Back then, there were almost 7,500 deaths each year on the roads. The figure is around 1,750 today. The only major changes since 1934 have been the mandatory use of speedometers and safety glass (1937) and compulsory seatbelts (1983). In 1990 it became Law that supervising drivers must be 21 or older and have held a full licence for three years, and this apparently resulted in a major fall in accidents. A written theory test was introduced in 1996, and the Hazard Perception Test in 2002.
One comment in this news source intrigued me:
…the fatality figure last year stood at 1,754, and although there is still some way to go before we see an end to deaths on our roads, the figure proves that legislation works.
So it appears that someone somewhere is expecting – in all seriousness – that road casualties will eventually reach 0%. People really do talk nonsense sometimes. I’ve got more chance of winning the Lottery every week from now until the day I die than that has of happening. It’s a totally unrealistic target. Someone needs to look up the meaning of the word “accident”.
A new documentary is scheduled to be shown on 10 April 2014 on ITV (10.35 pm). It promises to “delve into the murky world” of test fraud and illegal driving. It follows the DSA’s Fraud & Integrity Team and the press release suggest the problem is far deeper than you’d imagine, and that the people behind it will go to any lengths to commit such fraud.
I saw something recently where someone was blaming the fall in numbers of those seeking to become driving instructors on the recession (i.e. the last two years) and, naturally, on RED Driving School – who were actually sold and became a completely different company to the one reviled by most know-it-alls way back in 2010 (i.e. overFOUR years ago).
In actual fact – and it IS a fact – the numbers seeking training began to fall off at least 4 or 5 years ago (not two), which is probably part of the reason why the original RED got into difficulties in the first place. What has actually happened is that the recession has caused many struggling ADIs to quit the job altogether, which has in turn created a market for those who are thinking about becoming ADIs themselves. Indeed, the recession has also created a pool of such people as its effects have not been confined to just the driver training industry. In essence, the recession has created a market and supplied the consumers all in one go. I commented on this a few months ago in the ADI News version of the blog (the New Year issue, I think), and predicted a run on those wishing to become instructors. From what I’ve seen, this is already happening, and even on forums the number of new members asking for advice (and being given given lots of the negative variety) is noticeably greater.
The effects of the recession (particularly the rise out of it) don’t end there, either. I am picking up a new pupil typically every other day at the moment. I’m not exaggerating when I say I may have to close my books for a while to new pupils – and considering that I work weekends and evenings if required, it takes a lot to fill my diary to the level that it’s at right now. This time last year was very quiet – that’s when the recession finally hit me – and it lasted until the summer. Since then it’s just been upwards.
I do find it surprising that so many so-called “professionals” can continue to fail to understand that RED is not the company it used to be in all sorts of different ways. and essentially just retains the name. To keep trying to use the RED name as some sort of dirty weapon – as if all this didn’t happen – is just foolish, and betrays a very bitter outlook.
I recently recounted my experiences with a scammers’ collective, consisting of private scammers sending out bogus parking tickets to car park users, and higher level scammers posing as a city council denying all responsibility – presumably so long as they’re reaping the benefits of any ground rent from the scammers themselves.
Well, this story reveals that Coventry City Council appears to dwell at roughly the same level in the slime at the bottom of the pond as these scammers I’ve had dealings with. It appears that two drivers (instructors, actually) were ticketed for driving in a poorly marked bus lane. Cutting a long story short, they took it to a traffic penalty tribunal and won – yet the appeal was uncontested by Coventry City Council.
This is the proof that Coventry City Council – and all others involved in these scams – need their wings clipping sooner rather than later. I’ve had my own dealings with Rushcliffe Borough Council when I once accidentally typed in “61” instead of “62” when I bought a parking ticket and they refused to overturn the fine. All of these people are lying, cheating, thieving scam merchants. All they want is your money, and they’ll twist and manipulate the regulations in order to beat it out of you.
Incidentally, Coventry City Council changed the markings after the appeal process started. However, they deny it had anything to do with the markings being wrong!
We are not considering refunds. The lines have been altered because of the pilot with motorbikes using them, not for any legal reason, and the signs were compliant legally.
