortunately, there is always a reason why Joe Public does not embrace the wonderful ideas that our leaders come up with, in this case it is a combination of cost and practicality. In these straitened times, and even before the Government encouraged the financial crash we are now paying for, there were not too many ADIs forking out £25,000 for a tuition car. Why would you when there are many good cars, both new and nearly new, available on the market that are entirely suitable for the use to which we would put them? The second reason why electric cars have not found favour is that of range. An all-electric car will struggle to cover 100 miles without re-charging, even less in winter with heater and lights also draining the battery, so are no good to an ADI who may well be doing 150/200 miles a day. The addition of range-anxiety to complement all the other stresses involved in learner driver training would not be a welcome move. The answer to this problem is, of course, a hybrid vehicle, more of which are coming on the market following the success of the Toyota Prius. Basically there are two types of hybrid; those that have electric motors, the batteries for which are recharged by regenerative braking and the on-board petrol engine which also can power the car, including some models which can be recharged from a household electricity source as well. The other type is always powered by an electric motor with the on-board engine driving an alternator to charge the batteries. First, the bad news: all electric-powered vehicles have automatic transmissions of one sort or another. Because electric motors produce maximum power from zero revs they are not suitable for use with a manual gearbox so generally CVT transmissions are used. Toyota has its Yaris Hybrid and Honda a Jazz Hybrid, both coming in at a somewhat more sensible prices for purchase, and claiming quite extraordinary mpg figures. But why would ADIs buy one? Well, unless you only or mainly teach in an automatic and wish to flaunt your green credentials such a purchase might be hard to justify, but... Recently I went to a school to carry out minibus driver assessments. I had previously taught several members of staff to drive using a
26 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
Time car industry let ADIs lead the charge to electric engines ‘Our pupils often buy the car they learnt to drive in... ADIs help establish brand loyalty... why can’t we do the same in encouraging the public to switch to electric cars?’
Kia Pride. They all remembered that car with affection and unsurprisingly two of them have had Kias of their own. I only paid a few thousand pounds for each of the two I had but the pupils liked them sufficiently to invest their own money in a car from the same manufacturer. This just goes to prove a point I am about to make – learner drivers often buy a car of the same make that they learnt to drive in. Not necessarily a brand new one at first, but even buying a used car means that the manufacturer has built a new one to replace the one now being sold as used, and so the chain keeps linked up. What I am saying is that ADIs establish brand loyalty and effectively sell cars for manufacturers. The prospective customer gets a far better and longer test drive in an ADI’s car than ever they will receive from a dealer. They will also get an unbiased user’s review of the good and possible bad points of the vehicle such as reliability, dealer servicing and running costs, if they ask – and the manufacturer benefits from all this for free. You will no doubt have noticed that the national driver training companies align themselves with certain manufacturers and you can bet they do not do so out of the goodness of their hearts. They will have negotiated a deal to the benefit of both parties. So let’s consider taking it one step further. Individual ADIs may be able to come to
some sort of agreement with their local car dealership which could be of some small benefit to that instructor, but let’s not think individuals, or ten people but several tens of instructors, possibly even hundreds. You are reading this because you are a member of the MSA. The MSA has quite a lot of members but needs more. ADIs need cars and also to keep their costs down. Manufacturers need to build and sell cars – they spend a fortune in advertising and promotion in order to do so. Would it be unreasonable for me to suggest that the MSA, with its bargaining power, could approach a manufacturer to broker a deal on hybrid electric cars for members? I don’t mean a small variation on a lease deal, I mean a BIG DEAL. Something along the lines of £100 per month (inc. VAT) with a new car every 10,000 miles – and only for MSA members. If the Government and the manufacturers seriously want to increase the use of electric vehicles let them put their money where their mouth is and have the products seen being used by people who do the mileage. It would create greater exposure of this new type of propulsion to benefit the environment, be a good deal for ADIs and in-your-face advertising for a manufacturer who will also have a steady supply of nearly new cars for sale for those who think the full asking price is too high. Win, Win, Win. Go on MSA - give it a go!
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News feature
All that Jazz: The Honda hybrid range, as found in the Jazz (main picture), offers low-cost motoring with sensational mpg returns. The Nissan Leaf (inset right), is a 100% electric vehicle that still suffers from range anxiety issues. Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive (pictured facing page) is acknowledged as one of the best examples of the new technology which combines traditional petrol and electric propulsion.
All-electric v hybrid
Price: Nissan Leaf retails from £28,490, less the Government grant for electric motoring which currently stands at £5,000 per car. The Honda Jazz 1.3 IMA Hybrid retails from £16,770. Running costs: The Jazz, for all its frugal claims, is nearly five times more expensive to run than the Leaf. Jazz is around 9.7p per mile; the Leaf only 2p per mile. For comparison, the VW Golf Bluemotion (diesel) costs around 8.9p per mile for fuel, retailing from £20,615 MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 27
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Special feature: Cycle training
Bikeability gives you a new angle on road safety A day on the bike left a big MIKE YEOMANS impression Deputy Chairman, on Mike North East Yeomans – and it Towards the end of last year I was invited to wasn’t just get involved with a ‘seat to the saddle’ event, looked at the difference between riding a being saddle which pedal bike in traffic and being in the driver seat sore, either! of a lorry, bus, taxi or cars, etc. What is Bikeability? Bikeability is ‘cycling proficiency’ for the 21st century, designed to give the next generation the skills and confidence to ride their bikes on today’s roads.It was launched in March 2007. There are three Bikeability levels, with each level designed to help improve cycling skills, no matter what students know already. Levels 1, 2 and 3 take trainees on a journey from the basics of balance and control, all the way through to planning and making a journey by themselves on busier roads. Hundreds of thousands of young cyclists have already received Bikeability training and have
28 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
been awarded coveted Bikeability badges and certificates. We want as many children as possible to have the opportunity to take part in Bikeability training, and it is estimated that more than 1.5 million will have been trained by March 2015. What is Vehicleability? Vehicleability is you and I on the roads today, in the type of vehicle you usually use. This was established from the introduction of the motor vehicle for transportation. The event I attended was back in October last year. The day was sunny and I was apprehensive to be riding a bike for the first time in 20 years. I arrived at the media briefing point as the day was to be covered by BBC’s Look North and the local press in Hull. It was intended that event attendess complete their Bikeability training and relate their experiences to our usual mode of travel on the local roads. I was in a fortunate position as I train drivers for LGV, PCV and assess taxi drivers as well as minibus the LGV and PCV (I was referred to as ‘a good all-rounder’). However, my main observations were to be from the heavy goods vehicle perspective. First I was issued with a cycle helmet (no photo available of me in the Lycra and helmet because I have the body for radio, not TV). I was then issued a rather rusty but surprisingly
comfortable pedal cycle. I enjoyed the Part 1 training, cycling around in circles, posing for the TV and breaking off occasionally to speak to the local radio. The trainers were very friendly and encouraging. After an hour or so we progressed from the safety of the car park area to a nearby street where we practised and were assessed for our competence in crossing roads, turning into streets left and right, overtaking parked cars, etc. I was very surprised at the instruction for road positioning in secondary and primary road positions. The secondary position was near to the kerb, where I would normally expect to ride, the next position was the primary, which was almost halfway from the kerb to the centre line of the road. I felt this was a vunerable position for a cyclist to be in but was very much the position I was encouraged to adopt, expecting other road users to follow behind me. We set off for a lunch break and debrief; so far, all feeling very confident and accomplished. After lunch we had aching limbs and jaded enthusiasm but that was soon bolstered as we were asked to cycle through the city centre engaging with traffic and once again posing for the cameras as we cycled in double file (side by side) along some of Hull’s busiest roads. All our media commitments done, we cycled for our Part 3 assessment and I was asked to travel right at one the city’s busiest roundabouts.
