Well done to Ian, who passed on Monday first time with 11 driver faults. He’s been a nice guy to teach, although his repeated “is this on the test route?” questions were a little tedious sometimes. As I pointed out frequently to him, if you can drive it doesn’t matter where we do the lessons, and I will show you any tricky features!
He also had a severe case of “stampy foot” when it came to roundabouts and junctions, but we finally got that sorted out.
You have to laugh. I heard this on the radio today – and before anyone starts, it’s funny because no one got hurt, and you couldn’t write a better comedy script if you tried.
A woman was driving through the lions’ enclosure at Longleat Safari Park when her car caught fire!
What makes it funnier was that as she tried to get out, rangers were shouting at her to get back in. I suppose it was to give them time to get the lions out of the way, otherwise it could have been a lot worse. According to one witness, the lions watched the entire show from a respectable distance.
For some reason, a lot of people are looking for the DVSA logo if my search stats are anything to go by. Go to the DVSA home page and it’s right there at the top.
I’m not sure if there will be a standalone logo, but some time ago there was a statement that government bodies were standardising under the GOV.UK banner, so perhaps there won’t be.
The DVSA is asking for opinions on plans to reduce the cost of the Theory Test. Quite frankly, it is a cynical government vote-winning exercise ahead of the next General Election.
The bulletin makes what must rate as the most stupidest sales pitch imaginable:
The proposals, which could save learner drivers in excess of £100 million pounds over the next nine years…
The simple fact is that most people pay for ONE theory test in their entire life. So the real saving is actually £6. You can multiply it by any number you want, but the fact remains that the most anyone will save is £6 per test, which is nearly 17 million times less than what the government is claiming.
Those ADIs who are supporting the idea on behalf of their little darlings need to start thinking a little bit further ahead instead of pursuing a continual vendetta they don’t understand against everything the DVSA stands for. The current price of £31 for a test which lasts around 90 minutes is hardly a lot by modern standards, particularly when you consider the importance of the end product. Pro rata, it is less than the cost of a driving lesson.
Reduce it by 25% and more of the little darlings might start thinking £25 an hour for a driving lesson is too much, too.
The price is fine as it is.
Zain Iqbal is a pathetic little weasel who undertook another car and – as a result of his non-existent road skills (which he probably thought were brilliant) – smashed into a taxi. This is what Iqbal’s actions resulted in…
A pedestrian, Gary Booth, was pinned against railings by the cab that Iqbal sent spinning off the road. He suffered leg fractures and needed a skin graft. His previous job as a ski instructor is probably over.
Pregnant Wei Liu was a passenger in the taxi. She had to have an emergency caesarean a month before the baby was due. She suffered a torn aorta, and fractures to her pelvis, ribs, and face. She also suffered a punctured lung and has scarring, as well as bleeding on the brain. A blood clot near her kidney may need surgery, and she has trouble with her balance now. There are also issues with the “bonding” between her and her son.
Wei’s boyfriend, Geng Liu, was also in the taxi. He sustained a punctured lung and rib fractures. The taxi driver and another passenger sustained minor injuries.
You don’t need to be a genius to work out what sort of speed Iqbal was doing to cause such damage – and this occurred on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester, which is a built-up town centre area not far from the MEN Arena. The vile scumbag’s lawyer claimed:
…his client felt “overwhelming guilt” that he had “ruined lives”.
What a load of crap. He was just sorry he got caught. If it wasn’t for luck – if you can call it that, as far as the Lius and Gary Booth are concerned – he could easily have killed five people. He nearly did.
The sentence is quite laughable. Iqbal has been put away for a mere two years and four months, so he’ll be out before next summer, most likely. He’s also been banned from driving for a paltry four months (it should be a lifetime ban). British Law strikes again.
Sometimes you couldn’t make it up. I found this on the BBC website while I was looking for something else.
Derby magistrate, Ajit Atwal, has been suspended as a result of this photo he had took in India posing with an AK-47 rifle.
You have to wonder what was going through his mind to have had the photo taken at all, and then to post it on Twitter for everyone to see. What was the purpose behind the pose?
You then start to wonder at how he managed to become a magistrate in the first place, and then how he can possibly claim he hasn’t “done [anything] wrong”.
You also have to wonder at how the police have concluded that no crime has been committed, and how the Liberal Democrats – of whom Atwal is a member – have decided to take no further action.
What the hell is this world coming to?
Note that this apparently surfaced some weeks ago and has been covered in the national press. I didn’t see it.
This is an old article. However, it might be useful for anyone buying a used Yaris to prompt them to make sure their car has had the fix applied.
DVSA has sent out a warning about Toyota Yaris vehicles built between 2005 and 2010. The Yaris is subject to a recall notice as a result of serious safety issues (27 models are involved, of which the Yaris is one). The recall was issued by Toyota 10 April 2014.
As the bulletin makes absolutely clear, you cannot take a test in any vehicle subject to a recall if you cannot prove remedial work has been carried out.
