You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
msagb.com<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong><br />
The Voice of MSA GB<br />
Issue 335 • <strong>December</strong> 2020<br />
Christmas<br />
Greetings<br />
Best wishes to all MSA GB<br />
members and their families,<br />
from the Chairman and the<br />
Board of Management.<br />
Our head office will close on<br />
Thursday, <strong>December</strong> 24 and<br />
reopen on Monday, January 4.<br />
Trainers and<br />
testers back<br />
on the roads<br />
See pg 8-9<br />
COVER STORY<br />
The future<br />
of testing...<br />
As digital tech expert takes over at<br />
DVSA, will VR transform theory tests?<br />
We work for all Driver Trainers. Want to join? See pg 47 for a special introductory offer
from the Chairman and the<br />
Board of Management.<br />
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
At the end of a horrible year,<br />
let’s hope for glad tidings in ’21<br />
Colin Lilly<br />
Editor, <strong>Newslink</strong><br />
I began writing this editorial the day after<br />
the last issue was published (October<br />
31). It was becoming clear then that<br />
another national lockdown was looming<br />
– as it proved. Deja vu for driver trainers.<br />
I confess at that point I felt a lot of<br />
anger towards the large number of people<br />
who have disregarded the restrictions<br />
simply to pursue their usual behaviour,<br />
and in turn feel justified by the<br />
conspiracy theorists’ statements.<br />
Government praise for the efforts of the<br />
‘Great British People’ are difficult to<br />
swallow when there are clearly many<br />
who do not follow the rules.<br />
Two days later our fears were realised<br />
when it was confirmed that, once again,<br />
driver training and testing would be<br />
suspended for at least a month.<br />
It did seem strange that in the south<br />
west, driver training was stopping just as<br />
training 15 miles away across the Severn<br />
estuary, in areas with much higher<br />
infection rates, it was starting up again.<br />
So much for all being in this together.<br />
I have received a much larger than<br />
normal number of enquiries from<br />
potential learners recently. This indicates<br />
the level of frustration among those<br />
wishing to drive. What ray of hope can<br />
we give them?<br />
I know that most of you will have been<br />
behaving very responsibly and if you are<br />
following guidelines, are creating a safe<br />
learning environment while working<br />
under potentially risky circumstances.<br />
Keep up the good work. I suspect there<br />
are few other professions that can claim<br />
to provide as safe an environment.<br />
As I finish this piece (November 23)<br />
the confirmation of the end of the second<br />
lockdown has been confirmed, to be<br />
replaced by an enhanced three tier<br />
system. What that means to driver<br />
training and testing remains to be seen.<br />
Personally, I cannot wait to roll my<br />
sleeve up for a vaccine. If it happens that<br />
the conspiracy theorists are right, and I<br />
am injected with a microchip, could it be<br />
much worse?<br />
But as we approach the end of this<br />
horrendous year, probably the worst ever<br />
for driver training since the Second World<br />
War, let’s try and celebrate, but not<br />
forget those that did not make it.<br />
Celebrate safely and perhaps we can<br />
look forward to next year; possibly a<br />
holiday or a complete family Christmas<br />
2021. Without that care, the<br />
Welcome to your<br />
digital, interactive<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong><br />
See a pale blue box in any article<br />
or on an advert? It it contains a<br />
web address or email, it’s<br />
interactive. Just click and it will<br />
take you to the appropriate<br />
web page or email so you can<br />
keep in touch easier.<br />
You’ll also<br />
find these<br />
panels<br />
across the<br />
magazine: just click for more<br />
information on any given subject.<br />
COVER STORY<br />
Cover photograph:<br />
The DVSA is trialling a<br />
Virtual Reality version of<br />
the theory test – at the<br />
same time as it appoints<br />
a new Chief Executive<br />
with a digital background<br />
See pgs 6 and 17<br />
To get the<br />
full story,<br />
click here<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong><br />
The Voice of MSA GB<br />
Issue 335 • <strong>December</strong> 2020<br />
The future<br />
of testing...<br />
COVER STORY<br />
As digital tech expert takes over at<br />
DVSA, will VR transform theory tests?<br />
Christmas<br />
Greetings<br />
Best wishes to all MSA GB<br />
members and their families,<br />
Our head office will close on<br />
Thursday, <strong>December</strong> 24 and<br />
reopen on Monday, January 4.<br />
Trainers and<br />
testers back<br />
on the roads<br />
We work for a l Driver Trainers. Want to join? See pg 47 for a special introductory o fer<br />
repercussions of 2020 will be felt for a<br />
very long year.<br />
Wishing you and your families a very<br />
happy Christmas and an improved New<br />
Year. Look forward with the hope of a<br />
better year ahead.<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article or any other<br />
issue on driver training and testing,<br />
contact Colin via 01934 514336 or via<br />
editor@msagb.com<br />
See pg 8-9<br />
msagb.com<br />
So long, 2020: Don’t call us, we’ll call you<br />
Peter Harvey mbe<br />
National Chairman<br />
MSA GB<br />
Well, here we are at the end of 2020,<br />
and thank goodness for that, I hear you<br />
all say.<br />
This has got to have been the worst<br />
year I have had in my 43 years in the<br />
profession thanks to Covid-19. However,<br />
let’s try to look on the positive side and to<br />
the future; it seems the new vaccines to<br />
combat the virus are going to be available<br />
around the time you are reading this<br />
edition so, hopefully by late spring or<br />
early summer, we can all look forward to<br />
fewer restrictions and consequently a<br />
better and healthier 2021.<br />
At the time of writing this, the leaders<br />
of our four nations had just announced a<br />
relaxation of rules to allow some more<br />
contact with our families and friends<br />
between <strong>December</strong> 23rd and 27. I am<br />
sure that will be most welcome to most of<br />
us, but we must still be careful and look<br />
after each other.<br />
I would just like to end the year by<br />
thanking our team at head office, our area<br />
committees, <strong>Newslink</strong> editors and, of<br />
course, the publishing team for all their<br />
hard work in keeping you all updated on<br />
the many changes we have had to adjust<br />
to this year.<br />
I’d also like to thank you, our members,<br />
for your continued support through a<br />
time, which I know, has been really<br />
challenging for most of you. We have had<br />
many positive responses to the work we<br />
have done during 2020, and I’m glad it<br />
has been appreciated.<br />
I will sign off by wishing you all a very<br />
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,<br />
however you may decide to celebrate it.<br />
Just remember: Let’s do it carefully –<br />
and look forward to a better 2021.<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
03
Inside this issue<br />
10<br />
14<br />
24<br />
News<br />
The waiting room is... open!<br />
DVSA announces the re-opening of<br />
more waiting rooms – page 6<br />
Covid-19 update: the latest<br />
position for ADIs<br />
Driver training and testing is back on<br />
the roads – page 8<br />
Former digital tech chief to<br />
lead the DVSA<br />
Loveday Ryder is the DVSA’s new Chief<br />
Executive – page 10<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong><br />
The Voice of MSA GB<br />
PACTS report reveals biggest<br />
danger vehicle on the roads...<br />
... And surprisingly, it’s not a passenger<br />
car! – page 12<br />
Road safety updates<br />
High-mileage drivers still happy to<br />
speed... but the tailgating message<br />
might be getting through – page 14<br />
Smart motorways...<br />
... still leave the motoring public<br />
confused, says report – page 16<br />
We love our cars again!<br />
The pandemic has reinforced the UK’s<br />
love of its cars and knocked back the<br />
appeal of public transport – page 22<br />
36<br />
The Motor Schools Association<br />
of Great Britain Ltd<br />
Head Office:<br />
Chester House,<br />
68 Chestergate,<br />
Macclesfield<br />
Cheshire SK11 6DY<br />
T: 01625 664501<br />
E: info@msagb.com<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong> is published monthly on behalf of the MSA<br />
GB and distributed to members and selected<br />
recently qualified ADIs throughout Great Britain by:<br />
Chamber Media Services,<br />
4 Hilton Road, Bramhall, Stockport,<br />
Cheshire SK7 3AG<br />
Editor/Production: Rob Beswick<br />
e: rob@chambermediaservices.co.uk<br />
t: 0161 426 7957<br />
Advertising sales: Colin Regan<br />
e: colinregan001@yahoo.co.uk<br />
t: 01942 537959 / 07871 444922<br />
Views expressed in <strong>Newslink</strong> are not necessarily<br />
those of the MSA GB or the publishers.<br />
Although every effort is<br />
made to ensure the<br />
accuracy of material<br />
contained within this<br />
publication, neither MSA<br />
GB nor the publishers can<br />
accept any responsibility<br />
for the veracity of claims<br />
made by contributors in<br />
either advertising or<br />
editorial content.<br />
©2020 The Motor Schools<br />
Association of Great<br />
Britain Ltd. Reprinting in<br />
whole or part is forbidden<br />
without express<br />
permission of the editor.
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
26<br />
Features<br />
Johnson’s green agenda threatens<br />
to melt away ICE appeal<br />
Are you ready to ditch buying a new diesel or<br />
petrol car as early as 2030? What impact<br />
will the Prime Minister’s new green motoring<br />
agenda have on ADIs? – page 18<br />
How about a little bit of ‘R-A-R’<br />
Steve Garrod on the wisdom of learning that<br />
receives, apply and reuses – page 28<br />
Time to ditch the L-test<br />
One ADI has an interesting idea... – page 30<br />
Keep in<br />
touch 1<br />
Keep in touch:<br />
Just click on the icon<br />
to go through to the<br />
relevant site<br />
18<br />
If you have updated your<br />
address, telephone<br />
numbers or changed your email<br />
address recently, please let us<br />
know at head office by emailing<br />
us with your new details and<br />
membership number to<br />
info@msagb.com.<br />
If you can’t find your<br />
membership number, give us a<br />
ring on 01625 664501.<br />
2<br />
Regional<br />
Life must go on... it says so in the regs!<br />
East Midlands – page 33<br />
North West – and some lessons from the past – page 33<br />
Another spanner in the works...<br />
Scotland – page 36<br />
Theory test certificate holders losing out<br />
West Midlands – page 38<br />
South East – new chair takes helm – page 39<br />
Graduated licences: A good chance missed<br />
Western – page 40<br />
Q& A... with Kris Ford<br />
A little bit of back story from Western member – page 42<br />
Manual or automatic?<br />
The inspiration of youth helps Rod Came<br />
gear up to learn something new – page 32<br />
Follow MSA GB on social media<br />
30<br />
Keep in<br />
contact with<br />
the MSA<br />
MSA GB area contacts are<br />
here to answer your<br />
queries and offer any<br />
assistance you need.<br />
Get in touch if you have<br />
any opinions on how MSA<br />
GB is run, or wish to<br />
comment on any issue<br />
affecting the driver<br />
training and testing<br />
regime.<br />
n National Chairman:<br />
Peter Harvey MBE<br />
natchair@msagb.com<br />
n Deputy National<br />
Chairman: Geoff Little<br />
deptnatchair@msagb.com<br />
n Scotland:<br />
Alex Buist<br />
chair.os@msagb.com<br />
n North East:<br />
Mike Yeomans<br />
chair.ne@msagb.com<br />
n North West:<br />
Graham Clayton<br />
chair.nw@msagb.com<br />
n East Midlands:<br />
Kate Fennelly<br />
chair.em@msagb.com<br />
n West Midlands:<br />
Geoff Little<br />
chair.wm@msagb.com<br />
n Western:<br />
Arthur Mynott<br />
chair.ow@msagb.com<br />
n Eastern:<br />
Paul Harmes<br />
chair.oe@msagb.com<br />
n Greater London:<br />
Tom Kwok<br />
chair.gl@msagb.com<br />
n South East:<br />
Terry Cummins<br />
chair.se@msagb.com<br />
n South Wales:<br />
All enquiries to<br />
info@msagb.com<br />
n <strong>Newslink</strong>:<br />
All enquiries to<br />
editor@msagb.com or<br />
rob@chambermedia<br />
services.co.uk
News<br />
DVSA takes waiting rooms open to over 100<br />
Following the successful reopening of 28<br />
driving test centre waiting rooms at the<br />
end of October and in November, the<br />
DVSA announced a further 93 waiting<br />
rooms will re-open on Friday, <strong>December</strong> 4.<br />
The availability of waiting rooms will<br />
be kept under review in line with any<br />
further national or local restrictions.<br />
ADIs using the waiting rooms must<br />
follow waiting room guidance (below),<br />
which is also on GOV.UK.<br />
The number of people allowed in each<br />
waiting room will depend on its size, and<br />
the maximum number will be shown on<br />
a sign on the door.<br />
What are the rules for using waiting<br />
rooms?<br />
Pupils are not allowed in test centre<br />
waiting rooms. However, they may still<br />
use the toilet where provided and the<br />
examiner will still meet you and your<br />
pupil at the vehicle.<br />
If your local test centre is in the latest<br />
roll-out you will receive an email from<br />
the DVSA to explain the measures that<br />
have been put in place to help keep<br />
everyone waiting at the site safe.<br />
These measures will include:<br />
• wearing face covering at all times<br />
inside the waiting room<br />
• recording a visit by scan the QR<br />
code and ‘check in’ or recording it on a<br />
paper log<br />
• asking visitors to wipe down touch<br />
points when they enter the waiting room<br />
and before they leave<br />
Your safety and that of candidates and<br />
staff is a priority and the DVSA is<br />
working to safely open up other waiting<br />
rooms around the country. You can<br />
provide feedback on the Covid-secure<br />
procedures in waiting rooms at<br />
waitingroom.feedback@dvsa.gov.uk.<br />
Who’s open? Full list of DTCs<br />
where waiting rooms are open<br />
Test centres marked with an<br />
asterisk* re-open on Friday,<br />
<strong>December</strong> 4; rest are open now<br />
Aberdeen North<br />
Aberystwyth<br />
Airdrie<br />
Alness<br />
Alnwick*<br />
Aylesbury*<br />
Banbury*<br />
Barnet*<br />
Barnstaple*<br />
Basildon*<br />
Berwick Upon Tweed*<br />
Beverley*<br />
Bletchley*<br />
Bodmin*<br />
Bolton*<br />
Borehamwood*<br />
Brentwood*<br />
Bristol Avonmouth*<br />
Burton On Trent*<br />
Caernarfon GVTS<br />
Cambridge Brookmount Court<br />
Cambridge Hardwick*<br />
Canterbury*<br />
Cardington*<br />
Chelmsford*<br />
Chertsey*<br />
Chesterfield<br />
Chichester*<br />
Chippenham*<br />
Clacton On Sea*<br />
Colchester*<br />
Coventry*<br />
Culham LGV*<br />
Darlington LGV*<br />
Darlington<br />
Dudley*<br />
Elgin<br />
Enfield LGV*<br />
Enfield*<br />
Exeter LGV*<br />
Farnborough*<br />
Galashiels<br />
Garretts Green<br />
Gateshead*<br />
Gillingham GVTS<br />
Gillingham*<br />
Glasgow Baillieston<br />
Glasgow Shieldhall<br />
Greenham*<br />
Guildford - car testing*<br />
Guildford - vocational building*<br />
Haddington<br />
Hastings*<br />
Herne Bay*<br />
Hexham*<br />
High Wycombe *<br />
Hither Green*<br />
Hornchurch*<br />
Inverness<br />
Inverness<br />
Ipswich*<br />
Isleworth*<br />
Kirkham LGV*<br />
You can keep on top of<br />
which waiting rooms are<br />
re-opening at<br />
Lancing*<br />
Lee On The Solent*<br />
Leicester Wigston*<br />
Letchworth*<br />
Livingston GVTS<br />
Lowestoft*<br />
Ludlow*<br />
Macclesfield*<br />
Maidstone<br />
Melton Mowbray*<br />
Mitcham*<br />
Newbury*<br />
Newport Gwent<br />
Newtown<br />
Norris Green *<br />
Norwich Jupiter Road*<br />
Nottingham Chilwell *<br />
Oswestry *<br />
Pembroke Dock<br />
Peterhead<br />
Pinner*<br />
Portsmouth*<br />
Preston*<br />
Rookley LGV*<br />
Rugby*<br />
Salisbury*<br />
Sevenoaks*<br />
Sheffield Handsworth*<br />
Shrewsbury*<br />
DVSA DTC waiting<br />
rooms update here<br />
Skegness*<br />
Slough*<br />
South Yardley*<br />
Southampton Botley LGV*<br />
Speke*<br />
St. Albans*<br />
