Archives for August 2015

When your driving instructor North West London already thinks you’re ready to drive after learning your lessons, you can get more practice with a family member or a friend who is already a holder of a full driving licence.

But take note that a learner driver like you who drives a car must also be a holder of a valid provisional driving licence. And the law says you must be supervised by someone who is at least 21 years of age or older and holds a full driving licence for at least three years.

You should also remember that a learner needs an insurance policy to drive a vehicle. Because a car insurance, although dull but unavoidable. Don’t be a “blithering idiot,” so make sure you shouldn’t leave your home without it.

Drive the car of your friends, parents, grandparents or relatives without any risk to their insurance. Just take your insurance policy with you always for every vehicle you intend to drive. So, there are more information such as hints and tips for friends and family members helping a person to learn to drive.

A wise friend or parent would seek the help of reliable professionals to prepare a young learner for the complex world of traffic and cars. It’s really not anymore enough for today’s young learner drivers with only their family or friends teaching them to drive because the traffic situation is now far too different compared to what their parents did during their prime.

Today, the driving world these learners have to enter has been far too intense to tackle if they have no serious preparation in driving to be obtained from driving school. Learning to drive a car efficiently and safely in modern traffic involved much more than training in order to pass a government road test and get a full driving license.

However, this practice you’ve done with your family member or a friend as your passenger is a necessary first stage. Remember that government driver examiners often want to make sure that the new young learner driver has adequate control over the vehicle, knowledgeable about the rules of the road as well as the correct procedures to manage a vehicle in the flow of traffic, and able to make safe decisions.

The professional driving instructor is skilled in teaching these basics. So, your role as a parent or co-driver is to reinforce what driving lessons that the driving instructor North West London of your son or daughter are teaching him/her and provide practice time of what he/she has learned in driving school.

Bear in your mind that attitude will determine how skills and knowledge will be used. It will determine whether a driver is cooperative or competitive in dealing with the flow of traffic on the road. So, your example is your biggest contribution to the safety of your family or friends such as your effectiveness behind the steering wheel.

So, your best assets are your courtesy, patience, and a willingness to improve your driving skill. Now is your best time to review your driving habits and offer your family or friend or even the other road users your example of consideration and courtesy. This will also make sure the safety of your family or friends who are with you in your driving practice.

When you go driving to the other countries in Europe, you need to prepare yourself with sufficient information from the best driving instructors Liverpool of the rules as well as orientation of a new situation in driving that’s getting you back to just seem a novice motorist.

For example, when you’re driving in France which uses right hand drive, overtaking there, is also far more dangerous than usual when you’re still using your left-hand drive car from Britain due to a lack of view up ahead. So, if possible you should avoid overtaking.

Driving on the right side of the road in France also needs you to be extra careful in the roundabouts because this part of the road can be confusing. Even the roundabouts in the United Kingdom (UK) that we are accustomed to, can be confusing too.

The vehicles on the UK roundabouts rotate in a clockwise direction whilst in France that motorists drive on the right side of the road, the vehicles rotate in a counter clockwise direction which means we must give way to the right.

Trying to remember who to give way to and from which direction, can be a little confusing when you’re in the thick of it, so try to keep it simpler. Be relaxed and drive slow to give yourself enough time to observe the traffic flow, lanes and signs when approaching a roundabout.

If you miss your exit, simply proceed or continue round again in order to find the correct one. Don’t panic and make any dangerous manoeuvres to reach your exit.

Then try to remember this when you’re approaching a junction. Drivers in countries that drive on the left will approach a T-junction and prioritise their observations to the right, especially if making a left turn at the junction. The opposite applies in countries that drive on the right.

Remember that faster vehicles will overtake you on the left side of your car. So, if possible, stay in the right lane until you’ll be accustomed to the differences. If you’re planning to overtake the vehicle in front before entering the left or middle lane, make sure to check the left car blind spot before doing so.

With regards to quiet roads, this is the tip you should always remember. Quiet roads such as country roads or driving at night when roads are quiet are where you may initially find yourself most vulnerable. It’s the busy roads that allows you to safely follow the flow of traffic and firmly places you on the right hand side of the road.

The roads with only few vehicles are travelling often leave the motorist at wheel from the left-hand drive country like UK to feel more relaxed, so the possibility for him/her to likely resort to old habits, such as driving on the left. A common example may be exiting a T-junction into the left lane, or making a left or right turn and taking up the wrong side of the road when entering the new road.

Although you’re likely to notice your error quickly and take immediate action, it only takes a moment for an accident to occur.

Driving lessons NW6 101: After an alcoholic drink you should avoid driving, and it’s safer to just sleep inside your car rather than risking yourself driving home. Even if you think you’re still able to drive at the moment, it would still come with a more risk of being convicted of “Drink Driving” if authorities will stop you on the road.

