ADI - Diary Of An ADI

Buying A Car After Your Test

22/10/2013

I’ve had a run of passes recently, and on the run up to their tests many pupils ask for advice on buying a car. It’s a difficult question to answer, because we’ve all heard the stories about dodgy second-hand motors.

Some pupils can’t afford much, and what I tend to do is point out various car dealers as we drive around on our lessons. There are a lot of them springing up, and many specialise is very cheap cars – starting at below £1,000. However, it is definitely a case of “buyer beware”, and I never recommend one dealer over another (unless it’s a big one that I have experience of). One of my current pupils has dealt with one of these cheap car outlets and had a really bad experience (I saw the car, and it had a missing interior mirror and the gear stick was loose).

But it’s much easier to make a few recommendations when someone has a little more money to spend, because then you can point out the main dealerships – or approved second-hand car dealers. You can also find plenty of online resources to help you find the right car, like this one for used Honda Civics. Of course, a Civic might be too big for some people, so you can search for Jazzes and other models as you see fit. If you get the right site, all the links are to approved dealers, so you have that extra level of security.

These days, most manufacturers also have a strong social networking presence, and this often appeals to the younger driver. Sticking with Honda, they have Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages, as well as the ubiquitous main website. Judging from the activity on them – particularly Facebook – younger drivers really do use these things to find out information.

Of course, no one is saying that you have to buy from these sources, but having them there to browse through certainly opens up possibilities.

I had a pupil pass her test today, and the first thing she mentioned driving back from the test centre was how she now had to make the decision about which car to buy. She couldn’t afford a new one – but she had a budget with her boyfriend of a few thousand, and that opens up a lot of possible options. I also mentioned to her the lease option, or the car auction route (we have a big auctioneer with a Nottingham branch). Again, these are just two of many ways of sourcing a car these days.

When I see my ex-pupils driving around in their own car – whether it is a new one as a gift from wealthy parents, or a jalopy they have been saving up for – it gives me a warm feeling inside (and it’s not just from the chilli con carne I had for supper). If I helped them find the car, that feeling is just that little bit stronger.

Insult To Injury

20/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, General, Transport

Further to the last post about Nottingham’s road works, driving through Keyworth today to and from lessons I encountered two sets of temporary lights.

One set was on Bunny Lane, and was due to the housing development they’re building on green belt. The lights didn’t really need to be there – but without them, of course, there’d be no hold up for traffic, and that wouldn’t satisfy either the Council or the builders.

Another set – this time, three-way, which means longer delays – was on Normanton Lane at the junction with Nicker Hill (access to Nicker Hill from that side is blocked). Only a month or two ago, Normanton Lane was closed for a week for some sort of road works, the results of which seemed to be some new kerbstones under the railway bridge. Three-way lights mean that it is effectively half-closed. This is yet more utilities work.

I use Keyworth as a way to and from areas in the south of the city – a way of avoiding the Tramicide instigated by those halfwits at Nottingham City Council (NCC). So now – in addition to all that listed in the previous story – they have sanctioned this. And don’t forget that it’s only the incidents I have encountered – there will be loads more for other motorists to have to endure.

NCC doesn’t have a clue. It appears to be more and more criminally incompetent with every set of road works that appears.

Still More Nottingham Road Works!

20/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, General, Transport

The idiots at Nottingham City Council (NCC) just haven’t got a clue! From Monday, the Bardills roundabout on the A52 towards Derby will see the start of three weeks of major road works.

The A52 is (or was) the only way to get to Long Eaton without being gridlocked by overrunning tram works in Beeston and Chilwell. But not anymore. You see, the A52 along Clifton Boulevard is currently backed up to Clifton Bridge every rush hour, and from anywhere between 3pm (when the mummies start the school run) and 7.30pm (when the flow finally eases) entirely as a result of Tramicide (that’s a word I coined to simplify what the tram stands for). Of course, if there is an event on at Nottingham’s Ice Arena – one of the worst-sited entertainment venues in the known universe – then traffic can be much worse, as city-bound roads also become gridlocked.

Much of the ring road traffic is trying to get on to University Boulevard, which is gridlocked due to tram works.That which isn’t is trying to get on to Derby Road to go to… well, Derby. Or to Strelley and Broxtowe, which are blocked off at Aspley Lane due to part 1 of “ring road junction improvements”. That which remains on the Middleton Boulevard will notice a recently-erected sign declares that the next part of “ring road improvements” is due to begin this month before any single one of the others is anywhere near completion.

And to make matters worse, there is a sign on the A60 as you approach the Nottingham Knight roundabout – some 8 miles from Bardills – which advises motorists of the road works and to find an “alternative route”. Where, for God’s sake. The imbeciles have got every “alternative route” blocked!