Stafford*<br />
Sunderland*<br />
Swindon LGV*<br />
Swindon<br />
Taunton*<br />
Telford*<br />
Tilbury*<br />
Uxbridge*<br />
Walton LGV*<br />
Warwick *<br />
Watford*<br />
Wednesbury*<br />
Weedon*<br />
Whitby*<br />
Wick<br />
Widnes<br />
Wood Green*<br />
Worcester*<br />
Workington*<br />
Worksop*<br />
Wrexham<br />
Yeading*<br />
06<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
News<br />
Covid update: the complete picture<br />
After days of prevarication and rumours<br />
of behind the scenes rows between the<br />
Cabinet Office, the Health & Safety<br />
Executive, the Department for Transport<br />
and the DVSA, it was finally agreed just<br />
24 hours before England’s second<br />
lockdown officially finished that ADIs<br />
could resume driver training, and the<br />
DVSA to restart testing. The ruling covers<br />
all tiers in England; the situation in<br />
Wales and Scotland is outlined right.<br />
The delay in informing ADIs of such a<br />
crucial decision affecting their livelihoods<br />
was described by MSA GB national<br />
chairman Peter Harvey as “shocking,<br />
unprofessional and deeply worrying.”<br />
“The Prime Minister said that<br />
lockdown was ending on <strong>December</strong> 2<br />
back on November 23, so I am baffled<br />
as to why it took the DVSA a further<br />
week to confirm that driving tests and<br />
training could begin again,” said Peter.<br />
“We have sent the DVSA a number of<br />
questions on our members’ behalf over<br />
the delay, but the poor communication<br />
we have all received in the last week is<br />
top of the list.”<br />
Peter added: “The lack of prior notice<br />
for the recommencement of tests and<br />
failure to build in time for learners to get<br />
practice in before their tests makes<br />
testing a lottery. Many of our pupils will<br />
not be test ready after a month off the<br />
road, unless they have been able to have<br />
private practice as part of their usual<br />
journeys to and from college or work.<br />
“However, if you have pupils who have<br />
been keeping up with private practice in<br />
THE OFFICIAL POSITION - ENGLAND<br />
Lockdown restrictions expired at 00.01am, <strong>December</strong> 2. After that all categories<br />
of training can restart, in all tiers.<br />
Driving tests recommenced on <strong>December</strong> 2 and tests are now available to book<br />
online if an instructor feels they have candidates who are ready to take the test.<br />
In Tier 3 areas of England the number of tests will be reduced to five tests a day<br />
to help lessen examiners’ exposure; the first test of the day will not be available.<br />
However, examiners in Tiers 1 & 2 will continue to conduct six tests a day.<br />
The DVSA is looking into ways of reducing the long waiting lists at test centres<br />
across the country and will give an update on that soon.<br />
The updates to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all test categories<br />
have also been published and are included below.<br />
IN WALES<br />
At the moment all driving lessons and motorcycle training can take place, and all<br />
categories driving tests can be booked. However, this situation is likely to change<br />
this week: see the MSA GB website for details.<br />
IN SCOTLAND<br />
Driving lessons and motorcycle training can take place in council areas in local<br />
Covid protection levels of 0-3. You must not carry out driving lessons or<br />
motorcycle training in council areas in protection level 4, unless it is with<br />
someone from your household. You must not travel out of Level 4 to teach<br />
somewhere else. More information on the Covid-19 local protection levels and<br />
where your authority sits in them can be found at:<br />
www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-protection-levels/<br />
Those areas currently in Level 4 will have their status revised on <strong>December</strong> 11.<br />
lockdown and are ready for not just the<br />
test but independent driving as a whole<br />
and have a justifiable need to be licensed<br />
more immediately, it is worth checking<br />
the system to see if you can secure one<br />
of these tests test slots for them.”<br />
He was also concerned that the<br />
chaotic situation would encourage pupils<br />
who were not fully prepared for their<br />
L-test to just turn up and have a go in<br />
the hope of scraping a pass.<br />
But that situation “doesn’t suggest a<br />
very professional set-up, does it?” said<br />
Peter. “I thought we had gone past the<br />
days when pupils took a test hoping to<br />
fluke a pass, but without doubt that is<br />
what many pupils will be looking at<br />
doing this week.”<br />
Standard Operating Procedures... the latest guidance<br />
Driving Test SOP<br />
Motorcycle Test SOP<br />
Driving test<br />
SOP<br />
Motorcycle<br />
test SOP<br />
Vocational Test SOP<br />
Vocational<br />
test SOP<br />
ADI Part 2 Test<br />
ADI Part<br />
2 Test<br />
ADI Part 3 Tests and Standard Checks<br />
Part 3s,<br />
Standard<br />
Checks<br />
08<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
Examiner advice<br />
for L-tests<br />
The DVSA has shared with NASP the<br />
latest advice to examiners. The<br />
information contained here will help you<br />
prepare your pupils for their tests<br />
Back to work for most ADIs: but<br />
DVSA has questions to answer<br />
The DVSA held a webinar with<br />
members of NASP on Wednesday, 2nd<br />
<strong>December</strong>. During this session a<br />
number of questions were directed to<br />
senior DVSA staff members.<br />
n Why has it taken so long for<br />
communications on the ending of this<br />
second lockdown in England taken so<br />
long to be settled?<br />
n The DVSA had four weeks of<br />
lockdown during which it could<br />
contingency plan what a tiered<br />
approach would look like and make<br />
provision for when this period ended:<br />
why was this not done earlier and<br />
communicated to ADIs?<br />
n How are ADIs expected to be able<br />
to manage a diary and a business on<br />
this short a notice?<br />
n Why ADIs weren’t allowed to go<br />
back to work one to two weeks early to<br />
help prepare learners for tests in early<br />
<strong>December</strong>?<br />
n Why has the DfT ruled it is not safe<br />
on road safety grounds to extend theory<br />
certificates but it’s OK to allow pupils to<br />
go for a L-test with no period of<br />
refresher training beforehand and<br />
with only one day’s notice?<br />
Wear a face covering in Scotland<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
n Will DVSA offer any compensation<br />
to people for loss of earnings due to<br />
their failure to communicate early<br />
enough?<br />
n How do we manage expectations<br />
and communication of possible test<br />
slots available; will all the slots<br />
available be utilised?<br />
n Will DVSA continue to refund test<br />
fees on short notice cancellations and<br />
across the categories?<br />
n Why have some test centre staff<br />
briefed local ADIs about this situation<br />
before it was officially released?<br />
n Some ADIs want temperature<br />
checks of examiners before they get in<br />
their car. Why is this not being allowed?<br />
n Will examiners be prioritised for<br />
vaccinations, and what is DVSA policy<br />
on refusal? If examiners do get priority,<br />
will DVSA put forward a case for<br />
instructors to be treated the same?<br />
n What strategies do DVSA have for<br />
catching up on the backlog of tests?<br />
n Can we have an update on Part 2,<br />
3 and Standards Checks, Riders &<br />
Vocational training and testing: what’s<br />
happening with them?<br />
To watch the webinar, click here<br />
In Scotland, ADIs and pupils must wear face coverings during driving lessons<br />
and practice sessions. If you do not wear a face covering, you must have a good<br />
reason, eg:<br />
• you have a physical or mental illness, impairment or disability<br />
• wearing it would cause you severe distress<br />
• you and the person you’re teaching live in the same household<br />
Wearing glasses does not count as a good reason. You can be fined £60 if you<br />
do not wear a face covering.<br />
Vehicle ventilation<br />
n The car must have the windows open<br />
throughout the test. Candidates are<br />
advised to wear clothing suitable for the<br />
weather.<br />
n At least two windows on opposite<br />
sides of the car must be open throughout<br />
the test. Any combination of windows<br />
can be opened, for example, one from<br />
the front and back.<br />
n In bad weather, you do not need to<br />
open the windows so far that it makes<br />
the inside of your car overly wet.<br />
Vehicle cleanliness<br />
You must clean the inside of your car<br />
before your test. This means:<br />
n tidying any unnecessary items away<br />
from the dashboard, footwells, door<br />
pockets, cup holders and seats.<br />
n wiping down the dashboard and car<br />
controls and touchpoints such as door<br />
handles and seat belt controls<br />
The examiner will do an additional clean<br />
of some surfaces.<br />
Completing insurance and residency<br />
declaration<br />
n Pupils will be able to fill out an<br />
insurance and residency declaration and<br />
have their licence checked inside the car<br />
in bad weather.<br />
n Please tell your pupils to bring a pen<br />
with them to complete the paperwork.<br />
Examiners will only offer a pen if they do<br />
not have one, which will be wiped with<br />
an anti-viral wipe on return.<br />
For more information:<br />
NASP has all the latest and<br />
updated guidance here<br />
(click button right)<br />
On theory tests<br />
(click button right)<br />
L- tests<br />
(click button right)<br />
Instructor guidance<br />
(click button right)<br />
09
News<br />
Former digital technology chief to head DVSA<br />
Loveday Ryder will become the DVSA’s<br />
Chief Executive on January 1 2021, after<br />
current chief Gareth Llewellyn steps<br />
down.<br />
Department for Transport Permanent<br />
Secretary Bernadette Kelly said: “I’m<br />
delighted to welcome Loveday to the<br />
department.<br />
“The DVSA’s work affects everyone in<br />
the country, and Loveday’s wide<br />
range of business change<br />
and performance<br />
improvement experience<br />
will be invaluable in<br />
helping the agency<br />
overcome the<br />
operational challenges<br />
created by the impact of<br />
the coronavirus pandemic.<br />
“I would like to express my<br />
thanks to Gareth Llewellyn for his<br />
immense contribution as Chief Executive,<br />
and wish him every success for the<br />
future.”<br />
Ms Ryder joins from BPDTS Ltd,<br />
where she was CEO. BPDTS provides<br />
specialist digital technology services to<br />
the Department for Work and Pensions.<br />
Previously she spent 12 years in the<br />
Ministry of Justice, where she<br />
successfully served in several senior<br />
roles in organisation design, change<br />
management and programme<br />
delivery.<br />
Ms Ryder said: “I’m thrilled<br />
to be joining DVSA, whose<br />
people are so passionate about<br />
helping everyone stay safe on<br />
Britain’s roads.<br />
“I want to help build on the<br />
successes already achieved through<br />
DVSA’s 5-year strategy. DVSA will<br />
continue to change, improve and<br />
modernise services for customers,<br />
embrace smarter ways of working and<br />
make the most of new technology while<br />
making sure road safety remains at the<br />
heart of everything we do.<br />
“I’m looking forward to supporting<br />
DVSA colleagues in the vital work they<br />
do to help achieve the vision we all share<br />
- safer drivers, safer vehicles and safer<br />
journeys for all.<br />
MSA GB chairman Peter Harvey said:<br />
“We wish Ms Ryder every success in her<br />
new role. Top of her priority list has to be<br />
tackling the waiting lists that are forming<br />
around theory and L-tests.”<br />
He also paid tribute to outgoing Chief<br />
Executive Gareth Llewellyn “for his hard<br />
work in the cause of road safety and<br />
driver improvement, and support for<br />
driver trainers.”<br />
ADIs asked to shape<br />
the future of<br />
autonomous cars<br />
A major new survey has been<br />
launched to assess how motorists<br />
will accept and use connected,<br />
co-operative and autonomous and<br />
automated transport in the future.<br />
IAM RoadSmart is part of this<br />
EU-funded research project, which<br />
is called Drive2theFuture. The<br />
outcome of the survey will also<br />
assist the developers of these<br />
technologies to understand and<br />
meet users’ needs and wants.<br />
Driver trainers’ views are very<br />
important to this project, and IAM<br />
RoadSmart has asked MSA GB<br />
members to complete a short online<br />
survey which will allow the<br />
consortium to consider their views<br />
going forward. The survey is being<br />
circulated to driver trainers and<br />
driving schools across Europe.<br />
10<br />
More about Drive2 the Future ....<br />
Drive2the<br />
Future<br />
To take part in survey, click here<br />
Drive2 the<br />
Future<br />
Survey<br />
• Rod Came on autonomous cars:<br />
see p18<br />
Drivers’ smartphones may provide<br />
information about road conditions<br />
Research work being undertaken at the<br />
University of Birmingham could see drivers’<br />
smartphones providing traffic engineers<br />
with information on the condition of roads.<br />
‘Road roughness’ is used to measure<br />
not only road condition but ride quality,<br />
and this information can be gathered by<br />
smartphones, to be passed on to<br />
engineers to assess the need for repairs,<br />
general maintenance or resurfacing.<br />
Smartphones have high resolution<br />
three-axis accelerometers and GPS<br />
tracking built into them, as part of fitness<br />
apps, and the data they collect offers an<br />
up-to-date picture of traffic flow and<br />
congestion. Using this data through a<br />
low-cost app will also record the<br />
movement of the vehicle in relation to the<br />
carriageway. This ‘crowdsourced’ data<br />
allows engineers to assess and schedule<br />
HTML version of National Standards<br />
available from Gov.uk<br />
The Gov.uk website has produced a HTML version of the latest<br />
National Standard for driver and rider training brochure.<br />
The document outlines what you must be able to do and<br />
what you must know and understand to provide training to<br />
drivers and riders.<br />
The HTML version offers more connectivity and ease of<br />
access.<br />
It can be found on the UK Gov.uk<br />
website – here...<br />
National<br />
Standards<br />
carriageway repairs.<br />
The most accurate method of assessing<br />
road roughness currently is to use vehicles<br />
fitted with lasers. However, this is costly<br />
when assessing a large network. Roads<br />
that are maintained to a good standard<br />
encourage economic development and<br />
minimise road use costs such as travel<br />
time, fuel efficiency, repairs and accidents.<br />
It also provides social benefit and reduces<br />
the environmental impact of transport.<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
A highly respected road safety academic<br />
has strongly criticised the ongoing<br />
Transport Committee Young Driver Inquiry,<br />
describing it as ‘not an impartial review’.<br />
Dr Neale Kinnear, who is head of<br />
transport safety at TRL, made his<br />
comments in a keynote presentation,<br />
published on November 2 as part of the<br />
Festival of Road Safety.<br />
In his presentation, he describes the<br />
Transport Committee inquiry as ‘not an<br />
impartial review’, in which ‘anecdote,<br />
personal preference and poorly gathered<br />
opinion are given equal weight to<br />
overwhelming scientific evidence’. He also<br />
says the inquiry ‘mistakenly trades off<br />
safety with freedom’.<br />
Dr Kinnear is particularly critical of the<br />
Government’s decision not to progress<br />
with the introduction of a graduated driver<br />
licensing (GDL) scheme – as announced<br />
to the Transport Committee by the roads<br />
minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton on<br />
October 22.<br />
He states that GDL was supported by<br />
the majority of people and organisations<br />
who submitted a written response to the<br />
inquiry, and goes on to describe GDL as<br />
‘the only evidenced approach to<br />
significantly improve young driver safety’.<br />