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We need to be more conscious of the ‘green area’ at lights: the picture of a flat cyclist is not an instruction...
I am sure you are all aware of rule 187 for cycles and horse riders, from the Highway Code. Well, we did not use that option; we were asked to cycle in the centre of the right lane on the roundabout to go right. I had a large 44-tonne lorry following me who was, I’m sure, offering words of encouragement as he seemed to be giving me enthusiastic signs from the cab. I can honestly express my feelings at that time by using a Yorkshire expression, ‘I was touching cloth’ as I rode around the roundabout, vowing I would walk round in future as indeed the Highway Code does suggest as an option. I returned to the city centre and was further encouraged by my trainer to ride outside the cycle lane. Again, this seemed strange to me but as you read under rule 63 of the Highway Code, it’s quite acceptable dependent on your abilities. Returning to the car park where we first met, we reflected on the day, somewhat saddlesore but very excited to buy a bike and do it all again. I was reminded of the expression on many of the other road users’ faces from the day. I realised we, the other road users, do need to be more aware of our cycling cousins. I took a goods vehicle out on the road later that day and I can honestly say I was more conscious of the vulnerable road user. One of the cycling trainers had never been inside a lorry to see for
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Special feature: Cycle training
himself the poor vision afforded to LGV drivers of cyclists. He spent a day with me a week later and was himself more sympathetic to this other form of transport. Recent studies have suggested that if there were more cyclists or motorcyclists on the road, the other road users would be more aware of them. Unfortunately, because they are still a minority we do not see them or are not looking out for them enough. It is rumoured that changes to the Highway Code might include a clause where cyclists could turn left at red traffic light (I know some do anyway). We do need to be conscious of the ‘green area’ at lights for cyclists: the picture of the flat cycle is not an instruction, but the motorist should be more tolerant and allow the cyclist time to move away. It is surely better to have the cyclist in front of you and visible than somewhere near you and not visible. A culture change is required. I have noted in Manchester that some of the traffic lights at more congested junctions have mirrors attached to them so drivers can see alongside their vehicles. It’s a good innovation and one to be applauded. Be ready for changes in legislation for cyclists; be more aware and if you get the chance, try the Bikeability course. It will certainly open your eyes, if not your opinions on sharing today’s roads with other road users.
Bedford experiments with ‘turbo’ roundabout Bedford Borough Council is to start work on creating the UK’s first Dutch-style ‘turbo-roundabout’ later this month. It uses plastic lane dividers to keep traffic in lane and slow vehicles down in an effort to improve safety for cyclists after a number of incidents. The new-look roundabout will be installed on the Union Street-Tavistock Street-Roff Avenue-Clapham Road junction. Objections had been received from representatives of two-wheeled transport, the council said, as there was a concern that bikers may not see the lane dividers and hit them, or hit them when taking action to avoid a collision. Plastic lane dividers are a feature of many Dutch roundabouts, where evidence suggests they encourage vehicles to follow the correct lane on the roundabout and reduce speeds. The dividers can be crossed, with the council’s road safety officer saying that a cyclist would feel “a definite bump” if they did so. Spiral lane markings will be used to guide traffic to the appropriate exit. The roundabout was selected for the experiment as it has the highest incidence of cyclist casualties in the town. The new roundabout design is expected to maintain vehicle capacity.
0* 9.0 £19
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 29
Regional view:
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» » » The MSA’s nationwide network of editors with the news and opinions that matter at local level
Teacher, trainer or just plain professional: which are you? ROD CAME Editor, South East
The MSA SOUTH EAST is a large area covering Kent, East and West Sussex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The committee is very aware that most of our activities take place in the Kent/Sussex area and have decided that we must rectify the situation and arrange meetings for our members in the other counties. You will have read reports on this page of successful seminars which we have held, as these have been the most popular way to interact with MSA members, and we want to organise similar meetings elsewhere. Often a car dealership is happy to welcome ADIs to their premises, to the benefit of both parties, but we also use hotels and community halls. If you are in the MSA(SE) region and would like a meeting arranged in your area and have an idea for a venue please email me at camedt@onetel.com and we will do the rest. You do not have to be involved, although that would help even if as only a contact point. However, if you do want to be involved you will be made very welcome, especially if you have a relationship with a car dealership that would like to host a meeting.
