ADI - Diary Of An ADI

Norway: Immigrant Drivers Pose Bigger Road Risk

13/02/2012

This article from The Foreigner – an English language Norwegian news site – says that statistics suggest drivers from outside Norway are involved in more accidents than “domestic-born” ones.

This is the first Statement of the Blindingly Obvious I’ve seen this year. The second isn’t far behind…

A local Norwegian driving instructor of Pakistani origin says he isn’t surprised, and explains that people who come to Norway bring a completely different driving culture with them.

Apparently, the statistics show that male and female drivers from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are more likely to have accidents in Norway.

The first thing I’d point out is that the problem isn’t confined to Norway. It happens in every country where non-native drivers mix it with the locals. The second thing is that it isn’t just Asians and Africans – British drivers unfamiliar with driving on the right are a big risk wherever they go.

In Nottingham, several years ago there was a large Irish contingent, and their standard of driving was noticeably, um… different. At the moment Nottingham has a lot of Polish and other eastern European drivers, and they can be very aggressive (especially the younger ones). Older Asian drivers – particularly around Hyson Green – are also very suspect.

I’ve been to Pakistan and I know what they drive like. My Indian pupils tell me it is the same in India. The older drivers bring that style over here, and will happily park on double yellow lines outside the Asian food stores to go inside and shop.

Hyson Green has the additional problem that many Asian taxi drivers use it as a meeting (and eating) point. As a result, they will think nothing of carrying out standard taxi manoeuvres in gridlocked traffic (i.e. U-turns, turns in the road, etc.) 5 metres away from traffic lights).

In this respect, they’re only slightly worse than native British women in 4x4s picking up their kids from school.

Going back to the article, what is amusing is that they have a photo of a clearly-British car with L-plates gaffer-taped on to it.

Crazy Police Driver

13/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, News

It just goes to show that no one is perfect – or above the law (well, maybe just a little to the side of it). This story details how a police officer in Scotland was driving to an incident involving a diesel spill – which doesn’t appear to have been an emergency from the way the wording goes (an earlier story says it was) – at speeds of up to 149mph!

The officer, Jacob Marshall, didn’t slow down as he passed a motorway slip road, and another driver pulled out to allow other traffic to merge. Marshall clipped the other driver (the earlier story says he “collided with” the other driver).

The BBC article doesn’t say what happened to the other driver (nor does the earlier story).

The judge expressed surprise that Marshall didn’t slow down “even a bit” as he approached the junction.

It’s worth pointing out that if Marshall was doing 149mph at the point where he hit the other car (the report suggests it was at least 120mph), and assuming the other car was driving at the speed limit of 70mph (he was probably going slower), then the police car would have closed in on the other car at 79mph! It’s not exactly something you’d expect, or be able to plan for if you were a normal member of the driving public.

Marshall was found guilty of the lesser charge of careless driving (down from dangerous driving, with which he was initially charged). Sentencing has been put off to allow the defence to put forward “mitigating arguments”.

It puts me in mind of the argument the advanced motoring group members like to put forward – about how they’re better drivers than anyone else (Police drivers are advanced drivers, of course).

They’re not. They’re human, like everyone else.

And even if they weren’t, all those thousands of other drivers are.

Roadworks And Utility Companies

10/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, News, Transport

As I mentioned in the previous article (Despatch), there was an interesting snippet at the end about proposals to give councils the power to control roadworks. Under what are called “lane rental” schemes, utility companies could be charged £2,500 per day to dig up the busiest roads at peak times.

Personally, I don’t think it goes far enough. They should be charged £5,000 an hour to dig up ANY road. That way, they might get some work done instead of pratting around for a couple of hours a day and installing traffic lights and lane restrictions which persist during rush hour, causing massive tailbacks.

The water and gas companies are easily the worst offenders.

They dig up the road, then spend a minimum of two days doing absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, the rest of us have to endure temporary lights – often three- or four-way – while the road is effectively blocked.