Dr Kinnear is also very critical of an<br />
online survey of young drivers carried out<br />
as part of the inquiry, describing some of<br />
the questions as ‘surprising’.<br />
He highlights one question in particular<br />
which asks young drivers whether GDL<br />
‘would be unfair in any respect’ – likening<br />
it to asking turkeys whether they think<br />
Christmas is unfair in any respect.<br />
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
Government slammed for ditching GDL: ‘it is<br />
only evidenced approach to improve safety’<br />
Dr Kinnear says implementing GDL is<br />
about providing a supportive framework<br />
for developing safe new drivers. Rather<br />
than being an alternative to other<br />
interventions, he calls on the road safety<br />
community to come together to support<br />
improving education, training, testing and<br />
telematics within a GDL system.<br />
You can watch<br />
Neale Kinnear’s<br />
presentation here<br />
To get the<br />
full story,<br />
click here
News<br />
PACTS report highlight risks caused by LCVs<br />
A major report from the Parliamentary<br />
Advisory Council for Transport Safety<br />
(PACTS) has challenged the orthodoxy of<br />
traditional road casualty analysis by<br />
asking ‘what kills whom’ rather than<br />
stressing the most vulnerable road user<br />
groups.<br />
The result is a surprising statistic that,<br />
contrary to popular opinion, cars do not<br />
pose the greatest danger to other road<br />
users: light vans do, followed by HGVs.<br />
While more car occupants die, a<br />
comparison based on number of vehicles<br />
and miles travelled highlights the<br />
propensity of LCVs to be involved in road<br />
traffic fatalities and suggests that more<br />
work needs to be done to improve safety<br />
of these vehicles. That this conclusion<br />
comes at a time of huge growth in LCV<br />
traffic to accommodate the rise in<br />
demand for home deliveries, makes it all<br />
the more pressing that action is taken.<br />
It is particularly interesting when you<br />
consider that the vast majority of the new<br />
breed of drivers getting behind the wheel<br />
of an LCV are armed only with a car<br />
licence and driving experience; perhaps<br />
the time has come for a fresh look at the<br />
licensing rules around smaller vans which<br />
are popular with home courier firms.<br />
This sort of analysis, which places an<br />
emphasis on danger rather than<br />
vulnerability, puts PACTS’ findings more<br />
in keeping with ‘Vision Zero’ and road<br />
danger reduction strategies, such as those<br />
being followed by Transport for London.<br />
The report calls for a new transport<br />
agenda to be created that puts safety at<br />
its heart, rather than considering cost,<br />
congestion reduction or convenience. It<br />
also says that while the Government<br />
wishes to promote healthy, sustainable<br />
active travel, such as walking and cycling,<br />
such initiatives will struggle unless the<br />
public feels safe doing so.<br />
As the Minister for Road Safety<br />
commented last year, while road traffic<br />
casualty statistics highlight how much<br />
work has been done to improve road<br />
safety, it does not necessarily always feel<br />
safe out on the road.<br />
The graphs below offer a snapshot of<br />
the overall analysis and make<br />
enlightening<br />
reading; to read<br />
the full report,<br />
click the panel.<br />
To get the<br />
full story,<br />
click here<br />
‘‘<br />
By analysing the dangers created<br />
by other road users, we get closer<br />
to the philosophy behind the<br />
‘Vision Zero’ strategy, which aims<br />
to eliminate all road deaths<br />
‘‘<br />
12<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
Road safety<br />
Surprising fall in tailgate crashes<br />
revealed in latest DfT statistics<br />
Has the message finally got through to<br />
the motoring public about the dangers of<br />
tailgating?<br />
That’s the intriguing prospect that has<br />
been suggested by new research into<br />
road collisions statistics.<br />
According to analysis by TrackDays.co.<br />
uk, the number of reported road crashes<br />
in which following too close to another<br />
vehicle was a contributory factor has<br />
almost halved in just five years.<br />
According to the Department for<br />
Transport, collisions when following too<br />
close was a contributory factor stood at<br />
7,023 in 2015 but were down to just<br />
3,582 in 2019, the latest year for which<br />
full figures are available.<br />
It is one of the largest percentage<br />
drops of all the contributory causes of<br />
crashes caused by an injudicious action,<br />
which means due to a lack of judgement.<br />
Dan Jones, operations manager at<br />
TrackDays.co.uk, said it was “very<br />
welcome to see such a dramatic drop in<br />
the number of reported crashes when<br />
following too close was a factor.<br />
The reasons were not immediately<br />
clear, he added, “and could be due to a<br />
number of factors. Perhaps most<br />
importantly, advanced safety features on<br />
modern cars, such as adaptive cruise<br />
control which help keep a safe distance<br />
from the car in front, could be playing a<br />
role. But it would also be nice to think<br />
that drivers are now calmer and more<br />
considerate to their fellow road users.”<br />
More welcome news highlighted in the<br />
survey details how the number of<br />
reported accidents when travelling too<br />
fast for the conditions was a contributory<br />
factor was also on a long-term decline.<br />
These crashes fell from 7,361 in 2015<br />
to 4,666 in 2019, a decrease of 36 per<br />
cent.<br />
Additionally, there are also fewer<br />
reported accidents when disobeying<br />
automatic traffic signals, and disobeying<br />
‘Give Way’ or ‘Stop’ signs and markings<br />
was a contributory factor.<br />
Dan added: “Brits do appear to be<br />
becoming safer motorists in certain areas<br />
of driving, which has to be good news for<br />
all road users.”<br />
Decline in ‘following too close’ crashes<br />
Year Collisions<br />
2019 3,584<br />
2018 3,745<br />
2017 4,256<br />
2016 6,040<br />
2015 7,023<br />
High mileage motorists ‘okay with m-way speeding’<br />
A Safety Culture Survey conducted by<br />
IAM RoadSmart has found that 82 per<br />
cent of the British driving public are in<br />
favour of using speed cameras to<br />
automatically fine drivers travelling more<br />
than ten miles per hour over the limit<br />
near schools.<br />
However, the survey of 2,000 motorists<br />
highlighted that attitudes towards<br />
speeding on motorways were significantly<br />
different, with only 63 per cent of drivers<br />
supporting the use of cameras to detect<br />
those driving ten miles per hour above the<br />
limit on motorways.<br />
Worryingly, it also identified that just<br />
under half of all motorists (46 per cent)<br />
think it is acceptable to drive at 80 miles<br />
per hour on the motorway, while as many<br />
as one in four believe it is acceptable to<br />
do so at speeds greater than 80mph.<br />
And while acceptance of motorway<br />
speeding remained broadly consistent<br />
among drivers aged 17 to 69, there was<br />
a noticeable increase among those who<br />
travel longer distances. A staggering 56<br />
per cent of those who cover more than<br />
10,000 miles on the road each year<br />
believed it is acceptable to reach speeds<br />
of 80mph or more on the motorway.<br />
Neil Greig, Policy and Research Director<br />
at IAM RoadSmart, said: “It is reassuring<br />
to see that the majority of motorists we<br />
surveyed are in favour of using speed<br />
cameras to improve road safety outside<br />
schools. However, while speeding in<br />
towns appears to be universally disliked,<br />
it is clear that we still have a long way to<br />
go before the same message gets through<br />
on motorways.<br />
“Speeding causes more<br />
than 4,000 casualties<br />
each year – that’s an<br />
average of 11 people<br />
a day killed or<br />
seriously injured.<br />
So it is extremely<br />
disappointing to see<br />
such acceptance of<br />
speeding on motorways,<br />
and we need to do more to<br />
create a shift in attitude and behaviour.”<br />
14<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
www.msagb.com 15
Road safety<br />
Survey discovers new drivers most<br />
nervous on single-track roads<br />
Single-track roads cause drivers the most<br />
anxiety, a new poll by AA The Driving<br />
School has found.<br />
One in ten (11 per cent) say they feel<br />
scared on this kind of road, with drivers<br />
aged 25-to-34 most likely to report<br />
worry (13 per cent).<br />
The second scariest type of road was<br />
urban/city centre roads with 6 per cent of<br />
drivers feeling scared on them; followed<br />
by rural roads (4 per cent), motorways (4<br />
per cent), dual carriageways (1 per cent)<br />
and single carriageways (1 per cent).<br />
Drivers’ fear of rural roads and urban<br />
roads decreased significantly among<br />
older drivers, indicating experience plays<br />
an important role in confidence. On rural<br />
roads 8 per cent of 18-24-year-olds said<br />
they were scared but this dropped to just<br />
3 per cent among drivers over 65. On<br />
urban roads 8 per cent of young drivers<br />
said they felt scared compared to 3 per<br />
cent of older drivers.<br />
The AA has recently given evidence to<br />
the Transport Select Committee’s inquiry<br />
into young and novice drivers. A key part<br />
of its evidence is to support changes to<br />
the learning to drive process that would<br />
place greater emphasis on making sure<br />
learner drivers gained greater experience<br />
before passing their test. The AA would<br />
support this being done through a<br />
mandatory logbook rather than through<br />
excessive post-test measures such as<br />
curfews and passenger restrictions.<br />
Sarah Rees, managing director of<br />
the AA Driving School, said: “These<br />
results show feeling nervous is a familiar<br />
feeling for many drivers.<br />
“It’s not surprising that age reduces<br />
fear as experience is a vital tool for any<br />
driver. Increasing new drivers’ range of<br />
experience is why we would support the<br />
introduction of a mandatory logbook for<br />
learner drivers.<br />
“Of course, this won’t help those who<br />
already have their licence and are<br />
struggling with their confidence, but<br />
refresher lessons can be a real boost for<br />
those drivers.<br />
“It’s interesting how experience only<br />
reduces fear on certain types of roads,<br />
perhaps indicating some drivers’<br />
apprehension about motorways becomes<br />
so ingrained they struggle with it for their<br />
whole driving life.”<br />
Public still not getting to grips with smart motorways<br />
A new survey by road safety charity<br />
Brake has highlighted growing public<br />
awareness over smart motorways – but<br />
a worryingly high number of users still<br />
don’t know the rules governing them.<br />
The survey, conducted in conjunction<br />
with recovery firm Green Flag, found<br />
that three-quarters know what a smart<br />
motorway is – but only two-thirds of<br />
those are sure of the rules for driving on<br />
them. That’s less than 50 per cent of<br />
the driving community as a whole.<br />
Men are more likely to know about<br />
smart motorways, with just 18 per cent<br />
saying they did not know what a smart<br />
motorway was, compared with 32 per<br />
cent of women.<br />
Fewer than half of drivers have<br />
actually been on a smart motorway –<br />
the majority of whom were in England.<br />
Just 26 per cent of drivers in Wales have<br />
been on a smart motorway, compared<br />
with 20 per cent in Northern Ireland and<br />
17 per cent in Scotland. In England, the<br />
figure was 47 per cent.<br />
The survey also looked at other<br />
aspects of motorway driving.<br />
Encouragingly, 78 per cent of drivers say<br />
they leave a two-second gap between<br />
them and the car in front. However, two<br />
per cent of drivers admit that they leave<br />
less than a second. This attitude was<br />
most prevalent among Londoners. No<br />
one in Wales was so cavalier with their<br />
distancing, the survey found.<br />
There was a mixed response to the<br />
question of stopping distances. Only a<br />
quarter knew that cars travelling at<br />
70mph needed around 96m to stop<br />
safely; a third of drivers thought the<br />
required distance was 73m – around 18<br />
car lengths, which is six car lengths<br />
shorter than the actual figure.<br />
The age group most likely to know this<br />
was the 18-24 year-olds, but as they<br />
have only recently passed their theory<br />
tests, it was interesting that only 35 per<br />
cent knew the correct answer; that’s<br />
only marginally better than the 65+.<br />
The worst age group for knowing the<br />
correct distance was the 25-44-yearolds,<br />
where only 14 per cent knew the<br />
correct distance.<br />
A major concern is that across all age<br />
groups, 14 per cent think you can stop a<br />
car travelling at 70mph in just 36m.<br />
Other interesting snippets to arise from<br />
the report include that one in 10 (11%)<br />
believe the vehicle joining the motorway<br />
had priority, and while most respondents<br />
are aware that they should use the<br />
left-hand lane if the road ahead is clear<br />
(81 per get), four per cent only ever<br />
drive in the right-hand lane.<br />
Read the<br />
report<br />
in full<br />
16<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
Blue Light Aware is back - and the new<br />
campaign is better than ever<br />
GEM, creators of the Blue Light Aware<br />
campaign, has released a new and updated<br />
version of the popular training aid for learners<br />
and other road users. It has also released 10<br />
short video clips focusing on specific road<br />
situations that drivers may encounter during<br />
their driving career.<br />
Blue Light Aware films have proved very<br />
popular, with total views at well over one<br />
million to date. They provide vital<br />
information for all drivers and are especially<br />
relevant to learner/young drivers.<br />
It’s firmly believed that the Blue Light<br />
Aware videos are a valuable resource that<br />
you will find useful added to your training<br />
programmes and they are perfect for sharing<br />
with followers on social media.<br />
From <strong>December</strong> 1 - <strong>December</strong> 14 the<br />
second Blue Light Aware campaign will be<br />
promoting messages to learner/new drivers<br />
and increasing awareness of the videos to this<br />
vitally important section of the driving<br />
community.<br />
The awareness campaign will be based<br />
mainly within social media using the hashtag<br />
#BlueLightAware.<br />
Watch the Blue Light<br />
Aware videos at<br />
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
The latest videos combine real-life footage<br />
with stylised graphics (below)<br />
VR test of hazard perception test needs some ADI input<br />
The RAC Foundation, in co-operation with<br />
the Road Safety Trust, DVSA and<br />
Nottingham Trent University, is designing<br />
and testing a VR version of the Hazard<br />
Perception Test. This version of VR<br />
Hazard perception test is now available to<br />
download free at the Oculus Store.<br />
MSA GB has been asked to promote<br />
the VR Hazard Perception Test to you and<br />
your learners, to help evaluate it and<br />
receive feedback. Please have a look and<br />
try to encourage your learners to as well;<br />
between us we could be helping shape<br />
the future of the Hazard Perception Test!<br />
The designers say the VR version offers<br />
a more immersive experience than the<br />
standard HPT, including asking<br />
candidates to check their blind spot,<br />
mirrors and side roads for hazards.<br />
At a recent appearance before the<br />
Select Committee on Transport, outgoing<br />
DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn<br />
said that the agency was interested in<br />
applying VR technology to the theory test<br />
as it offered new possibilities to gauge<br />
candidates’ awareness of real-life road<br />
scenarios.<br />
See the<br />
videos<br />
here<br />
www.msagb.com 17
News<br />
Johnson’s green agenda will melt<br />
appeal of ICE cars in a decade<br />
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ambitious<br />
plans to ban the sale of all petrol and<br />