MSA Annual Conference
This year’s conference will be held at the Holiday Inn, Bristol. I have been to many over the years and always find them a source of inspiration and information. You pick up information from other delegates during conversation as much as you do from the knowledgeable speakers. Driver training tends to be an insular occupation if you have your own business and the MSA national conference provides the ideal opportunity to interact with others who have the same aspirations and problems. If you haven’t yet booked up for the day session, now is the time to do so. It is only £43 for the day; see the advert on page 18-19 of this issue for speaker details, other pricing and how to book. I shall be there along with the MSA South East Chairman, Jo Chapman and our regional secretary Zoe Mitchell. Please make yourself known to us, it is always nice to meet members both old and new, and discuss mutual ideas. See you there.
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Professionalism
Are you a professional? All of us like to think that we are professionals, but are we? To answer this conundrum I referred to my trusted Oxford Dictionary and found to my relief that a ‘professional’ is described as ‘a person working for payment’, so far so good, or ‘someone highly skilled’ – oh dear. Perhaps we are traders? A trader has a trade which is ‘a business carried on to earn one’s living’ – mmm – that could be us. How about being a worker? Work ‘is what a person does to earn a living’ – yes, but... Perhaps a teacher? To teach is ‘to impart information or a skill to another person’ – we’re getting closer. Are you a trainer? A person who trains, that is ‘to bring to a desired standard of efficiency by instruction and practice’ – Yes, that’s it, we are trainers. Now comes the tricky one. Are you a professional trainer? In other words, are you someone who is highly skilled and by using that skill you are bringing others to a desired standard of efficiency by instruction and practice? The DVSA Standards Check – to be introduced in April – will, as the Check Test does now, have to grade ADIs according to their ability, as displayed over a test of less than an hour during which they can demonstrate their skills. It is probable that those who ‘pass’ are likely to then be sub-divided into further groups which, of course, will not be 4, 5 and 6 as now but denoted by some fancy nomenclature such as ‘good’, ‘wonderful’ and ‘amazing’ – you think I joke! Or there could be two sub-divisions: ‘just good enough’ and ‘better’. The ‘amazing’ and ‘better’ ADIs (as defined by the DVSA) might not be a problem. But what about the ‘good’ / ‘just good enough’ ADIs? Is it right that people defined by DVSA as falling into those
Early notice: 2014 MSA South East AGM & Seminar
A date for your diary at the other end of the year – the AGM and Seminar will be held in Tunbridge Wells, Kent on Friday, 21 November from 7pm. You’ve got to think and plan ahead in this game!
Contact e: camedt@one tel.com t: 01424 883333 / 07930 842833 a: Crown Cottage, Cackle Street, Brede, Rye, East Sussex TN31 6EA
categories should be regarded as ‘professional’ trainers? Perhaps more importantly, what is it that is being required by DVSA and demanded by clients that will incentivise the lower ranked ADIs to improve their abilities in the areas where they are found to be wanting? Unfortunately, the simple and honest answer is ‘Nothing’. Why should an ADI who is trundling along earning enough to provide for their family and pay the mortgage change the way they teach? The Register of Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) was introduced in October 1964 on a voluntary basis. A year later more than 3,000 instructors had qualified and were titled ‘Ministry of Transport Approved Driving Instructor’. The Register was established to maintain and improve the standard of car driving instruction available to the public. Its purpose was to ensure that the public could rely upon an acceptable minimum standard of tuition from registered driving instructors. In October 1970 new legislation was introduced which required anyone who wished to give paid instruction in cars to qualify and have their name entered onto the Register. There have been many changes to the Register’s structure and the qualifying process over the years, and driving instructors are now known as Driving Standards Agency Approved Driving Instructors (Car) – soon to be changed again, no doubt. Note that the Register was ‘established to …... improve the standard of …... instruction available to the public’. This could be taken to mean that the standard was to be improved upon that available prior to its introduction in 1964, which may have been achieved, I wouldn’t know. Or it could be read to mean it to be a continuing process, in which case there is little evidence to suggest that this is happening. The DSA, over their years of holding office, have shown little interest in improving the standard of instruction. Instead the agency seemed more interested in raising the number of instructors regardless of quality, evidenced by the increase from 30,000 ADIs to 47,000 and the lamentably small number who were removed from the Register for failing to meet the standard required to pass a Check Test. When the opportunity to make a difference came along, one promoted by the associations and accepted by instructors, the DSA bottled out and CPD was kicked into the long grass. I fervently hope that Alastair Peoples, the new head at the DVSA, will leave a lasting legacy of having actually achieved something notable, such as making the driver training industry fit for purpose and to improve the standard of driver training available to the public. Now, that would revive that long-forgotten aim for the original introduction of the Register.
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A premium parents’ nightmare Paula Morris p33
ADIs should be left to handle manoeuvres
Shall, should, must, may: the language of bus lanes
David James p34
Terry Pearce p 36
Give us the answers over gantry speed limits MIKE YEOMANS
Deputy Chairman North East
I recently attended a meeting where the keynote speaker was representing the Highways Agency. He was asked a number of searching questions about the highways and activities on them, particularly the anticipated ‘smart motorways’. Of the many questions posed one in particular struck me as inconclusive. It relates to a question my regional chairman, Karl Satloka, often asks other ADIs and members of the public. “Imagine you are travelling along a managed motorway. The speed limit is displayed as 40mph on the gantry signs above each lane. After travelling a while on the road the next set of gantry signs do not display anything; the panels appear not to be switched on, yet the next gantry after them has the end of restriction lit up. “First question: do you keep to the 40mph until you reach a sign with ‘end of restriction’ sign lit up? “Do you return to national speed limit the moment you are aware the restriction is not lit, ie, at the second gantry? “Do you favour keeping at the speed of the last sign you saw, until you see another speed or end of restriction?” I always quote 40mph as my answer but it could easily be 60mph or any other speed used during the traffic management. While you are thinking about your professional answer, consider what we see other road users doing. Also, consider if you were to join the motorway just before gantry 2, the one that is not lit. What speed would you do to travel on the motorway? How would you know there was a speed change/ restriction (if indeed there still is one – refer to your answers to the earlier questions)? I am aware, through the North East committee, that members of the public have been sent on speed aware courses for exceeding a limit they were unaware of (according to the member of public) as they approached the second gantry. This suggests that the speed was still held at the 40mph from the previous gantry (or does it?) Add to our scenario average speed cameras, where the initial story had a speed enforcement van
Smart motorways: what’s involved?