Once upon a time, they’d put a big metal sheet over the hole after they finished work for the day. They still could in most cases, since the hole is rarely more than about half a metre wide and maybe three or four metres long. No doubt Health & Safety issues are involved, though.

Also, once upon a time, they’d get the job finished in a couple of hours – often during the night. I can’t see what has changed to the extent that the same simple repairs now take at least a week, with working hours only between 10am and just after midday at best. Again, I suspect Health & Safety is involved – after all, if they can’t get enough people to stand around in yellow hi-vis jackets doing nothing, how on earth can a gas or water leak possibly get fixed?

Mind you, it isn’t JUST the water and gas people. This picture from Google shows what University Boulevard in Nottingham looked like. Until recently, that is.

University Boulevard, Nottingham

Even in winter, it was one of the nicest looking roads in Nottingham, with mature Lime trees lining both sides, creating an avenue with a footpath and cycle lane for the Spandex boys to ignore completely during rush hour.

But, it isn’t like that any more. Most of the trees on the left have been felled for the bloody tram extension. It has been chaos as they closed one lane of the road – and God only knows what it will be like when they start building the tramline. Anyone who has seen any of the Nottingham tram areas will know they are concrete monstrosities. You can’t have trees near the overhead lines, it seems.

Cities which have grown around tram systems are beautiful (places like Munich and Hannover spring to mind). Cities in which tram lines have grown through the city are ugly monstrosities with huge traffic problems. And they will remain so, no matter how many Mickey Mouse green awards the city in question insists on giving to itself.

Given the carbon footprint involved in building them and powering them, the tiny number of people they can carry in proportion to the number who need to travel, and the amount of extra congestion they cause for cars during peak hours, trams are the biggest “Green Herring” of all time. And especially so in Nottingham.

Despatch: January 2012

08/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, DSA

This is an OLD, OLD article. All external links are dead.

The latest edition of Despatch is now available – you can view it as a ~~PDF file here~~.

You have to work over half way through it this month to find anything of any real interest (unless you’re so out of touch that the first half is news to you).

The first article is another repeat of the bloody theory test questions story. Yet again, we get to hear about Mike Penning’s idiotic belief that rewording the actual test so it isn’t available verbatim in published form is going to bestow immortality and a cure for scrofula on the human race.

The second article is about motorbikes, and how the EU is going to limit access to more powerful ones by age and length of holding a licence (why don’t they bloody do the same with cars – then we really would have a story).

Then there is some total nonsense about the government cutting red tape. Never, in the field of human procrastination, has so much been written about so little. The changes are insignificant, at best.

There’s some useful advice about buying secondhand vehicles, and what to look out for to avoid being scammed.

Some bureaucracy – to replace that being lost by cutting red tape, no doubt – involving an “expert panel” on “drug driving” is to be established. Apparently these “experts” are needed to tell us whether driving under the influence of drugs is dangerous or not. They are also needed to advise on whether certain prescribed medicines or drug combinations are dangerous, particularly when mixed with alcohol.

As an encore, they are expected to tell us why putting your hand in a running Flymo is dangerous. Of course, Mike Penning is involved – see if you can see which of these he said, and which one I just made up:

Britain has some of the safest roads in the country, but we know how important it is to tackle the menace of drug driving.

Fire is hot, but we know how important it to tackle the menace of arson.

Tricky, eh?

And right at the end, two snippets I found quite interesting. Apparently, from February 1st, a new contractor – TMG CRB – will be handling criminal record checks. I found this interesting – and confusing – because nearly TWO YEARS ago I updated my CRB through this same contractor when my badge was up for renewal. I can’t see what’s changed.

The other one is about councils being allowed to charge utilities companies by the day for digging up main roads. This warrants a separate post.

Would You Pass The Theory Test… Again?

05/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, News

It was a good job I did a little digging to get the original source of this one. Haynes – the workshop manual people – have issued a press release where they say a survey has shown that a third of all road users reckon they would fail their theory tests if they had to take it now.