diesel-engined cars by 2030 has been<br />
greeted by the motoring world with a<br />
mixture of cautious support, practical<br />
concerns and genuine anger.<br />
In a surprise announcement on<br />
November 17, Johnson – a long-time<br />
advocate of environmental reforms – said<br />
sales of internal combustion engine (ICE)<br />
powered cars would end in fewer than<br />
10 years, creating a narrow window<br />
during which car manufacturers and the<br />
electric car charging network could<br />
adjust their plans.<br />
The proposal puts the UK second<br />
behind only Norway in terms of<br />
electrifying its car parc; the Scandinavian<br />
country has previously announced that it<br />
would ban petrol and diesel car sales by<br />
2025.<br />
The UK Government has set deadlines<br />
for sales of ICE cars before: Theresa<br />
May’s Government originally proposed<br />
ending sales by 2040, and this date was<br />
reduced to 2035 shortly afterwards.<br />
But bringing an end to sales this<br />
decade was described by the AA as<br />
“incredibly ambitious”, and industry<br />
commentators were queuing up to<br />
question the wisdom of making such a<br />
bold move.<br />
Motoring lobby groups were also<br />
concerned that the environmental plans<br />
came as news leaked out that Chancellor<br />
Rishi Sunak was considering plans to<br />
introduce road charging in the UK as he<br />
faced a gaping hole in the country’s<br />
finances usually filled by fuel duty and<br />
motoring taxes.<br />
A Government spokesman admitted<br />
that “if the UK switches to electric<br />
vehicles, the total lost to the Treasury<br />
comes in at around £40billion a year, in<br />
terms of lost VAT, fuel duty and VED. The<br />
Chancellor has to claw that cash back<br />
somehow.”<br />
Road charging has been proposed<br />
before: the Labour Government looked at<br />
introducing it in 2007 before dropping<br />
the idea amid strong public opposition.<br />
Under the Government’s latest plans to<br />
reduce the UK’s carbon emissions and<br />
comply with its treaty obligations under<br />
the Paris Accord of 2015, the focus will<br />
be on all cars to be switch to electric<br />
power as quickly as possible – though it<br />
denied that existing ICE vehicles could<br />
be banned from the road in the 2030s;<br />
there is, a spokesman for the Prime<br />
Minister said, “no plans to curb car use,<br />
nor second-hand sales of older vehicles.”<br />
However, stopping sales of new ICE<br />
vehicles in under 10 years will be a very<br />
hard act to pull off, Professor Peter Wells,<br />
director of the Centre for Automotive<br />
Industry Research at Cardiff University,<br />
said. “I’m not sure the UK industry will<br />
be ready to deliver enough electric<br />
vehicles by that point.<br />
“The chief bottleneck so far is on<br />
battery supply. That is being solved<br />
across Europe but we’re a bit behind the<br />
pace here in the UK.<br />
“There’s also a concern on the retail<br />
side, too. Repairing and maintaining<br />
these cars requires new skills and I’m not<br />
sure there will be enough people trained<br />
up.<br />
“It’s a nice vision but I think there has<br />
to be concern about whether it can be<br />
realisable by the industry.”<br />
RAC Foundation director Steve<br />
Gooding said setting a date is “the easy<br />
part; what happens in the lead up to this<br />
cliff edge? How do we create a genuinely<br />
affordable mass market in electric cars<br />
between now and 2030?”<br />
Currently, fewer than one per cent of<br />
the UK’s 33 million cars are plug-in<br />
all-electric vehicles – though that figure<br />
will increase slowly, as pure batteryelectric<br />
new cars took a 5.5 per cent<br />
share of the new car market in the first<br />
ten months of the year. In addition, a<br />
number of car manufacturers have<br />
announced plans to completely electrify<br />
their vehicle ranges by the middle of this<br />
decade.”It’s likely that electric car sales<br />
will take between 10-15 per cent per<br />
annum within the next two years,”<br />
commented a spokesman for the SMMT.<br />
But even if the public does decide to<br />
buy electric, there is growing concern<br />
that the UK’s charging network isn’t big<br />
enough to supply the increased demand.<br />
Jim Holder, editorial director of What<br />
Car?, suggested that, among a number of<br />
concerns, access to public charging<br />
points appeared to be an obstacle that<br />
needed clearing. Capacity “needs to be<br />
increased by 10 or even 20 times” to<br />
cope with the increased demand, he<br />
said. To achieve this, he thought the<br />
Government would need to do more than<br />
offer £1.3billion for increasing the<br />
number of charge points. “We will need<br />
grants for homeowners, businesses and<br />
local authorities to install chargepoints.”<br />
However, the opening of Britain’s first<br />
forecourt only for electric vehicles could<br />
be an example of the future. The station,<br />
in Braintree, Essex, is the first of a<br />
18<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
£1billion nationwide network of 100<br />
electric forecourts planned over the next<br />
five years (more on page 20).<br />
According to Department for Transport<br />
figures, there were 19,487 public<br />
charging devices available as of<br />
September 30 this year, up seven per<br />
cent on the figure from three months<br />
earlier. More than 1,200 charging<br />
devices for public use were installed in<br />
the UK between July and September.<br />
However, motorists who cannot park<br />
on a drive at home will be concerned<br />
over how they can recharge – though<br />
new products are coming on stream that<br />
suggest alternative charging points could<br />
become more readily available in a few<br />
years (for news on one of these, see<br />
page 36).<br />
Businesses are also being encouraged<br />
to install more charging points in office<br />
car parks, and councils to do the same in<br />
its public car parks, which can also be<br />
used while people are at work or out<br />
shopping. However, those who do not<br />
have access to charging points at home,<br />
or at work, face paying more to charge.<br />
The reaction to the plans from<br />
elsewhere within the atuto world was<br />
decidedly mixed. The Alliance of British<br />
Drivers condemned the plan as flying in<br />
the face of the free market, saying the<br />
charging infrastructure was not close to<br />
being ready.<br />
Nigel Humphries of the ABD<br />
questioned whether enough electric<br />
vehicles will be in production to meet<br />
demand by 2030, suggesting the costs<br />
will be so high that only the ‘wealthy’<br />
will be able to drive. The Government<br />
was, he said, “pursuing the wrong<br />
agenda. If you’ve got to the point that<br />
you need to ban something then that<br />
shows you’ve got no confidence in the<br />
alternative. There’s something Stalinist<br />
about it.”<br />
“Where’s the free market in all of this<br />
that the so-called Conservative Party is<br />
meant to be protecting? It’s also far, far<br />
too early and does not give the motor<br />
industry much time to prepare.”<br />
He added that “the motor industry has<br />
demonstrated that markets are far better<br />
at improving environmental outcomes<br />
than Government mandates: in response<br />
to price signals and customer demand,<br />
the engine technologies of today are far<br />
less polluting and far more efficient than<br />
those of yesteryear.<br />
“Where governments have intervened,<br />
they have often got it wrong; the diesel<br />
scandal being the most notable<br />
example,” Humphries added. “It is hard<br />
to think of a more inefficient and less<br />
liberal approach to reducing carbon<br />
emissions. This is yet another regressive,<br />
anti-motorist policy.”<br />
Nicholas Lyes of the RAC warned that<br />
many motorists would be nervous about<br />
the switch to electric cars, given their<br />
limited driving range, while Honda<br />
Europe’s senior vice-president Ian<br />
Howells said that the ban would “restrict<br />
consumer choice”. “An approach that<br />
relies only on expensive electric cars risks<br />
turning driving into a privilege only<br />
afforded to the wealthy, while pricing<br />
those who most need it out of personal<br />
mobility,” he said.<br />
Mark Littlewood, director of the<br />
‘‘<br />
I’m not sure the UK motor<br />
industry will be able to deliver<br />
enough electric vehicles by<br />
2030 ... it’s a nice vision but<br />
I think there has to be a<br />
concern over whether it is<br />
realisable...<br />
‘‘<br />
Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank,<br />
said the plans “rely on the false<br />
assumption that the state is best placed<br />
to pick winners when it comes to<br />
technology and the future of energy.<br />
“The measures announced largely rely<br />
on heavy-handed prohibitions – such as<br />
the ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars<br />
– rather than price incentives,” he said.<br />
However, David Krajicek, CEO, JATO<br />
Dynamics, pointed out that the<br />
automotive industry has been preparing<br />
to transition into electrics for some time,<br />
and given that “we have seen many<br />
governments in Europe legislate against<br />
diesel cars in recent times, and that<br />
traditional petrol cars emit higher levels<br />
of CO 2<br />
on average, this move by Johnson<br />
should come as little surprise.<br />
“Over the last decade, the focus for all<br />
automotive players has been clear:<br />
actively work to offset the potential<br />
negative economic consequences of<br />
banning vehicles with internal combustion<br />
engines. In fact, the increasing adoption<br />
of alternative fuelled vehicles seen across<br />
Europe is showing manufacturers the<br />
benefits arising from their electrification<br />
strategies.<br />
“This is an ambitious timeline and with<br />
many manufacturers not yet seeing a<br />
a return on their investment, the new<br />
policies will require considerable backing<br />
from the state.”<br />
EVs: Where do<br />
ADIs fit in?<br />
If all new vehicles are electric, what<br />
does that mean for ADIs?<br />
For a start, such bold plans will force<br />
all instructors to ditch the clutch and<br />
gearstick – unless electric vehicles<br />
suddenly stop being automatic-only<br />
transmission, which is unlikely. If you<br />
work for a large francise where new<br />
cars are de rigeur, it is likely you’ll lose<br />
manual fairly quickly, and while a<br />
steady stream of good quality secondhand<br />
non-electrics could be in ready<br />
supply for 10-15 years post ‘E-Day’,<br />
why would pupils willingly sign up to<br />
learn to drive one when they know<br />
they are unlikely to ever put their<br />
gear-changing skills into practice once<br />
they pass their test?<br />
The expense of new electric cars is<br />
also a concern, though it must be<br />
stressed that cost savings are expecting<br />
to bring the price tag of EVs down<br />
sharply in the next five years. Batteries<br />
constitute around 35 per cent of the<br />
cost of a new electric vehicle at<br />
present, but it is anticipated this will<br />
fall to less than 25 per cent by 2025.<br />
That should bring EVs into a price point<br />
similar to their petrol counterparts.<br />
And the good news? Maintenance<br />
and servicing should be cheaper – and<br />
filling up with £6 a gallon petrol to do<br />
35 miles will be a thing of the past.<br />
Think more about £8.50 to charge a<br />
60kWh battery capable to a 200-mile<br />
range; on a 20,000-mile year, that’s a<br />
saving of around £2,500.<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
19
News<br />
A new electric car charging station in<br />
Braintree, Essex. Operated by Gridserve, it<br />
will be followed by two more sites in early<br />
2021 – with plans for over 100<br />
nationwide eventually. The Braintree site<br />
can re-charge 24 cars simultaneously<br />
Tide turns as public cottons<br />
on to electric idea<br />
Research by Auto Trader shows that<br />
public backing for electric vehicles is at<br />
its highest level ever as the Government<br />
announced the end of petrol/diesel<br />
engined sales by 2030 – but it’s still a<br />
‘may be’ or ‘possible’ idea for their next<br />
car, rather than a ‘probable’ purchase.<br />
A survey conducted in August of<br />
1,600 motorist found that:<br />
• 77 per cent of respondents who are<br />
looking to buy a new car are considering<br />
buying an EV<br />
• 91 per cent are concerned about the<br />
impact of cars on the environment – and<br />
half are more concerned than they were<br />
a few years ago<br />
• 53 per cent are considering an EV<br />
because of cost savings associated with<br />
running costs, 48 per cent said it was to<br />
reduce pollution<br />
• 62 per cent of people in urban areas<br />
are considering an EV, compared with 45<br />
per cent of people in rural areas and<br />
villages.<br />
Ian Plummer, director at Auto Trader,<br />
said the results showed the tide was<br />
turning towards electric cars, but it was<br />
slow. “In order to meet the Government’s<br />
timetable, the sale of EVs must overtake<br />
the sale of traditional ICE cars by 2024.<br />
But, on the current sales trajectory this<br />
won’t happen until 2029 at the earliest<br />
– and that’s just overtake, not completely<br />
vanquish.<br />
“It’s clear that electric vehicles need to<br />
be the preferred option to the masses<br />
and not just to those who are<br />
environmentalists, early adopters or the<br />
wealthy that can afford their high price<br />
tags, but that isn’t the case yet.<br />
“Over the last six months, while supply<br />
levels of EVs have increased with the<br />
launch of several new models, consumer<br />
demand hasn’t increased at the same<br />
pace. In a world of so much unrest,<br />
consumers have stuck to what they know<br />
– particularly petrol cars.”<br />
The survey found key concerns were:<br />
• Charging infrastructure<br />
• Range capabilities<br />
• Price gap at 15-20 per cent higher<br />
cost than petrol or diesel equivalents,<br />
• Upfront cost<br />
Ian added: “While the commitment<br />
might be second behind Norway, we are<br />
a considerable distance behind them in<br />
terms of market share and valuable<br />
incentives which make a huge difference<br />
to the overall cost and therefore adoption<br />
‘‘<br />
These clear and ambitious<br />
targets are empty without a<br />
clear, substantial path to help<br />
customers switch to EVs<br />
‘‘<br />
levels. The incredibly ambitious targets<br />
are empty without a clear, substantial<br />
path to help consumers switch to EVs.”<br />
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive,<br />
said: “We share Government’s ambition<br />
to in decarbonise road transport. Success<br />
will depend on reassuring consumers<br />
that they can afford these new<br />
technologies, that they will deliver their<br />
mobility needs and, critically, that they<br />
can recharge as easily as they refuel.”<br />
The BVRLA was equally welcoming<br />
but warns that setting dates is only the<br />
start of the process. “Many fleet<br />
operators are unable to source<br />
appropriate electric vehicles for their<br />
needs while others have a business<br />
model that struggles to absorb the<br />
additional cost and charging constraints<br />
of running EVs,” said a spokesman.<br />
“2030 is an extremely aggressive<br />
phase-out target, but one that will be<br />
embraced by many drivers and fleet<br />
operators.<br />
“The 2035 extension for plug-in and<br />
full hybrids provides an essential lifeline<br />
for those facing a greater zero-emission<br />
challenge.<br />
“Vehicle rental companies and van<br />
fleet operators will be very relieved to<br />
have this additional breathing space but<br />
will need clarity on exactly what types of<br />
hybrid are in scope.”<br />
EVA England, a consumer association<br />
offering a voice for electric vehicle drivers<br />
in England, welcomed the news, saying<br />
the decision supports the UK’s ambition<br />
to have net zero CO 2<br />
emissions by 2050<br />
to combat climate change, and the<br />
urgent need to improve local air quality.<br />
Gill Nowell, a director at EVA England,<br />
said: “We welcome this news and<br />
judging by the results of our survey of<br />