Well, obviously they weren’t legal, were they? Otherwise the appeal would have failed, or Coventry City Council would have contested it. As it is, they have effectively admitted it was bogus by not arguing their corner. And in just one month from the date when the bus lane opened, the council snatched nearly £100,000 from those it had scammed with its incompetent road marking scheme.
If anyone has ever tried to wade through the slime that conceals the structure behind these schemes they will know that it is often easier just to accept the fine and walk away. Coventry City Council knows that, the scammers at that UKCPS car park in Leeds know it, as does the Leeds City Council, and Rushcliffe Borough Council (aka Nottingham City Council) knows it. And those are just the ones I have first hand knowledge of. It’s deliberate obstruction.
As was reported in October last year, the option to take theory or practical tests in languages other than English or Welsh will no longer be available from 7 April 2014. This means that theory tests will not have voiceovers, and practical tests will not be conducted with interpreters. English and Welsh theory test voiceovers for special needs candidates will still be available, and it will still be possible to use a BSL interpreter if you require it.
This is some good news for anyone with a driving test booked. From 1 April 2014 you will not lose your test fee if you have to cancel at short notice due to:
a medically certified illness
a bereavement
school exams
You will still need to apply a little common sense and expect to have to provide proof of whatever your cancellation reason is, but this is definitely a change for the better.
I suppose it was only to be expected that the vultures would find something wrong with this. The very same people who have, for years, been been whining about their little darlings losing test fees appear now to have issues with this show of humanity from the DSA (or DVSA as it will officially be known in a few weeks time).
Driving instructors should concentrate on their own jobs – not the DVSA’s. Who gives a shit why the DVSA is allowing school exams to be a reason for not losing your fee if you cancel. As I said above, you’re probably going to have to provide some proof and if it is clear that you knew about the exam 6 months ago then you might end up losing your fee after all.
The change is for the benefit of genuine people with genuine excuses who would previously have lost their test fee. Lying weasels will probably still be in for a bit of a shock if they try it on.
The blog gets hundreds of hits from people who have been taught to drive in a diesel, but who then find that they keep stalling now that they have bought a petrol car. When I pick up a new pupil I can often tell straight away if they have previously been taught in a diesel because many of them don’t set any gas before trying to move off. Even if they don’t stall every time, you can be sure they will stall right when you least want them to – at roundabouts or traffic lights when trying to move away briskly, for example.
Anyone who has been specifically taught not to set gas when moving off normally has been taught wrong! They have simply been taught to drive a diesel, and only a diesel (and only their instructor’s diesel at that) – and as soon as they get in a petrol car they will stall it. In many cases it seems to boil down to some half-assed ideas certain instructors have about saving money on fuel (in theory, not setting gas saves them a penny or two a week).
Let’s get this straight: if someone has been taught not to set gas when moving off normally during lessons in a diesel, and the minute they get in a petrol car they can’t move it without stalling, then they have been taught wrong. It isn’t rocket science to work this out.
Face facts here. If you’re spending somewhere approaching £1,000 to learn to drive, do you think you’re getting good value for money if the moment you buy your own car you can’t drive it properly? If you keep stalling it, with all the dangers that could result? And all because your instructor didn’t teach you properly in order to save some imagined coppers?
Simply because they are learners, new drivers are often not precise enough with their clutch control, and what they’ve been taught to get away with in a diesel just backfires when they move to a petrol car. What makes the situation even worse is that many of these people don’t even know if the car they learnt to drive in was a petrol or diesel, so the instructors who teach this misleading method are obviously not doing their jobs properly on several levels. The unsuspecting new driver hasn’t got a clue how badly they’ve been taught until they get in their own car and discover they can’t move it.