Also, 20% cannot do basic car checks, like oil, battery, and brake fluid levels. They say that 7% admit to knowing “nothing” about car maintenance. Those over 55 are most confident at maintenance.

It doesn’t say anything about the differences between men and women, though I’m sure they have that information. So I’m sure that they’d have mentioned it if it showed that women were miles better than men at these checks.

But I digress. Haynes’ MD says:

We all remember cramming the Highway Code. The problem is we don’t remember much of the Code itself. But what’s really useful about Haynes’ new version is the extra, practical advice on looking after a car or bike and handling the paperwork – and all for the same price.

So, the survey is merely supporting publicity for Haynes’ new publication. However, the MD has a point – most people DO cram. They always have. They do it for ANY test. Nothing has changed.

What first caught my attention with this story, though, was the RAC’s version of it. According to them, drivers “fear” retaking the theory test (which is certainly not what is implied by the Haynes original). But the RAC has a completely different take on what the findings mean:

[The findings} support evidence which suggests people cram the Highway Code before sitting their theory test then forget all the information shortly after.

This is utter nonsense. I have yet to see this “evidence”, which appears to amount to something Mike Penning’s daughter said one day while she was learning to drive, and which has got him making all kinds of ridiculous assertions about the driving instruction industry. The RAC should know better than to perpetuate such rubbish.

The Haynes survey simply reveals that a third of people don’t think they’d pass the theory test now. That’s all. It does not reveal any “fear”, and it does not support any idiotic ideas that the theory test somehow influences RTAs to any significant extent.

Winter Tyres – 2012 Episode

05/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, General

The debate about winter tyres is hotting up again, as it does every year.

The amusing thing is that everyone pontificating about them seems to forget the extremely mild weather we’ve had all winter, and the fact that winter tyres really only have benefits that outweigh any drawbacks below 7°C. So between October (the date all the experts reckon they should go on) last year and now, there have been approximately 7 days during which they may technically have been an advantage, and only ONE day so far where they would definitely have been so.

Even today the temperature has been up at around 5°C, in spite of all that snow last night.

The other thing I’m hearing now is that apparently, anyone who doesn’t have winter tyres fitted is a danger on the roads! This is just another attempt to bolster an argument which doesn’t really have a right and a wrong side in this country. But driving instructors are very monochromatic when it comes to their beliefs.

Ask an ADI a question, and he can only answer based on his own experiences – but he will consider those experiences to be fact, and will be unable to grasp the fact that others have totally different experiences, all of which add together to make an overall picture.

So, I guess that all those 4x4s, top marque cars, and “experts” that insist on overtaking at a greater speed, cutting in, and giving their winter tyres a good old work out in poor driving conditions are something we should all be grateful for. That’s what’s being implied.

The fact of the matter is that without years of driving experience on snow and using winter tyres – something none of these “experts” has – there is one thing they are all completely oblivious, yet completely beholden, to. What?

A false sense of security.

And that puts everyone on the roads – whether they’ve got winter tyres or not – at risk.

You don’t have to have winter tyres. In some cases, in some areas, at some times, some people might benefit from them. But that doesn’t mean everyone will.

However, like I said. The fact that others have alternative experiences? A very difficult concept for many of these people.

DSA Alert: Bad Weather And Driving Tests

05/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI

Not surprisingly. the DSA is warning people that driving tests can be abandoned or cancelled due to the bad weather.

It provides links to this information page and this video on YouTube.

Just like the last time it snowed, I’m getting a lot of hits from people who just can’t seem to grasp the concept of there being a point beyond which driving tests do not go ahead (not to mention ADIs unable to accept that the DSA makes the decision, not them).

I have a pupil with a test booked for tomorrow morning (she’s already called me to ask if it is likely to go ahead). As soon as I get up, I will phone the test centre to ask if it is. I’ve already arranged to do a “snow lesson” with her if it is cancelled.

The worst that can happen is that the DSA will ask me to call back an hour beforehand, but when the weather is THIS bad I doubt they’ll do that. They’ve always made advance decisions for me before.