Diff erent types of smart motorway include: Controlled motorway — Controlled motorways have three or more lanes with variable speed limits. The hard shoulder should only be used in a genuine emergency. Hard shoulder running — The hard shoulder will be opened at busy times and the speed limit will be reduced. Do NOT use the hard shoulder unless overhead signs show that you can do so. All Lane running — There is no hard shoulder on these sections of motorway. Obey variable speed limits and do not stop on the motorway. If you need to stop in an emergency, use an emergency refuge area, motorway service area or leave at the next junction.
parked at the motorway observation point. Does this change anything? Again, reports – unsubstantiated but given as hearsay – have suggested that the average speed cameras on the gantry signs would spot-check speed as well as the average, resulting in the driver facing prosecution for an incorrect speed on that stretch of road coming up to and passing gantry 2. The keynote speaker for the Highways Agency was given the challenge to explain the issue. It would appear that there are matrix signs on the on-slip roads which will match the motorway road speed. If the speed changes after you reach the slip matrix (in other words, it changes after you have passed it) before you get to the next overhead matrix or as you pass it, there is a delay of 30 seconds in ‘capturing’ the speeder, so you shouldn’t get detected straight away. If there is a gantry sign that is not lit between two gantries that are showing different speed limits they request you notify the Highways Agency to have it corrected. And the answer to the main question is this: the speed limit will always be that of the last speed sign you saw until a change or notification is given or
conditions require you to further reduce your speed. The national speed limit sign on the off-slip is always a permanent metal sign, not a matrix. Again, the speed will always be the last speed sign you saw until a change of notification is given or conditions require you to further reduce your speed. A further question derived from this after the meeting, when a group of ADIs could not agree as to how true the statements were: they had never seen the on-slip matrix signs, and if they were there at what point would they be placed? Next question: what speed limit applies to the on-slip to a motorway? Is the motorway blue sign evident as you enter the slip? Is there a motorway sign part-way down the slip? Does the motorway speed apply as you start to join the motorway at the beginning of the broken lines (Give way) on to the motorway? Is the road (assuming you can travel at 70mph on the motorway) 60mph as a single national speed limit road or is it a part of the motorway already and therefore 70mph (or relevant speed according to your vehicle)? Is rule 259 in the Highway Code enough to answer all the questions? I am certain many trainers will read this and wonder what the fuss is all about but clarity is what is required. As you read this in the privacy of your own space, you can have doubts; it’s when we are asked as professionals, when it really matters, that we need to have the correct answers. Please comment for the next edition so the correct answers given in plain language can be used by our readers and their customers for the future.
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 31
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Regional News: North West
Taxis need to remember the rules over disability access JOHN LOMAS
Editor, North West
Where would you like our regional meetings to be held? That would be for the AGM and annual seminar or meetings we organise to let you know about the latest developments relating to our profession and help you develop your business with advice and training. We also want to set up some meetings in areas where we can attract new members, so if you know of areas where recruitment drives could be successful, please let us know.
Working with people with disabilities
Over the last few years I have been assisting at college with a course for would-be taxi (Hackney and private hire) drivers for two local towns. The course is generally literacy and numeracybased but there are modules conducted in the college’s motor vehicle facility, visits from the licensing authority and the police and the module which I present about accessibility. We try to bring to the attention of these drivers their responsibilities and also let them know that people with disabilities, who are often well-served by taxi drivers, could become regular repeat customers. There are a lot of people in this situation: approximately one-in-four households have someone so affected, particularly once you include the frail and elderly. In the last two months I have heard of a number of cases of taxi drivers refusing to carry a person who is accompanied by a guide dog. It is an offence to refuse to carry any assistance dog, unless the driver has an allergic reaction to, or chronic phobia of, dogs, and that if this is the case they must get such conditions medically certified and then apply for exemption certificates which must be displayed at all times in their vehicles. We
I have not had such a facility for pupils so have referred enquiries on to another instructor, but I have never asked: “Does that instructor charge the same rate for: 1) a pupil with a disability. 2) an able-bodied pupil. when using the same vehicle? I hope they do because unless I am mis-reading the act, it is wrong to discriminate in any way against people with a disability.
Contact e: johnstar driving@ hotmail.com t: 01254 705999 m: 07796 091767 a: 7 Devon St, Darwen, Lancashire BB3 2JZ
Driving or Diving?
have certainly made them aware of this. Why is it that people clearly ignore laws and advice they have been given when it doesn’t suit them to comply? OH yes, I forgot, we have been asking that about our learners’ behaviour post-test for years, and of course the “great know-it-alls” who run the Dept for Transport and their “hands off ” agencies have been blaming us. Perhaps we should start blaming them or at least their colleagues in the rest of the civil service such as the education department; after all, they have had longer to instil sense and civility into them than we have. Of course, we could also blame their parents’ behaviour BUT really it isn’t blame that is needed, it is allowing people who do the different jobs, instruction for instance, to get on with it without interference from outsiders. Then if lessons aren’t learnt or are subsequently ignored then the penalties need to be appropriate and not gentle taps on the wrist. Incidentally, since starting this article there was an item on the BBC’s Inside Out programme highlighting taxi drivers overcharging by between 30 per cent and 50 per cent for carrying passengers using a wheelchair. This got me wondering about how we serve pupils with disabilities, in particular those with disabilities which require vehicle modifications.
Hopefully not too many of our members have suffered any long-term problems for their business due to the weather much of the country has suffered over the past two months or so. I remember early on ordering a batch of cards from a local printer, this was before the days of the internet and Vistaprint etc. I must have handed out about 20 or 30 before I got my first enquiry about learning to dive and it must have been five minutes into the conversation before it dawned on the caller and I that we each had different ideas about the subject of the call. It all worked out in the end and I got a free re-print with the lost R replaced and an extra 100 cards thrown in, but it made me think twice about proof reading in future, however one should never assume all typos will be picked up on screen nor that they will be picked up by publishers, sometimes errors will creep in. (you’re not wrong there, John - Ed)
First Car
Apparently the DSA (DVSA) is still handing out copies of this booklet despite the glaring mistakes which we brought to their attention back in October 2013. I suppose a judgement has been made that as they have paid for them they might as well hand them out
Lane-drop white lines
Finally, in the last issue I talked about lane-drop white lines. I didn’t actually send any pictures to cover last month’s article; if I had, these are the ones I would have used to show the diagrams from the Road Signs Manual.