I drove a diesel for many years. I’d driven petrol cars before that, and I taught in a petrol car for many years. Now I’m back to using a diesel. I have never driven my diesels any differently to the way I drove the petrol cars – and I never found a problem moving between the different types. There are four basic combinations when operating the pedals in any normal manual vehicle:
set the gas before the bite
set the gas at exactly the same time as the bite
set the gas after the bite
don’t set any gas at all
It’s fairly obvious that the learner needs the first option, certainly when learning to move off correctly. The second option is almost impossible for them to get right every time, and the third and fourth options (which the second one turns into if you get it wrong) can easily result in stalls. If your instructor is not teaching you to set the gas before finding the bite during normal driving, my advice would be to find another one quickly before you waste too much money. If you don’t you’ll join the ranks of those who start searching for the reason why they keep stalling as soon as they get their own car.
If you really know what you are doing, it’s up to you whether or not you set the gas or not. Most modern cars – petrol or diesel – will move off without it, but not very quickly. However, you need gas to move off briskly no matter what type of car you’re driving, and that includes automatics as well as diesels. Moving off briskly is particularly important if you’re dealing with a busy roundabout or a gap in traffic at a junction. Moving off slowly is dangerous, and on test it could easily end up with you failing. Even if you’ve passed your test, you’re going to really piss people off if you don’t get moving promptly, and you could end up in hospital (or worse) if you stall after entering a roundabout or busy junction.
Should you set the gas before finding the bite?
My advice is to set the gas first, then find the bite – whatever manual car you’re driving. If you don’t, you stand a good chance of stalling either now or in the future.
If you’re being taught in a diesel, bear in mind that you’ll almost certainly end up driving a petrol car at some point. You’re paying your instructor to teach you how to drive – not to play some half-assed game where he thinks it saves him money if you don’t touch the accelerator. It’s your lessons, your test, and your money, so work it out. There are some very poor instructors out there teaching very questionable stuff.
But do you HAVE to set the gas first?
There’s no rule that says you should, but if you don’t you’re likely to stall more often, particularly in a petrol car. If that keeps happening to you then I think the question answers itself, doesn’t it? If you found this blog because you keep stalling and still can’t work out the answer, let me say it for you: YES. SET GAS FIRST. Some cars simply won’t move without gas anyway – and these tend to be the older ones most new drivers will end up owning to start with. However, if you want to move slowly – during a manoeuvre or when edging out from behind an obstruction, for example – it is perfectly acceptable just to use the bite without any gas (if your car will handle it).
How many revs should I set before finding the bite?
It depends on the car you are driving. Don’t even think about trying to set it by numbers, otherwise you’ll get in a mess. Just set enough gas that the engine picks up slightly (i.e. the revving sound increases a little). How much gas depends on the slope you’re on – you can move off downhill without any gas at all, for example, whereas on a steep upward gradient you’ll have to set quite high revs compared with moving off on the level. It also depends on your car, because as I’ve already mentioned an older vehicle may well need more revs than a new one to avoid stalling in any given situation.
My instructor said to set 1,500 revs
Trying to set the gas by numbers creates a delay and distracts you, but setting it by ear (and feel) is much quicker. Trying to set 1,500 revs on the rev counter is very specific and you will begin to focus on adjusting it, whereas just listening (and feeling) for the engine pick up may well cover a range of as much as 1,000-1,800 revs (in a petrol car) on a level surface. As long as the car isn’t screaming at you – and you’ll know if you’ve got too much gas set – or stalling a lot then you have the correct amount of gas.
The chances are this idea boils down to your instructor trying to save money again. He or she doesn’t want you to rev to 1,600 because 1,500 is more economical. But that’s not the best way to learn to drive. Also note that the revs are often different between petrol and diesel cars, and the numbers here refer to petrol.
How can you explain how to set the gas to a pupil?
Everyone is different, and you’ve got to find the right words or exercises that click with any particular pupil.
Nine times out of ten, all it takes is for the instructor to ask the pupil to touch the gas pedal when he is explaining the pedals. They’ll often press too hard and the engine will rev loudly. Now get them to touch it as lightly as they can – and to hold their foot still – and ask them to listen to the noise the engine makes. That sound is what they should be aiming for.
You can liken the amount of pressure to trying to squeeze one drop of water out of a wet sponge (this works for the clutch, too, when finding the bite), one drop of juice out of a grape or orange and so on. Literally anything that makes sense to the pupil. It often helps to use something that you know they will relate to – playing computer games, football, a musical instrument, and so on.