Anyone with a test booked within the next three days (from 16 April 2014) will be able to cancel and rearrange without losing their fee. Anyone with a test more than three days hence has still got time to rearrange it without losing their fee – but the implication is that if you don’t rearrange it, and then fall within the normal three working days grace period, then you will lose your fee.
There is no excuse for any ADI not to know about the recall if they have a Toyota, nor is there any excuse for trying to take a test in one without having had the remedial work carried out. Note what the bulletin says:
DVSA examiners may accept proof from the Toyota Online Recall Tool. You or your pupil would need to access this tool and complete the verification process on a suitable device to show the examiner, without delaying the testing schedule.
Either that, or they need to see a garage report that the work has been carried out.
Olivia Flanagan was 18 and on her way home from her new job as a beautician. She was killed when she was involved in a collision with a prime example of human scum, Luke Sykes (31). Sykes was over the drink-drive limit. Sykes had only just got his licence back following a previous ban, clearly illustrating the kind of vermin he is.
It isn’t clear why Sykes got away with a mere 8 years in prison, when the maximum sentence is 14 years. Maybe it had something to do with playing his ace and pleading guilty.
British Law is a complete ass.
This one appeared in various forms in the newsfeeds. Right Driver is a website which aims to…
…help you learn the Highway Code quickly and effectively so you can get your learner licence.
I’m not quite sure what a “learner licence” is – in the UK, you can get a provisional licence as soon as you are old enough, and you need to learn enough about the Highway Code and driving in general to be able to pass the driving test in order to gain a full driving licence. Either Right Driver is talking about another country, or it doesn’t know what it is talking about, period.
Anyway, they apparently canvassed 1,056 ADIs asking what improvements should be made to the Highway Code. The questions asked were to do with diesel particulate filters, electric and hybrid cars, various new technologies, ABS and vehicle stability systems, trailer stability systems, crash testing ratings on new cars, child seat fixings, cost of learning to drive, standards check, any other things ADIs thought should be added. This all points to some sort of agenda.
What is amusing is that when answers are little better than 50:50 – with about half of those canvassed being in favour, and half against, they talk up the differences to make it sound like a landslide! Mind you, the best bit is at the bottom. They give examples of comments made by ADIs (and you can bet your bottom dollar that they corrected the spelling and grammar before doing so – but only up to a point).
Remember that the Highway Code is supposed to deal with the Rules of the Road, so quite why it is felt we need a whole second volume on bloody child seats is anyone’s guess. And then some jackass reckons there should be less in there about motorways. Another candidate for Clown of the Year believes that stopping distances should be reduced because modern cars can “stop quicker”. But the overriding impression from the comments is that most ADIs canvassed believe the Highway Code is the verbatim answer book for the Theory Test, e.g.:
I think there should be some question on the new laws on ‘middle lane hoggers & tailgating) should be included as it is a new law.
The dangers of quad bike riders without helmets.
Hand signals should be abolished as most drivers on the roads don’t know them anyway.
Tactile paving, full and complete description about these is required. Only has a vague description (serious lack of information) mentioned in section 10 of the introduction.
Review the wording used and simplify them – such as gradient and use the word HILL instead – – as pupils with learning difficulties cannot understand some of the question – there are several questions which use complex words which need simplifying
And it goes on, and on, and on.
The one thing that IS clear is that what I’ve said about ADIs for many years is illustrated vividly. It is almost certainly why the DVSA shies away from involving them if this is the quality of their input. The Highway Code needs editing by experts – just as it always has been. It certainly doesn’t need community input of the standard shown in this puerile survey.
Danny Jones, 22, filmed himself on a mobile phone slipstreaming an ambulance on an emergency call in Wigan. Then – as is typical of his class of slime – he posted it on various social media sites.
Jones – whose likeness to a potato with a walnut stapled to it is astounding – is seen and heard smugly commentating:
I appear to have found a quicker way to work. Everybody is beeping at me and I don’t care. Are you ready? This is the quickest way to work. Follow this. Pulling over, pulling over, not me lad, I’m there, I’m on it, I’m going past. Ta-ra all.
Jones’ kinship to potatoes seems to extend inwards as well as outwards. The starchy tuber that passes as his head has prompted him to claim that “it looks worse than it is”. He said:
I was keeping my distance, there was a queue of cars behind me. It looks a lot worse than it was. It’s claiming (one thing), but that’s not what it actually is. It’s nowhere near as bad as what the video makes out. I was doing the speed limit and I was maintaining my distance behind the ambulance, it just looks like I’m following it. In reality, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m keeping my distance and I’m not going through any red lights.
Well, his employers didn’t see things quite the same way. He lost his job – and it serves him bloody well right. The police also appear to be on to the case. Let’s hope that they manage to explain to Dannyboy, via the courts, that waving a mobile phone around while you are driving in traffic is illegal – and having the camera switched on so it can record you doing it is just about the most damning evidence possible. He should lose his licence for a considerable period, and be required to take an extended test – anything that might force some common sense and maturity into that bloated skull of his. Mind you, he is also quoted:
I wasn’t expecting this, it was something that was between a few mates, or it was meant to be.
He said that, knowing he has 24,000 followers on Facebook, where he chose to post the video. What a prat.