If you’re convicted of “Drunk in Charge” of a motor vehicle because you were caught sleeping inside your car after an alcoholic drink, it does not in any way incur serious penalties compared when you’re caught of “Drink Driving.” So, it has been said as “Lesser Evil” so it’s the sensible choice to just stay and sleep inside your car.

However, penalties still have the potential of being severe if you sleep inside your car, so if it’s possible you better leave your vehicle well-alone and look either elsewhere to sleep or you may take a taxi home. In this decision, you’ll be saved from serious penalties such as you being banned forever from driving a vehicle.

If you have no other option but to sleep inside your car to avoid “Drink Driving” offence, you can take precautions to minimise a potential “Drunk in Charge” penalty. If the police will deem you as a potential risk to other road users, you will be taken to the police station and will be issued with a court summon. Then the court will look into the factors to assess the risk you posed:

(1.)  Where you were seated? When you’re found sleeping in the driving seat, it suggests that you pose a higher risk of driving compared to being found on the rear seat.

(2.)  What you were doing? Don’t be tempted to take alcoholic drink with you inside your car if you intend to sleep inside your vehicle. Because it would look far more risky if the police could find cans or bottles of alcoholic drinks in your car, whether they’re empty or full.

(3.)  Where were the car keys? If the car keys are found by the police in the ignition whilst you were sleeping inside your vehicle, you will face a much higher chance of being prosecuted for “Drunk in Charge.” You should shut the keys out of the ignition or put it at the glove compartment.

Such circumstances listed above will provide the court and the police of an indication of whether you intended to drive the vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol or just intend to sleep inside your car. If you were seen to be over the alcohol limit, the court and the police may also take into account if you may remain over the limit when you wake up and intend on driving ahead.

If the court will find you guilty of “Drunk in Charge,” it’s possible that you can receive a driving ban although this is not mandatory and within the discretion of the court. There will be 10 penalty points to be issued along with a fine. The worse if points have already been existing on your driving licence, then it will be revoked if it has already gained 12 points or more.

From the launching of a government scheme in promoting green vehicles four years ago, the battery-powered Nissan Leaf has become the number one green car on the road.

It can be recalled that on January 1, 2011, ministers in Britain launched a grant scheme amounting to £5,000  for those who buy the least-polluting cars. And for those buying the least-polluting vans have been granted £8,000.

Then, the data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have showed that at the end of 2014 the ascending sales of Nissan Leaf had become evident as there were 6,838 units were being licensed in the United kingdom (UK), putting this type of eco-friendly vehicle on the top, hence the name “Greenest Car.”

On the other hand, the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid landed at the second place with 5,273 cars being licensed in Britain in the same year. The third place went to the BMW i3, with 1,534 cars being licensed at the DVSA.

It has been observed that after a slower start compared to what the ministers were hoping for, the sales of the greenest cars are fast accelerating, but it’s interesting to see which manufacturers are benefiting. These numbers actually tell us at least two stories:

(1.)   The steady sales resilience of the Nissan Leaf which has been available under the government’s grant scheme for four years.

(2.)   The success of the Mitsubishi Outlander of which about 5,000 were sold in its first 12 months on the market.

Thus, it has always been argued that the sales of ultra-low carbon vehicles will really take off when they are also priced attractively the same as when petrol and diesel models are priced attractively too. This seemed to be what had happened with the Outlander which also becomes attractive because of the low company car tax.

These were the top ten most numerous ultra-low emission vehicles licensed by the DVLA in the UK at the end of 2014, being the top three were described in details:

(1.) Nissan Leaf — also dubbed as “Leaf” which could also mean leading or affordable or environmentally friendly family car. It’s a compact five-door hatchback electric vehicle manufactured by Nissan company and introduced in the United States and Japan in December 2010.  It has a full speed of 120 miles per hour and with fuel economy at 115 miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent.

(2.) Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid – is a mid-sized SUV plug-in hybrid, initially featured at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2009. The car’s lithium ion battery pack can store enough energy to provide around 30 miles of all-electric driving. When the batteries become depleted, a 1.6-litre 114-horsepower four-cylinder engine kicks on to either charge the battery or provide power to the wheels.

(3.) BMW i3  – was also named “Mega City Vehicle” or “MCV.” It’s a five-door urban electric car manufactured by the German carmaker BMW. The i3 is part of BMW’s “Project i” and was launched as a new brand, BMW i. The i3 is BMW’s first zero emissions mass-produced vehicle due to its electric powertrain. It has a full speed of 120 miles per hour, with combined fuel economy of 124 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent.

