As with anything in life, doing something that is completely new to you can be pretty daunting. This applies to learning to drive on today’s busy roads, towns and cities which are crowded with cars and other vehicles. This is particularly so if you have never sat behind the wheel of a car before, what you need in these circumstances is a friendly patient fully qualified driving instructor. We believe that is someone who is local to your particular area and is not just familiar with it, but “knows it inside out”!

It is not just about passing that all important two part driving test, but it is also coaching you in the skills that will make you a safe and considerate driver long after you have successfully passed your driving test. Bill Plant Driving School is in the unique position of being in the top five national driving schools, with a local approach and feel to it, whether you are learning to drive in Bradford, or one of the other major centres covered by this coveted driving school.

By most standards, Ireland’s system for new drivers has been a bit peculiar. New drivers entering the system got a provisional license, which allowed them to drive with an accompanying licensed driver.  What then made this unusual, and delightfully Irish, was if they took their driving test and failed it, they could apply for, and get, a second provisional license, and happily drive without a fully licensed driver!

Uniquely the learner driver did not have to take a driving test and subsequently fail this to get a new two year provisional licence; they could simply not turn up for the driving test and use the appointment letter to renew their provisional licence. However from the 30th June 2008 provisional licence holders must have a fully qualified driver with them at all times, or face a fine of up to €1000, or imprisonment if they fail to pay this. We know at Bill Plant that after years of driving you can build up bad habits and it’s really difficult to get rid of them without training. As they say it can only happen in Ireland!

Advanced driver training is the next step for some people after getting their driver’s license.  It is designed to help students become smoother, more conscientious drivers.  The idea to offer more advanced instruction was conceived at the National Road Safety Congress that was held back in November 1954, and the idea was so well received that the members of the many different road and traffic organizations began to offer classes. 

These classes have been shown to reduce accidents. The Pass Plus test can be booked through the Bill Plant School of Motoring and is open to anyone of legal age with the correct driver’s license.  The test is about ninety-minutes long and can cover thirty-five to forty minutes worth of driving on varied road surfaces, numerous road conditions, and possibly varied weather.

Most people are afraid to take the test because they don’t want the person grading them to see the bad habits that have developed over the years in their daily driving routines.  As long as a candidate remains relaxed and calm they will pass the test and become rated as an advanced driver.  They will come out of it all with better awareness and better preparation for any driving eventuality that may come their way.

As one of the most successful driving schools in the UK the Bill Plant Driving School is well established throughout the major conurbations in the country. Unlike some other Driving Schools, Bill Plant’s ethos is that every part of a major city has to be treated as a local area.

An example of what is meant by this is when taking driving lessons in Bradford, which is a major conurbation with two major test centres at Eccleshill and at Heaton, because of Bill Plant’s reputation for excellence in driving tuition, it does not have to be daunting. For someone who wants to learn to drive in Bradford to be concerned that they will be pitched into the city centre straight away you need not worry, if you live in Shipley on the one hand or say or Laisterdyke of Wibsey for instance you will be collected in your area and your driving lessons in Bradford will be pitched at the right level for you, supporting you and bringing you to the standard needed to pass your two part driving test.

Summer time is when the number of cyclist increase due to road events and we all prefer to use a cycle when it is not raining! Also due to the rise in petrol costs we are seeing more cyclists on the road with very differing levels of skill and experience. Due to this drivers of motor vehicles need to take extra care to judge their speed, as well as the road and weather conditions, from the new cyclist’s point of view. Some cyclists, particularly younger ones, have never driven a car, and so don’t recognise the problems that they can cause car drivers.

Cyclist do not have a steel cage around them like the motorist, passing too close can be disconcerting. In traffic, make sure that you don’t cut up a cyclist who is about to pass you on the near side, try not to cut across a cyclist when you need to turn left at a junction and wait behind the cyclist until the cyclist has either turned left or passed the junction. All of this and much more may seem to be common sense, which it is, and you will find reference to safe driving and cyclist in the Online Highway Code at the site of the Bill Plant Driving School.

