Category: Blog

The basic rules in the video clip apply now as they did then.

With the weather changing for the worst and the snow causing disruption on the roads. The residents of Cambridgeshire would think that all drivers would be prepared and go into winter driving mode as soon as snowflakes begin to fall from the sky.
The same happens every year! Drivers across the province seemingly forget how to drive in the snow; as a result, we see large volumes of accidents.
To avoid becoming one of the statistics please, take the following winter driving tips into account and jog your memory about how to drive.

Slow down: One of the biggest mistakes that people make is driving too fast on snow covered roads. Slow down and drive according the road conditions.
Extra time: The odds are it will take a few extra minutes for you to get to your destination. Take this into consideration and leave a few minutes earlier than normal.
Clean your car: Too many people leave ice and snow on their car and windscreen that restricts their visibility on the road. This can cause a number of issues such as not seeing other cars and pedestrians. Switch your lights on, not only to see but to be seen. Far too many people are not cleaning their lights of snow. It would help for other motorists to notice you, to know when you are breaking and to see where you are indicating.
Stay home: If the roads are in bad condition, stay home if you can avoid travelling.

The snow means it is time to adjust our driving habits. Slow down, be more cautious, and don’t go out into the bad weather if you don’t have to.

All you need is some common sense. The secret of safe driving is TIME (did I say that out loud?). Giving yourself time to react, time to slow down, time to stop, time to keep safe control of your vehicle.

There is only one way to give yourself time….and that’s reducing your speed! I don’t mean driving like a 90 year old grandmother. I mean driving at a speed which is appropriate for the road and the conditions.

Moving off on ice & snow requires a higher gear and slow acceleration. When you slow down let the car lose its momentum by coming off the accelerator early, brake early and progressively.

Safe driving!

As we enter into this topic, take a moment to think about a situation where you noticed another vehicle driving very poorly. Maybe they were swerving, speeding, or doing something as simple as not using their indicators. Now think about how you reacted, or how you would want to react if you were driving near another motorist who exhibits dangerous driving.

One of the most important aspects to safe driving is being aware of your surroundings at all times. Pay attention to other vehicles in your lane, adjacent lanes and oncoming traffic. Watch out for pedestrians and animals in the road. Always try to know were other vehicles are located as you make progress down the road. These are all vital components of defensive driving. If you know where a vehicle is behind you and how fast they are approaching, you have a much better chance of making the right decision when a wreck occurs in front of you or when a deer runs out in the road. Knowing the distance between you and other vehicles and the difference in speeds helps you to determine whether you should speed up, swerve left or right, or hit the brakes to avoid a collision.

Life saving maneuvers often occur with a split second decision. If you are not paying attention to your surroundings, how can you possibly know which action to take to save your life or some else’s? Try to think about defensive driving at all times when you are on the road. Try to anticipate what you might do if the articulated truck next to you on the motorway merges into your lane because you are in their blind spot. Do you slam on your brakes, swerve left, lay on the horn, all of the above, or even none of the above? Knowing exactly what is going on around you will ensure you take appropriate action to avoid the collision.

Wow! Look at that bird perched in the tree! Not while you are driving you don’t. It is inevitable things will catch you eye while behind the wheel, but paying too much attention to anything not related to driving can not only be dangerous, it can be deadly.

A vast majority of vehicular accidents occur due to distracted driving of one type or another. While many the police take action against distracted driving by upholding stringent safety laws regarding what you are or are not allowed to do while driving, there are still so many things in this world that can take our eyes off the road. As with anything else, you have to pay attention to what you are doing. Driving is no different. In fact, it is perhaps one of the most important actions we take in which we must pay close attention to what we are doing.

We have learned through previous articles the importance of maintaining your focus and practicing defensive driving. Neither of those can be accomplished while you are distracted. Paying attention to the road also helps to ease anxiety of your passengers. If you are constantly looking at other things, the person in the passenger seat will begin to notice your lack of focus while driving. This can make people very uneasy. You don’t want your passengers to be fearful of your ability to keep them safe while in your car. Maintain focus and keep your eyes on the road. Your passenger will feel much safer if they notice you are cautious and careful while driving, and trust us, they will notice.

Put down the chocolate bar, certainly do not use your mobile phone while driving, and don’t stare at billboards or the people in a car next to you. Maintain focus and concentrate on the task at hand: Driving. If you are not focused on utilizing the proper driving skills you have obtained, the dangers of having an accident or running over a road hazard increase greatly. Don’t let your guard down just to find out you should have been paying attention to the road.

Getting a short notice test is achieved by making use of existing previously booked driving test cancellations appointments.

For example, if a test candidate is not ready for or unable to take their driving test they may cancel it and rebook a later appointment. Every day there are thousands of these cancellations being made available. When a cancellation is processed, the test appointment slot is then available to be used by other candidates.

