The average temperature across the UK was -1.0°C – compared with the usual 4.2°C. The previous coldest December was in 1981, when the average temperature was 0.1°C.
The provisional UK, England and Wales figures for December 2010 show that the month was the coldest month since February 1986. In Scotland it was the coldest month since February 1947, and in Northern Ireland the coldest month on record.
I think we can all agree that it was bloody cold! However, actual precipitation was only 38% of what is normal – so it has really been quite dry and sunny, and comes out as the third driest December since records began.
Someone has raised this as a topic on one of the forums. It’s one of those subjects which seems quite banal (and it comes up often enough), but which is totally beyond the understanding of many ADIs. A bit like statistics, really!
One person posts that he often gets people asking about the Minis and Astras his company uses. The whole topic immediately becomes moot, since it obviously DOES matter – and so becomes irrelevant that other pupils might not be bothered about the car.
But this doesn’t stop another poster stating:
Car does not matter. The personality of the instructor does.
See what I mean about it being a difficult concept for some ADIs? They just can’t see beyond their own tiny world.
Another poster made a comment about a school in his area teaching in a BMW (which he subsequently deleted), and yet he then says in another post:
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people who have asked me about cars when booking lessons.
Well, it either matters or it doesn’t. You can’t have it all ways. You can’t acknowledge that a BMW attracts people and then say it doesn’t, particularly when your car is quite possibly one of the makes people wouldn’t choose… if they had to choose (which they don’t).
The simple fact is that if the car matters to just one person, then it MATTERS. In reality it matters to a hell of a lot of people – and it would matter to the rest of them if money wasn’t their main concern. If they had a choice between a brand new Mini or a 10 year old Skoda or Corsa then it’s fairly obvious which they’d choose.
Most pupils consider the instructor, the car, and the lesson price to be important.
Registration and non statutory test fee increases from 4 January 2011
The following registration and non statutory test fees have increased today due to the VAT change:
Registration for large goods vehicle instructors
Registration and test fees for fleet driver trainers
Registration to join the post-test register of motorcycle trainers
Please visit the Business Link website for a list of all fee increases effective from 4 January 2011, including the Cardington special tests for driving and motorcycle instructors.
Someone found the blog by Googling “what kind of person has personalised licence plates?”
In my experience…
Such a person will have more money than sense – a plate which doesn’t really have any obvious personalisation will cost you £250; something in the old style (like F4 ABC) will cost £600; and if the letters are even close to spelling any word in the English dictionary, you’re looking at over £1,000. Anything with “MAC” in it is closer to £2,000 – and that’s just the reserve price at auction. And so on.
Such a person will be retired and drive a Jaguar (or large Rover, etc.). They will drive it badly.
Such a person will own a pratmobile, have acne, and usually a problem in the vertical plane. They will drive it badly.
Such a person will be a middle-aged woman trying to look 20-something, driving a Mercedes. She will drive it badly.
Such a person will be an Audi owner. Enough said on that one.
Such a person will be driving a large car of some description – a Merc, Jag, or Land Rover, etc. - but one which has seen better days. They’ll most likely be covered in tattoos and may drive in a vest (usually with a cigarette on the go). They will drive it badly.
You can see the link developing here. They just draw attention to themselves - which is why they bought the plate in the first place – but not in quite the way they had originally intended.
This story has been covered in the press – I saw it in today’s Sunday Mirror, and it is also covered by Autoblog. It concerns various websites which charge a premium priced for booking theory and practical driving tests – apparently the AA has complained to the Office Of Fair Trading (OFT).
The thing is, some sites are definitely scams – they deliberately fool people into paying money and they provide nothing in return, not even a test booking in some cases.
The ones that charge a premium price and deliver what they offer aren’t really scams. What they’re doing is highly immoral, particularly if they conceal the fact they are not official sites (and most of them do), but they are still providing a service – albeit of questionable value.
I’m not defending them – I think they are wrong - but we need to be clear on what is actually happening and not just keep labelling things we don’t like as “scams”. After all, stealing money from someone is not the same as overcharging them. It’s similar, but not the same.
But the overall message is this…
BOOK YOUR TEST ONLY VIA THE DSA WEBSITE
DO NOT BOOK IT USING ANYONE ELSE
ALL YOU CAN GET IS A TEST BOOKING – THERE IS NOTHING “EXTRA”, SO DON’T PAY EXTRA IF SOMEONE OFFERS IT
THE THEORY TEST IS EASY - DON’T PAY SOMEONE TO HELP YOU
A SIMPLE DVD COSTING AROUND £6 WILL HELP MORE THAN THEY CAN
Use the DSA’s site, and only the DSA’s site – see the links on the Information page.