When you are about to take driving lessons there are many things to be considered, foremost is the need for the security of a major national company. Equally though, what is required also is that the Driving School should be local to your particular area so that you can be collected near to your home or work. Fortunately for the ever increasing numbers of people who are now taking driving lessons, the Bill Plant Driving School fit these requirements.

An example of this has to be the Bill Plant operation for those who wish to learn to drive in Birmingham, which is one of the most comprehensive in this vast conurbation. Even if you have never sat behind the wheel of a car before, the Bill Plant fully qualified driving instructor will put you at your ease and collect you from your chosen locality, whether this is from diverse points such as Aston to Cradley Heath or eastwards to Chelmsley Wood. Relax; learning to drive in Birmingham and taking the two part driving test at one of the six Birmingham Driving Test Centres is taken care of through sympathetic and understanding coaching by the Bill Plant Birmingham Driving School, you will soon be a qualified driver.

You hear the twin note siren and see the blue lights flashing in your rear view mirror, deciding what to do when you hear an emergency vehicle approaching can be a dilemma. Do you stay where you are and potentially block the progress of an emergency vehicle? Or do you move into a position that may put you or other road users at risk?

Often the emergency vehicle is on top of you before you see or hear it and the reaction is to take drastic action to get out of the way. The Bill Plant qualified driving instructors tell students that good driving practice will alert you early to emergency vehicles, by carrying out regular mirror checks both side and rear for example, and keeping the windows slightly down around town, so you can hear sirens approaching. We advise that you do not panic and brake, or cross red lights to get out of the way, think where you are on the road, maybe it is best to continue until the opportunity arises for the emergency vehicle to pass you safely.

We have discussed it before but we make no excuses for raising it again, that is the need to save both fuel and importantly, money. With the ever increasing cost of oil and subsequently petrol and diesel fuel, the need to try to save this precious commodity is paramount and we; at the Bill Plant Driving School offer some handy tips to try to achieve this.

Reduce weight in the car; do not carry unnecessary heavy items and that can mean not keeping your tank full all the time. Keep your tyres inflated to the maximum recommended pressure, do not drive with the windows open, this causes drag it is better to use air conditioning on a hot day but this uses fuel too. Avoid excessive use of the brakes, anticipate approaching traffic lights and junctions, braking turns fuel into waste heat. Keep the revs down; try to get into as high a gear as quickly possible. Keep a really light right foot and plan your journey before hand, a third of city traffic is estimated to be lost or looking for an address. Use motorways as much as possible, the most efficient way to run a vehicle. Lastly, we know this will hurt, consider you car as a luxury item.

New proposals to reform the way people learn to drive and how they are tested has recently been announced by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly and the Bill Plant School of Motoring will be ready and ahead of the game. It is a sad fact that whilst road deaths have fallen by 33% since the mid 1990s, but the casualty rate for young drivers has not changed. One in five people have an accident within six months of passing their test, and another 70% report near misses in the same period. Alongside this newly-qualified drivers and their passengers account for one in five of all car deaths in Britain.

We always stress to the newly qualified driver that they have just reached one milestone following there successful driving test, and we emphasise the need to continue to learn roadcraft to ensure their own and other road users safety. An example would be to enroll for the pass plus course which will make them safer drivers and can reduce their insurance premiums.  

Following a period of dry weather that many have experienced recently, you can be sure that when it rains driver get caught out by the changed road conditions. Rubber from tyres and oil products adhere to the surface of the road, which when wet can be literally lethal, 95% of all accidents involve some degree of skidding.

Bill Plant has introduced a new Skid Control training package so whether you are a new driver having recently passed your test with Bill Plant driving school, or have driven for many years, the skid training scheme can only be of benefit to you when it comes to dealing with that unexpected incident which may be just around the next corner. We know that every day nine people die in road crashes in the UK, the roads account for the most deaths of young people between the ages of 15 to 24years of age; company drivers suffer an average of 150 deaths and serious injuries each week when driving on business.