It’s pathetic. Such incompetence is hard to imagine in any single organisation or individual, and yet NCC appears to be staffed completely by such individuals. So this story on the BBC website makes you smile in an ironic sort of way.

Just a reminder of an article I wrote back in November last year – almost 12 months ago to the day. Cllr Jane Urquhart was then quoted regarding the impending closure of the main Chilwell road:

We’re going to maintain the maximum possible access… we’re continuing to have the discussions and work with our County Council highways colleagues and the tram project team…

Well, as I say, a year down the line, Chilwell is STILL closed, and so are numerous other roads in Beeston and Chilwell. All have been long term closures, with absolutely no end in sight. Exactly the same is true of Clifton where, I believe, the Clifton Chinese on Varney Road has closed permanently due to the loss of business caused by tram works there. Other retailers have previously mentioned their own reduced takings – in some cases down from hundreds of pounds a day (in Clifton) to just a few tens. And Wilford is similarly gridlocked by the insane attempts to “maintain the maximum possible access”.

All the traffic prevented from going one way, and then another, and then yet another, is being funnelled into an ever decreasing number of bottlenecks. That’s why Nottingham is at a standstill every night. And as the BBC report says, many of these closures are expected to last into next year.

So it is hilarious to see Urquhart – now a much braver soul than the frightened rabbit she was this time last year – pontificating one more time.

All the works are part of a £750m investment to build a better Nottingham and deliver a world-class integrated transport system for the city.

The work we are doing causes disruption while we are doing it but it’s always our aim of giving us a better transport system for the future.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the utter bollocks she habitually spouts. It is difficult to fathom how such ineffectual specimens as her rise to positions like the one she holds, when they are clearly useless at what they do (and the growing road chaos caused by the group of which she is the “leader” is proof enough of that statement). Her idea of “better” is six steps back, then one step forward. And that’s if we’re lucky.

The tram – both the original, and Phase II (which is primarily responsible for the current chaos) is a monumental waste of money and resources. Once the gleam wears off the new stuff, it looks shabby and ill-kept. All the original tram installations look filthy, and the trains themselves a mess as they don their oft-changed advertising livery. The green LED illuminations on the bridges are long gone (or broken). The trains are nearly always empty – even if they are busy during rush hour, it’s only on one or two stages, and the average is pulled down by the dearth of passengers 80% of the time. That’s why fares have gone up to the point where passengers are seeking alternative modes of transport. Trams are NOT environmentally friendly to start with – and they are even less so when there is no one on them.

And as a closing comment, out on the roads today I saw two Severn Trent repair sites with the ubiquitous temporary lights – and a flood on Mapperley Plains at the junction with Coppice Road, which is really going to cause hold ups when Severn Trent dig up that road.

Increasing The Minimum Driving Age… Continued

16/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, DSA, News, Transport

I told you we hadn’t heard the last of this one. It’s going to run, and run… and then run some more. Especially with driving instructors like this opening their mouths.

In spite of almost every organisation welcoming the changes at least in part (though the AA’s spokesman and president is so far removed from reality his views are highly misleading), this driving instructor from Wigan is against it.

But Pat Caulwell, of Gidlow Motoring School, said the recommendations would be punishing the majority of young drivers because of the irresponsible actions of the few.

As I’ve pointed out many times, driving instructors are not usually the sweetest grapes on the bunch, and consequently Mr Caulwell appears incapable of understanding the concept of risk. Every single driver is a risk. Every single new driver is a bigger risk, and every single young new driver is a huge risk. The accident statistics prove it, and it’s why insurance premiums are higher for young new drivers.

Risk is a probability, not a certainty. If you look at something like a coin toss, where the probability (or risk) of a head or tail is 50:50, then this would equate to a young driver having the same risk of an accident as an experienced one. However, although they only make up 12% of the driving population, they account for 25% of all road deaths and serious accidents – just imagine how many they’d account for if they made up 50% of the driving population! If you compare that to a coin toss, you’re going to be coming up with tails a lot more than heads..

People like Caulwell need to get a grip and face up to the reality that young drivers are a huge risk. Even if the majority manage not to have accidents, they still could. A significant minority do – and since we’re talking about fatalities here, there is much more at stake than a paltry 5 minutes of fame in an obscure rag for someone who doesn’t understand what he’s talking about.

One in five young drivers have an accident of some sort within the first six months of passing their test. Carrying three passengers triples the underlying accident risk. With these fact staring you in the face, airtime should not given to people like Caulwell, who clearly haven’t got a clue. And to hell with namby-pamby nonsense like “working shifts” and “looking for a job”. No one should be allowed to endanger someone else’s life just so they can “work shifts”. When I was younger, I went through several periods of not being able to run a car, but I still got to work whenever I needed to.