Lane-drop white lines
A sign mounted at the side of the motorway shows the arrangement of traffic lanes
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Regional News: North East
PAULA MORRIS Editor, North East
Hello again, and I’d like to offer a massive thank you to Mike Yeomans and Karl Satloka for standing in for me during my sabbatical! While I was away, I was still teaching and three of my pupils were at that stage where they were thinking about the car they were going to purchase after they passed their test. The inevitable question was put to me, “which car is cheapest to insure?” I don’t know about you, but each and every 17-25-year-old (and their parents!) has my sympathy with regards to the insurance nightmare, so I decided to start having a look through the internet one night and see what the consensus was over the cheapest vehicle to insure. The results were reasonably vague and worked on averages over the UK but it appears that from the lists I found the top 15 cars; in 15th (last) place was a Citroen C2 from a well known .com insurance website with an annual premium of £28,887.49! The same site revealed that in first place was the new Ford KA2 with an average insurance premium for a 17-18 year-old of £1,651.40! I know all the excuses – sorry, reasons! – that the insurance companies come up with for charging the extortionate amounts of money for premiums, but surely the sensible option is start the individual off on a more acceptable rate and if a claim is made, increase the premium accordingly? According to the same article, the people taking driving tests has fallen by 19 per cent since 1995. That’s not good news for us ADIs. It is also thought that as many as 250,000 young people are driving around without any insurance. They are far more willing to risk the fine and points, nothing new there I here you say? Well yes, me too, but the facts and figures never fail to amaze me! My daughter is 14 and time is passing quickly, so I think I had better start saving for her car insurance now (and start banking some extra patience for the lessons!) On the same website that I found the information above I found another interesting
Parents’ nightmare as they struggle to pay the premiums article about another favourite topic of ADIs, potholes. My interest was piqued on a recent errand to Penrith, as I haven’t been on the M62 and M6 for some time. I was shocked, surprised and concerned about the amount of potholes that have appeared on these motorways. Do we really need the added problems of having to swerve to avoid potholes while travelling at 70 mph? I think not! The amount of roadworks that are currently on these motorways are certainly not concentrating on the road surface, that’s for sure! The article I came across was entitled ‘How to claim pot hole accidental damage compensation.’ And the interesting part for me was that they had compiled a list of the most pothole-proof cars provided by a study from potholes.co.uk (who knew?) The survey was based on warranty claims resulting from pothole damage. Here’s a small part of the list compiled – the top 10 most resilient manufacturers: 1 Honda – 1.4% (incident rate in an average year) 2. Toyota – 1.5% 3. Hyundai –1.7% 4. Nissan – 2.0% 5. Kia – 2.1% 6. Mitsubishi – 2.2% 7. Mini – 3% 8. Suzuki – 3.1% 9. Ford – 3.4% 10. Mazda – 3.4% They also include the least resilient, which were Chrysler, Smart. Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar, Saab, Fiat, BMW, Seat and Vauxhall. Not sure about you but there were a few surprises in those lists to me! The average pothole claim stands at £309, with
Contact • You can contact Paula at pauladtc@ outlook.com
some claims as high as nearly £2,500. The variation on how vehicles react to potholes is eye opening! To finish my look through some websites for facts and figures I found a piece that made me smile. It appears that the American state of Wisconsin takes the biscuit for the most novel way to de-ice its slippery winter roads this year: it’s using CHEESE! Wisconsin is the largest producer of cheese in the US, and one of the key waste products of the cheese manufacturing process is brine. Despite all the technology at our fingertips salt spreading is still one of the most effective ways to defrost a road and the state has realised it might be able to save a fortune on gritting materials by using the dairy by-product. Saltwater from cheese factories is being mixed with regular rock salt in a trial in Milwaukee, before being loaded into a fleet of regular gritters to scatter across the states road network. Ice is a big deal in Milwaukee, the biggest city in Wisconsin: temperatures regularly plunge to -10deg C during the winter months – and even colder this winter with the ‘big freeze’ they’ve been suffering from recently – leading to snow and ice-covered streets. The New York Times estimates that Milwaukee spends nearly $6.5 million on snow removal each winter so taxpayers will be far from ‘cheesed-off ’ if the trial proves effective! Wisconsin produces around a quarter of all cheese in USA and plenty of butter too! Officials say the best cheeses for creating the right sort of salt suitable for clearing roads are provolone and mozzarella. Well, if it works there’s a new environmentally efficient option that could be considered for the UK!
MSA North East ADI Meeting Monday, 10th March at
Evans Halshaw Citroen Bradford, Kings Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD2 1EY
North East Doors open 6pm, Meeting begins 7pm
Guest speakers
Towards your CPD
n Interactive discussion with Trevor Outram -
CPD attendance certificates will be issued on the night. Remember, for any CPD to be valid you will need to state what has been gained from the session(s), (on the reverse of the certificate or separate sheet), and what use it will be to you in your training or other activities.