electric vehicle drivers that we ran in the<br />
summer, and so will the EV community<br />
in England.<br />
“Drivers that go electric in England<br />
typically do so as they are concerned<br />
about air pollution, climate change, or<br />
want to significantly reduce their fuel<br />
costs. Regardless of their motivations<br />
going into their first purchase, the<br />
majority find that they are just great<br />
vehicles to drive.<br />
“While health, climate and affordability<br />
are vitally important parts to this debate,<br />
we also see EVs as the go to car choice<br />
for many, as they become increasingly<br />
more affordable and available.”<br />
20<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
News<br />
Collingwood Insurance Services claims top customer<br />
service award for the second year running<br />
Collingwood Insurance Services has been<br />
named winner of the Customer Service<br />
Champion category in the “all digital”<br />
Insurance Choice Awards 2020. This is<br />
the second year in a row the Newcastlebased<br />
insurer has taken the accolade.<br />
The awards, run by Smart Money<br />
People, are now into their sixth year.<br />
Voting for the prestigious awards began<br />
back in July 2020 and over 50,000<br />
consumers cast their votes. The awards<br />
span 23 categories and include a massive<br />
170 insurance providers.<br />
Jacqueline Dewey, CEO of Smart Money<br />
People, said: “We’re pleased to see the<br />
Insurance Choice Awards has had a<br />
record year for the number of firms<br />
participating and consumers taking the<br />
time to rate and review their insurance<br />
provider. Voting in many of the awards<br />
was extremely close and all our winners<br />
should feel proud of their achievements.”<br />
Contact Centre & Operations Director at<br />
Collingwood Insurance Services, Helen<br />
Shields, said the company was delighted<br />
to win the award for the second time in a<br />
row: “After winning the Customer Service<br />
Champion award in 2019 we knew there<br />
was no time to rest on our laurels. Every<br />
day the team continue their hard work<br />
and dedication to offer our customers the<br />
best possible service.”<br />
Helen continued: “The coronavirus<br />
pandemic has, of course, been a<br />
challenge for everyone this year. But the<br />
team at Collingwood continues to strive to<br />
provide the best possible service for all<br />
our customers.”<br />
If you missed the reveal head over to<br />
the Insurance Choice Awards Twitter<br />
page @InsChoiceAwards.<br />
Check out the Collingwood Insurance<br />
Service Affiliate Programme<br />
Did you know you can earn £20<br />
every time you refer a learner driver<br />
to Collingwood Insurance and they<br />
take out a Learner Driver Insurance<br />
policy?<br />
Find out<br />
more<br />
here<br />
Covid made us love our cars again, says UK public<br />
More than half of UK drivers (57 per<br />
cent) say having access to a car is more<br />
important than it was before the<br />
coronavirus pandemic, with reluctance to<br />
use public transport in the future at its<br />
highest level in 18 years, the RAC’s<br />
annual Report on Motoring has found.<br />
Two-thirds of drivers in three specific<br />
groups – young drivers, those with fewer<br />
than 10 years’ driving experience and<br />
people living in London – are all<br />
significantly more likely to say they need<br />
a car more now than they did before<br />
March.<br />
When it comes to needing to use a car<br />
for work, 64 per cent still expect to drive<br />
to offices in the future. A little over a<br />
third of drivers (36 per cent) said they<br />
expect to work from home more<br />
frequently as a result of the coronavirus.<br />
Despite the rise in home deliveries,<br />
68 per cent say a car is essential for<br />
shopping, up from 54 per cent last year.<br />
Meanwhile, 59 per cent say the car is<br />
essential for meeting up with friends and<br />
family who live elsewhere in the country,<br />
up from 45 per cent in 2019.<br />
The research also shows the scale of<br />
the challenge to encourage drivers to<br />
switch from their vehicles to public<br />
transport for some trips even in a<br />
post-pandemic scenario – and if this was<br />
a problem before the lockdown, it’s likely<br />
to be an even greater one in the future.<br />
For the first time since 2002 fewer than<br />
half of drivers (43 per cent) say they<br />
would use their cars less, even if public<br />
transport was improved – down sharply<br />
from 57 per cent in 2019.<br />
Taken at face value, the declining<br />
appeal of public transport seemingly<br />
represents a seismic shift compared to<br />
recent years, and suggests drivers are<br />
more wedded to their cars than they<br />
have been for a long time. It also reflects<br />
ongoing safety concerns of using<br />
crowded public transport systems.<br />
Coronavirus aside, the reasons drivers<br />
give for not opting for the bus, train or<br />
tram for some trips is consistent with<br />
previous years. Nearly half (46 per cent)<br />
say fares are too high (2019: 50 per<br />
cent), 43 per cent say services don’t run<br />
when they need them to (2019: 41 per<br />
cent) and 41 per cent say services aren’t<br />
frequent enough (2019: 41 per cent). A<br />
similar proportion (39 per cent)<br />
complain that bus or rail lines don’t run<br />
close enough to where they live.<br />
22<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
Warning of road death rise as regulators consider<br />
plans to weaken vehicle safety regulations<br />
The European Transport Safety Council<br />
(ETSC) has voiced its concern that vital<br />
new EU vehicle safety standards, set to<br />
come into force from 2022, could be set<br />
for a severe blow.<br />
The European Union agreed last year<br />
that all new cars, vans, lorries and buses<br />
should be fitted as standard with a range<br />
of new vehicle safety technologies,<br />
starting in 2022. The measures are<br />
predicted to prevent 25,000 road<br />
deaths within 15 years.<br />
The most important of these<br />
is Intelligent Speed Assistance<br />
(ISA), an overridable system<br />
that helps drivers keep within<br />
the legal speed limit by<br />
providing feedback on the<br />
accelerator when the limit has<br />
been exceeded.<br />
Inappropriate speed is still one<br />
of the biggest killers on EU roads.<br />
Around a third of fatal collisions involve at<br />
least one party driving at an inappropriate<br />
speed, with cyclists and pedestrians being<br />
particularly susceptible.<br />
But at an expert meeting to discuss<br />
updated draft technical specifications for<br />
the ISA system, the European<br />
Commission presented a range of possible<br />
options for ISA, including a weaker,<br />
untested system that would use only a<br />
series of audio beeps when the speed<br />
limit is reached, rather than direct<br />
feedback on the accelerator.<br />
Officials from France, Germany, Italy<br />
and Sweden said they supported<br />
the changed proposals; all four<br />
countries have significant<br />
automotive industries.<br />
Swedish, together with<br />
German officials, signalled<br />
that they would also like to<br />
see an even weaker speed<br />
limit information function as<br />
an option instead of ISA.<br />
TRL, the UK Transport Research<br />
Laboratory, which carried out analysis for<br />
the European Commission’s original<br />
proposals, has estimated that fitting a<br />
speed limit information function instead of<br />
an ISA system would lead to 1,300 extra<br />
deaths a year in the EU.<br />
Antonio Avenoso, executive director of<br />
ETSC said: “Intelligent Speed Assistance<br />
technology, if implemented in the right<br />
way, could be as important for road safety<br />
as the seatbelt, which, as everybody<br />
knows, was invented in Sweden.<br />
“We would like to see every EU<br />
Member State, but especially road safety<br />
leaders such as Sweden, supporting, not<br />
harming, efforts to raise minimum vehicle<br />
safety standards in Europe.”<br />
ETSC says the best available options for<br />
ISA are either ‘haptic feedback’, which<br />
uses increased resistance on the<br />
accelerator pedal, or a ‘speed control<br />
function’ which limits engine power<br />
automatically when the legal speed limit<br />
has been reached.<br />
These systems are already found on<br />
many cars on the market today, including<br />
models from Ford, Volvo and a number of<br />
others.<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
23
Driving in the future<br />
With Level 3 automation ready to roll in new cars in the near future, who is going to step up to<br />
teach ‘experienced’ drivers how to use the new technology at their disposal, asks Rod Came<br />
The future is autonomous –<br />
but who’s going to tell the<br />
driving public what to do?<br />
Technology is great... but it<br />
can create problems. One<br />
problem that technology has<br />
created relates to<br />
autonomous vehicles. You<br />
will be aware that driverless vehicles are<br />
the dream of manufacturers but fully<br />
automated vehicles are still a long way<br />
off. In the meantime, different elements<br />
of automation are being introduced in a<br />
piecemeal fashion.<br />
Not including the vehicles that require<br />
full driver input as now, there are five<br />
other levels leading to the point where<br />
vehicles can drive themselves with no<br />
need for a driver.<br />
Quite a number of new cars have<br />
self-parking, autonomous braking,<br />
adaptive cruise control and lane guidance<br />
systems. Cars can now travel on roads<br />
maintaining a steady speed and a safe<br />
distance from the vehicle in front. If the<br />
road markings are good enough, the lane<br />
guidance systems will alert the driver to<br />
any deviation. If necessary, cars can<br />
brake to a stop in an emergency and<br />
reverse into a parking space at the end of<br />
a journey.<br />
All pretty basic stuff which represents<br />
levels 1 and 2.<br />
The University of Nottingham, in<br />
conjunction with the RAC Foundation,<br />
has carried out a study of the driving<br />
behaviour of 24 drivers using a simulator<br />
which was set up to automated driving<br />
level 3 – that’s higher than vehicles<br />
currently on the road. This level means<br />
that in certain driving scenarios, all<br />
dynamic, non-strategic driving activities<br />
(vehicle control but not route choice) are<br />
automated, but a human is expected to<br />
intervene when requested to by the<br />
system. The people were divided into<br />
two groups, one of which was asked to<br />
read an information manual about how<br />
to use the system, while the second<br />
group had in-depth practical training.<br />
Not surprisingly, the ‘drivers’ put a lot<br />
of faith in the ability of the ‘vehicle’ to<br />
drive itself while they carried out various<br />
activities unrelated to the progress of the<br />
car. They were, of course, aware that it<br />
was a simulator with no risk of crashing,<br />
so whether they would have been so<br />
carefree in a real car on the road is<br />
another matter. But without doubt, when<br />
this technology is available, perhaps as<br />
early as next year, there will be people<br />
who will test it to its limits by doing<br />
stupid things and leaving the car to its<br />
own devices.<br />
Of more relevance to ADIs is that the<br />
RAC Foundation says that the results of<br />
the research show that there is a need to<br />
update the way learners are taught to<br />
drive, so that they understand what<br />
24<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
semi-autonomous cars can and can’t do.<br />
Also, that there is another problem to<br />
consider – how to re-educate 40 million<br />
current drivers into the mysteries of<br />
autonomous driving.<br />
Yes, of course, drivers should be<br />
educated about how to use the<br />
technology available at their finger tips,<br />
but to suggest that ADIs should be the<br />
ones to do it poses significant problems.<br />
Obviously ADIs should do it – after all,<br />
they are the experts in relation to driver<br />
training and related matters. But ...<br />
First, will there be the demand?<br />
Unlikely. For at least the next 10 years<br />
new drivers, in the main, will be driving<br />
vehicles that do not have any of the<br />
advanced technology that is proposed.<br />
Also very few experienced drivers would<br />
lower themselves to seek advice about<br />
how to use the technology available in<br />
their new car. Ask yourself, how many<br />
people have computer lessons?<br />
Second, will the DVSA accept semiautonomous<br />
cars for driving tests?<br />
Probably not until years after it becomes<br />
common place. Look back to the<br />
problems of using cars with hill start<br />
assist and the eventual introduction of<br />
sat navs on test.<br />
Third, for such cars we are looking at<br />
prices north of £25,000. How many<br />
ADIs would purchase/lease a car at that<br />
price when it is only worth about £8,000<br />
after three years and 120,000 miles?<br />
Bearing in mind that the technology<br />
would be nearly out of date by that time,<br />
with the replacement vehicle being even<br />
more expensive.<br />
Fourth, will all vehicles have basically<br />
the same systems? We know that car<br />
manufacturers like to exhibit a degree of<br />
individuality with their products, so it is<br />
likely that although their different<br />
systems provide the same functions, how<br />
they go about it could vary considerably.<br />
As with all conundrums there is an<br />
answer. It is necessary to go a back a bit<br />
in time because what goes round, comes<br />
round. 45 years ago in the town where I<br />
lived there was a franchised car<br />
dealership selling various makes and<br />
models to their customers. That was in<br />
the days when customer service<br />
mattered; not only was it important to<br />
establish a good name for the business,<br />
it was also financially beneficial to the<br />
company.<br />
One of the services they provided was<br />
driving lessons for their customers. Not<br />
all people have the confidence to jump in<br />
their new car and drive away into the<br />
sunset. A considerable number would<br />
very much like some coaching because<br />
their new car is so very different to the<br />
last one they bought ten years ago. And<br />
that situation is only going to get more<br />
likely with the advances in driver<br />
assisting electronics.<br />
Car dealers do have a duty of care<br />
towards their customers and should<br />
explain the function of the various<br />
controls, switches and the ubiquitous<br />
touchscreen display which is installed in<br />
almost every new car. In my experience<br />
they rarely do this, apparently assuming<br />
that because you drove into their<br />
premises, you can drive out again in a<br />
new car. Sales personnel appear not to<br />
have the time to perform this function; it<br />
is therefore a job for someone else.<br />
Perhaps that ‘someone else’ can be a<br />
local ADI with the time and ability to<br />
familiarise themselves with the various<br />
idiosyncrasies of the models the dealer<br />
sells?<br />
There should be a demand for this<br />
service but sadly, there isn’t.<br />
As for re-educating 40 million drivers,<br />
that is not going to happen. The facilities<br />
are not there, the demand is not there<br />
and the number of ADIs required is not<br />
there. As usual, people will muddle<br />
through the best they can, and as with<br />
their computer they will not use most of<br />
the functions. At some point cars will<br />
become fully autonomous and a driver<br />
no longer required.<br />
Problem solved, but at what cost?<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
25
European driving<br />
Covid has shone a light on<br />
Europe’s testing problem<br />
Enrique Lorca, EFA<br />
President, discusses the<br />
difficulties experienced<br />
by driving instructors<br />
in Spain during the<br />
pandemic, a crisis in<br />
L-test availability, and<br />
looks at how technology is<br />
changing mobility.<br />
1) The lockdown measures introduced<br />
to avoid the spread of Covid-19 have<br />
generated economic problems across<br />
Europe. In some countries driving<br />
schools have now re-opened, in others,<br />
they have re-opened and then closed<br />