A licence is a privilege, not a right. A car is a luxury, not a necessity.

35% Off DSA Learning Materials

15/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, Driving Tests, DSA

The DSA is offering 35% off all practical test learning materials until 20 October 2013 to celebrate “Practical Test Week” (how come I hadn’t heard of that?)

Make sure you use the promotional code PT13 when you check out on the TSO website.

Increasing The Minimum Driving Age: Update

13/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, Driving Tests, DSA, News

The Daily Express is going all Daily Mail with this misinformed scaremongering session. It says:

A mandatory requirement for 120 hours of lessons could leave learner drivers footing a bill for £3,360 of lessons before even taking a test.

Some amateur hack with a calculator must have worked that one out. Shame they didn’t have a clue in the first place.

To start with, the number the hack came up with is based on an hourly lesson rate of £28 – and that’s in spite of someone in the article being quoted as saying average hourly rates are £18 (which would add up to £2,160). If instructors are charging £28 an hour in some areas, that’s what the market will stand, and it has no bearing on the rate charged in depressed areas because people there will not be paying £28.

Secondly, the proposals do not say that the entire 120 hours has to be with a driving instructor. Most learners have access to a car for private practice – many who never actually do any private practice still have access to a car if their parents would insure them. If the system changes, then so will the parents have to.

And finally, it will cost more in order to stop people killing themselves – no matter how that is achieved. Is that really as much of a bad thing as the Express and those it is quoting are making out? These lowlife hacks spend their lives whingeing about road deaths, and then oppose any plan to try and change it with rubbish stories like this one.

Idiotic “Research” Involving Alzheimer’s And Driving

13/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, News, World

It’s an unfortunate fact that there are many idiots in this world. This story appears to identify another group of them, located in Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, if this story is anything to go by.

These jokers have concluded that people with “mild forms” of Alzheimer’s can still drive safely. That’s in spite of the statement:

Although road test studies have shown a clear decline in average driving ability with increasing severity of dementia.

It’s like saying that jumping off a cliff is safe, because it’s only the bit where you hit the ground that’s dangerous! But they go even further by only making the comparison against other older drivers without Alzheimer’s – and I can’t think of an analogy convoluted enough to describe that.

Alzheimer’s is progressive. And it affects every one who gets it differently. But even in the early stages the possible symptoms are:

forget about recent conversations or events

repeat themselves

become slower at grasping new ideas

lose the thread of what is being said

sometimes become confused

show poor judgement, or find it harder to make decisions

lose interest in other people or activities

develop a readiness to blame others for taking mislaid items

become unwilling to try out new things or adapt to change.

That’s from the Alzheimer’s Society. And it should be pretty clear that someone who is likely to be slow on the uptake, to become confused or show poor judgement, to make bad decisions, and to become crotchety is not really a prime example of good driver material. Alzheimer’s typically goes from these early stages to the last stages over a period of about 10 years, but it can be much quicker for some people. People in the last stages end up requiring total nursing care.

Older drivers whose health or eyesight is already deteriorating for whatever reason are notoriously unreliable at recognising or admitting to the fact. Those with Alzheimer’s will be at least as unreliable – if not more so – at deciding to admit they should give up driving. So it is quite unbelievable that these “researchers” should come out with something like this – something which cannot possibly make the overall situation on the roads any better, since we’re talking about a negative progression. Alzheimer’s never progresses in a positive direction.

Altruism has no place in deciding whether people with such illnesses should retain their driving licences.

As many recent stories have shown, older drivers are totally safe – right up until one of them gets on to the wrong carriageway of a motorway or other major road (how on earth does someone manage that?) And I for one don’t like the idea of playing Russian Roulette every time I go out.

The “research” is irresponsible and misleading.

People with Alzheimer’s deserve care and respect – but not a driving licence.

American Roundabouts

13/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, News, Transport, World

Almost two years ago, I wrote about North-American Roundabouts, and how they were becoming more popular to the extent that websites about them were appearing. Even back then, some American states were whingeing that they were a “European import” and that they increased accidents. The Americans appear to be even worse than the Brits when it comes to grabbing the wrong end of the snake.

Just because people are stupid doesn’t mean that it is wrong to expect them to do things – even new things – that are better and safer for everyone overall. And using roundabouts is a good example, since they’re are designed to improve traffic flow in congested areas. But how do you prove that they actually work to people – in this case, an entire nation – who are frightened of them?

Whenever I’m doing the first roundabouts lesson with a pupil I always explain how and why roundabouts keep traffic flowing, whereas simple crossroads (light-controlled or otherwise) don’t. I just explain logically – and it’s enough – but given the Americans’ preference for rigid and inflexible rules (that was the Wall Street Journal’s conclusion in that previous article), more proof is obviously needed for them.

