The DSA has welcomed the sentence handed to two individuals for trying to cheat a driving test by pretending to be someone else the two males pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by misrepresentation. 

 The driver pretending to be the learner was given a eight week suspended sentence for 12 months, ordered to do 100 hours community service, disqualified from driving for four months and placed on a 12-month supervision order.

 The learner to tried to get someone else to sit in on his test was given an eight-week suspended prison sentence, ordered to do 120 hours community service and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

 The learner sat his own driving test in November 2008, but failed. He then got his friend to take the test for him on the 11^th of December 2008, which is when the DSA begun there investigation and the pair were arrested.

 The DSA are very committed to prosecuting any offenders in order to preserve public safety on the roads and the integrity of the driving test procedure.

 Andrew Rice, DSA’s Head of Fraud and Integrity, said: “People who impersonate at driving tests present a real risk to all road users, as they provide an entitlement to drive to those who have not been assessed to show that they are competent to do so.

“In addition to obtaining the qualification to drive, many people seek possession of a full UK driving licence to establish proof of identity. Once obtained, that licence may also be used as proof of identity in a variety of other circumstances, such as obtaining state benefits and accommodation, opening bank accounts, obtaining credit cards and even undertaking domestic air travel.”

The DSA investigates all reported cases of fraud surrounding the driving test procedure and works closely with the police and criminal justice agencies to identify offenders and bring them to court.

 Here at Bill Plant we recommend that it is not worth the risk attempting to have someone sit your driving test for you. Instead take your time learning and have as many driving lessons or driving courses as you need and you will be able to pass you test.

One of the most common questions asked to all driving instructors is ‘How many lessons will I need to pass my driving test?’ Unfortunately this is a very difficult question to answer, especially if you are asking someone before you have even begun to learn to drive.

Every person learns in different way, where one person might take 10 hours to learn to drive another might take 80 hours with the same instructor. There isn’t anyway to determine how many lessons you will need before you begin to learn.

The national average is between 30 and 40 hours practicing before you put in for your test the first time. The current first time pass rate is 43%, therefore over half put it for there test and then fail the first time. This makes it even harder to determine how many lessons you will need before you actually pass your test as you might do the recommended 40, fail and have to do another 10 before your next test.

 Below is a simple to table to display the number of lessons you may need:

Other things you should take into consider is have you had any driving experience before, e.g. driving on private land. Have you had any road use either cycling or on a motorbike. If you already understand road use you might find it easier when you begin your driving lessons.

 When you do begin to learn to drive rather than trying to pass as soon as possible, learn at your own rate and make sure you are ready when you go in for your test. 

TEENAGER Daniel Chadwick is one ‘L’ of a driver.The 18-year-old electrician, from Dalton, has joined an elite club of learners who have passed their test first time without any mistakes.

And his faultless performance came after just 23 hours of lessons with Bill Plant driving school – half the average.

Daniel said: “I thought I had done all right and I thought I’d probably passed because I didn’t do anything that stood out as a big mistake.

“The examiner didn’t even tell me I’d passed at first, he just started giving me leaflets about extra courses I could do.

“I said: ‘I’m guessing I passed then’ and he just gave me my faults sheet which didn’t have anything on it.

“I was over the moon.”

Only 0.1% of drivers pass their first test without making a single mistake. Daniel said he used to do go-karting, which probably helped him.

“I picked things up quite quickly because I was used to being behind a wheel,” he said.

“But there were some bad habits I had to get out of.”

Instructor David Norcliffe, who has taught hundreds of learners over more than 10 years, said he had never had a pupil achieve a perfect pass. He said: “Daniel has been a model pupil.

“He has had 23 hours of tuition with me over a period of three months, being eager to learn, very consistent and is now able to drive to a good standard.

“He’s now going to take his Pass Plus with me, enabling him to become an even better driver.”

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2009/01/29/rare-driving-test-pass-without-any-faults-86081-22805059/

Bill Plant Driving School has developed over the last 6 years to become one of the top driving schools in the UK, with instructors situated in nearly all major urban centres in the England. Bill Plant‘s philosophy is to give every new learner an instructor who knows the area inside out. Whether it be in a small village in Northampton or a large conurbation like London, Bill Plant aims to ensure that every pupil has an instructor who is freindly, professional and who knows the local area very well.

One of the areas in the UK that has a full coverage of instructors is West Yorkshire. Currently, Bill Plant has instructors that are based in the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, as well as smaller towns like Castleford, Knottingley, Ossett, Halifax and Dewsbury.

If you live in West Yorkshire, and are thinking of learning to drive, then Bill Plant has an instuctor in your area. Call the freephone number and take advantage of the free first lesson that is offered to every new pupil.

It is a fact, maybe unpopular with some, but safe drivers are made, not born. Statistics that have been gathered prove beyond reasonable doubt that the more pre-test training that a novice driver, particularly young males, is given the less chance there is of them being killed or seriously injured. As an example of this, in Sweden 50 hours is the recommended number of pre driving test tuition, but if 120 hours is given the number of crashes involving these novice drivers reduces by a massive 40% in the following two years.

