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.

At the moment a learner driver can request to have their instructor sit in the back of the car during their practical driving test. If they are learning to drive in their own car they have the option to have a friend or family member accompanying them on their test. There have been recent discussions with Driving Standard Agency (DSA) to make it compulsory for all candidates to have a qualified driver accompanying them on the 40-minute driving test.

 This change was planning to made in October 2010, this was because the DSA carried out a study, which showed having an accompanying driver on the test is very beneficial to the learner.

Learner driver’s may or may not benefit from this approach, many pupils said it will help them if they fail so that their instructor can see what they have done wrong. Others say that it will make them much more nervous having two people watching you on your driving test, which could make you perform worse on the test.

 We can now say that the plan to make this a legal requirement has now been scrapped.

Rosemary Thew the DSA chief executive said:

 “We want to work in partnership with the driver training profession to help candidates get the most from their training and from their practical test experience. We believe that having an observer on test to see the drive at first hand and hear the examiner’s debrief will enhance the candidate’s learning experience, which, in turn, will lead to road safety benefits. Given that we are no longer planning to legislate and that we already encourage this practice, we are looking at how we might progress this approach sooner than October 2010.”

In the future it will be made compulsory for the driving examiner to offer the candidate the opportunity for someone to sit in on their test, it will be then up to the candidate to decide if they would like someone to accompanying.

Rosemary Thew continued to say:

 “In the meantime, our examiners will continue to welcome instructors to sit in on test and encourage them to listen to the debrief. We want candidates to experience driving instructors and driving examiners as professional road safety experts working together to help them to be safe and responsible drivers with the overall aim of improving road safety.”

 We welcome you comments on this to see how you feel about having someone sit in on driving test, which would you choose? Do you think it is a good approach making it mandatory or should it be optional?

 For anymore Driving Lesson tips or Driving School Information check out the Bill Plant Homepage. 

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/

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.

The Driving Standard Agency requires every citizen wishing to get a driver’s license to pass two tests: the theory test and the practical driving exam.  The theory test is based on what is learned during the classroom instruction of a citizen’s driver education course.  It is broken down into two sections, the multiple choice section which is based on book knowledge, and the hazard perception clip test, which requires the student to identify potential driving hazards in fourteen presented scenarios.  Both tests must be passed before the person can move on and take the driving test.

The multiple choice section of the DSA theory test is made up of thirty-five questions.  It is administered on a computer with a touch screen where the student would select their answer.  The student needs to correctly answer thirty of the thirty-five questions in order to pass.  If you need to give more than one answer to a question, the computer will alert you by flashing the text at the upper left hand corner.  Students have forty minutes to complete the test and it will end automatically at the end of that time period.

If the student finishes the test before the end of the forty minutes, they have the opportunity to review their test and to make sure they have submitted thirty-five answers.  The student will then be given a three minute break before starting the other part of the DSA theory examination, the hazard-perception test.  If the student passes both portions of the test, they will be allowed to schedule the driving portion in order to get their drivers license.

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.

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.

Before a driver can take to the road behind the wheel on their own, they must pass the Department of Transport driving test. This is now in two parts, the practical driving test and the theoretical driving test. Your qualified Bill Plant Driving School Instructor will take you through a routine designed to bring you to the standard to pass both parts of driving test.

Driving on the roads will make passing the practical test a reality. The theoretical test can be practised at any time through the FREE online theory test at the web pages of Bill Plant. This is a great way of gaining valuable experience as to what the real theory test will be like, with over 900 different questions to test your driving knowledge. Bill Plant students can log on with the password given by their instructor, but if you are not a student yet, just login with your name and email address, it’s that easy!

As more and more people are taking to the roads, driving practices and principles have had to change to keep up with the times.  Over the last ten years alone everything from the speed limit, to the volume of traffic, to road signs, has had to change to keep up to date.  The classroom and driving instruction people take in order to get their driver’s license has even changed to incorporate the increased flow of traffic and what could be perceived as potentially hazardous driving conditions.

Any citizen wanting to get their driver’s license should make sure the driving school they are interested in using follows an approved syllabus and tests what the student has learned.  This instruction should cover eighteen different areas of learning that are required and will show that learners can handle themselves in each area before being allowed to take the practical test.

Today student drivers need to pass not only the written test and practical driving test, but they also have to pass what is known as a video-clip hazard perception test.  The student sits at a computer screen as if they were actually driving the automobile.  They are presented with fifteen hazards that they must identify, one per clip, with the exception of one clip which will have two hazards.  If the student passes all three of their tests, they will be rewarded with the issuance of a driver’s license and afforded the privileges of being able to drive an automobile without needing to be accompanied by another adult.

Learning how to drive can be both exciting and harrowing. Most students take driving lessons from an accredited driving school, like the Bill Plant School of Motoring. It helps if learner-drivers can have some extra practice between lessons with their instructor. In order for them to be able to legally get behind the wheel with only their provisional license, learner-drivers must be accompanied by an adult who has a license.

Anyone wishing to accompany their learner-driver on the road must be 21 years of age or older. They must also have had their own full driving license for at least three years, and special ‘L’ plates on the front and back of the car.

According to the Driving Standards Agency, it takes the average learner driver forty-five hours of driving lessons and twenty-two hours of private practice before they are ready to take their driving test. If you are willing to help your learner-driver, no matter what you do you must always remain calm and patient. Remember, you were a student once too.