DVSA Sector Manager on the Standards Check n Mike Yeomans – Karl Satloka on ‘L and Beyond’ n Q & A with speakers
Please note: there will be £1 admission charge, for both members and non-members. Non-members: JOIN MSA ON THE NIGHT and the usual £15 Joining Fee will be waived. Membership desk will be open from 6.00pm on the night. Members are requested to bring membership cards
Plus ADI networking and Race Night – test your skills on our special race track. Light refreshments will be available MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 33
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Regional News: South Wales
It’s time to let ADIs take over the job of testing learners’ manoeuvres Contact
DAVID JAMES
Editor, South Wales
I was approached the other day by a resident in a local street which is one of the driving test locations for a parallel park manoeuvre. He was telling me how one day, three driving school cars had blocked the street for a while by queuing up and all trying to do the manoeuvre at the same time. It is not unusual to see driving school cars there and he was not complaining – at least that’s what he said – he simply thought it strange that somebody had not organised a rota. I explained that all instructors work independently and may not even know each other. I wondered if any of the cars were on tests and not lessons. I recall requests from the test centre staff asking instructors to avoid test routes during
34 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
David James can be contacted via e: d.james869@ btinternet.com t: 07733 070888
test periods. Along with other ADIs I used to do this where possible and remember how difficult this was on occasions. When the decision was made by DSA to stop publishing test route details, there may have been good reasons it had to be done but one ‘knock on’ effect made it more difficult for instructors to avoid a possible problem. There has been a lot of expertise put into research on driver training and making the test more effective by allowing examiners to test learners in more traffic. What if the DSA trusted ADIs to train and test their pupils in the set manoeuvres and this could be signed off as a module before applying for a test? I can hear reactions from some who remember, as I do, times past when we thought that registering as Pass Plus ADIs would ensure a better standard of new driver and also better insurance rates for them. Sadly, as we all know, it didn’t work out like that and no amount of blame allocation will change that fact. On the MSA forum I was reading a member’s account of his experience as a newcomer to the industry and how he had found the experience. It is a good way to see the diverse topics and opinions and I find there are lots of interesting items, it’s well worth a visit.
This week I received a text from a well-known national franchise company offering a nice driving school car package which covers all you need to set up and run a driving school. I have never operated under a franchise agreement and don’t know anything about this particular package, but a bit of mental arithmetic told me that to pay for the package I would need to do 16 lessons in the week to begin to earn money to buy fuel. This is not new; in the 1990s I had a meeting with another national franchise company and the details may have been different to those offered this week. I recall something which startled me at the time; I would have to do fifteen lessons to begin to earn money to buy fuel! I am not trying to imply anything untoward about any of these deals. The companies are set up and operate successfully and when the economy causes a drying-up of income such as we have witnessed in some areas, it distorts the statistics. One difficulty I find is that in the time I have been an ADI, I am not aware of any improvement in the advice available to potential driving instructors. Organisations like the MSA provide a good service but that will probably only be available to people after they have made a business commitment.
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Regional News: Western
Region left reeling by winter storms COLIN LILLY
Chairman & Editor, Western
The weather in the early part of this year has had a profound effect on many areas throughout the country but the south west has been more severely affected than most. The economy of Cornwall had been vulnerable for a number of years, being recognised as the poorest county in England. This makes recovery from the storms a more difficult process than in other areas. Transport has been vital to business in this area. The fact that a single rail-line links Cornwall and west Devon to the rest of the country is almost unbelievable. The line at Dawlish has been at risk for a number of years. However, the promise of an alternative route has been regularly discussed and side-stepped. Now that the link has failed a preferred alternative has been found and more planning has started
– or at least we are led to believe that. Hopefully this has highlighted the long-term effects of the cull of the railways in the 1950s and 60s. This is, perhaps, the best example of the folly of disposing of the ‘family silver’. Hindsight gives us the opportunity to reflect on the reliance of the country on road transport and the problems that have been unleashed in road maintenance and environmental issues. Indeed, if we had retained a rail network, would we be having the current debate about HS2? This would have been achieved by natural development. I digress. The weather has had a detrimental effect on Cornwall’s local businesses, fishing and the farming community. The long-term effect on the tourist industry remains to be seen. Driver training is a service industry which will feel the effect of the economy of the region. I have lived all my life in coastal towns in north Somerset where the tidal range is the second highest in the world. In fact, on the weekend when the storms and flooding began the tidal range was almost 14 metres, which is the height of a threestorey house. Add wind and rain to that and you have a very powerful force. For many years the waves at Westonsuper-Mare were used as library images by
national television channels and newspapers. Over the last couple of decades the sea has destroyed the weak structures. A flood prevention scheme has prevented further damage and the waves are now less dramatic. It should be the expectation of any coastal town to receive similar protection. Low-lying land and floodplains are difficult to protect in extreme conditions. Perhaps the driver training profession should take a little time after this recent period to reflect on and protect their businesses against the vagaries of the climate. In conversations I have had with a number of people, both inside and outside of the driver training profession, there is a general feeling that the young driver problem is improving. This may be just anecdotal but it is borne out by the figures in the Department for Transport’s statistics for 2012. In the report it states that ‘the number of KSI causalities from accidents involving at least one young driver has fallen much quicker than KSI casualties from accidents involving no young drivers over recent years. In particular, the number of fatalities in accidents involving young car drivers has dropped significantly since the start of 2007’. Closer look at the figures suggest that
the KSI for crashes not involving a young driver have shown a slight increase over the last two years. We must not take our eye off the ball by being bogged down by historical prejudices. We may be ignoring a problem that may require some attention. While writing the above item I am reminded of a local radio presenter who was presenting a discussion on young drivers. In an attempt to be politically correct he referred to them as ‘Boy racers and drag queens’. I thought then that he needs to get out more. FINALLY, MSA Western is looking forward to welcoming you to the National Training Day in Bristol. This is the first time the event has been held in the Western Region and we aim to make it the best yet. It’s great to hear that there has been strong support for the event. If you are attending please give us feedback on the event in order to develop future ones. If you have any comments or news please contact me at 7 Bampton, Tamar Road, Worle, Weston-superMare BS22 6LD, on 01934-514336, Mobile: 07768367056 or e-mail: cglilly@btinternet.com
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 35
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Regional News: West Midlands
Forget the Traffic Signs manual: someone pass me a dictionary! TERRY PEARCE
Editor, West Midlands
Contact e: terrysom@ aol.com t: 02476 335270 a: 20 Brownshill Green Road, Coventry CV6 2DT
The saga of the bus lane on Sky Blue Way, Coventry carries on (Newslink, February). The council have now sent out an official letter to my colleague headed, Notice of Rejection of Representations. You would at least expect the person who signed the rejection to tell you what their name is, instead all my colleague received was an indecipherable squiggle. Last month I said I was I hopeful that we had found another fault in the bus lane markings. The Traffic Signs manual states, “The legend BUS LANE to diagram 1048 should be marked in the lane at its
commencement. It should also appear after every side road junction on the same side of the road as the bus lane, and, in conjunction with signs to diagram 959, at intervals not exceeding 300 m along uninterrupted lengths of the lane. As they did not conform to this I asked the council for their opinion.” The council’s reply was; “We have also looked at the way that the TSM defines the word ‘should’ which is in para 1.5 of Chapter 3. It reads as follows: ‘In this chapter the word ‘must’ is used to indicate a legal requirement of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions that must be complied with. The word ‘shall’ indicates an essential (or mandatory) requirement of compliance with this chapter, and ‘should’ indicates a course of action that is strongly recommended and represents good practice. ‘The word ‘may’ generally indicates a permissible action, or an option which requires consideration depending on the circumstances.’ “Thus we acknowledge that additional signs to diagram 959 are strongly recommended but must highlight to you that they are not a legal
The source of the trouble: Coventry’s offending bus lane, poorly marked according to many but in compliance with the Traffic Signs manual according to the council, who reverted to the subtle grammatical differences between ‘should’ and ‘must’ be defend their decision
Stourbridge to host MSA meeting MSA West Midlands is holding a meeting for all ADIs on Tuesday, 8 April at Westlands Toyota, 75 Brettell Lane, Amblecote, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY8 4BP. We have invited speakers to give presentations on topics including the new Standards Check, coming into force in April, and a driver training industry update. Doors open
18.30, meeting to start at 19.00 and finish at 21.00. Price is £5 for members, non-members £8. To book and guarantee your place, go to www.msagb. com, access the Sales drop down menu and click on sales, where you will be able to book and pay by debit/credit card. Alternatively, call the MSA Head Office on 0161 429 9669.