Novice drivers, particularly the under 20s, are most at risk in the early weeks and months after they pass their driving test, the likely causes are using an old car, driving on Friday and Saturday nights, on rural roads, running off the road, skidding and losing control, in fog or poor visibility, and on bends, particularly rural roads. All of this points to what has been known for many years that there is no substitute for good tuition and lots of practice.

You may have only just passed your driving test but already beginning to become an enthusiastic car owner or driver, keen on all things motoring. Why not harness your enthusiasm and combine this with a wonderful day out in the lake district of England?

A feast, on an action-fuelled day out, takes place on Saturday, August 30, as the West Cumbrian town of Workington lays on the inaugural Paint the Town Red event. The event will be kicked off by the actor comedian Ricky Tomlinson at 10.15 with the action being based in the town centre, Curwen Park and Vulcan Park. Lots of famous cars will be displayed including Herbie from the Love Bug, Postman Pat’s van, a range of vintage vehicles as well as a Go Cart display. There will be stunt driving, marching bands, made in Cumbria stalls, barbecues, a magic act, cookery demonstrations, a Jennings beer tent will be in attendance, with food stalls and daytime fireworks at around 4pm. Vulcan Park has all day performances from the Band of the King’s Division, junior activities and hot roast.

You will have received careful and skilful tuition from your qualified driving instructor on the correct use of your indicators notifying your intentions to turn or overtake when driving your vehicle, but are there times when it is not necessary or desirable to use indicators?

August bodies such as the Institute of Advance Motorists, RoSPA and Police Driving Instructors support straight forward common sense in the use if indicators. What is the point of signalling if there is no one to signal to? However, we should never forget that pedestrians and cyclist is a road user as well. For instance pedestrian crossings are often sited near the entrance and exits to roundabouts and vehicle positioning may not give a pedestrian a clue about your intentions. The road may be clear of cars, but a turning vehicle can pose a danger to a pedestrian or cyclist who may not have been seen. Remember that pedestrians have the right of way at most road junctions.

Petrol and diesel fuel has been falling from its all time high in recent weeks but it still horrendously expensive so it is still worth hearing of methods by which this precious commodity can be saved.

A simple way is to reverse into a parking space in order that you drive out of it in a forwards direction. Not only is your vehicle in a safer position, you will remember this from your driving lessons; there are benefits to your car too. It is known that it takes an average five year old car a minute and a half for the engine to warm up and the most efficient way to warm it up is by driving it. Reversing out of a space when the car’s engine is cold uses around 20 to 25 times more petrol in the first few seconds than it does when warm. If you do this several times a week the cost savings in fuel and wear and tear on your vehicle engine can be huge.

You will have been taught the reasons for reversing by your qualified driving instructor, practiced it many time during your driving lessons and had to perform this in the practical driving test, why stop now? Be safe and save money.

By the time we reach our sixties and seventies, most of us have been driving for at least forty years.  We will have built up a lifetime of driving experience which will give us the honour of being able to say that we get into fewer accidents.  Unfortunately, most people at this stage of life are also experiencing a variety of effects, both physical and mental, that are caused by aging.  The question then becomes, “is age an issue when driving?”

People in their sixties and seventies will notice that their senses are not as sharp as they used to be.  They fade gradually and most people won’t even notice it until someone points it out to them.  Drivers must be able to read a license plate number at 67 feet, the length of a cricket pitch.  If corrective lenses are needed to accomplish this, then they should be worn when driving.  Some eye problems, like cataracts or glaucoma, may end a driving career completely.

Arthritis and general stiffness of the body restricts your range of motion, making it difficult for a person to move, see over their shoulder, shift gears or even just turn the steering wheel.  Some older drivers may need special devices and accessories from their doctor to help them.  Also, older drivers should always check with their doctors about the prescription medicine they take to ensure it won’t effect their driving.

Older drivers who wish to continue driving after the age of seventy will need to renew their driving license every three years.

What is not in doubt is that modern cars are structurally far superior to models widely available in years previously, but the width of the pillars to achieve this has grown, in particular the one that divides the windscreen and the side windows, known as the “A” pillar, the downside is that his pillar obstructs the vision of thousands of drivers.

Your Bill Plant qualified driving instructor will have made you aware of the potential restriction the “A” pillar may cause in your ability to scan the road ahead. As a reminder to all drivers you should make sure that nothing is hidden from view by the pillar before making a manoeuvre as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are easy to “lose” in the space behind this. Make sure you take time to look around the pillar, not just take a quick “snap-shot” look which could allow a cyclist to be hidden from view.

Never forget that good all round vision is essential to safe driving, vital in fact and remember that as a driver of a motor vehicle, the onus is on you to ensure that nothing is there.