again, as in the UK. This challenge is<br />
heightened by a shortage of test slots<br />
availability. How is it going in Spain?<br />
How are you managing the training of<br />
your students?<br />
The situation in Spain is very delicate<br />
and worrying. Covid-19 has accentuated<br />
the problem of the lack of examiners,<br />
which was an issue that already existed<br />
before Covid-19. During the first wave of<br />
the pandemic driving schools were<br />
closed from March 13th until Phase 2<br />
(May 25th) when we returned to<br />
something like normal life, but activity<br />
was limited because the body that<br />
administers testing, the DGT, was<br />
working at only 50 per cent of its<br />
capacity for a number of reasons: ill<br />
health reasons, family responsibilities,<br />
holidays. All this has generated a chaotic<br />
situation. Around 300,000 students<br />
have passed the theoretical test<br />
and many of them are having<br />
to wait a long time to be<br />
examined for the practical<br />
test.<br />
The post-Covid-lockdown<br />
period has coincided with<br />
summer, when a lot of students<br />
try to obtain a driving licence, so the<br />
exam system has almost collapsed.<br />
Driving schools are facing the current<br />
situation with great diligence and care<br />
for both student and employee safety.<br />
Social distancing measures (1.5 m), use<br />
of a mask, alcoholic gels and limited<br />
capacity have been implemented in<br />
theory classrooms.<br />
In practical classes and exams,<br />
teachers and students must wear masks<br />
inside the car. The car is cleaned and<br />
disinfected before and after each lesson.<br />
Some driving schools use sterile gloves<br />
for their students even though it is not<br />
mandatory.<br />
The practical exams are carried out<br />
with only one candidate, in addition to<br />
the teacher and examiner, inside the car.<br />
2) In Europe, because of the delays<br />
accumulated from the Covid-19<br />
lockdown and many examiners retiring,<br />
the testing situation is becoming<br />
unsustainable. EFA is proposing a<br />
training model for Europe that takes<br />
these needs into account and wants to<br />
enhance the role of driving schools in<br />
Europe. Less waiting times, faster<br />
driving exams and training aimed at<br />
greater driving awareness, not just<br />
passing an exam. Can you tell us<br />
something about it?<br />
Clearly, the exam system needs an<br />
update. Now we know that when a part<br />
of the system fails, the whole exam<br />
process collapses. Driving schools play a<br />
particularly important role for road safety<br />
in Europe. The training model proposed<br />
by EFA is based on the concept that<br />
skills, awareness and knowledge are<br />
needed to obtain a driving licence. We<br />
passionately believe that the topics of<br />
awareness and skills (in theory and in<br />
practice) must be taught by driving<br />
schools. These topics can be certified<br />
with tools that evaluate the presence and<br />
ability of students, without necessarily<br />
passing an exam. We need thinking<br />
drivers, not people with heads full of rules.<br />
We are sure that with face-to-face<br />
lessons, without fear of an examination,<br />
they can learn more. Knowledge<br />
subjects, on the other hand, will surely<br />
have to be evaluated with an exam.<br />
Thanks to the technology available to<br />
everyone, today we can check the<br />
attendance of students without spending<br />
‘‘<br />
The e-scooter is on the streets, for this reason<br />
a standards regulation is needed. It is easy to<br />
lose control of these vehicles. The need for<br />
protection for their users is real: the use of a<br />
helmet should be considered... and insurance<br />
should be mandatory<br />
‘‘<br />
26<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
a lot of money. This system could also<br />
speed up and simplify the work of<br />
examiners, thus speeding up the current<br />
times waiting for exams.<br />
The Portuguese model in this sense is<br />
already bearing positive results.<br />
3) In Europe, around eighty per cent of<br />
drivers obtained their driving license at<br />
least 20 years ago. Do you think that<br />
there should be a form of periodic<br />
updating of drivers, in the form of<br />
lifelong learning?<br />
Many of the current drivers have no<br />
idea how ADAS works in vehicles. The<br />
Highway Code always changes, and a lot<br />
of rules are forgotten. The skills of the<br />
driver suffer over the years, and<br />
technology changes rapidly, therefore we<br />
can see that today’s drivers need<br />
refresher training and to be taught how<br />
to properly use the technology available<br />
(ADAS) in their cars.<br />
They do not know how to programme<br />
cruise control properly; they fear lane<br />
control systems and autonomous<br />
emergency braking. As well as failing to<br />
understand fuel consumption issues with<br />
the new engines, they don’t understand<br />
‘‘<br />
Many drivers have no idea how<br />
ADAS works... they do not<br />
know how to programme cruise<br />
control, they fear lane control and<br />
autonomous braking...<br />
‘‘<br />
hybrid and electric vehicles, or the<br />
intricacies of recharging systems and<br />
how to drive responsibly in a ‘silent’<br />
vehicle”.<br />
We must not forget the awareness of<br />
drivers: many of them over the years<br />
adopt an unsafe driving style. Before they<br />
have a crash or commit a violation,<br />
training should be given to all drivers<br />
after they have obtained a driving<br />
licence. A lifelong learning process is<br />
needed, and it would improve road<br />
safety.<br />
4) E-scooters are literally invading our<br />
cities. We are all in favour of more<br />
sustainable mobility, but perhaps we<br />
need very precise regulations for these<br />
‘vehicles’. Apart from the lanes reserved<br />
for them, do you think that vehicle<br />
registration, compulsory insurance and<br />
adequate training for their drivers is<br />
necessary?<br />
It is true that cities are redesigning<br />
their mobility systems. City managers<br />
everywhere are trying to reduce or<br />
eliminate private traffic from town<br />
centres.<br />
The e-scooter is a vehicle that<br />
circulates on the streets, for this reason a<br />
standards regulation is needed. It is easy<br />
to lose control of these vehicles. The<br />
need for protection for their users is real:<br />
the use of a helmet should be considered<br />
essential. These vehicles interact with<br />
pedestrians, cyclists and other motor<br />
vehicles (buses, cars, vans, etc) so they<br />
can cause damage. We believe that<br />
insurance should be mandatory, if not for<br />
the vehicle, at least for the rider who can<br />
put all other road users at risk.<br />
It is a new mobility, we need to<br />
regulate it and make it safe, healthy and<br />
sustainable; training should be given to<br />
minimise risks.<br />
Currently there are many accidents<br />
with injuries and even fatalities.<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
27
ADI CPD<br />
A little bit of ‘RAR’<br />
That’s Receive, Apply and Reuse<br />
Steve Garrod looks at how to<br />
ensure effective learning by<br />
structuring your teaching<br />
Imagine you are about to teach a new<br />
topic, such as hill starts. It will normally<br />
mean teaching the subject over at least<br />
two lessons plus additional practice over<br />
a good many lessons to ensure your<br />
learner is confident and competent to<br />
deal with moving off uphill. The exercises<br />
will take in, for example, uphill junctions,<br />
in traffic queues or moving off from the<br />
kerbside (left and right).<br />
Some years ago, having hit a patch of<br />
disappointing test results, I decided to<br />
review the way I was teaching and came<br />
across the basic idea of the Receive,<br />
Apply and Reuse (RAR) model during a<br />
teaching seminar (with Geoff Petty).<br />
Although it was mainly aimed at teachers<br />
who work in classrooms, I could see it<br />
fitted well with driving instruction.<br />
In order to learn well, pupils need to<br />
Receive new content, have time to Apply<br />
the new learning by doing some tasks<br />
(this is the on-road part), and then,<br />
Reuse the learning on a number of<br />
occasions, which is spread out over a<br />
number of sessions to consolidate the<br />
new learning in long-term memory. With<br />
driving, the more a pupil reuses a new<br />
skill, the more they are able to take<br />
responsibility for their learning.<br />
Having discovered this, I felt I had<br />
become too complacent, especially as<br />
before the disappointing run I felt I could<br />
pick anyone off the street and take them<br />
for test as I was having a purple patch of<br />
learner and ADI Part 3 passes.<br />
Revisiting previously taught subjects<br />
throughout the duration of driving<br />
lessons allows pupils to encounter the<br />
similar tasks in a range of contexts. If<br />
you analyse the reason for test failures,<br />
you will often notice that serious faults<br />
occur while carrying out tasks that were<br />
covered in the first few lessons; for<br />
example, moving off and pulling up<br />
safely by the road side and emerging at<br />
junctions.<br />
This is why it is important to allow<br />
28<br />
pupils to practise newly learnt skills in a<br />
variety of contexts.<br />
Learning<br />
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking<br />
that once a learner has carried out<br />
something independently it means that<br />
they have learnt how to do it. Many<br />
instructors I have spoken to say of<br />
unsuccessful pupils, ‘They knew how to<br />
do it but they messed it up on test’.<br />
The truth is, especially with manoeuvres,<br />
that the pupil knew how to do it after<br />
two attempts but not before the first,<br />
which is what is expected on a driving<br />
test. The same can be said for many<br />
topics, such as moving off and stopping<br />
on busy roads or while emerging from an<br />
uphill junction.<br />
Just before the first lockdown I took a<br />
young lad for test who, when asked to<br />
‘pull up on the left in a convenient place’,<br />
decided it was a good idea to stop just<br />
inches away from a food recycling bin<br />
that had been blown into the road on<br />
what was a very windy day. Admittedly, I<br />
hadn’t had a chance to practise that with<br />
him or never felt the need, but now,<br />
whenever I see recycling bins out, I carry<br />
out a few additional stops. What made it<br />
worse was that the examiner taking the<br />
test was someone I had taught to<br />
become an ADI about 20 years ago!<br />
This is why it is important to conduct<br />
frequent assessments (not just mock<br />
‘‘<br />
“Whatever the order, it is hard<br />
to imagine a topic being taught<br />
well without pupils going<br />
though each of these phases.<br />
What I learnt was that good<br />
teaching looks like a threelegged<br />
stool. If one leg is<br />
missing, the stool falls over!<br />
‘‘<br />
RECEIVE<br />
tests) during the course of lessons. It<br />
allows you and your pupil to see what<br />
has been learnt and what still needs<br />
work.<br />
There is no sense in thinking it is<br />
possible to teach new skills in just a<br />
single lesson (even if it is a double<br />
lesson), because learning a new skill<br />
takes time and requires a lot of<br />
repetition, over many lessons.<br />
This is where many ADIs fall down<br />
when planning for a Standards Check, or<br />
PDIs for their Part 3 test of instructional<br />
ability. If you think of the planning of a<br />
lesson that focuses on skills as topics,<br />
rather than subjects, you will be able to<br />
plan for more time to be allowed for<br />
specific skills to be repeated to ensure<br />
that newly developed skills are used<br />
often enough to get well established in<br />
the long-term memory (as opposed to<br />
the short term-memory). For example,<br />
driving to a different test area to practise<br />
dealing with different types of junctions<br />
so that pupils can apply what they have<br />
learnt in unfamiliar areas.<br />
It is worthwhile considering conducting<br />
mock tests in another test area to really<br />
assess your pupil’s ability to read and<br />
deal safely with the different road and<br />
traffic conditions. Driving to what you<br />
can see and not what you know<br />
encourages forward planning.<br />
The receiving phase can start with your<br />
pupil completing a bit of homework in<br />
APPLY<br />
REUSE<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
‘Stop near a roundabout and<br />
watch the other road users’<br />
the form of working on a specific part of<br />
their theory test which will link to the<br />
next lesson, or if they have passed their<br />
theory, a bit of reading between lessons.<br />
The main part of the receiving phase will<br />
come from the instructor even if is it by<br />
use of questions and answers to refresh<br />
the learner’s memory on what they have<br />
read or previously practised.<br />
In reality, pupils go through each of the<br />
three phases (receive, apply and reuse)<br />
many times during a lesson, which<br />
means that it is not realistic to expect<br />
someone to remember everything that<br />
was explained to them at the start of the<br />
lesson. For example, they may receive a<br />
bit of information, have some time to<br />
apply it, then a bit more receive and<br />
more time to apply before being able to<br />
reuse and so on. It is often more<br />
productive to stop near a roundabout to<br />
allow your pupil to watch other traffic<br />
negotiating it than to sit looking at an<br />
iPad film of the same scene in a quiet<br />
road. This way they receive the<br />
information in a more practical way. As<br />
pupils progress, the main part of the<br />
lesson will focus on reusing previously<br />
learned skills with feedback from the<br />
instructor.<br />
Whatever the order, it is hard to<br />
imagine a topic being taught well without<br />
pupils going though each of these<br />
phases. What I learnt was that good<br />
teaching looks like a three-legged stool. If<br />
one leg is missing, the stool falls over!<br />
www.msagb.com
Comment<br />
If schools are thinking<br />
of scrapping exams....<br />
can we scrap L-tests?<br />
One MSA GB member has<br />
come up with an interesting<br />
idea for the future of testing<br />
learner drivers...<br />
“Parents have called for statesanctioned<br />
testing to be scrapped, in<br />
favour of instructor assessment, research<br />
by charity Parentkind has revealed.<br />
“The news will put greater powers and<br />
responsibilities in the hands of<br />
instructors and allow them to have the<br />
final say on the standard their pupils<br />
have reached...”<br />
Sorry, stop dreaming ADIs; there is a bad<br />
typo in the opening paragraph. It read<br />
‘instructors’; it should have said<br />
‘teachers’, of course.<br />
Because we’re not talking about driving<br />
lessons here, rather schools, GCSEs and<br />
a response to the Covid-19 pandemic.<br />
The rest of the opening paragraphs is<br />
correct, however, and is a direct quote. A<br />
poll of 1,500 parents of teenagers by<br />
pressure group and charity Parentkind<br />
found that indeed, more than half<br />
thought it was time to scrap formal<br />
testing and exams for their children, and<br />
replace the GCSEs and A levels with<br />
teacher assessments.<br />
Indeed, they were even pressing for<br />
teachers to be given the final word<br />
without oversight from on high:<br />
unmoderated teacher assessment was<br />
the most popular option among parents<br />
for deciding how GCSE and A-level<br />
grades should be awarded next year; it<br />
was the favoured option of 23 per cent.<br />
The second most popular option,<br />
backed by 18 per cent of parents, was<br />
‘teacher assessment with external<br />
moderation.<br />
And it isn’t just parents that think like this:<br />
the boss of Ofqual, the regulatory body that<br />
oversees exams and qualifications in<br />
England and Wales, thinks the same, saying<br />
that for 2021, assessment of pupils’ abilities<br />
by their teachers should replace traditional<br />
tests and exams, to reduce costs, steamline<br />
the system and ‘bring joy back to the<br />
classroom’.<br />
The comments were based on research<br />