Can I start my car without the biting point?
Check that you understand what the biting point is! It involves the clutch – and you do not want the biting point set when you start the car.
Perhaps you mean “should I set gas” when you start your car. The answer to that is “it depends”. Some cars don’t need it, and some – usually older ones – possibly will.
Can my car move away without setting gas?
I don’t know! Try it. Most newer cars can do it, petrol or diesel, but older ones – and especially ones which haven’t been serviced – may well stall.
Being able to move without gas is useful for low-speed manoeuvres and driving in slow-moving traffic, but not for normal moving off. If your car won’t do it then you’ll simply have to use gas. If you don’t, you’ll likely stall.
You don’t need gas on an instructor’s car
You do if you want to move away quickly! Instructors’ cars are no different to any other car other than for the fact they have an extra set of pedals fitted. The only reason you can often get away without setting gas on an instructor’s car is that it is usually quite new and well-maintained and is less susceptible to stalling. Virtually any new car will move off easily without gas – and this is especially true if it is a diesel vehicle with its higher torque. Using no gas is useful for slow speed manoeuvring, but it’s useless if you want to pull out on to a busy roundabout or junction and get away from other traffic.
As I’ve said elsewhere, if you’re being taught not to set gas when moving off normally, you’re being taught wrong. As soon as you get in a petrol car – and probably one that’s a few years older and more temperamental – you will end up stalling.
Should you only use the bite when reversing?
It depends on the situation. Since it is a little more difficult to steer accurately and safely when reversing compared with driving forwards, trying to do it faster is just asking for trouble. When you apply gas, it’s usually to go faster, so in this sense it often makes more sense to reverse with little or no gas so you can maintain control (if your car will let you).
Having said that, if you need to reverse in a straight line backwards, and you can be sure the road is clear behind you, and you can control the car, there is no rule that says you can’t use gas to go as fast as you need to.
One of my ex-pupils’ brother got in hot water recently with his dad. He tried to reverse out of their driveway at speed, and smashed the gate posts. He’d only recently passed his test, and to add to the irony their driveway is big enough to do a U-turn in, plus their gates are those electric ones which open and close automatically. The car was on loan from a grandparent and, along with the gates, sustained significant damage. It’s anyone’s guess at what was going on in his head to behave so foolishly.
Be sensible about trying to reverse with gas. If you aren’t very good at reversing, don’t use too much or try to go too fast. There is a growing number of cars these days with big vertical dents on the back where people have hit street lamps or road signs while reversing.
Yes. People who have reached test standard only have problems when they switch to a petrol car because they have been taught the finer points of control incorrectly. Simply because they didn’t stall in the diesel they learnt in doesn’t mean diesels can’t be stalled – they can.It’s worth noting that some modern cars are “semi-stallproof”. If you stall them, then immediately put the clutch down, they will automatically restart. They still stall, but there’s no fiddling with the key and restarting and moving off again is much quicker. You still need to make sure you know why you stalled, though – otherwise you’ll just do it again.
Why do I keep stalling my diesel car?
Usually, diesels are harder to stall than petrol cars. If you are stalling your diesel – and you are absolutely certain that if you got in a petrol car then you wouldn’t stall – my first reaction would be to suggest you have a fault and need to get it looked at in a garage.
As I have explained, a stall is when the engine is asked to do too much and stops. It usually happens because you bring the clutch up too quickly, don’t have enough gas set, or a combination of both these things. Stalling is more likely when you’re moving off uphill, and it gets even more likely as the gradient increases (i.e. the steeper the hill).
Are you sure you’re putting gas on? Your instructor’s car – if it was a diesel – was likely to be new and properly serviced, and you may well have been taught (incorrectly) not to set any gas. It isn’t just petrol cars that become more temperamental as they get older, and it may be you are trying to drive your instructor’s way in a car that just cannot handle it.
Why do petrol cars stall?
