Parents! If you add a young person to your car insurance policy, be aware of fronting. This is when someone is declared as the main driver on a policy (i.e. you) but someone else (i.e. the young person) is the main driver and will be...
Coming to Hertfordshire sometime soon...
With more than half of fatal crashes occurring on country roads in Britain, car drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists are all at an increased risk of a fatal road accident on country lanes. Statistics found on www.gov.uk show that country roads in the UK are responsible for 50% of...
Your tyres are the only contact your car has with the road. A new tyre has 8mm of tread. When it has 3mm of tread left stopping distance in the wet is increased by 20%. When it has 2mm of tread left stopping distance in the wet is...
Hitting speed bumps too fast, or hitting aggressively designed humps, can damage your car's suspension, leading to issues with shocks, struts, and bushings, as well as impacting tyres, exhaust pipes, and even wheel alignment. While the suspension is designed to absorb bumps, it can be...
When you learn to drive, you’ll be learning and practising 27 important driving skills that you’ll need for a lifetime of safe driving. Learn with a driving instructor It’s unlikely that anyone except an approved driving instructor (ADI) will have the experience, knowledge and training to teach...
To make driving tests more representative of real-life driving, the DVSA no longer publishes official test routes. However, you can find a number of recent routes used at the St Albans driving test centre in this document. While test routes from this centre are likely to...
A damaged or cracked windscreen could result in an MOT fail. If there is windscreen damage of 40mm or more in size, anywhere on the windscreen, your vehicle will fail its MOT. And the crack will need to be fixed before being re-tested. However, even a 10mm-sized...
It sounds obvious, yet many people have been flashed by cameras as they sped up because they saw a sign for a new higher speed limit, but they hadn't actually passed the sign yet. This has also caused learners problems on test....
You're on a country lane, it's dark and you get a flat tyre. Or your car breaks down, or maybe you've accidently run out of fuel. What do you do? Probably phone dad, but what if you get no answer or there's no signal? Now I...
On a practical driving test there is section of about 20 minutes where you'll be asked to follow a route, either by using a satnav (the examiner brings their own satnav with them), or following signs; e.g. 'Please follow the signs for Hatfield'. Four in...
Drink and drugs are some of the biggest killers on our roads. Find out more in the fact sheet below or use the Drink and drug driving facts and figures to find out where this information comes from. Download the factsheet Drink and drug driving facts and...
Clever light-sensing technology allows mirrors in some modern cars to dim at night to avoid bright headlights behind from dazzling you. There is a sensor at the back of the interior mirror, it can sense darkness outside when it's close to night time (or a...
Ageing causes a normal loss of peripheral vision, with the size of our visual field decreasing by approximately one to three degrees per decade of life. By the time you reach your 70s and 80s, you may have a peripheral visual field loss of 20...
AdBlue is a diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) that reduces harmful emissions from diesel engines: What it is: AdBlue is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic liquid that's a mixture of 32.5% urea and 67.5% water. It's stored in a separate tank from the car's fuel. How it works: When...
Click to see video Do you look just down the middle of the street when you're driving, or all the way across from the house fronts on the left to the house fronts on the right?...
These are things that may have changed since you learnt to drive: The screenshot is from a recent Vauxhall manual's handbrake instructions. See what your car manual says. A common problem I find is that parents of learners have been telling them to stop at every give-way...
Do the methods you've been shown previously look a bit like this? (a + (−b) + (−c) 2 = a 2 + (−b) 2 + (−c) 2 + 2a (−b) + 2 (−b) (−c) + 2a (−c) Do you really think that everyone who reverse-parks a car needed a PhD in quantum physics to...
This is why you should drive or ride over a door's width away from parked cars when you can and slow when you can't: Video One Video Two When you're the one opening the car door you may want to consider doing this first: Dutch Reach ...
Rain after weeks of extremely dry weather can cause something known as the ‘Florida Ice Effect’, which can make roads incredibly slippery for at least the first thirty minutes. It happens in the first part of a rain shower when the oils, dust, sludge and grime...
Potholes: Why Learners Need More Guidance to Avoid Catastrophe A new survey reveals that nearly two thirds (60%) of learner drivers worry about the impact of driving through a pothole while 64% encounter them on test routes. However, nearly half (44%) wouldn’t consider actually stopping and checking...
The actual leniency of speed cameras has been revealed in new research – and you might be surprised at the results. According to information from police forces around the country, the vast majority of fixed cameras in the UK will only be activated by motorists going...
Before starting to use a theory app you should read The Highway Code and Know Your Traffic Signs. The theory test is based on these, and even the best theory apps only have access to 700-800 questions that the DVSA publish, however the DVSAs theory...
The number of casualties as a result of crashes caused by slow drivers increased by nearly a third in 2017. Data from the Department for Transport demonstrated that 175 people were injured and two people killed in the UK during 2017 as a result of road...