Whether the test goes ahead or not is a simple YES/NO situation, decided by the DSA.

Will my driving test be cancelled due to snow?

Quite possibly. And with the amount we’ve had, almost certainly until some of it thaws. You need to phone up the test centre on the day using the number on your appointment email confirmation and check. Otherwise, you MUST turn up – even if they cancel it at the last minute. If you don’t, you’ll lose your test fee.

My MONDAY (6th Feb) morning test IS cancelled. I’m not surprised, and I fully accept the DSA’s decision. My TUESDAY (7th Feb) late morning test is also cancelled.

Are driving tests cancelled today?

It staggers me that every time we get a bit of bad weather, I get loads of hits based on this search term.

Will snow stop a driving test?

Look, for crying out loud. How many more times do you need telling this. YES. Snow can easily stop a test. They tell you that when you book it.

Do driving lessons get cancelled when there is snow?

Yes… but not always – it depends on how much snow and how you are as a driver. Your instructor will decide. You won’t get charged for it – if you do, find another instructor quickly.

Driving tests cancelled due to snow 2012

It doesn’t matter if it’s 1812, 1912, 2012, or any other date. They will cancel your test if there is snow on the ground and it is icy.

Will the DSA cancel for other bad-weather reasons?

If it is icy they will cancel. Although it has never happened to me, I also suspect that several feet of floodwater on the test routes would be a sufficient reason, too. Any situation which is dangerous could lead to tests being cancelled, though in my experience it is only ice and snow that triggers this.

Look: CALL THE TEST CENTRE. ONLY THEY CAN TELL YOU.

Bloody Snow!

04/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, General

Mind you, following on from that last post, we’ve had about 4-6 inches of snow now. It seems to have stopped, but the forecast is for it to freeze (it was 0°C while it was coming down, anyway).

I have a new pupil booked tomorrow morning, and I was thinking towards the end of my last lesson tonight it wouldn’t be a good idea to go out once I realised how bad the snow fall was. She contacted me first, and we’ve postponed.

I’ve got another pupil tomorrow who has had quite a few lessons so far, but he is one of those people who is like a coiled snake on lessons – ready to strike out in any direction at any time at the slightest thing. I’ll see how it goes, but I can see that one having to be shelved. Too risky.

Then on Monday, another pupil has a test scheduled. Unless we have the Mother Of All Thaws tomorrow, the chances of that going ahead are very slim. My HTC phone weather app reckons it will be around freezing (or miles below) overnight all week, and although past experience of that means it could be as high as 20°C, I think it might be quite close this time.

As I’ve said before, I used to love the snow (I still do in some respects). But it’s already costing me. I do lessons when it’s safe to do so – but sometimes it just isn’t.

Will my driving lessons be cancelled due to snow?

It depends on how much snow there is, how far advanced you are with your training, and your instructor’s attitude to teaching in snow. There is no rule that says you mustn’t have lessons in snow. In fact, it makes sense to do them so you can get valuable experience. But beginners shouldn’t do it, because it’s just too dangerous.

Also remember that what YOU see as being “advanced” in your training, your instructor might not agree with. It’s his or her decision.

Will my driving test be cancelled due to snow?

Quite possibly. And with the amount we’ve had, almost certainly until some of it thaws. You need to phone up the test centre on the day using the number on your appointment email confirmation and check. Otherwise, you MUST turn up – even if they cancel it at the last minute. If you don’t, you’ll lose your test fee.

The Perfect Lesson

04/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, Training

Well, the snow they forecast arrived mid-afternoon. I had a lesson booked at 7pm, and after considering the conditions and the pupil’s ability I decided to go ahead with it and use it as a “snow lesson”.

It’s incredible when you do a lesson that goes so well, and which you know is going to be useful for the rest of their lives.

First of all, moving away on his road, I got him to stop and witness how easy it is to skid. I made sure that he understood that in snow (and on ice), slight skids and wheel spins are almost inevitable – but the important thing is not to let them overlap with other traffic or hazards.

