Top Five News Stories For Driving Instructors In July

By Author: Lee Price
Total Articles: 13
Comment this article

5. Road Safety Foundation Reports Shows Safest and Most Dangerous Roads

The most recent report by the Road Safety Foundation has thrown up some remarkable statistics, not least of which is that the West Midlands, which includes areas such as Coventry and Birmingham, is the safest region to drive in the country, with the lowest average risk rating across the County.

The report aims to demonstrate that billions of pounds could be saved by accident and emergency crews if work is undertaken to ensure the safety of British roads. Amongst the more disturbing statistics in the report is that 1 in 10 of Britain's motorways and A-roads are considered unacceptably high risk while, perhaps not so coincidentally, half of all fatal accidents occur on 10% of British roads.

The report provides in-depth details of the most improved roads in the country, as well as the most dangerous, and also goes on to prove, through consultation with various road authorities, that inexpensive engineering measures contribute massively to these improvements. This includes improvements in signs, resurfacing and the use of anti-skid treatments ...
... on the road.

While safe driving technique, learned from any good driving school, can reduce the risk of having an accident on these roads, one can never account for the actions of others while driving. These small measures have an initial outlay, but the report also outlines the benefits and savings experienced by the country's emergency services, proving that the benefits vastly outweigh the initial costs involved

4. A Quarter of Young People Admit to Road Racing

A survey of 2,800 British youngsters, including under 17's, carried our by FedEx and Brake, has revealed that more than half have been a passenger in a vehicle that has travelled at more than 40mph in a 30mph zone while 23% admitted to having driven, or been a passenger in, a car that has undertaken a race on a public road.

The research appears to indicate that youngsters find it difficult to speak out when placed in a position of such risk, with 58% of the passengers interviewed saying that they did not ask the driver to slow down. The report also displayed that youngsters are killed in fatal accidents more than any other age group.

The report has caused Brake to call on the Government to introduce a Graduated Drive Licencing (GDL) scheme, similar to the one in New Zealand, that will ensure that youngsters who wish to drive learn in stages over time. On top of this the charity is also calling out for compulsory education in secondary schools to highlight the dangers of speeding and other forms of high risk driving.

Brake campaign officer Ellen Booth said: "Many young people get a thrill from driving fast with their friends in the car, but because of the way young people's brains develop, they often don't yet have the ability to control their thrill-seeking tendencies. They often feel invincible and over-estimate their power to get out of trouble. Brake is urging the government to take steps now to stop more families suffering the devastation of the death of a teenager."

3. England Cricketer Charged With Drink Driving

England Cricketer and Ashes winner Graeme Swann has been charged with drink driving after the 31 year old was stopped in the West Bridgford area on the 2nd April. Police have confirmed that he was charged last month and is expected to appear before magistrates on the 16th August.

The player, voted Cricketer of the Year by the England and Wales Cricket Board was, according to a police spokeswoman "...charged on 8 June 2010 with driving a motor vehicle when alcohol level was above the limit."

2. 76 Year Old Passes Driving Test with Flying Colours

After trying a number of driving schools, 76 year old Mubarek Sear finally found one that didn't tell him he was too old to get a driving licence and, after a lot of hard work, he has now passed his driving test with flying colours.

The driving student, from Milton Keynes, was refused driving lessons from a number of schools in his local area before contacting i-Drive, a driving school in Bradford that had helped a couple of his relatives pass their tests. There he was taught by driving instructor Nafis Ishaq, who says "I feel with his hard work, his commitment and dedication he's proved everyone wrong who has said he's wasting his time and he can't do it."

Mr Sear had previously learned to drive abroad and had driven for 35 years, however his road skills were not up to snuff with current British standards, leading him to take driving lessons to correct his bad habits and pass his driving test on Tuesday.

1. Drunk Driver Dad Didn't Realise His Car Was on Fire

A father who was caught driving his children around in a vehicle that was smoking and believed to be on fire by onlookers was found to be over the drink-driving limit after a breathalyser found he had 162mcgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath.

Shocked onlookers saw Adam Whiteread drive the vehicle while seemingly oblivious to the clouds of smoke emanating from it. He only became semi-aware of his plight when a fellow motorist pulled him up and attempted to point the problem out to him. Even then he still seemed dazed and confused, leading to the woman pulling the man's children out of the vehicle for their own safety.

Astonishingly he then continued to drive on for around 70 yeards before eventually pulling over, where he was breathalysed by police.

He then went on to tell officers he had downed an entire bottle of vodka in celebration of the fact that he had gotten a job after three months of unemployment and was at a loss as to why he had chosen to drive his car while still intoxicated. He claims to have little to no memory of the incident and reportedly told police "It was a stupid thing to do"

Visit http://www.thedriving-force.co.uk for more information