All manual cars can stall. Diesel engines are less prone to stalling because they usually have more torque – or “turning power” – which means they’re harder to stop. People who have been taught inappropriately (i.e. not taught to set gas, or allowed to be clumsy with the clutch) will have problems if they drive a petrol car simply because its lower torque makes it easier to stop the engine when it has load applied to it.
Should I brake before I put the clutch down?
It depends on how fast you’re going. If you’re slowing down from a cruising speed, then you should brake first – that way you get the advantage of “engine braking” (this is where the engine slows down as you take your foot off the gas, but since the clutch is still up it will also slow down the car). If you put the clutch down first, the car is effectively free-wheeling under its own momentum and the force of gravity, and that means the brakes have to work harder as there is no engine braking. On a downward slope, it will actually speed up in most cases if you put the clutch down first.
If you are slowing down below the lower speed for the gear you are in, then you will have to put the clutch down to either stop or change to a lower gear. If you brake too much for the gear you’re in, the car will start to rumble to let you know it is struggling. That rumble is a precursor to stalling, so you should change gear if it happens. Brake too much without depressing the clutch and you’ll stall.
I’m looking for advice on how to teach pupils in a diesel car
Teaching people in a diesel should be no different to teaching them in a petrol car. If you teach people to drive a diesel differently to how you’d teach them in a petrol car then you are not doing your job properly. They paid you to teach them so they can get a manual driving licence – not a diesel-specific one. If they don’t set gas first, the instant they get in a petrol car they will stall it. As I said at the start, the blog gets many hits from people having exactly this problem: they passed their tests in a diesel, and now find they cannot move away without stalling after buying a (usually quite old) petrol car.
Why do some instructors teach pupils using no gas in diesel cars?
Some of them have openly stated in the past that not revving the engine saves them money by using less fuel. I’ve read that on various forums over the years, and as with most things once word gets around, the practice becomes common even when the reason (however flaky it was in the first place) is long forgotten. The sum saved by not setting gas is minimal – it would probably amount to a few pounds a year on a mileage of around 30,000, even if it could be measured among all the other variables. A few hours driving into a strong headwind or sitting in a queue would cancel it out!
Another reason, I suspect, is that it is easier to teach someone when only one pedal is involved, so the method is perhaps also a bit of a cop out by those who can’t handle the challenge of teaching their pupils to drive properly.
Let me repeat the question I asked earlier: if you pass your test but then can’t move your own car off the driveway without stalling it because no one taught you to use the gas, have you received value for money? I think you can work that out for yourself.
Within the guide is a link to a PDF file showing what the new Standards Check Marking Sheet will look like from April onwards.
A reader also commented to me recently that the DSA had “taken down” the PST sheets from their website. I wasn’t aware that they had them there, but if they ever did – and it would be great IF they did – I would imagine that these will have to change at some point to keep in line with the Standards Check/CCL approach.
The PST Sheets can be downloaded from the blog here. I stress that I can only vouch for these up until 7 April 2014.
Recently, I’ve been picking up comments from driving instructors admitting to stress and related health problems (ulcers, obesity, etc.).
I have to confess that when I got on the scales recently I almost lost 10kg there and then when I saw how heavy I was. It’s all due to sitting down all day and not getting any exercise, and I am now on the Mother Of All Diets. Obesity, of course, is a health issue – although it can create or add to stress if you’re worried about it. But it IS something you can easily take control of if you make the effort.
When I was in the final throes of being in the rat race I was getting no recognition for my good performance. Extra work was being piled on to me. In one example I, as a scientist working with process formulation and manufacturing matters for biotech and pharmaceutical companies around the world, was forced to take on the work of an accountant who had left the company until the person they had earmarked to replace him became available. The woman they were waiting for was the wife of a middle manager elsewhere in the organisation, and when she eventually arrived the work I’d done was snatched away with not a word of thanks or congratulations by anyone involved, and she spent the next six months asking ME what to do! And then there were the increasingly stupid managers and policies (of which the accountancy story above is just one example) which prevented any of my other work getting done unless I put in unpaid overtime. Even if I’d stayed there, there was absolutely no chance that any of my work would ever have resulted in promotion – by that time my star had passed its ascendant. And if I had stayed, I’m certain it would have killed me, because the stress I was beginning to experience was totally outside my control. A high pressure job with no reward is a very unpleasant thing.