The DSA has introduced a CAPTCHA system on its booking pages, designed to inhibit automated test checking and booking.
A while back, I wrote about an episode of Mythbusters on Discovery Channel – where they had debunked the myth that two cars colliding at 50mph impact with a force equivalent to hitting a solid wall at 100mph.
I noticed tonight that someone has picked up the same episode and has commented on it.
We are all led to believe that if two cars travelling at 50mph hit each other head on, the impact speed would be 100mph.
They proved that wrong.
Talk about wrong end of the stick!
The combined speed of the impact is a mathematical quantity – something going at 50mph hitting something else going at 50mph in the exact opposite direction results in a combined impact speed of 100mph.
What they really did in the show was prove that the forces involved were only equivalent to a 50mph impact against a solid wall and not to those resulting from a 100mph impact against a solid wall.
None of those who have so far replied have spotted the error – which just goes to show what I have often said about ADIs. They really ought to leave some subjects alone!
I noticed a thread on one of the forums about personalised number plates.
Someone who is an ADI says he has bought a personalised plate and is asking if the examiner “would mind” if he made it – for example – A12BC D instead of A12 BCD.
People who buy these things usually do what he is suggesting as standard (they also use yellow/black bolts to make/fill gaps in the letters to change what they look like). Favourite tricks include turning two adjacent 1s into an H by putting a black bolt between them and moving them closer together, and putting a yellow bolt in an O, 0, or other character to make it look like a G or something.
He immediately got a reply advising him that it would fail the MOT, so he should keep a spare set and switch them whenever he takes it in for its MOT. I believe that this reply is from an ex-traffic cop!
Next, there’s a brief argument on how easy it is/isn’t to get plates made which don’t conform to the standard.
Let’s just clarify something: it is illegal. The person who asked the question knows that, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked. All the people who have answered know it, otherwise they wouldn’t have advised on ways around it.
And then there is this comment:
How many posts have there been on this forum about “jobsworth” examiners?! Maybe not at your usual TC, but you’re bound to get one at another TC or someone covering that will refuse to go out.
So, any examiner who refuses to take the car out if it has plates which are illegal is a “jobsworth”. Now we know who the professionals are, don’t we? Can you believe that these people call themselves professional driving instructors, yet openly advocate breaking the Law and suggest ways of concealing the fact?
The original poster says he has a plate which reads A12BC D, so he apparently doesn’t realise the proper format is AB12 CDE or A12 BCD!
Then there was another post to the thread – subsequently deleted – informing everyone that there was no problem using any font you wished. All fonts were “road legal” according to this “expert”. In actual fact (obtained from UKSpeedTraps.co.uk):
A number plate must be displayed at the front and rear of motor vehicles (with some exceptions)
Number Plates must be easy to read and meet the British Standard
Lettering should be black on a white plate at the front and a yellow at the rear
The background surface should be reflex-reflecting but the characters must not
There are separate requirements for traditional number plates displayed on vehicles constructed before 1 January 1973
Lettering and spacing must be of a set size. They must conform to the specification for either plates fitted after 1 September 2001 or plates fitted before 1 September 2001 .
You must not alter, rearrange or misrepresent the letters or numbers
Characters must not be moved from one group to the other (e.g. A242 ABC must not be displayed as A242A BC)
After 1 September 2001 all new number plates must display the new mandatory font (shown above)
Number plates fitted before 1 September 2001 need not be changed provided the character font used is substantially the same as the one shown above
Number plates must be replaced if they have been customised with stylised letters and/or figures such as italics
Number plates must be replaced if they have been customised with fixing bolts that alter the appearance of the letters and/or numbers
I’d expect any professional ADI to be able to find this information quickly, and to abide by the Law. I mean, if you are likely to get points on your licence and jeopardise your career you really would expect someone to check properly first before doing it.
There is a final reply (so far) in the topic thread:
I don’t think that a mis-spaced number plate portrays the correct image for a driving school or any other company vehicle. It says that you don’t really worry about laws and regulations, or at least you choose which ones you will abide by. Not the type of image I’d want my business to portray…
…I have a couple of relatively good plates that rely on being mis-spaced to spell my name. I don’t have either on my driving school car, but do have one on my bike. I’m sure I’ll meet a stroppy policeman one day and I’ll have to change it, but I’ll take my chances until then, and won’t complain if I get done.
You couldn’t make some of this up, could you? This professionaldriving instructor (supposedly a “fit and proper person”) thinks personalised plates are wrong for a driving school and not the image he’d want his business to portray – then openly admits to having them and using them on a motorbike! He admits that he’ll probably get pulled one day, so he knows he is breaking the law.
I mentioned in a recent post about cancelled driving tests in the bad weather that you could see why we classed ourselves as “professionals”. I was being ironic, of course. I wonder if these people realise the DSA/DVLA can see these posts?