You can contact the Driving Test Booking service by phone on 0300 200 11 22. This number is charged at a local rate from a landline and is included in your allocated minutes on your mobile.

Or the easiest way is to go online to Book Your Driving Test Here, this has the advantage of temporarily reserving an appointment up for 15 mins, which is long enough to check with your Driving Instructor if they can make the new appointment. If you also ensure to enter your driving instructors number then they are unlikely to double book with another test.

This will take some patience, persistence and time to get the result you want.

Research by Intelligent Car Leasing reveals that driving tests are showing an overall decline in collisions with other vehicles over the past 5 years.

Intelligent Car Leasing gathered data on the number of collisions with other vehicles and pedestrians in driving tests over the past 5 years (and first quarter of 2014). This ranged across a number of test types for cars, LGVs, PCVs and motorcycles.

Fortunately the statistics for number of collisions with pedestrians are negligible with only 1 in the past 5 years occurring in 2012 (but 2 so far in 2014).

Looking at the stats provided for the first quarter of 2014 Intelligent Car Leasing has calculated a huge predicted fall in the number of collisions during driving tests compared to previous years which is great news for road safety in the UK. Read on for some thoughts on why collisions may be decreasing.

	Car	Large Goods Vehicle	Passenger Carrying Vehicle	Motorcycle	Total
2009	598	13	9	9	629
2010	491	10	5	14	520
2011	469	17	6	45	537
2012	648	29	3	47	727
2013	446	22	9	14	491
2014	16	3	0	1	20

This data is both positive and interesting, but it raises the question of why collisions with other vehicles in driving tests are getting lower (and set to fall much lower if the reported stats from the first quarter of 2014 continue on trend).

To get an insider view of what might be causing this trend we asked an expert, see their opinion below:

DiaryofanADI.co.uk – “If you think about it, a collision is most likely to occur when the driver on test is not experienced enough to either avoid making a mistake of their own, or to react appropriately and promptly enough to avoid a mistake by someone else.

You could argue that candidates are better overall (at the top end of the spectrum), but that would almost certainly be wrong as it isn’t borne out by overall pass rates. More likely is that candidates are not as bad at the bottom end. However, that is speculation without knowing the details of the candidates involved.

Another possibility is that the examiners are taking action more readily and are proactively preventing collisions. After all, instructors have to do that all the time on lessons, but examiners typically sit back and let things progress much further before stepping in (the candidate is supposed to be a full licence holder in waiting, after all).”

No matter what the reason for this decline it’s hugely positive to see such a trend emerging in the UK’s learner driver industry. The fall in collisions during tests found in this research reflects well on pupils, instructors and examiners. Anything that goes towards making the roads safer is positive and Intelligent Car Leasing hopes this trend will continue in the years to come!

Britain’s drivers are well known for being safe when taking to the roads, a study conducted in 2011 showed the UK to have amongst the safest roads in Europe. This new data 3 years on shows that the next generation of drivers are continuing to improve on the UK’s positive road safety record. There’s no reason to believe that this shouldn’t translate to a much safer environment for both drivers and passengers alike in the years to come.

Article & Study with reference to IntelligentCarLeasing.com.

A two-year experiment by the Danish Road Directorate shows accidents have fallen on single carriageway rural roads where the speed limit was raised.

Accidents have also fallen on motorways where the speed limit has been increased.

Since the speed limit on some streatches of two-way rural roads was increased from 80 to 90 km/h (50 -56mph), accidents have decreased due to a reduction in the speed differential between the slowest and the fastest cars. This has resulted in less overtaking. The slowest drivers have increased their speeds, but the fastest 15% drive one km/h slower on average, despite the higher limit. While the average speed remains similar to before, the speeds are more homogeneous on the roads in question.

On sections of motorway where the speed limit was raised from 110 to 130 km/h (68-81mph) nine years ago, fatalities also decreased.

The research will continue until 2015, when the full results will be published.

Google driving schools and you will get over 600k results. So how are you going to whittle through these and make a decision that may involve your future. You will obviously narrow this down for the area in which you live. So if you Google ‘driving school Cambridge’ or ‘driving instructor Cambridge’ you can stick to the first page. Proper reviews are quite useful, either on the website or Google or Facebook. If you get to calling you’d probably be better off going by the feel and the manner of the conversation rather than believing the statistics that you’re told.

Are the driving instructors fully qualified?

Some driving schools use trainee driving instructors. This means that they are still undergoing training to become a driving instructor. A trainee instructor will display a pink licence in the windscreen and a fully qualified driving instructor will display a green licence. A trainee instructor will not have completed a required amount of the training necessary or gained enough experience to instruct to a high standard. This will naturally take you longer to learn. The driving instructors at Driveaway School of Motoring are established, highly qualified with the majority having taken advanced and fleet driver training and risk assessment qualifications. We do not use trainees.