Recommend a colleague to join the MSA – and receive a £10 M&S voucher Many new MSA members join on the recommendation of a colleague – and we want to make sure that if that colleague is you, you know that your work in spreading the good news about the MSA is appreciated. So if you do recommend a colleague, we’ll send you a £10 Marks & Spencer’s voucher as a thank you. If you recommend a colleague ask them to put your membership number in the “How did you hear about the MSA?” box if they join online, or if they join over the phone, they can quote it when they submit their details to our membership team.
36 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
requirement. As you are aware we have advertised a variation to the bus lane order for Sky Blue Way and others to permit their use by motorcycles from 1 February and as part of that work we will be installing additional signs as recommended.” Their reply makes me wonder why we have traffic sign manuals when they can play with the words ‘must’, ‘shall’, ‘should’ and ‘may’! The council, however, has been true to their word; they are installing additional signs as recommended. Perhaps it is the cynic in me but they are not doing it to help motorists, instead they are doing it is so they can keep penalising more motorists! My comments on various matters such as bus lanes may make people think that I am against the council enforcing their rules; this is most certainly not the case. All I want is for the rules to be clear and fairly administered, and then if you break them it’s your own fault. While travelling through roadworks recently I noticed that the average speed cameras were pointing to the rear of the passing traffic. I assume this allows them to catch motorcyclists as their only number plate is only viewed from the rear, which I must say is a good idea. Can I remind you all once again that you have the opportunity to enter into our regional draw. To enter all you have to do is recommend a new member for our region. If they join and give your membership number as shown in Newslink where you ‘recommend a colleague’, (see below), you will not only receive a £10 M&S voucher you will also go into our regional draw for £100. What better incentive to get your colleagues to join us! The West Midlands region covers a large area where I am sure there are a lot of interesting things happening that we would all benefit from sharing. I try not to write about my local area too much but to achieve this I need your help by telling me what is happening where you live. I can be contacted on 024 7633 5270, terry@ terrypearce.co.uk or 20 Brownshill Green Road, Coventry, CV6 2DT.
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Then join the MSA today! Just £65* per year –
that’s around 17p a day Call us now on 0800 0265986 and join immediately with a credit/debit card
Or go online to www.msagb.com and click on the ‘Join’ drop down menu along the top of the opening page. Complete the simple application form – and you’re a member and can start benefitting from membership right away
Application form
Available only to MSA members A quartet of good advice – just £6.50 each THE MSA has four popular ADI guides, which are bang up-to-date with the latest changes to the driver training and testing sector. The MSA Part 2 Guide; the MSA Check Test Guide; the MSA Driving Test Guide and the MSA PDI Guide provide help for instructors at different stages of the career ladder. They are all written by experienced ADIs and provide insight and advice for all instructors, no matter what stage of their careers they are at. 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. 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 gives details of all three sections of the ADI examinations and explains the qualification system.
Just £6.50 each
These invaluable tools for all ADIs are available to purchase from MSA head office at a cost of just £6.50 each. Telephone 0161 429 9669 now with a credit or debit card, or send a cheque made payable to the MSA to MSA Head Office, 101 Wellington Road North, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 2LP. Order all four at a discounted price of £24.00.
* Initial application £90, includes one-off joining fee of £25 MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 37
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Regional News: Greater London
(Speed?) awareness courses TONY PHILLIPS Editor, Greater London
Since June last year I’ve been facilitating speed awareness courses. There’s quite a few of us ADIs conducting these courses on behalf of the operators and the various bodies involved. The reason why I’ve put the word SPEED in brackets in the title is because I wonder if the motorists who attend these courses are aware of anything at all around them when they’re out there. One example is from local drivers on the course complaining about how the safety (speed) camera on the A3 northbound near Tolworth (near Kingston-upon-Thames) is situated “just after” the 50 mph speed limit gateway. The insinuation is that there is a sly trick going on. Well, for those of you who are not familiar with the area, let me describe it for you. First, you’re on a three-lane 70 mph dual carriageway with a hard shoulder heading
towards London. Just a thought, but if you’re headed towards a big city, what would YOU expect to happen to the speed limit at some point? As you climb a long hill, in the central reservation near the apex is a warning triangle that’s really hard to see because it’s only about two metres high with a great big exclamation mark in it. Guess what it says underneath? Well, it says ‘TRAFFIC QUEUES AHEAD LIKELY’ (Well, I never! Who’d have thought it, eh?) As you rise over the apex, the road sweeps to the left and on either side of the carriageway is a great big, yellow-backed red circle with the legend ‘50’ in it. Now granted, if you have someone tailgating you at this point, it wouldn’t be a great idea to start drastically reducing speed right now, but a slight gentle bleeding off of some of the speed just might be a good idea? However, this is NOT where the camera is, not by a long chalk. Next, we have great big green signs on either side of the road clearly showing that we’re losing lane 3 in 800 yards. What do you think that might mean about potential changes to the amount of traffic in your own lane if you’re in lanes 1 or 2? Also, what do you think it means about traffic movement further up the road? Lane changing, etc, if you’re in lanes 1 or 2? What should you now be considering if you’re in lane 3?