Stress is different though. Some people are more susceptible than others, and the health problems that result from it can be life-changing and life-lasting. Stress doesn’t always come with a fanfare, either – it can creep up on you, and you might not realise the toll it is taking until it’s too late. It can lead to heart disease, depression, and all kinds of other things.
My experience certainly echoes what the various authorities have to say about external factors such as your job leading to stress. And you might also be worried about your finances or your health, and this can also develop into stress.
However, there are internal factors to consider, as well. You may just be a negative person in the first place, or be a perfectionist who cannot accept their limitations or mistakes. You may find it difficult to plan and coordinate tasks, or look for fixed ideas as solutions to every problem and then be unable to manage the consequences. You may be introverted, and yet be expected to do extrovert things. The list goes on.
Becoming – and being – a driving instructor is potentially stressful from Day One. You may have chosen this career as a result of redundancy or difficulty getting a salaried job, and that raises the ante immediately. Only having three chances to pass Parts 2 and 3 of the exams is bad enough, but if you fear exams in the first place then the situation is much worse. Get through those and there’s the initial setting up of your business to consider. Where will the pupils come from – especially if you listened to the hype and went solo right away? Are you good enough at business matters to survive? Have you been realistic about your earnings profile both at the start, and after your workload stabilises? How will you cope when work drops off (which it always does at some point)? Out on the road there is the issue of pupils trying to total your car. There are other road users who can’t accept that a learner is in front of them, or has priority in a situation, and who behave accordingly – to which your pupil will respond in kind by panicking and trying even harder to total your car. There are homeowners who are convinced the boundaries of their property extend 100 metres in all directions beyond their fence, and who will cause trouble when you stop outside their house. Again, the list goes on and on. And most of these things remain issues every day that you are an instructor.
If you really know what you are doing you can deal with all that – certainly enough to prevent it resulting in stress-related illnesses. But the reason I wrote this article was because of some other comments I read about travelling times between lessons.
My ideal day is to have a two-hour lesson at 10am, another at 2pm, and one more at 6pm. Give me a full week of those and I am very happy indeed. The two-hour gap gives me time to go to the loo, have a snack, put my feet up, or go and do some shopping. A much less satisfying day is if I get six one-hour lessons, because that only leaves an hour between each, and that means rushing between them. So I was surprised to see someone claim that they leave half an hour or “even 45 minutes” so that they can go shopping, eat in a cafe, and/or take a toilet break. If you want to have stress creep up on you, that is one sure-fire way of letting it!
You see, with my “ideal day” I’d end up with 42 hours of lessons in a week, because I work 7 days a week (including evenings) if needs be. Of course, in reality I don’t always do 42 hours. I once did 60 (and it hurt), and at the start of last year when the recession finally caught up with me I did a few weeks in the low twenties (that hurt, too, but for different reasons). My average is typically in the range 30-40 hours – with the occasional weeks higher or lower than that.
I suspect that the problem lies with the minimum number of hours an instructor needs to work if they do this full-time. For it to be anywhere near worthwhile as a paying job you’ve got to do at least 25-30 hours a week. If you work 7 days a week that means an average of at least four hours a day, but if you don’t do evenings or weekends, the average daily hours rises to at least six. When you start trying to squeeze that in Monday to Friday daytimes you’re creating a problem for yourself, and the only way you can do it is if you start giving yourself silly 30-minute travelling times. Subsequently, that means timing your lessons to perfection (i.e. using a stopwatch and never over-running even by a minute). And this is for just 30 hours – you haven’t a hope in hell of fitting in extra lessons if pupils want them. There is no way you can do this job full time such that you are working literally ALL the time while you’re doing it, and do it to a high standard, if you are racing from one lesson to the next all the time. Heck, one of the main reasons I went for it was that you can “choose your own hours” – and you can, as long as you don’t interpret that as being able to pick and choose pupils as if they were controlled by a tap.