(4.) Renault Zoe

(5.) Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid

(6.) Vauxhall Ampera

(7.) Tesla Model S

(8.) Renault kangoo  ZE

(9.) Nissan e-NV200

(10.) Peugeot Ion

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The battle of the sexes in driving has been recently won by women drivers based on the result of driving tests. This may not downgrade men’s capability if we can see the reasons behind.

According to a new survey, female drivers excel over males not only in actual driving tests but also when they’re anonymously observed using one of the  busiest junctions in the United Kingdom (UK) named “Hyde Park Corner.”

The Privilege Insurance company was the one conducted the survey. It was found out that another part of the study discovered that of the only 28 % of women reckoned, they were found to be better drivers compared to men. However, there’s only a small number of men, only around 13 %  are thinking that women were superior behind the steering wheel.

The survey went this way: A sample of 50 drivers were made to face an in-car assessment whilst the other set of 200 men were reckoned at Hyde Park Corner. Then, they were marked on around 14 different aspects of driving. The amazing results were: Women were able to score 23.6 points out of 30 perfect score. The men on the other hand only managed to score 19.8 points.

In one of the categories called “Tailgating” or driving too close to the car in front , only four per cent of women did this but 27 % of men did driving too close to the car in front.

The survey also disclosed that motorists’ opinions on their driving skills have dramatically differed from their actual driving skills. When asked if they thought they were driving within the appropriate speed limit for certain situation, 84 % of male drivers claimed they did it regularly. However, when compared to the actual electronic recordings, it’s in contrast to the only 64 % that actually did.

It was also discovered that almost half of men approached potential hazards on the road too fast. On the other hand, only a quarter of women actually did this. Also more than half of men were driving through an amber light when it was about to turn red, compared to just 14 % of women that actually did.

The study further showed that there was just one per cent of women, but 14 % of men who cut dangerously into traffic, whilst 24 % of men, but only 16 % of women, admitted to using hand-held mobile phones whilst behind the wheel. Also there were more men than women admitted not indicating where they’ll turn to if they think there’s no one driving behind them.

Women had also the edge over men regarding courtesy on the roads. It was discovered that 39 % of women are always polite to other drivers, compared to just 28 % of men.

So, there are experts at wheel such as driving instructors who were surprised of the results, because in their experience male drivers have always been the best learners and usually have better performance in driving lessons. But they also said that it’s just possible that women drivers have retained in their thought their driving lessons better than men.

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After taking driving lessons Liverpool many drivers at wheel are currently following the car blindly in front of them. Upon seeing them, you may come to think it’s time for the lost art of overtaking to effectively make a comeback. Because this art has been obviously lost by millions of drivers in the United Kingdom (UK) wasting a lot of precious time.

Today, it seems that we have become a nation just contented to be dawdling behind the slow-moving vehicles in front for fear of being caught by speed cameras or afraid of really using our vehicles’ abilities to accelerate.

Overtaking has been used to be something many drivers will enjoy and be proud to partake in, particularly when their vehicles have a much better performance in accelerating over vans and trucks. Today, many drivers have been unwilling or incapable to complete safe overtaking due to fear and instead prefer to just cause tailbacks as a result of such fear.

But remember there are rules that you have to follow. Overtaking has been made clear in the Highway Code by stating that it should only be done when it’s safe to do so. But many motorists of today have erred too far in term of caution and consequently created hold-up where there’s an easy flow of traffic past any slow-moving vehicles.

Remember that choosing the right place and precise timing to overtake is vital. This means that you should not overtake in a city or town until the car in front travels less than the prescribed speed limit. Be cautious of the dangers, such as oncoming vehicles from the opposite direction, cyclists, pedestrians and other potential hazards made invisible by buildings and other vehicles.

You also have to perfectly balance the advantages gained or the overall overtaking benefits you can get against the dangers of doing it. These benefits are much more obvious in reducing frustrations and travel time particularly on open and faster roads. As you move, you should plan ahead for your safety and for the safety of the vehicle you’re overtaking including the other surrounding vehicles and other road users.

You should give yourself space and time to the vehicle in front so that you could have a good vision of the road ahead. Upon seeing a sufficient space on the road for a safe overtaking, check first your mirrors and look to the right side to make sure that there’s no other car already starting its own overtaking.

There’s a technique that you should learn and master. When overtaking, use a lower gear to get a better acceleration. Then move out, but never start to pass immediately the vehicle in front. You have to take a moment to improve or clear your vision in order to be certain that there is no oncoming vehicle or there are no hazards or junctions ahead which will make the car in front to swerve into the path you’re intending to pass.

When overtaking, never exceed the speed limit being posted. When the vehicle in front travels at 58 miles per hour (mph) in a speed limit of 60 mph, it’s better not to overtake, instead just follow at a safe distance and relax rather than risking to overtake that will make you an offender of the law. Remember that overtaking has no point at all if in doing so, you’ll have an accident.