Greater London
So what’s New? Find out at our seminar
Principal speakers are:
Tom Kwok, Chairman/Treasurer, MSA Greater London Subject: New update on Standards Check Tony Phillips, Secretary/Editor, MSA Greater London Subject: Coaching
on Thursday, 13 March
Doors open 6.30pm for 7pm start
at Master’s Renault in Beckenham 150 Upper Elmer’s End Road Beckenham, Kent BR3 3DZ Entrance is £5 to MSA members (on production of membership card) £8 to non-members (£3 refunded if joining the MSA on the night) Light refreshments will be available • CPD certificates after seminar To reserve your seat or for more information, please phone
MSA Greater London on 020 7690 0298 (between 9.30am -6pm, Monday-Friday) or email: msagreaterlondon@gmail.com
All ADIs and PDIs welcome 38 n MARCH 2014 n MSA NEWSLINK
Hidden in plain sight: Participants on speed awareness courses often complain about being caught by ‘sneakily’ sited cameras, despite receiving many hints at reducing their speed in the run-up to it
Further along (about 200 yards in fact) there’s a repeat of the green signs but guess what, they’re saying this time? Yep, you got it. We’re losing lane 3 in 600 yards. At this point, there’s an electronic warning sign just to the left of the carriageway that flashes up. It’s a red circle and guess what it’s flashing? You guessed it; 50. Further along there is a speed camera warning sign as well. We get more green signs either side a further 200 yards down and again 200 yards after that, both with very obvious information and THEN, ladies and gentlemen, and only then do we get a speed camera! All in all, there are 14 signs to get motorists to slow down and yet they still get flashed. To be honest, I’m really grateful for it
because I’ve earned a reasonable amount of income from these courses, however, cynicism aside, how blind are these people? I wrote in last month’s Newslink about the Google car and you know what, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea. The funny thing is that when I mention it to delegates on the course, many of them find it scary and they would want the ‘driver’ behind the wheel to be concentrating all the time because this car drives itself. Well, considering that they’re all driving cars that don’t drive themselves, shouldn’t they be concentrating even more because of this? More tales follow soonest. You’ll either laugh or cry, believe me, it’s really happening out there!
Greater London seminar: calling the south-east London and suburban Kent ADI and PDI fraternity We have our first seminar of the year coming up and we’re pleased to report that it’s at Masters Renault in Beckenham. The date is Thursday, 13 March. Not all details are finalised as yet, however there will be a couple of presentations; almost certainly one of them will be on the buzz fear at the moment, the new Standards Check, some very nice cars to have a look at, tea and refreshments and, as always, a great chance to mingle with your fellow driver trainers. The venue address is Masters Renault, 150 Upper Elmer’s End Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 3DZ. Speakers and presentations are to be advised, however doors Contact will open at 6.30 with a view to start at 7. The event is expected to finish by 9.30. Masters and Renault will be making a e: tony@tonys presentation obviously but we will certainly be discussing trainees.co.uk up-coming events within the industry, especially with the Please ensure Standards Check looming large on the horizon. all emails contain MSA Look out at your local test centre notice board for further Greater details and we will be contacting MSA Greater London London in members direct with more information. the subject Here’s looking forward to seeing you all.
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Company profile
Car2Instruct keeps ADIs on right road A successful vehicle rental business has launched a specialist service to help driving instructors. Car2U is a dedicated vehicle hire firm and highly regarded nationwide for providing dualcontrol cars, 4 x 4s and commercial vehicles with extras – such as tow bars – on a short or long-term hire basis to organisations such as driving schools and accident management companies. Thanks to the increasing demand for dual-control cars, Car2U has now launched Car2Instruct, a business dedicated to providing dual-control and short-term replacement vehicles for ADIs and PDIs, as well as motoring schools. Car2Instruct hopes to become a leader in the field of vehicle replacement thanks to its ability to provide dual control cars quickly and at short notice. Its team of experts also offers rapid accident, service and breakdown response facilities with no tie-in contracts and a wide range of models available. The aim of the business, based in
Sunderland and operating nationally, is to minimise loss of earnings for driving instructors in the event of an accident and also help newly-qualified instructors to get on the road quickly and start their business while they might have to wait for their own vehicles to be modified. Managing director of Car2Instruct, Gill Frary, said: “Supplying dual-control vehicles to motoring schools has become a huge part of Car2U’s business. Customer service is paramount in the vehicle hire sector so we wanted to make sure that driving instructors up and down the country have easy and rapid access to replacement vehicles when they need them, hence we’ve set up Car2Instruct. “We help to reduce loss of earnings and the associated worry of finding a replacement vehicle when accidents or breakdowns happen. We get instructors straight back on the road allowing them to continually offer their customers the best service possible.” Car2U has recently been working
with CSM Fleet Driver training to supply them with a number of vehicles. Paul Coleman from CSM, who is also the secretary of the Teesside Association of Professional Driving Instructors, said: “Car2U always offers outstanding and prompt service even at very short notice. “Vehicles are always immaculate and if we need to use them for longer than first anticipated, it is never a problem. Customer service is exceptional and the company can provide a full range of dual controlled cars when we need them. Car2u is the only place to go and is always used by our members.” n For more details visit www. Car-2-u.co.uk or contact Info@ car-2-u.co.uk or 08006226242
Gill Frary outside the Car2U head office
‘We wanted to make sure that driving instructors up and down the country have easy and rapid access to replacement vehicles when they need them, hence we’ve set up Car2Instruct’
MSA NEWSLINK n MARCH 2014 n 39
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