published in the Journal of Child<br />
Psychology and Psychiatry, which found<br />
that teacher assessments accurately<br />
reflected the ability of their pupils’<br />
performance in later exams in English,<br />
maths and science, including A-levels<br />
and university admission.<br />
The authors said the results “raise<br />
questions about the value of the testing<br />
culture that characterises compulsory<br />
education in the UK”.<br />
“The financial, pedagogical and<br />
emotional costs of high-stakes testing are<br />
substantial, especially compared to its<br />
modest benefits,” the lead authors of the<br />
research said. “For these reasons, we<br />
view our results as support for the<br />
standardisation and wider use of teacher<br />
assessments and the reduction of<br />
testing during compulsory education.<br />
“We should trust teachers to<br />
implement the curriculum and to monitor<br />
students’ progress, abilities and<br />
inclinations. This would arguably benefit<br />
the wellbeing of students as well as<br />
teachers, and help to bring joy back to<br />
the classroom,” the paper concludes.<br />
Kaili Rimfield, of the Institute of<br />
Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience<br />
at King’s College London, said the results<br />
were another piece of evidence against<br />
the use of multiple, high pressure exams<br />
and tests. “We are not anti-test but when<br />
we compared these things we found a<br />
very high agreement between teacher<br />
assessments and exam grades, and that<br />
opens up the possibility that exams could<br />
be used less often and teacher<br />
assessment could be used more often,”<br />
Rimfield said.<br />
Wow. The end of exams? Could be.<br />
So let’s look at this from the ADI’s<br />
point of view. What we have here is a<br />
body of evidence from three sources<br />
– academic research, the head of exams<br />
and those who have to sweep up the<br />
30<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
mess after exams go wrong (parents)<br />
– who are all happy to ditch exams as<br />
teacher assessment works better.<br />
Now we all know why this research<br />
has been conducted: Covid-19, and its<br />
likely impact on GCSE/A level results in<br />
2021. Few pupils in the state sector are<br />
going to approach these exams with<br />
enthusiasm, knowing they have lost as<br />
much as a third of their tuition time and<br />
will have barely covered the syllabus by<br />
the time June ’21 rolls round. Because of<br />
the extreme situation in which we’re<br />
living, really out-of-the-box thinking is<br />
going on within the education sector as<br />
everyone looks to avoid a repeat of this<br />
summer’s exam farce.<br />
But once this leftfield thinking gets out<br />
of the box, it’s hard to push it back in.<br />
Rather like the switch from being office<br />
based to working from home, the mood<br />
music is that changes that take place<br />
because of the pandemic will survive<br />
long after we’ve said goodbye to<br />
Covid-19 (if we ever do, of course).<br />
So if we are confronting a new dawn of<br />
no exams and a reliance on teacher<br />
assessments, why can’t that philosophy<br />
be extended from the school classroom<br />
to the driving school car, and to ADIs and<br />
pupils? Why couldn’t an ADI sign off a<br />
pupil’s driving licence, as they are<br />
‘‘<br />
A host of industries set their own<br />
standards and issue qualifications<br />
without the Government feeling<br />
it has to get involved...<br />
suggesting a maths teacher will be able<br />
to sign off a GCSE next summer?<br />
Think of the advantages. First, no<br />
waiting lists. ADIs would simply apply<br />
the standards as set out by the DVSA<br />
and record progress accordingly. SEs<br />
could have greater oversight by ‘dropping<br />
in’ on lessons from time to time,<br />
checking that the ability as certified by<br />
the ADI at that moment was correct. In<br />
other words, keeping a close eye on the<br />
ADI’s ability to correctly assess their<br />
pupils’ ability.<br />
Before a ‘check lesson’ the SE could be<br />
presented with the pupil’s progress chart,<br />
and the SE would then assess whether<br />
the ADI was accurate in his or her view<br />
on the pupil’s standard at that point.<br />
By continually checking up on ADIs a<br />
few times a year the DVSA would<br />
generate a database on each ADI and<br />
know those who are able to accurately<br />
assess pupils at different stages of their<br />
leaning to drive journeys. No need for<br />
L-tests; just continually assess, and once<br />
the agreed standard has been reached, a<br />
driving licence is handed out by the ADI.<br />
Not only no more waiting lists, but no<br />
more DTCs, either. Think of the cash that<br />
would save the DVSA! Instead, total trust<br />
is placed in the hands of the ADI. Would<br />
you allow this pupil to drive<br />
unaccompanied on the roads? Yes? In<br />
that case, we believe you. You are the<br />
professional; your judgement is<br />
paramount.<br />
Far fetched? Yes, undoubtedly. Likely<br />
to happen? No, not a chance, sadly.<br />
When you consider that the DVSA wakes<br />
up screaming at the thought of an ADI<br />
being given the authority to say a pupil<br />
had reached a proficient standard at<br />
doing something like turning a car<br />
around in the road and recording it in a<br />
logbook, it’s pretty unlikely that it will<br />
leap from the current system to a<br />
no-holds barred one of ADI assessment.<br />
But if the UK as a whole starts to<br />
tiptoe down a path of greater reliance on<br />
teachers’ views in schools, why can<br />
some of this new thinking not be applied<br />
to learning to drive?<br />
It’s not even as if a system of internal<br />
assessment such as the one outlined<br />
here is not used elsewhere. A host of<br />
industries set their own standards and<br />
then send candidates off clutching official<br />
certificates without the Government<br />
feeling it has to get involved, from<br />
football coaches and swimming<br />
instructors through to industrial expertise<br />
as displayed by gas engineers.<br />
Why couldn’t ADIs join this illustrious<br />
band in some capacity?<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
31
Comment / Regional News<br />
Life advice that’s applicable<br />
to ADIs can come from<br />
anywhere – even US retail,<br />
cookery and lifestyle guru<br />
Martha Stewart<br />
Rod Came<br />
MSA South East<br />
Martha Stewart is an American of some<br />
repute and I have found a quotation that<br />
is linked to her. It is quite possible that<br />
the same thought has crossed many<br />
people’s minds over the years, but she is<br />
the one who has put it into words. ‘If you<br />
learn something new every day, you can<br />
teach something new every day.’<br />
How about that for the<br />
blindingly obvious.<br />
I exclusively taught in a manual<br />
car until the mid-90s, then I<br />
bought an automatic and taught in<br />
both for about the next ten years.<br />
Soon after I supposedly retired<br />
from teaching and concentrated on<br />
minibuses. Having retained my ADI<br />
qualification (a requirement to be a<br />
member of MSA GB and to be able to<br />
benefit from the professional indemnity<br />
and public liability insurance available to<br />
members, which my clients require) I am<br />
still able to teach in a car. With three<br />
grandaughters coming up to 17, I am<br />
back where I started.<br />
Taking the first one out on the road, she<br />
had previously been practising in some<br />
fields we own. Everything has been going<br />
as expected, with steady progress being<br />
maintained until recently, when she now<br />
has displayed a marked reluctance to<br />
change gear on the approach to hazards.<br />
Everything else is OK, mirror checks,<br />
signal (if necessary) similarly with<br />
braking, but gear changing has gone out<br />
the window. Why?<br />
‘‘<br />
If you learn something new every<br />
day, you can teach something<br />
new every day<br />
(Martha Stewart, right).<br />
How about that for the<br />
blindingly obvious!<br />
‘‘<br />
I’m gearing up to learn<br />
something new ... pass it on<br />
Her mum came out on the last lesson<br />
and still this problem persisted. Then the<br />
light dawned.<br />
You, dear reader are probably familiar<br />
with this, but I have been out of the game<br />
for 15 years and things have changed. I<br />
blame technology which has led to progress.<br />
It is a matter of fact that new drivers,<br />
usually before they start lessons and<br />
certainly after, watch people driving them<br />
around like a hawk and tend to take on<br />
board what those drivers are doing. This<br />
is a good thing provided the driver is<br />
behaving properly – and driving a similar<br />
car.<br />
In 20/30 years time almost all cars on<br />
the road will be automatic. Currently,<br />
electric cars are auto and so are many<br />
more regular cars these days. People like<br />
them because they are so much easier to<br />
drive. Stop and go pedals, what more do<br />
you want? Surely only dinosaurs want to<br />
push a clutch pedal down and up and stir<br />
a gear stick around. So last century<br />
technology.<br />
During a break in the lesson Mum<br />
pointed out that she drives an auto, so<br />
does dad and so does nan, and they are<br />
the people who chauffeur her around<br />
each and every day. And she watches<br />
what they do!<br />
Or in this case don’t do, namely they<br />
don’t change gear, so nor does she.<br />
I learned something today and so will<br />
grandaughter on her next lesson.<br />
The problem will be solved using this<br />
extra grain of knowledge – and we will<br />
both be the wiser for it.<br />
32<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
Life must go on – and can do if you keep up<br />
with the Statutory Regulations<br />
Russell Jones<br />
MSA East Midlands<br />
When, in early November, the<br />
Government announced adherence to<br />
Covid-19 Law would become ‘de rigueur’<br />
for 28 days, for me it was a case of ‘Oh<br />
dear...’ but not entirely unexpected.<br />
It was tiresome to have to replan my<br />
activities but, as I volunteered for my day<br />
job, I just had to get to grips with it, no<br />
time to whinge. The phone calls to<br />
learners and their parents to advise them<br />
of the restrictions were quickly completed.<br />
The media was full of reports about<br />
how another lockdown would have<br />
serious implications on the mental health<br />
of millions of people, however I felt that<br />
it would not affect me personally. Big<br />
mistake! Within days, ADIs seemed to be<br />
in the forefront of complaining through<br />
the media, blighting my breakfast and<br />
almost provoking a rage whereby I<br />
wanted to tear my newspaper to shreds.<br />
Such bleating by mature (?)<br />
professionals was embarrassing and<br />
downright pathetic. It was obvious they<br />
had not studied the Regulations, yet<br />
numerous sensible ADIs had read it from<br />
the first printed word to the last, to get a<br />
thorough understanding of the implications.<br />
I felt the miscreants were showing the<br />
ADI profession in a very poor light.<br />
Let’s look at what was published.<br />
Statutory Instrument 1200 was<br />
published on Thursday, November 5.<br />
Careful reading of the 30 pages<br />
document took some time, but it clearly<br />
stated that travel for ‘work’, ‘education<br />
and training’ would be permitted, via -<br />
Exemption 2. What more did anyone<br />
need to know? The Government had also<br />
issued ‘Guidance’ for the whole<br />
population, and for some of us, that was<br />
as clear as it could be. Even the Prime<br />
Minister said, “Go to work if possible’’.<br />
As far as I am aware, ADIs ‘go to work’<br />
to ‘educate and train’ people to operate<br />
mechanically propelled motor cars to a<br />
safe standard. Is that not the case?<br />
That brings me back to my spilt<br />
cornflakes. With the S1 1200 and<br />
Government guidance clear, why were<br />
some ADIs bleating about, ‘not getting<br />
clear guidance from the DVSA?’ Why<br />
would ADIs want to have the DVSA hold<br />
their hands, especially if ADIs are going<br />
about their lawful work? Even NASP<br />
seemed to roll over before the DVSA<br />
while having its tummy tickled, when a<br />
simple email to the agency saying, “We<br />
are perfectly ok, thank you, we, and all<br />
ADIs, already have the national guidance<br />
from HM Government and require no<br />
intervention from The Axis Building. See<br />
you in <strong>December</strong>’’.<br />
The majority of my learners were<br />
co-operative and agreed to suspend<br />
driving lessons, but one of them is an<br />
‘Elite Sportsperson’ who is permitted –<br />
‘‘‘‘<br />
The Statutory Instrument clearly<br />
stated that travel for ‘work,<br />
education and training’ would be<br />
permitted<br />
via Exemption 3 – to continue their<br />
training in their sport, so travel from their<br />
home is ‘essential’. A problem for them<br />
is that in the first week of 2021 they are<br />
due to travel to an education and training<br />
establishment several thousand miles<br />
away, and they will only be able to return<br />
home once a year, at Christmas time, for<br />
the next four years. Their driving test is<br />
booked and with a very small slice of<br />
luck they will pass it. It was my view,<br />
and that of the parents, plus their<br />
professional sports trainer, that it was<br />
‘essential’ for their driver ‘education and<br />
training’ to continue through lockdown.<br />
The suspension of the driving lessons<br />
could have had a very serious impact on<br />
their confidence and mental health.<br />
Subsequently their driving lessons<br />
continued, and I kept a copy of the SI<br />
1200 in my car, should we be<br />
challenged by any official, allowing us to<br />
refer them to the legal exemptions.<br />
It is, fingers crossed, all done in the<br />
hope of having a good day when the<br />
driving test takes place. I confess that I<br />
might be a little nervous myself that day.<br />
Meanwhile, with the relevant Covid-19<br />
PPE and cleaning protocols in place, we<br />
are working towards having an early<br />
Christmas present. ‘Life must go on’, as<br />
someone said a long time ago.<br />
Parking wars<br />
Shopkeepers in a market town not too<br />
far away are waging a war of words<br />
against parking enforcement officials<br />
who, they claim, are being overzealous<br />
with the issuing of penalty charge tickets<br />
for parking offences. On one occasion I<br />
witnessed a slight skirmish between an<br />
errant motorist and an enforcement<br />
official, who was being advised to get a<br />
proper job. I wondered what ‘driver<br />
education’ the motorist had been taught<br />
when they had been learning to drive.<br />
Parking reward<br />
Very recently, the parent of one of my<br />
learners had parked their car in a<br />
supermarket car park in the same town,<br />
and some days later was surprised to<br />
receive a parking charge notice from a<br />
private company responsible for the<br />
management of parking arrangements at<br />
the premises. I was asked for my<br />
thoughts on the matter. Having studied<br />
it, I advised them that the £70 penalty<br />
was excessive for overstaying a mere<br />
seven minutes, and that a visit to the<br />
supermarket customer relations manager<br />
might give them a fruitful result.<br />
And that’s what happened, so another<br />
happy parent, who rewarded me with<br />
two bottles of wine. Gosh, some people<br />
are so kind, especially when you give<br />
them a little knowledge free of charge.<br />
As I often say, there is more to driver<br />
education and training than three-point<br />
turns and simple driving tests.<br />
Next month I’ll bring you news on the<br />
East Midlands Region’s AGM, where<br />
numerous changes happened.<br />
Meanwhile, after enduring a ‘year from<br />
hell’, the Committee wishes everybody a<br />
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and a<br />
prosperous 2021.<br />
QUIZ QUESTION<br />
What happened on July 22nd which<br />
later allowed me to spend £16 in a<br />
fast-food dining establishment? First<br />
correct answer to me before <strong>December</strong><br />
20 will receive a bottle of wine or<br />
