Roadworks lifted for Christmas and New Year holiday period
More than 250 miles of roadworks on motorways and major A roads should be completed by next week, the Highways Agency has confirmed. A further 64 miles are planned to be suspended between Christmas Eve and 4 January 2011, making things a little easier for holiday traffic.
Christmas roadworks
In all, 142 sets of roadworks are due to be completed ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday traffic.
A further 34 sets of roadworks and lane restrictions are due to be removed by 6:00 am on Friday and will not be put back before 00:01 on Tuesday 4 January.
In the event of severe weather next week, it may not be possible to complete or remove as many roadworks as planned. Priority will be given to treating the roads and keeping them as clear as possible for holiday traffic.
At 33 locations, lane restrictions or temporary speed limits will need to remain in place for the safety of drivers and their passengers.
Roads Minister, Mike Penning, said: “Completing or lifting roadworks on the motorways and other major roads managed by the Highways Agency will help everyone planning to drive over the festive season. More than 98 per cent of the strategic road network will be clear of roadworks, so more lanes will be open and many speed restrictions lifted.”
Read more on Directgov
Call me sceptical, but this is a lot of bull! The “holiday period” in question is actually the quietest of the year (when you drive for a living, you know these things), and it would make sense to get as much done as possible while it is quiet and get the bloody things finished once and for all. But “sense” is not something the Highways Agency is familiar with.
So let’s not deceive ourselves: this is purely to save money. All those Bank Holidays and weekends are double- and treble-time.
The reality for the rest of us is that those vastly over-running roadworks will continue to make life hell – and cost some of us money – well into 2011.
Well, I went to see Status Quo at the Sheffield Arena tonight, and when I checked the post code for the sat nav I noticed that the support act was Joe Brown.
This was a blast from the past. I can remember him from when I was a kid, so it was great to know I’d get to see him play live. He still looks the same as he ever did, with his stand-up hair! He’s been in the game for more than 50 years now.
He’s incredibly talented though – and his son, who is a pretty decent guitar player, plays in the band.
Joe said that he was wary about playing to arena-sized crowds – his band usually plays smaller venues – but was taken aback by the reception.
Quo played their typical set: all the old favourites, along with some that I’d never heard live before. Even my mate, who is a big Quo fan and goes to see them every year, said that.
They tour almost continuously, and I know they had to cancel some dates not long ago because Francis Rossi was ill. It makes you wonder how long they can go on when you consider Rossi is 61 and Parfitt 62. Rossi in particular looks drawn, and they expend a lot of energy when they do a gig. Still, while it lasts…
On the people watching front, there was no crowd surfing – as there was at the Bullet For My Valentine show last week. This was good, because we were only 6 rows back and I understand that zimmer frames hurt when one hits you on the back of the head. The crowd was satisfyingly short, so when they all stood up there was absolutely no obstruction of my view. And there was even less obstruction after about 45 minutes, when they all had to keep sitting down for a rest.
Minor irritations were people with weak bladders (and possibly colostomy bags) keep going out to the loo – and, being middle-aged couples they always go in pairs. And the smell of cheap perfume… oddly enough, reminiscent of the smell in a well-maintained gents.
Gone are the days (well, except for that Bullet For My Valentine show, and maybe that MGMT one… and Primal Scream… hang on a minute!) when everyone smelled the same: like a sack of potatoes, or something else slightly perishable which had been kept in the shed for a long time.
A reader sent me this link (now dead), which also appears to be surfacing on one or two forums. It discusses a report by The AA.
As many as 27,000 driving tests have been failed in the last year because the pupil was taught insufficiently by a trainee, according to the AA.
The AA claims that the lower pass rate among trainees’ pupils has cost UK learner drivers as much as £1.7m over the last 12 months. The most recent government study showed that learners taught by a trainee are as much as 25 percent more likely to fail their test.
The AA is taking up the case itself, and is demanding that learners be told they will be taught by a trainee when they book their lessons. An AA investigation this year showed that one in 10 learner drivers were taught by a trainee without knowing it. However the report showed that of 13,000 drivers, just 0.5 percent would be happy to pay the same price for lessons with a trainee.
I think it is important to keep this all in perspective. The PDI system has been around for a long time and it is how many of today’s ADIs got where they are.
The real issue is that the vast majority of PDIs will never be good enough to become ADIs – and that has always been the case – so why should learners pay the same for lessons from PDIs?
Whether or not the PDI system is ethically sound is another matter entirely. Many of those prepared to denounce it and have it burnt at the stake actually qualified using it, so it is rather hypocritical of them to behave as they do.
It’s worth bearing in mind that some absolute dross manages to pass all three parts of the ADI qualifying exams and so become ADIs, so logic would suggest that some pretty good teachers fall by the wayside for various reasons as PDIs during the qualification process.