There’s a TV show called Mythbusters (if you search this site you’ll find several stories involving it). They go into detail in proving or disproving common beliefs about everyday things – anything from things which happen in action movies to normal things like traffic accidents. According to this recent news story they have put roundabouts to the test under the premise that they are either “a curse or cure for congested intersections” (in the words of the news item I’ve linked to). The story is brand new, so I would imagine it’ll be a little while before we see the show over here.

Apparently, they have compared a “4-stop intersection” (so, more or less equivalent to a light-controlled junction in UK-speak) with a roundabout. The found that the light-controlled junction averaged 385 vehicles over a 15-minute period compared to 460 vehicles for the roundabout over a similar period. Or in other words, the roundabout allowed 20% more traffic through. The news article, in The Detroit News, concludes:

There are a lot of drivers out there who fear and loathe roundabouts, mainly because they don’t understand them…

…Roundabouts eliminate T-bone and front end crashes. Any crash that does occur is minor because speeds inside roundabouts are usually limited to 25 mph and both vehicles are traveling in the same direction.

The story finishes by referring to how many roundabouts there are in certain cities – they count them in the low tens – and advises that more are coming.

So, roundabouts do improve traffic flow. Someone from America should come over and explain that to the idiots responsible for the “improvements” to Nottingham’s Ring Road, and the Tramicide in Clifton. They’re taking roundabouts out and replacing them with… yep, you guessed it. Traffic lights.

Nottingham City Council is committed to making life as hard as possible for the motorist, while simultaneously introducing absolutely anything that the spotty faced interns from the year’s graduate intake thinks might benefit pedestrians. I note from the Aspley Lane work that although the road is down to one lane (with huge tailbacks) this weekend, they’ve done the important stuff already and installed tactile paving for the dozens of crossings that the junction will now include (it had one before), and that’s even before they’ve built the pavements! And it’s all for the school 200 metres down the road, and for the nearby zoo (sorry, I mean the Broxtowe Estate), not for the tens of thousands of motorists who travel along the Ring Road each day on important business.

You can watch the Mythbusters segment here.

Bulgarian Driving Test Fraud

11/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, Driving Tests, News, World

This is a story from Bulgaria, about Bulgaria, before the George Flag wavers get all excited. Apparently, from 2014 all Theory Tests in Bulgaria will have to be completed using tablets (that’s “tablets” like the one shown on the left for any British ADIs looking in, and not the kind you take for incontinence).

This change is coming about due to the discovery that the existing pen and paper test is prone to corruption, and that the entire staff of the Road Administration Agency in Sofia had been found guilty of manipulating test results. Even to the point of opening sealed envelopes and substituting the correct answer sheets. And 80 private driving schools were also involved in the fraud. No one knows how long it had been going on, or how many people had gained licences based on fraudulent results. Nor does anyone know who made how much out of the fraud.

I guess we’ll never know, but I wonder if Bulgaria is suffering the same wave of whingeing that we had over here when the DSA decide to move away from laminated pictures of a few road signs and start using those new-fangled computers? Or like that when they introduced the Hazard Perception Test?

Increasing The Learning Age – Update

11/10/2013

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, Driving Tests, DSA, News, Transport

Another hot story is the one about raising the age at which people can take their tests to 18. As I mentioned in this article, there are plans to introduce a graded licence system and to introduce various restrictions on new drivers. So it is a little surprising to hear what the AA president, Edmund King, has to say after casting doubt on the plan:

What we’d like to see is to teach people to drive more carefully before they pass their test.

I think Mr King is about as far above the actual process of teaching “people to drive” as it’s possible to get. In other words, totally out of touch with reality. No one down at the sharp end with an ounce of intelligence would believe it were that simple. It’s wishy-washy nonsense.

The fact – and it IS a fact, Mr King – is that new drivers have already been taught how to drive properly. They’ve already been taught how to drive carefully. The fact that they do not is down to their experience, maturity, and upbringing. It is impossible to reconcile the first two without the passage of time. Experience takes time to develop, as does maturity.

The most mature 17-year old in the world could still be involved in an accident because of inexperience. And the most experienced 17-year old (if such existed) could still have an accident as a result of immaturity. It is a basic Law of Nature. It has held true since the first written records of human history, and it has persisted until the present.

And still you get people who think that a few namby-pamby words can make it all all right.

New drivers need to be kept out of certain high-risk situations until they have developed experience and maturity. It’s not as if these new proposals want to wrap them in cotton wool or anything – the aim is just to keep cars full of immature prats off the roads, especially at night, in the face of overwhelming evidence to support it.

Category - ADI