So we dealt with speed and planning ahead – particularly anticipating lights, bends, other traffic, and anything else which would require us to slow down or stop. Using the gears to slow the car down gradually, rather than braking, was especially important.

He was amazed driving through Colwick on the Loop Road (as was I) that some prick decided to overtake us and the three cars we were following – at speed (maybe he had a nail in his tyre) – on about an inch of lying snow, pulling in sharply in front of us at one point to avoid colliding head on with a car coming the opposite way. I wish I’d got his number or caught up with him at the lights, but he was going too fast.

He realised the importance of planning ahead and anticipation when going uphill towards lights, and trying to keep the car moving to try to avoid the problems of moving off on ice on slopes. I wasn’t so lucky going up a slope in Clifton later, when some prat coming downhill with parked cars on their side decided to apply the Clifton Gene (it only has one helix in it), and barge through. I had to stop, then was unable to move off again and had to turn around.

Travelling through Bingham, we were tailgated extremely closely by a Nissan Navarro (reg. no. AY08 FPG) as we were doing 30mph on a 40mph road on snow which was, by now, quite deep. If we’d stopped, he wouldn’t have. As soon as we got on to the new roundabout down there, he overtook at speed and flew off down the A52 towards Nottingham, I think – he was going so fast, he was gone by the time we got round there. Mind you, I lost count of the number of Audis that overtook me as I was going to pick the pupil up.

All in all, though, a great lesson. We covered all the snowy stuff, and he handled it brilliantly. I just wish all pupils could have a lesson in snow – that way, maybe fewer of them would end up driving like those other idiots out there.

Between lessons this afternoon, the Traffic News just went nuts – there were multi-car pile-ups on just about every motorway the moment snow started to fall. So when my pupil said “how do they get away with it?”, the answer was: “eventually, they don’t!”

Common questions:

Will my driving lessons be cancelled due to snow?

It depends on how much snow there is, how far advanced you are with your training, and your instructor’s attitude to teaching in snow. There is no rule that says you mustn’t have lessons in snow. In fact, it makes sense to do them so you can get valuable experience. But beginners shouldn’t do it, because it’s just too dangerous.

Also remember that what YOU see as being “advanced” in your training, your instructor might not agree with. It’s his or her decision.

Will my driving test be cancelled due to snow?

Quite possibly. And with the amount we’ve had, almost certainly until some of it thaws. You need to phone up the test centre on the day using the number on your appointment email confirmation and check. Otherwise, you MUST turn up – even if they cancel it at the last minute. If you don’t, you’ll lose your test fee.

Prospective Bus Drivers Fall At First Hurdle

02/02/2012

DOAADI

ADI, Bad Drivers, News

National Express West Midlands took on 420 drivers last year, out of 4,500 applicants. It has a further 170 vacancies – and yet it can’t fill them, even though there are so many people looking for work. Why?

It has the admirable recruitment criterion that applicants must not have ANY points on their licences.

According to the story, the industry “standard” (I think they used that word to try and suggest it is National Express who is in the wrong) is 3 points for those seeking to become drivers.

National Express throws out the application without further ado if the applicant has ANY points. It also requires candidates to take literacy and numeracy tests.

National Express West Midlands spokesman Jack Kelly said: “We are committed to developing opportunities for people in the West Midlands through Jobcentre Plus.

“As well as having a rigorous test people have to have a clean driving licence.”

Good for them. Let’s hope they aren’t forced to back down – the article also cites the case of London bus company, Abellio, who went to Poland to find drivers because they couldn’t get suitable applicants “among Britain’s 2.5 million unemployed” (again, implying that Abellio is at fault).

This is what happens when you dumb down education and don’t punish people who break the law. Eventually, being stupid becomes commonplace. I guess we’re seeing that now.

But I must confess I am seeing National Express in a much more positive light knowing that they have such high recruitment standards.

Category - ADI