Category - DSA

Some people are just beyond words. Jin Su – a learner driver – was so desperate to pass her test that she tried to bribe a driving examiner by handing him nearly £500 in cash. The story is also covered by the Daily Mail.

When he refused, she attacked him.

When Driving Standards Agency examiner Keith Ashcroft refused the the cash and terminated the driving test, Su got angry and attacked him in the street.

She grabbed his wrists and tried to push him back into the car, shouting: “I want the test to continue!” When quizzed after her arrest she said the money was to bring good luck, but later admitted it was a bribe.

She’s been found guilty. But the usual mitigating circumstance – she’s pregnant – was bandied about and so she’s gotten off with 50 hours of unpaid community work and has to pay £100 compensation to the examiner.

I’m surprised she wasn’t handed a test pass as well.

It’s not much of a deterrent, is it? The DSA quite rightly takes abuse of its staff very seriously, but how can it matter if people like Jin Su get away with these paltry punishments?

But the biggest irony is that – as is usual among these idiots who try to cheat their way through life – she could have used the money to pay for a few more lessons and learn to drive properly. She can’t be much of a mother if she is prepared to drive her kids around, and yet is not a good enough driver to pass the test legitimately.

An email alert from the DSA:

Government crackdown on drink and drug driving

A package of measures to tackle drink and drug driving was announced today by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

Improved testing equipment to detect drink and drug drivers will be given the green light and key changes made to streamline enforcement of both offences.

The government will also examine the case for a new specific drug driving offence – alongside the existing one – which would remove the need for the police to prove impairment on a case-by-case basis where a specified drug has been detected.

The measures are set out in the government’s response to the North Report on Drink and Drug Driving, which was published last year.

The prescribed alcohol limit for driving will not be changed, with the focus instead on improving enforcement and education to tackle the drink and drug drivers who put lives at risk.

Phlip Hammond said:

“Drink and drug driving are serious offences and we are determined to ensure they are detected and punished effectively.

“It is just as dangerous to drive impaired by drugs as alcohol so we need to send a clear message that drug drivers are as likely to be caught as drink drivers and that drug driving is as socially unacceptable as drink driving has become. That is why we will approve drug-testing devices and change the law to speed up the testing process, ensuring the police can bring drug drivers to justice.

“The number of drink driving deaths has fallen by more than 75 per cent since 1979. But drink driving still kills hundreds of people so we need to take tough action against the small minority of drivers who flagrantly ignore the limit. Their behaviour is entrenched and after careful consideration we have concluded that improving enforcement is likely to have more impact on these dangerous people than lowering the limit.

“We are therefore taking forward a package of measures which will streamline enforcement, helping the police to target these most dangerous offenders and protect law-abiding road users.”

On drink driving the government will:

• revoke the right for people whose evidential breath test result is less than 40% over the limit to opt for a blood test (the ‘statutory option’). The breath testing equipment used in police stations is now very accurate and technically sophisticated so a blood sample is not needed to confirm the breath test. The need to organise a blood sample can mean that drivers who were over the limit when breath tested have fallen below the limit by the time their blood sample is taken – removing the statutory option will eliminate this loophole
• introduce a more robust drink drive rehabilitation scheme, so that we can require those drink drivers who are substantially in excess of the limit to take remedial training and a linked driving assessment before recovering their licence
• approve portable evidential breath testing equipment for the police – this will speed up the testing process and free up police time
• close a loophole used by high risk offenders to delay their medical examinations
• streamline the procedure for testing drink drivers in hospital

On drug driving the Government will:

• approve preliminary drug-testing equipment – initially for use in police stations, and at the roadside as soon as possible. The Home Office is currently testing six drug-testing devices and hopes to be able to take decisions on type-approval by the end of June.
• allow custody nurses to advise the police whether or not a suspected driver has a condition that may be due to a drug. This will remove the need to call out police doctors and so speed up the testing process – ensuring that drug drivers do not escape punishment because a doctor is not available and also freeing up police time.
• examine the case for a new specific drug driving offence – alongside the existing one – which would remove the need for the police to prove impairment on a case-by-case basis where a specified drug has been detected.