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Many motorists occasionally find it convenient the idea of sleeping in their car. The usual reason behind this is because of driving fatigue, as well as saving – that instead of spending money by checking in hotels or maybe they have had taken too much of alcohol and they don’t want to risk driving ahead.

Generally, to illegally sleep in your car depends on your location and circumstances. Your choice where to sleep in your car can also impact on whether you get woken by the police or not. It’s much worth bearing in mind that driving fatigue or tired accounts for many thousands of road fatalities every year.

In the United Kingdom (UK), it’s estimated that 300 people have been killed every year due to falling asleep behind the steering wheel. Being lack of sleep, exhausted or tired motorist will, in almost all cases, have warning before they fall asleep.

They will also attempt to alleviate tiredness by opening their car windows or turning up the car stereo or radio. Although this may help short-term alleviation, but in most cases, it’s only temporary.

Particularly, on the motorways where drivers feel driving to be exacerbating and monotonous, the symptoms of tiredness are also higher which could suggest why this type of roads account for 20 % of sleep-related accidents. So, it’s advisable to have a 15-minute break for every two hours at wheel on the motorways or other major roads.

Also remember that those who are on the road for longer periods of time are more at risk of falling asleep behind the wheel. You can also take into account your type of occupation. Statistics showed that  40 % of sleep-related accidents involved commercial vehicles.

So, if you find yourself getting sleepy at wheel, look for a safe place to stop immediately and take a 15-minute break.

Remember that driving whilst tired affects the quality of your driving. It’s of course dangerous for you and other road users and even fatal in many cases every year. If you are stopped by the police and found to be driving tired to the point it affects your ability to drive, you can face a careless driving penalty if the incident is more severe. It will result in a fine and penalty points on your driving licence.

But the question, can you sleep in your car? The answer is: It’s perfectly legal to sleep in your car and is recommended for those who are driving tired or at risk. Just make sure that you park your car legally or in a non-hazardous location.

However, you may also find that sleeping in your car may draw the attention of the police. So, they will check your car to make sure you aren’t in any harm, and also to check if you’re a drink driver.

Also remember that when you park in a residential area and then sleep in your car may cause concerned residents to inform the police. So, you’ll face penalties if you’re found to have committed other offences.

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If you’re doing the most dangerous manoeuvre against the rule of lights, you’ll be named “Amber Gambler,” or a traffic light warrior or a red light runner. These are all nicknames of colours but they’ll definitely make a serious threat to your driving career. If you go through a red traffic light, you’ve done one of the most dangerous driving manoeuvres, thus you’re putting yourself and other road users at risk.

A study shows that in every 20 minutes, one driver in the United Kingdom (UK) runs a red light. This means that every hour, there are around three potentially fatal or serious collisions being risked on the Britain’s road networks.

The study further revealed that whilst almost every motorist said they thought passing through a red light is extremely reckless and dangerous, around one third of them admitted to have done it at some point as pushed by some circumstances.

Here are the facts that you should learn about all the dangers of this offence. Number one is the law that is equally applied to all road users, that includes the cyclists who are amongst the many offenders who run the red lights. They’re not supposed to do such an offence because cyclists are one of the most vulnerable road users.

According to the study, amongst the motorists on the road who are most likely to be running a red traffic light are: (1.) those influenced by alcoholic drinks (2.)  young drivers.

With those under the influence of alcohol, their case is simply not being fit to drive, however with young drivers, it’s always a case of over confidence coupled with no such understanding of how traffic signals are phased for safety of road users.

In Britain, all traffic lights work on the same sequence – (1.) red (2.) red-amber (3.) green (4.) amber. Most importantly, it’s the single amber light that’s the most vital warning to the motorists.

Whilst a single red light is an instruction to stop at the line being indicated, the sole amber light on the other hand, tells motorists to be prepared for stopping before the white line. You must only proceed through an amber light in case you already have crossed the stop line or when you’re very close to it when it appears first that it may cause an accident if in time you’ll try to stop sharply.

The problem for a large number of motorists in UK could arise from them who think an amber light is the green light’s secondary stage rather than the red light’s first stage. It‘s not actually a signal for them to speed up in getting through before the appearance of red light.

This is the penalty for this offence that you must be aware of. Running the red lights is a fool approach that could land you with a police fixed penalty notice of £100 and three points on your licence. The offence will also carry a code TS10 to appear on your licence that will affect your insurance premium to get higher than usual.

The worse will happen to you if the police will deem the offence you’ve committed has resulted to a serious collision, you’ll face a fine of up to £1,000 and a greater number of points on your driving licence or you’ll be disqualified for a lifetime from driving lesson Liverpool.