It stands to reason that if you’re going to start trying to abolish the PDI system, you also need to do a bit of cleaning up on the other side of the Big Door, and offload some of the poor ADIs out there.
One of my pupils sent me this picture. He bought a Lego Advent Calendar – it’s a boxed item – and this was revealed in one of the windows. He said it can only be a hoodie with a knife:
When he told me about it I asked him to send it to me for the blog. On first sight I thought “no, that is a sword – not a knife”, but when I mentioned it to him tonight he was quite specific that the hat is a baseball cap, the white top has a hood on the back, and Lego only do two types of sword and they’re both oversized like that (it turns out he’s a bit of an expert on Lego). Now that I look more closely, the logo on the front is actually an open neck with drawstrings, side pockets, and an elasticated hem. And his face is spotty/freckly.
It is a hoodie.
What the hell is Lego playing at selling this stuff to kids?
I was on a lesson yesterday, and while we were in the middle of reversing around a corner a 4×4 pulled up a little ahead of us and a woman (let’s call her Mrs X) got out and came around my side. I smiled, wound the window down, and said “hello there”.
She wasn’t rude or anything, but she was obviously incensed by what she then explained to me (and I phoned her earlier today to get the details more accurately).
Last week, during the worst of the snow, a learner car – driven by a learner – had skidded into the wall outside her house (which is on a slight bend) and done some considerable damage to it. From what I saw yesterday it will have to be partially rebuilt, and the bricks are chipped – suggesting that some considerable force was involved. The learner car was so badly damaged that it had to be towed away.
During the same period another learner car had skidded into the pavement on the opposite side to Mrs X’s house. In the conversations I have had with her, she makes the very valid point that her children could have been outside playing in the snow. She also makes it clear that she doesn’t have any real problem with learners, even though they do get a lot of them on her street. Her main concern is that they were out in such treacherous conditions, when even qualified drivers were unable to handle them.
I must make it clear that I do not agree with that last comment. Not completely, anyway.
Mrs X herself agreed that learners need to experience icy conditions, but as I say her main concern was the seriousness of the conditions – particularly on her road. The road is on an extremely gentle slope and, as anyone with any experience on snow will understand, that means stopping distances increase dramatically if you get into a skid, and skids are correspondingly much more likely. Before it started to melt, the surface on many roads was kerb-to-kerb packed ice. They were as close to skating rink surfaces you could get without actually going to the Nottingham Arena! This is how it was on Mrs X’s completely un-gritted road.
The area where Mrs X’s house is situated used to be the subject of one of the “Please avoid…” notices pinned up on the now-closed West Bridgford Test Centre noticeboard. It’s quiet and exclusive – but it’s main attraction to instructors is:
it has three perfect corners for reversing
it is less than ½ mile from where the test centre used to be
instructors have always gone there
…and nothing else
On the negative side:
it isn’t quiet anymore
it isn’t very big
it’s used as a rat run by the mummies and daddies picking up and dropping off their kids from the private school up the road
it’s used as a rat run during rush hour
you get a lot of builders’ vans and skips down there
the residents detest learners to the point of deliberately disrupting manoeuvres
the roads are the absolute minimum width to do a turn in the road
unless you just drive in a circle it links to much busier roads
In short, the only reason most instructors use it is because they always have, or because someone else told them about it, and because they haven’t got the intelligence, instructing skills, or courage to go elsewhere. You often see the idiots asking on forums “where are there any nursery routes in [enter place name].”
You don’t need “nursery” routes. You just find somewhere relatively quiet and do your job!
I avoid the place whenever I can. I go there maybe once a week or so, just to rotate my time with all the other places I go to, and usually at night when all the other instructors are home watching Corrie. I never use it if I see another instructor car – I tell my pupil to drive on. You see, I plan my lessons as a circuit: we drive from the pupil’s house and travel a route which takes us via various places where we can do manoeuvres or whatever it is we’re practising. I’m not restricted to just ONE place for the left reverse, and ONE place for the turn in the road. But many other instructors really are that constrained.
Yesterday was one of those days where this area was completely free of any other school cars as we passed through during the day. So, we’d just pulled over to do the left reverse when another learner appeared behind us and stopped (as usual, waiting for the corner). I think he then decided not to wait and moved to the next corner. Finally, an idiot in a local franchise car stopped about four car lengths in front of us to do a turn in the road. This is when Mrs X came around the corner on her way home, being blocked by the clown doing the turn in the road.
You can easily imagine her feelings when she drove in and saw this lot going on. And believe me when I say that this is quiet compared to what it can be like down there sometimes: 10 or more cars driving in a circle waiting to use corners (or trying to steal them from each other) is common.