How much experience has a driving instructor?

A driving instructor with many years experience will have developed many hints and tips they have gained over the years to pass onto you and have a detailed knowledge of the test routes which will further aid you on your driving test.

Will you have same instructor for all your lessons?

Have the same instructor throughout the duration of your driving is important but as we are the largest local driving school in East Anglia and the only Co-operative driving school in the United Kingdom there is always backup if it’s needed.

Patient, friendly & Professional Driving Instructors

Not all teachers can teach. Our highly qualified driving instructors have been specially chosen, not only by their qualifications but also their experience and reputation. As a local driving school, reputation is really important to us. We cannot survive without the reputation we’ve built up over many years. The vast majority of our students are recommendations.

The cars we provide for tuition

We always use current, high spec, dual controlled, fully insured and maintained vehicles. Thinking of your safety always.

Picked up from Home, College or Work

Finding a driving school that will pick you up from your chosen location will make things a lot easier for you. Our instructors will endeavour to pick you up from a convenient location at no extra cost. We will also drop you off at an alternative location if required.

Driving Lessons in the evening or at weekends

Everybody had commitments of some form or another. Finding an instructor or driving school that can fit around your schedule is important. Driveaway School of Motoring provide lessons from early in the morning up to 8pm into the evening. Weekend lessons are also provided at the same price as weekday lessons.

Cost of Driving lessons

Is it worth shopping around for good lesson prices? The cheapest isn’t the best. If the average price for a driving lesson is £24-£28. If an instructor or school is offering lessons for less then you need to ask yourself why. There may be several reasons for this, either they’re not good enough so pupils are not referring them or they are relatively new to the industry in which case they haven’t had time to hone their skills. A good driving instructor or school will have a consistently high amount of work coming in. A considerable amount of this will be from referrals from previous students. Therefore, there will be no need for this school to charge excessively low prices. In the Cambridge area price per hour range from around £24 to £28. Our price per hour for driving lessons is £26 although block buying an entire course can reduce the price to £24.50 per hour.

What is the test pass rate

This may be difficult to determine. Every time a driving instructor takes a candidate for their driving test the test result is recorded against their ADI number. The Driving Instructor can request an annual report from the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) showing their test results and pass rate. So if you want proof then you can ask to see these if he has them. Driveaway School of Motoring’s high pass rate is maintained by providing a structured learning system. The system is approved by the DSA. It’s easy to understand and key skills easily learnt. Combine this with friendly and patient instructors that provide confidence and a relaxed environment to their students is what enables most of our students to pass first time.

Congratulations, you’ve passed your driving test! Now all those nerve wracking moments are behind you, you’re free to drive a car unaccompanied from now on, but it’s important to take everything you’ve learned with you as you go. Here are the top ten tips for when you’ve passed your driving test.

1. You must exchange your pass certificate for your full driving licence right away. The pass certificate is valid for a period of two years and if it is not exchanged, you will have to take your test again. While it may seem that you have time on your side, it’s easy to put the certificate in a drawer and forget so do it right away.

2. Obtain some probationary plates. This is purely optional but there are some advantages to displaying P-plates and letting other motorists know that you are new to driving. Most other drivers will display more patience when you are new to the road.

3. Avoid distractions. One of the biggest causes of accidents is the use of mobile phones while driving. While it may be tempting to use the phone as soon as you’re on your own in the car, remember that it’s illegal for a reason. Avoid using your mobile at all times.

4. Learn to be instinctive. Becoming an instinctive driver will come with time but you can start the learning process right away. Predicting the actions of other drivers can avoid accidents.

5. Advanced tuition. Motorway driving can make anyone nervous and as a new driver, you won’t have any experience of this. Seriously consider some lessons in this respect as well as looking at the advantages to taking the advanced driving test.

6. Keep some basic tools in your car. A basic car tool kit can include jump leads, a jack and a set of spanners and screwdrivers. While it may be prudent to join a motoring organisation for major breakdowns, a few everyday tools can get you home.

7. General maintenance. Take care of the basics by checking oil and water levels and keep an eye out for the petrol gauge. It sounds like a cliché but if you look after the car it will look after you.

8. Drive defensively. If you encounter an aggressive driver just stay out of their way. Getting involved in senseless arguments or ‘racing’ should be avoided by motorists new and old.

9. Stay alert. For new drivers, it can take time to get used to longer car journeys and driving on your own requires levels of concentration that you’ve not experienced before. Make sure you get plenty of sleep the night before any journey and that you take plenty of rest stops at regular intervals when you undertake longer drives.

10. Remember all your lessons. Keep the good habits that you’ve learned from all those driving lessons and from the test itself. They were taught for a reason and when you adopt them as soon as you get behind the wheel on your own, they will help you to stay safe. These lessons are vital and if you keep in mind all that you’ve taken on board when you were learning, you should ensure life-long safe driving.