The full response to the North Report, which also includes the Department’s response to the Transport Select Committee’s report on the same subject, has been published today at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drivinglaws/.

THIS IS AN OLD POST. THERE HAVE BEEN UPDATES TO THE PROCESS SINCE, ISSUED BY DVSA.

An email alert from the DSA:

Changes to the ADI registration reminder

DSA’s process to remind you to renew your approved driving instructor (ADI) registration is about to change.

From May 2011, DSA will still aim to send you a renewal reminder letter six months before your registration expiry date, but won’t send you another one three months later. This is so that you only receive essential communication from the agency.

Please remember, it’s your responsibility to make sure you renew in time, although DSA will always aim to send you the reminder.

You’ll also need to give yourself enough time to apply for your Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure. Your reminder letter will tell you how to do this.

If you’ve already received a six month reminder

If your six-month renewal reminder arrives before the beginning of May, you won’t be receiving another reminder three months later.

Manage your registration online

You can also manage your ADI registration and continuing professional development (CPD) through the Business Link website at businesslink.gov.uk/manageadi

It’s a perfect way to cut the administration burden and, therefore, unnecessary costs. Let’s see how the ADI community views it, though…

NOTE: I’ve provided information on how to renew your badge here.

An email alert from the DSA:

Sorting out your practical driving test is so easy with Directgov

Directgov is the only official site where you can book or change your practical test appointment without paying an extra administration fee.

And now booking or changing your practical driving test with Directgov couldn’t be easier. There’s a couple of new films which show you how to do this, step-by-step.

To watch how to book your practical driving test on Direcgov, visit direct.gov.uk/en/Video/DG_WP194889

To watch how to change your practical driving test on Directgov, visit direct.gov.uk/en/Video/DG_WP194510

If you want to embed these videos on your website, you can visit Directgov’s YouTube channel youtube.com/directgovuk to get their embed code.

How to book, check or change your test

To book your practical test, visit direct.gov.uk/bookpracticaltest

To check and change your practical test, visit direct.gov.uk/changepracticaltest

This is obviously an attempt to deal with some of those scam sites out there.

The March issue of Despatch is now available. Click the logo to download a copy.

In this issue there is information about the consultation on amendments to the eyesight requirements and issues relating to epilepsy and diabetes. There was a DSA Alert on this in February.

There’s also a story regarding a group of theory test fraudsters. Four jail sentences were handed out.

Another story covers driverless cars – I’m posting an article on this subject shortly. And some general snippets about no longer being able to use Maestro cards for test bookings, ASA complaints about advertising, and posters in test centres.

This story in the Mail Online says that the number of L-test fraudsters has increased by 400% in the last 7 years. These people take the test for the candidate by pretending to be the candidate.

As an aside, anyone wishing to gain citizenship of the USA has to answer a series of questions, some of which are quite challenging.

Back to the topic – but with reference to that US citizenship thing – some of the people who use these L-test fraudsters really should be deported for being too stupid to live here.

Impersonators are charging £1,000 to sit theory tests and another £1,000 for practical tests.

The theory test costs £31, so for £1,000 you could sit it over 30 times, and it’s not like it’s difficult or anything. Another £10 for a book or DVD and a little study – and I mean very little – and you could pass it legitimately. Paying £1,000 for an “illegal copy” is inestimably stupid – it really is. You may as well drive illegally, because it amounts to the same thing.

How anyone could be so stupid – or so unsure of themselves – as to pay £1,000 for something which only costs £31 (plus a tiny bit of brain effort) is beyond me. In some communities it is just a cultural thing – no matter how easy it is to be legitimate in something, it is vital that that something is obtained fraudulently, often using as many other people in the community as possible!