Archives for October 2015

Driving instructors Liverpool tips on Sensible Parking . The Borough has 12 Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) with several different sub zones. These CPZs have varying sizes. If you park your car in this area, you have to follow rules as it is restricted by Traffic Regulation Orders.

The CPZs are aimed  at reducing traffic congestions in the area whilst they enable the road users in parking their vehicles in an organised and safe way that’s taking into consideration the accident risk reduction and the safety of pedestrians.

If the road is being laid out with lines in yellow and bays for parking, there would be fewer opportunities for car owners to park illegally in the area. Those builders, contractors, visitors and other non-residents in the place will first need a permit before they can park, or else they risk themselves being towed away or being ticketed.

Be aware that there’s an entry plate, the same as the sign above at the CPZs vehicular entry point. This sign is meant that between 10: A.M. and 12:00 Noon, the CPZ becomes enforceable and the application of yellow line restrictions starts unless it’s indicated by another time plate in the area.

Parking tariffs and enforcement hours will vary from one zone to the other. So, before parking your vehicle, you may please check the entry signs. This is an important checking otherwise you’ll be fined as everything is monitored by the CCTVs.

Fewer restrictions can only be observed outside the CPZs. They include double yellow and single yellow lines, disabled bays, footway parking exemptions, heavy goods vehicle parking overnight, and across driveway parking.

On the other hand at CPZs, mopeds and motorcycles can park free of charge at residential, shared use and pay and display bays.  Where a display and pay or shared-use bay is being used, the maximum stay and restrictions of no return will apply to mopeds and motorbikes. There’s a penalty charge notice to be issued to a moped or motorbike where they’re offending against these restrictions.

These moped and motorbikes must be parked at one end of the bay at right angle to the kerb and in a manner that won’t block other users from parking in the area.

Often read the displayed signs in the place. Again, look out for the sign at the Entrance of the CPZs – It will indicate the parking restriction being applied within. Where you’ll do parking in the area, you should check for any additional time restriction which is in operation. Where there are other vehicles that park in the area, don’t ever assume that it’s also okay for you to park your car in the place.

How about making enquiries in advance prior to parking at CPZs?  The answer is that if you’re planning to come to the borough you could ask for assistance through email to: [email protected] . then, you can get some local parking information about a specific area or road  at the borough.

There are also bus lanes which are separated from the road by a single wide and solid white line and they’re marked normally with road surfacing in red.

At the start of the bus lane, there’s a sign that shows the hours of its operation. It also displays which vehicles are being permitted to park such as buses, taxis and cycles. At the end of the bus lane, there’s a sign indicating the point at which normal parking restrictions resume.

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Driving Lessons Liverpool Tips: The Roadside Eye Tests in UK 

The roadside eye tests in the United Kingdom (UK) have been done these days based on the “Cassie’s Law” and recently it sees a total of 609 driving licences being revoked by the authorities after their owners failed these tests. Then, hundreds of drivers have lost their driving career under these new police powers.

The “Cassie’s Law” got it’s name from Cassie McCord, 16 years of age, who died from serious head injuries in 2011 when Colin Horsfall, 87 years old, lost control of his car in Colchester, Essex. It emerged later in an investigation that he had failed an eyesight test done by the police a few days earlier, however a legal loophole was found as he was still allowed to continue driving on the road.

Cassie’s mother, Jackie Rason, had campaigned seriously for a change in the law which eventually led to the introduction of new police powers now popularly known as “Cassie’s Law” which has authorized the DVLA or Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to revoke more quickly those driving licences of motorists who failed the roadside eye tests.

Figures obtained by the Press Association in the UK under the Freedom of Information Act have shown that since 2013 when the new police powers were introduced, police forces across the UK have already applied 631 times of driving licence revocations to the DVLA based on failures of motorists to read number plates of vehicles.

In the vast majority of license revocation cases, all totalling to 609,  the DVLA went ahead and immediately revoked the driving licences of these motorists.

It can be recalled that three days before Cassie’s death, police in Essex had tried to convince Mr. Horsfall for two hours not to drive again after he was involved in an incident of minor collision and then failed an eye test.

It was learned that at the time right after the accident, police officers had no powers to immediately suspend a driving licence, so he went on to surmount a kerb, and consequently hitting Cassie whilst she was walking along the road with a friend.

Under the Cassie’s Law, where and when the police officer feels the safety of other road users would be put at risk if the driver who failed the roadside eye test remains at wheel, they can do an urgent revocation of the driving licence through the DVLA.

There are three stages of revocation under the new law: (1.) immediate (2.) within 48 hours (3.) postal, whereby the motorist will be dealt with via letter which will be sent within the 24-hour notification from the concerned police officer.

If the driver being banned continues to drive, he/she will commit a criminal offence and be arrested whilst his/her vehicle will be seized.

When the change was introduced, Essex Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Sue Harrison said: “I very much welcome this new law. It’s a positive step forward and will enable our officers to immediately refer serious cases to the DVLA. This new procedure is a great testament to Jackie’s relentless determination and resilience, which I highly commend.”

On the other hand, Mrs. Rason said she now hopes to continue her campaign for mandatory eye tests for all motorists and do the extra checks for those over 70 years old. She added that if your vehicle is more than three years old, you need to have an MOT that will certify it’s still roadworthy. So too with drivers should have the same level of requirements.

Most drivers in the United Kingdom (UK) stick their driving lesson Liverpool within the speed limit, however if today they commit just a small margin of error previously allowed by the police for anyone who might unknowingly exceed the limit, they will face some penalties.

This has been traditionally set at 10 % plus two mph of the posted speed limit, so in a zone of 50 mph limit you would usually reach more than 57 mph before the police would issue a speeding fine. The figure was derived from five which is the 10 per cent of 50, plus two mph –all in all is 57 mph, the seven mph of which is an allowed error or excess.

However, UK’s police forces have already been set to do away with any margin of excess such as, for example, the seven mph previously allowed error for the 50 mph speed limit. The reason behind is to improve road safety at this time when the number of serious injuries and road fatalities has increased for the first time in many decades.

Another reason is the far greater improvement of accuracy of the speed cameras the police forces are now using to measure speed of the vehicles, as well as the increased usage of average-speed cameras that could offer a more precise or perfect measurement.

On the other hand, the police force in Scotland has recently announced it’s abandoning the previously given discretionary allowance, so any driver exceeding the speed limit by even one mph will face penalty.

If a motorist is again caught exceeding the speed limit even by a thin margin, he/she will be fined £100 and three points on his/her driving licence. For anyone exceeding the speed limit by a larger margin, the points and fine will be automatic.

Whilst the driver’s safety benefits of staying within the speed limit are obvious, campaigners for road safety said this could lead to some motorists who spend more time to watch their cars’ speedo than the road ahead, thus risking themselves of possible collision.

AA President Edmund King said that the UK needs motorists who can concentrate on what’s on the road ahead, not to always look at the speedo. If a driver exceeds the limit by two mph, he/she shouldn’t do it, but it’s better to do it unknowingly without often looking at the speedo and just stay focused on what’s going on around and on the road ahead.

Another concern of campaigners is about such unbending and rigid enforcement of speed limits. It could consequently tie up the courts with bulk of paperwork. Even with fines now automatically generated, the courts will still have to process every case.

Meanwhile, not all police officers have been convinced that the move to zero tolerance of driving over the speed limit is a better idea. Some police officers said it will eat up all of their time in the enforcement of other laws of the land, which will lead to some other offences to be left unattended.

Also, many police officers are worried that it will create a gap between the drivers and the police which could mean that many drivers won’t anymore be willing to help the police in some other matters of law enforcement.