You can see how working in a rushed manner is going to create stress just by itself. But by treating pupils the way you’re going to have to treat them, and bearing in mind the way you might be behaving towards them if you’re already maxed out on the stress-o-meter by racing between lessons, you’re very likely to lose some of them. They aren’t going to give you a good review, and so over time your workload will quite possibly be adversely affected by it. And that leads to yet more stress. Believe me, I pick pupils up all the time who are surprised at how I conduct my lessons (in turn, I’m always surprised by what they have become accustomed to).
By leaving myself at least an hour between lessons (wherever possible) I can make sure I’m nice and relaxed at the start of each one, and I don’t have to worry about over-running by a few minutes. By not restricting my available hours in the first place I have no worries about being able to get my required number of lessons in. By being generous to pupils, it allows me room to negotiate when the need arises. So I am managing all the stressful parts of the job that I have the ability to directly influence. Plus, the extra work when it’s available covers me for time off when I need it and the lean times when the work isn’t quite as freely available.
I’m getting a lot of hits on this subject. However, I would imagine that most people have found my previous comments on road works in Ruddington from 2012 and 2013.
For a month or two now there have been the usual gleeful signs placed all around Ruddington warning of impending road closures “during March and April”. I’m sure you all know that it is standard practice to stretch out a few days of work into months nowadays. This particular case is no exception.
Be warned that during the work, the A60 and A52 southbound (not to mention West Bridgford and smaller side roads) will be much busier than usual as people are redirected away from Ruddington, and which for large periods will be completely blocked from what I can gather.
Nottinghamshire County Council is involved and they have clearly liaised closely with the City Council in order that whatever it is they’re doing will have the maximum negative impact on the motorist, dovetailing neatly with the tram works in Clifton and Wilford, the gas main work in Clifton, the replacement of lighting in Clifton, and the widening of the A453 past Clifton.
The County Council’s website lists all the road closures. Naturally, this is no “at-a-glance” list, since to properly understand what is closed and when you have to open up one of 18 – count ‘em: eighteen – PDF files. Even then, instead of just saying that the road will be closed from x until y, they insist on using stupid language which confuses the issue.
As far as I can tell, this is what we will have to put up with:
29-31 March – High Street closed between the Bricklayer’s Arms and the pedestrian crossing near to Clifton Road. Church lane from the chip shop up to the Co-op closed. Easthorpe Street closed up to Peartree Orchard. You may be able to park, but you won’t be able to get through*
1 April – same as above, but High Street closure extends right up to the pedestrian crossing near Clifton Road. Some restrictions eased, but with High Street still being blocked, no through route to Clifton*
2 April – same as above but works extending further up Easthorpe Street towards A60 junction. No through route to Clifton*
3-6 April – through route now open on High Street. Easthorpe Street closed all the way to A60
7-8 April – the whole of Church Street blocked. Charles Street blocked
9-11 April – same as above but with Parkyns Street now blocked as well
12-13 April – High Street closed again. Kirk Lane blocked. Charles Street blocked.
* There IS a rat run through the back streets, but since people will be using Ruddington Lane to get to Clifton, getting out of that might be a problem.
You can have a look at the PDFs yourself if you are trying to find where you can park, and where you can’t. I’m only interested in through routes and access, and that’s what I’ve reported here. Note that for at least part of the time the car park behind the Co-op will be shut, and the Medical Centre has already sent out warnings to patients advising that there will be no vehicular access to the surgery for about a week from 29 March.
It’s going to be chaos in the way only Nottingham’s City and County Councils can organise.
I stress again that all this is taking place at the same time as the tram works, gas main work, lighting replacements, and A453 widening. And don’t forget the permanent traffic jam going north on the ring road now that they have “improved” junctions up that end. Nottingham is now the absolute pits – thanks to the City and County Councils.
to sitting down all day and not getting any exercise, and I am now on the Mother Of All Diets. Obesity, of course, is a health issue – although it can create or add to stress if you’re worried about it. But it IS something you can easily take control of if you make the effort.