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.

Every day in the UK, 23 young people, under the age of 25, are killed or seriously injured in vehicles and it is a fact that most of these collisions are caused not by the vehicle, the road, or the conditions, but by bad driving, which is the biggest single killer of young people In the UK.

That there are some young tearaways on our roads is not in dispute and for them there is absolutely no excuse, fortunately most young drivers are not like that most want to be good safe drivers. The easiest way to achieve this is to enroll on a Bill Plant pass plus advanced driving course which covers all types of driving conditions and gives you the added confidence you will almost certainly need following on from your successful driving test. In addition to making the newly qualified driver safer, they will benefit from reduced insurance premiums which can only be a good thing. Join the thousands of successful Bill Plant driving school students and you can be a good and safe driver too.

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.

Bill Plant is a national driving school; in fact it is in the top five in the country recognised as being in the forefront of innovation with an ultra modern approach to driving lessons, and progressing to the important driving test, including the theory section of the two part driving test.

Although one of the most successful driving schools in Britain, the approach taken by Bill Plant is that every locality should be treated as though it is a local area, whether this is in a major conurbation such as Birmingham or Sheffield or a smaller city such as Ripon for example. Your qualified driving instructor at the Bill Plant driving school wherever you live, will carefully and with consideration guide you through your driving lessons right through until you are ready to take your two part test and become a fully qualified driver.