The Driving & Vehicles Standards Agency announced that learners will be able to head out on to UK motorways from June 4th 2018 onwards, but only if they are with a fully qualified approved driving instructor (ADI) in a car fitted with dual controls. The DVSA...
With more than half of fatal crashes occurring on country roads in Britain, car drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists are all at an increased risk of a fatal road accident. Statistics found on www.gov.uk show that country roads in the UK are responsible for 50% of fatal crashes (in...
Many years ago driving instructors taught their pupils to change up and down through every gear in manual cars because the old cars struggled with anything else and brakes weren’t very good, so we had to use our gears to help the car to slow...
You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens or flashing headlights, or traffic officer and incident support vehicles using flashing amber lights. When one approaches do not panic. Ask...
Many of my pupils tell me their parents warned them not to cross their hands or hold the wheel in any other way then at ten to two (imagine a clock face), or take one hand off the wheel (other than to change gear) on...
An examiner told me that test nerves can knock a driving test candidate's performance down by up to 20%. Logic dictates that if you go into your test when you're at least 20% above test standard, then you'll have a very high chance of passing...
On a dual carriageway when the vehicle you want to move in front of looks far away in your door mirror are you just judging their distance or judging their speed relative to yours too? Are they gaining on you? You need to be going...
As of the 6 April 2015 the law requires that a penalty charge notice (PCN) must not be issued to a vehicle which has stayed parked in a designated parking place on or off street (council run car parks) beyond the permitted parking period for...
Using the Dutch Reach is straightforward – simply open your car door with the hand that is furthest from the door. e.g. as a driver uses your left hand, as a passenger use your right hand.. It will force you to turn your body more,...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKiTAcXK6M4 ...
Do we always see those around us? How much does our environment register? What draws our eyes to dangers or distractions? Bearing in mind that actually seeing what you are doing is essential when driving, are you aware of saccadic masking? If you remember the...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyLwfthYjKw...
See the 1935 Driving Test here See the 1968 Driving Test here...
There are 5 parts to the driving test: an eyesight check ‘show me, tell me’ vehicle safety questions general driving ability reversing your vehicle independent driving How long the test lasts You’ll drive for around 40 minutes. (You’ll drive for around 70 minutes if you’re taking an extended...
Most people have never seen the items on a Driving Test Report until after the end of their test. If they pass they probably won't look at the details. If they fail it's too late for the explanatory notes to help them. Why not familiarise...
Front: All white apart from indicators which are amber. Exception - some cars have amber sidelights (like bigger vehicles have down the sides) The white lights are: Daylight Running Lights (not on older cars, EU law since 2007, although some older cars have them) so other drivers can...
If you rely on your car's automatic headlights, please remember they only work on light levels. On a bright and foggy day they will not come on, so please switch yours on manually. If visibility is reduced to under 100 metres, then switch on your...
Have you ever felt confused when you see a lot of traffic lights all close together? If so then you're not alone as many drivers find it overwhelming. However once you understand that some of them are repeater lights for you and others are repeater...
Top 10 reasons for failing the driving test in Great Britain Updated 2 September 2024 Introduction This guide: explains the top 10 reasons people fail the car driving test in Great Britain gives examples of the types of mistakes that count for each reason These were the top 10...
Traffic signs play a vital role in directing, informing and controlling road users' behaviour in an effort to make the roads as safe as possible for everyone. This makes a knowledge of traffic signs essential. Not just for new drivers or riders needing to pass their theory test, but...
Many learners fail their theory tests because they don't know or understand the Highway Code rules the questions are based on. The Highway Code is essential reading for all road users. A free online version of the Highway Code can be found here...
When passing cyclists try to give them at least 1.5 metres of clearance. They may wobble, especially uphill, on uneven or bumpy road surfaces, cattle grids or over speed humps, swerve to avoid potholes and drain covers, or a strong wind could push them into...
Removing hard shoulders and replacing them with 'emergency refuge areas' is becoming increasingly common on Britain’s motorway network, but an alarming 52% of motorists are unaware of the purpose of these areas. It is imperative people get to grips with these emergency refuge areas. or ‘SOS’ lay-bys...
The 10 most common reasons why car crashes happen in the UK, according to the Department for Transport (DfT). 1: Failed to look properly (42%) 2: Failed to judge other person’s path or speed (21%) 3: Careless, reckless or in a hurry (16%) 4: Loss of control (14%) 5: Poor...
You will be asked a 'Tell Me' question at the start of your Practical Driving test and a 'Show Me' question when you're driving. TELL ME 1. Tell me how you’d check that the brakes are working before starting a journey. Press the brake pedal; Brakes should feel...
PASS PLUS Pass Plus was started as a well intentioned government scheme to encourage new drivers to take further training after they pass their tests to improve road safety. The carrot was some insurance companies offering a small discount. These days there are very few insurance...