To make matters worse, another car was trying to do a turn in the road a few metres from her house, and it’s wheels were spinning dramatically on the ice (the driver had it all wrong). We all assumed this was another learner, but it turned out to be someone from another house. Even so, it just exacerbated the situation.
While I was politely dealing with Mrs X, her passenger was talking to the local franchise car instructor and – from what I was later told – got a torrent of abuse. Now, I don’t know what the passenger said, but there is still no excuse for an instructor to abuse residents like this.
I explained to Mrs X that I fully sympathised with her and agreed with most of what she said. I said that my pupil would finish that corner exercise and be moving on anyway, which we did. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the local franchise instructor deliberately stayed there for his entire lesson – reading the attitudes of some “professionals” on the forums when this situation crops up suggests that doing just this sort of petty thing is common.
Mrs X said she was going to contact the Police about the matter, but they have informed her that it is a public road and there is nothing they can do. She has thanked me for being reasonable and understanding over it.
The bottom line to all this is that a lot of driving instructors are simply stupid. You see the glossy ads saying “become an instructor – no qualifications needed“. Well, that attracts all sorts looking to make a quick buck. It would be that kind of person who was allowing their pupil to drive at such a ridiculously high speed on sheet ice, down a gradient, coming up to a bend, that the car was totalled and a wall was seriously damaged. And it would be that kind of person who was allowing their pupil to drive so fast in the opposite direction that they slammed into a kerb on the same bend.
In both of these examples, the instructors in question obviously did not have even the slightest consideration for pedestrians or children who might have been on the pavement. They also didn’t have a clue how to instruct in such conditions (suggesting their own driving skills were also somewhat lacking in similar conditions). Does that mean they are “fit and proper” – one of the main criteria for being on the approved register?
Last week, SOME pupils shouldn’t have been out at all, and NO pupils should have been on SOME roads at any time. I’d even go so far as to say that at certain times during last week NO pupils should have been out – anywhere – AT ALL.
If instructors ignore all that for the sake of money, then you could also add that some instructors SHOULDN’T BE instructors at all.
The two specimens mentioned above certainly raise certain questions, don’t they?.
Police are warning that not clearing snow off the roof of your car can lead to a fine.
They really should take action against some people. You wouldn’t believe what I have seen over the last week… idiots driving with 8 inches of snow on the roof, blowing off and obscuring the view for traffic behind; lorries with huge slabs of ice on top, which slide off on to the road when they go round a bend; and so on.
Several times I’ve had to warn my learners about the sudden appearance of snow in the road which has fallen off other vehicles and which could seriously affect your grip if you don’t see it.
Take a look at Rule 229 of the Highway Code. It says:
Before you set off
you MUST be able to see, so clear all snow and ice from all your windows
you MUST ensure that lights are clean and number plates are clearly visible and legible
make sure the mirrors are clear and the windows are demisted thoroughly
remove all snow that might fall off into the path of other road users
check your planned route is clear of delays and that no further snowfalls or severe weather are predicted
[Laws CUR reg 30, RVLR reg 23, VERA sect 43 & RV(DRM)R reg 11]
The laws quoted apply to the “MUST” conditions. The others fall into the “SHOULD” category, where there is no specific law, but which commonsense would suggest those possessing some ought to apply it a little.
Unfortunately, commonsense is in such short supply – or plays second fiddle to bad attitude – that the Police are prepared to get involved:
But, while “hoax” text messages warning of automatic fixed penalty notices for drivers with snow on their vehicles have been dismissed by South Yorkshire Police, Greater Manchester Police say they may prosecute if there is an accident as a result of uncleared snow.
It could mean a £60 fine and 3 points. So, you have been warned.
It’s been a bit dry on the music front lately. No one decent touring (except for Paramore a few weeks ago).
Anyway, I’ve had this one booked for some time. My ticket agent did me the business and got me tickets. Not far from the stage, but seated.
When I ordered them, and after he had got them and told me where they were, I said “but I wanted close to the stage” . He said “but these are good tickets – the floor is standing” . I said “that’s what I wanted” , to which he replied “you wanted standing???”
At the time I was puzzled: he knows that I want floor tickets when I order from him.
Anyway, I set off for Manchester this afternoon at around 3.45pm and finally got there at 7.30pm! Traffic was terrible this end and my attempts to avoid it took me via routes where they appeared to have had several metres of snow over the last week! That, combined with people who can’t drive above 40mph on the A628, meant it took longer than expected.
We caught the end of the second support act (doors opened at 5.30pm). They were bloody rubbish. That croaky voice, foot on the monitor, headbanging whilst “singing”… it was all there. A big turn off was the gratuitous swearing.
As they got the stage ready for the main act, a bit of people watching led us to the conclusion that either we are going to see bands who attract extremely young audiences, or we are just getting old. I’ll stick with that first thing. But they were throwing things around – shoes, t-shirts, a glo-stick (could have had someone’s eye out), the lot.