Addendum: Incidentally, people keep asking/searching on “UK car plate font” or similar. It’s called “FE-Schrift”, but there is a free version available here. I got it from dafont.com . However, I suspect many of those searching are looking for a prat font and not the legal one.
What number looks like a “G” on a car number plate?
Yep. Someone found the blog on that search term. If they have to ask, I suppose I could tell them it’s a “1” – after all, if they’re that stupid they probably can’t count up to nine in the first place and shouldn’t even be allowed out on their own.
I just noticed a Google ad from a local driving school trumpeting “Drive On Your First Lesson: don’t waste cash on cheap tuition. You won’t be wasting money with us. “
This is the same school which has one instructor who repeatedly practices bay parking inside the Colwick MPTC whilst driving tests are going in and out – even though the test centre has repeatedly asked instructors to stay away. He’s been personally asked not to on more than one occasion.
YouTube video: Driving tests in bad weather – what you need to do
DSA has published a new video on YouTube so driving test candidates know what they need to do if there’s snow or ice in their area on the day of their practical driving test.
If you run your own website, you can embed the video, or share it on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Watch the video on YouTube
I’ve fixed the link to YouTube – the one in the email is completely messed up and doesn’t work.
The video sound quality is terrible on speakers – why they chose to film it outside Nottingham Castle next to all the traffic is anyone’s guess. I can’t even figure out why it is a video at all – probably something to do with the target group, I’d guess.
Here’s a basic summary:
the service the DSA offers can be disrupted by bad weather
for safety reasons, they do not do practical driving tests in snow & ice
read your appointment letter/email and do what it says
phone the test centre on the day of the test only if there is snow or ice
call about 2 hours before your test
it might take several tries because examiners might be out checking the roads
if you have an early morning test, call as early as you can because they won’t know that it is cancelled the day before
the test covers all types of roads, so just because the main roads near you are clear, side roads might still be icy, and that is why tests cannot go ahead
they realise it is disappointing if your test is cancelled but they don’t do it without good reason
your test is rearranged automatically and you won’t be charged for it
the new date will usually come through within 3 working days, but it could take up to 7 working days during long spells of bad weather
they are trying to keep test waiting times down, but if the bad weather continues it might lead to longer waiting times in some areas
I would just add that some test centres are highly realistic and CAN cancel tests the day before.
You might also want to consider the option where it is icy where you are but the test centre says your test will be going ahead – make sure you explain this to them clearly, but just accept that if it is 12ºC at the test centre then it’s unlikely to get you anywhere.
The weather conditions at the moment are appalling. I doubt that driving examiners want cancelled tests any more than instructors do (well, certainly no more than anyone else wants to be kept off work because of the weather: it’s fun for a day or two, then it gets boring).
Many test centres are tucked away on industrial estates, so the roads don’t get gritted as a priority. The temperature has been below freezing (many degrees below in some cases) for days on end. Snowfall – particularly in Scotland – has been extremely severe. The second wave of bad weather came before the last remnants of snow from the previous one had fully cleared up. And so it goes on.
So, it might come as a surprise (on the other hand, knowing the mentalities of some instructors it comes almost as no surprise at all) to discover that examiners are being criticised for not going out on tests.
On one forum, one poster says:
You guessed it – 3rd test in a row cancelled!!
…Today has been very cold and remnants of a little snow and ice about but the council have done a great job of keeping the roads clear – That said DSA still chose not to take tests out.
Of course, he fails to mention that “very cold” means -5°C or less (it was -9°C here). And he expects the DSA to conduct tests where even the salty run-off has frozen solid.
Another one adds:
Went to our test centre yesterday morning, it was locked up, no cars, no lights. So clearly they all took a days leave.
To which there is the reply:
Nice to have a monopoly.
Then there is one of the best inadvertent attempts at comedy I’ve seen for a while:
The examiners could clear the car parks with spades and salt and conduct bay parks then leave the roads for driving.
Yes, that would be great. Then they could all go and melt the ice on the roads outside the test centre. Perhaps by breathing on it. And the same poster adds in another post:
Have a test [today], but because i have this Swine Flu I dont want to go if I dont have to.
If you’ve got swine flu, buddy, you’re a menace going out and interacting with anyone.
And a more direct attempt at humour (“attempt” being the operative word):
Xmnrs 3 dart average is 180.
You can see why we class ourselves as “professionals”, can’t you?
Someone has raised this as a topic on one of the forums. It’s one of those subjects which seems quite banal (and it comes up often enough), but which is totally beyond the understanding of many ADIs. A bit like statistics, really!
In my experience…
It isn’t exactly new. The 