Bullet For My Valentine played a good set. As a metal band, they are very raw live, but there’s no doubting their skill. They played tracks from their latest album plus the singles everyone is familiar with.
It was during the set that I realised why my agent had sounded surprised when I’d indicated I would have preferred floor tickets. As well as chucking stuff around, they also started chucking each other: crowd surfing. The army of stewards at the front repeatedly pulled people off the top and sent them to the back. Unlike the gentle kind you see on MTV, British crowd surfing appears to involve trying to throw the surfer as hard and far as possible – with the obvious problems associated with the surfer falling, and the damage to whoever he falls on. And then they were doing that thing where they all run around in a circle making themselves dizzy – it’s funny watching pink, portly youths with their shirts off trying to look hard.
But all in all a good night’s entertainment. And it’s off to Sheffield next week to see Status Quo.
The lead article covers the fact that from 2012 the question bank for the theory test will no longer be available to the public (that includes ADIs).
There’s also an article on a current trial which is looking at changing the syllabus for learners. It puts a greater emphasis on the learner learning for themselves instead of just being told what to do. I must admit that I’m a bit miffed about this, because I don’t actually “tell” my learners how to do anything (well, except for one yesterday who simply cannot steer the right way on any manoeuvre after many hours of trying!)
Trial results will be available in Spring 2012, so any changes would be made some time after that.
I knew it! The lazy good-for-nothings aren’t delivering post in the snow.
Last winter, I wrote of my suspicions that the Royal Mail wasn’t delivering during the bad weather, because the usual supply of junk mails and circulars had dried up. I’m waiting for something now, and it is suspiciously late – and I know it has gone by Royal Mail instead of courier.
Watching the local BBC News (Central) just now, they have confirmed that they are not delivering in the bad weather in some areas. Apparently, some workers slipped and hurt themselves last year (when they weren’t delivering anyway – obviously unofficially, as I speculated back then). Apparently the union is involved.
I’ve also written before – many times – about unions. They are an antiquated throwback to the Victorian Era and the sooner they cease to exist, the better it will be all round.
Haven’t any of these troublemaking fossils ever thought of trying to find a way forward, instead of always looking for one backwards? Even when I was a kid you could buy snow grippers which clamped over your normal shoes. You used to see tham in the small ads in the Sunday papers every week. The 21st Century equivalent – and there are numerous suppliers of similar equipment – is these ones by Yaktrax. They fit over any shoe – trainers, walking boots, the lot.
Why the hell can’t those lazy morons who are supposed to deliver the mail use these?
Mind you, it can’t be all of them – just the lazy unionised ones. While I was out today I saw one postie delivering on his bike. And he wasn’t wearing gloves, either – though he’d obviously drawn the line at the usual knee-length shorts.
My last lesson tonight cancelled due to being unwell, so I finished early. It was actually quite useful, because on Friday the central heating packed in and a plumber is coming out tomorrow now we know it is the the boiler (Ouch! £££) and not the pump.
As I mentioned in the previous post, it was -9ºC again this morning. It never got higher than -2ºC all day (so much for the forecast high of 1ºC) and that was with full sunshine throughout.
At 3.30pm I frantically started looking around for a heater. Maplin do quartz halogen heaters, but they had sold out and had 1,000 on back order, but all were spoken for. Machine Mart had sold out. So had B&Q – although they did have some basic quartz heaters, which are just as effective (so I bought one: only cost £20).
Just as well, really. By 3.50pm the temperature was -6ºC.
This was a blast from the past. I can remember him from when I was a kid, so it was great to know I’d get to see him play live. He still looks the same as he ever did, with his stand-up hair! He’s been in the game for more than 50 years now.
On the people watching front, there was no crowd surfing – as there was at the 
Last week, during the worst of the snow, a learner car – driven by a learner – had skidded into the wall outside her house (which is on a slight bend) and done some considerable damage to it. From what I saw yesterday it will have to be partially rebuilt, and the bricks are chipped – suggesting that some considerable force was involved. The learner car was so badly damaged that it had to be towed away.
While I was politely dealing with Mrs X, her passenger was talking to the local franchise car instructor and – from what I was later told – got a torrent of abuse. Now, I don’t know what the passenger said, but there is still no excuse for an instructor to abuse residents like this.
Police are warning that not clearing snow off the roof of your car can lead to a fine.
Anyway, I’ve had this one booked for some time. My ticket agent did me the business and got me tickets. Not far from the stage, but seated.
As I mentioned in the previous post, it was -9ºC again this morning. It never got higher than -2ºC all day (so much for the forecast high of 1ºC) and that was with full sunshine throughout.