voucher for one!<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article, or provide<br />
updates from your area, contact<br />
Russell at rjadi@hotmail.com<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
33
Regional News<br />
No change to committee but all<br />
change as far as the Covid-19 rules<br />
John Lomas<br />
Editor, MSA North West<br />
The North West region held its AGM and<br />
Zoom meeting on November 16. We<br />
were grateful for the attendance of Peter<br />
Harvey MBE, MSA GB National<br />
Chairman, and Geoff Little, the Deputy<br />
Chairman.<br />
Attending were the regional committee<br />
(with one apology) and numerous<br />
members from the region including a<br />
name from the past which you may<br />
recall, John Lepine MBE.<br />
There were more requests for access<br />
codes received and answered, but<br />
perhaps something cropped up on the<br />
night which prevented others attending.<br />
We were brought up to date, as far as<br />
possible, on the current situation in the<br />
various lockdowns and other regional<br />
status differences, and DVSA’s likely<br />
responses in the coming months.<br />
One thing that did come up is that if<br />
the waiting rooms are opened up as<br />
shelter for instructors while the pupil is<br />
on test, then this could result in fewer<br />
tests because currently, some examiners<br />
are using the waiting rooms as overspill<br />
office space in order to maintain safe<br />
distancing between employees.<br />
Perhaps overcoats/mackintoshes,<br />
gloves and umbrellas would be better<br />
than over-extended waiting lists?<br />
The AGM resulted in no change in<br />
respect of the Officers and Committee<br />
members for the next year.<br />
The pandemic<br />
The briefing on the latest status on the<br />
pandemic got me thinking about my own<br />
personal take on the situation.<br />
Back in February I was thinking that<br />
we were in for at least 18 months of<br />
disruption. I also thought that we would<br />
be looking at 50,000 fatalities by the<br />
end of August (it appears I was about<br />
two months out with that).<br />
The reason for such thinking was<br />
reading about the progression of the<br />
1918-20 Spanish (actually American) flu<br />
epidemic and watching the BBC<br />
documentary about the same event.<br />
I would recommend both these<br />
programmes to you, particularly the<br />
Covid sceptics among us – but with the<br />
usual caveat of a warning to those of a<br />
nervous disposition.<br />
They can both be picked up from the<br />
BBC’s iPlayer service (see buttons below)<br />
The following are quotes from George<br />
Santayana, Confucius and Aldous Huxley,<br />
all of which got me thinking too:<br />
“Those who do not remember the past<br />
are condemned to repeat it.”<br />
“Study the past if you would define<br />
the future.”<br />
“That men do not learn very much<br />
from the lessons of history is the most<br />
important of all the lessons of history.”<br />
Christmas Greetings<br />
The MSA GB North West committee<br />
wish you a Merry Christmas and Happier<br />
New Year.<br />
We know it has been a difficult time<br />
for everybody and while in the last few<br />
days there has been some encouraging<br />
news in respect of vaccinations, there is<br />
still some distance to go yet. But I’m sure<br />
we will get there...<br />
Surviving<br />
the virus<br />
Flu that<br />
killed 50<br />
million<br />
Eye, eye: Cyclops takes Brake’s new safety award<br />
Transport for Greater Manchester and<br />
Manchester City Council have been<br />
named winners of a new award presented<br />
by Brake, in collaboration with Road<br />
Safety GB.<br />
Brake’s inaugural Vision Zero Leaders<br />
Awards recognise achievement in three<br />
categories – Local Roads Innovation,<br />
Community Campaign Achievement, and<br />
Youth Leadership – and says the awards<br />
‘celebrate the hidden champions leading<br />
the way to safe and healthy roads and<br />
zero road deaths and serious injuries’.<br />
Transport for Greater Manchester<br />
(TfGM) and Manchester City Council won<br />
the Local Roads Innovation Award for a<br />
CYCLOPS (cycle optimised protected<br />
signals) junction in Hulme. This category<br />
was presented in partnership with Road<br />
Safety GB who helped judge the entries<br />
and select the winner.<br />
The innovative junction forms part of<br />
Greater Manchester’s Bee Network and<br />
places the cycle route on the outside of<br />
the pedestrian crossings, fully segregating<br />
cyclists and improving safety for all users.<br />
TfGM engineers Richard Butler and<br />
Jonathan Salter, who designed the<br />
junction, said: “Safety is paramount to<br />
every design we develop, so to be<br />
recognised by a road safety charity for the<br />
part the CYCLOPS plays in keeping people<br />
safe while enabling them to travel more<br />
actively, truly is the pinnacle for us.”<br />
The Community Campaign<br />
Achievement Award went to Amanda<br />
Russell who started campaigning for<br />
20mph speed limits in Faversham in<br />
2015. Her 20’s Plenty campaign group<br />
held public community events to explain<br />
the benefits of 20mph and gradually built<br />
support, finally achieving a town-wide<br />
20mph trial scheme, the first in Kent.<br />
Three students from Murray Park<br />
Community School, in Mickleover near<br />
Derby, won the Youth Leadership Award<br />
for their ‘outstanding work’ in raising<br />
road safety awareness in their school and<br />
local community.<br />
Arjun Binning, Archie Couchman and<br />
George Ogan delivered presentations to<br />
fellow students at Murray Park and to<br />
250 students at the local junior school, St<br />
Peters CE.<br />
34<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
Join us, Minister Vere, in<br />
learning something new<br />
Rod Came<br />
MSA South East<br />
Whatever we do, anywhere, at any<br />
time, there is always a driver involved.<br />
An indisputable truth. Think it over, try<br />
and catch me out. If you can’t you will<br />
come to the inescapable conclusion that<br />
drivers are indispensable. Even people<br />
who profess to walk everywhere are<br />
dependent on drivers, not necessarily<br />
directly, but how do they think their<br />
stout walking boots, clothes, food, get<br />
to where they purchase them from?<br />
So let us agree that drivers are the<br />
lifeblood of this country of ours. Roads<br />
Minister Baroness Vere, when<br />
dismissing Graduated Driving Licences<br />
for new drivers, used as part of her<br />
reasoning that the introduction of GDL<br />
would have a potential restrictive<br />
impact on young peoples’ employment<br />
prospects.<br />
As of early November 2020 youth<br />
unemployment stood at 14.6 per cent.<br />
That’s an atrociously high figure, not as<br />
bad as Spain at 31.13 per cent, but still<br />
unacceptably high.<br />
Working on from Baroness Vere’s<br />
reasoning against GDL, as a Roads<br />
Minister who wants to give young<br />
people the best opportunities to gain<br />
employment, she should have a word<br />
with the hierarchy of DVSA, who appear<br />
to be doing the least possible to assist<br />
those same people to obtain a driving<br />
licence, a qualification which is not only<br />
desirable to them as individuals but is<br />
also important to the prosperity of this<br />
country.<br />
In many cases people need a car<br />
driving licence to travel to work. A<br />
category B licence is usually the first<br />
step to working up the driving licence<br />
‘‘<br />
“The Baroness should have<br />
a word with the DVSA, who<br />
appear to be doing the least<br />
possible to assist those same<br />
people to obtain a driving<br />
licence...”<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
‘‘<br />
Baroness Vere with managers<br />
of the Chiltern Cycle Fleet<br />
e-Bike scheme, Mike Shaw<br />
and Andrew Jackson<br />
ladder. The public now rely on many<br />
items they buy, from food to other<br />
necessities, being delivered by van.<br />
Vans are getting heavier and many<br />
require a category C1 licence. Large<br />
trucks deliver commodities to central<br />
warehouses; those drivers need heavy<br />
goods licences, they are the plasma in<br />
the blood that keeps this country alive.<br />
Buses (where available) transport people<br />
to work, appointments and leisure<br />
activities; their drivers too need licences.<br />
The first lockdown meant that DVSA<br />
has failed to deliver something like<br />
800,000 category B driving tests.<br />
Statistically they would have resulted in<br />
about 370,000 passes, thereby<br />
restricting the employment prospects of<br />
many of those people. In addition, we<br />
are reducing the number of drivers.<br />
Some of these will, in the future, now<br />
be delayed in achieving their<br />
qualification to drive larger vans,<br />
coaches, buses and heavy goods<br />
vehicles, all to the detriment of the new,<br />
emerging, independent UK.<br />
So I have message for the Minister:<br />
“Baroness Vere, please push to get the<br />
driver testing system to be more efficient<br />
and fit for the purpose for which it has<br />
responsibility. This country, new drivers<br />
and ADIs, deserve nothing less.”<br />
Dyfed-Powys<br />
leads charge<br />
of dash cam<br />
evidence<br />
Motorists and other road users have<br />
sent 52,174 dash cam recordings of<br />
potential traffic offences to UK police<br />
forces since 2017, with more than a<br />
third resulting in a court summons,<br />
Fixed Penalty Notice, driver awareness<br />
course or warning.<br />
A Freedom of Information request<br />
sent to every UK police force by What<br />
Car? found police forces across the UK<br />
receive more than 35 pieces of<br />
dash-cam footage every day.<br />
Just over 10 per cent of the<br />
incidents captured on film were severe<br />
enough to warrant a court prosecution<br />
and 9.6 per cent resulted in a Fixed<br />
Penalty Notice (FPN). A further 10.5<br />
per cent resulted in the driver being<br />
asked to attend a driver awareness<br />
course.<br />
Thirty-five of the UK’s 42 police<br />
forces have a system in place to<br />
process and fine drivers and<br />
motorcyclists based on dash-cam<br />
evidence from other road users.<br />
The use of dash cams by drivers and<br />
other road users has shot up by<br />
around 850 per cent since 2017.<br />
Dyfed-Powys Police in South Wales<br />
is the most active in using dash cam<br />
footage. It has taken action over 81.3<br />
per cent of the videos it received, with<br />
40.2 per cent of offenders receiving a<br />
warning, 18.6 per cent being<br />
prosecuted in court and 18.4 per cent<br />
asked to attend a driver awareness<br />
course. Just 4.0 per cent were handed<br />
an FPN.<br />
London’s Metropolitan Police received<br />
the largest volume of submissions<br />
– nearly 25,000 videos over four years<br />
– and acted in 45.4 per cent of cases,<br />
issuing court proceedings to 18.9 per<br />
cent of offenders.<br />
35
Regional News<br />
Scotland’s Phase 4 restrictions throw<br />
another spanner in works for ADIs<br />
Karen MacLeod<br />
MSA GB Scotland<br />
I was saddened to hear that the Scottish<br />
Government has put certain areas in<br />
Scotland into its Phase 4 of Covid-19<br />
restrictions. Unfortunately, I am in one of<br />
those areas. I am sure many of you are<br />
in the same boat and we can only pray<br />
that this will lead the figures to decrease<br />
and allow everyone to have a good<br />
Christmas.<br />
I was also saddened to read in<br />
November’s <strong>Newslink</strong> that graduated<br />
driving licences have been ditched. I<br />
personally thought it was a brilliant idea.<br />
That wasn’t the only article in<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong> that caught my eye; I thought<br />
it was an issue packed with some<br />
brilliant articles. One I was interested in<br />
was from Guy Annan from MSA Western,<br />
on the new-style ‘Parallel Crossings’. I<br />
haven’t come across one of those yet but<br />
will be looking out for them.<br />
I’ve often been tempted to ask ‘when is<br />
a crossing not a crossing’ over some I<br />
have come across in the past. My local<br />
secondary school has the crossing you<br />
can see pictured above right. As you can<br />
see it looks like a Zebra crossing, but has<br />
no flashing amber lights, no Give Way<br />
lines and no zigzag lines. I do see drivers<br />
not stopping for the school children. So<br />
is it a pedestrian crossing?<br />
Or what about the one below it? Is that<br />
a pedestrian crossing?<br />
Well, there is a traffic warning sign...<br />
but what about the other ‘street furniture<br />
you’d expect to see?’<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article, or provide<br />
updates from your area, contact Karen<br />
at karenreiver63@btinternet.com<br />
What’s your view? Are these ‘official’<br />
crossings – despite the absence of the<br />
usual street furniture we expect to see<br />
around pedestrian crossings – or are<br />
they illegal and potentially dangerous?<br />
Plateauing drink-drive figures show need for more action<br />
Road safety groups have called for more<br />
Government action as it was revealed<br />
that drink-drive related deaths have<br />
stopping falling and have plateaued in<br />
recent years. An estimated 8,680<br />
people were killed or injured when at<br />
least one driver was over the drink-drive<br />
limit in 2018, an increase of one per<br />
cent from 8,600 in 2017. That means<br />
on average, more than 23 people a day<br />
were killed or injured as a result of<br />
drinking and driving.<br />
Most worryingly, the total number of<br />
crashes where at least one driver was<br />
over the alcohol limit rose by three per<br />
cent to 5,890 in 2018, an average of<br />
around 16 crashes a day.<br />
IAM RoadSmart is one of a number of<br />
groups suggesting that England and<br />
Wales should reduce the drink-drive<br />
limit to 50mg, to match Scotland, and<br />
make wider use of drink-drive<br />
rehabilitation courses, longer running<br />
high-profile education and enforcement<br />
campaigns. The group also suggests the<br />
police should seize the vehicles of<br />
repeat offenders.<br />
36<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
New procedures, information on Standards<br />
Check grading and a new committee at AGM<br />
MSA Scotland held its annual training<br />
seminar on 8th November by Zoom –<br />
you know why! All the Scottish<br />
Committee were present with the<br />
exception of our secretary, Brian<br />
Thomson, who unfortunately had been<br />
struck down fairly severely with<br />
Covid-19.<br />
I am pleased to say that after being<br />
admitted to hospital, he is now heading<br />
in the right direction, albeit with a<br />
massive mountain to climb. I’m sure all<br />
members will join the committee in<br />
wishing him every success in climbing<br />
that mountain – and we’re really looking<br />
forward to welcoming Brian back to<br />
committee meetings.<br />
Back to the training seminar: We had<br />
around 35 members in attendance for<br />
the virtual meeting, in addition to Mike<br />
Warner, the DVSA’s senior external affairs<br />
manager, and John Sheridan, DVSA<br />
driver training policy manager. Both<br />
delivered excellent presentations. Mike<br />
discussed the new additions to the<br />
Standard Operating Procedures for a<br />
third party in the back of training<br />
vehicles to be using British Sign<br />
Language, and to review the current<br />
ventilation system in learner cars for<br />
examiners. All this information is<br />
available on the NASP<br />
website.<br />
John discussed the current<br />
state of play on the register.<br />
There were 38,690 ADIs on<br />
the DVSA register as of June,<br />
and around a third of these<br />
– 10,300 – had been classified<br />
as Grade A instructors. 24,000 were<br />
classed as Grade B on their Standards<br />
Check, while 1,300 had failed.<br />
Surprisingly, there are still some<br />
Instructors who hold the previous grades<br />
of 4/5 and 6.<br />
We also discussed the ADI Part 2 test<br />
(driving assessment) which only has a<br />
60.6 per cent pass rate as of June 2020<br />
- though that wa slightly higher than<br />
2018/19, when it was 58 per cent.<br />
The ADI Part 3 pass rate was 35.1 per<br />
cent as of June 2020, slightly down from<br />
2018/19’s 37 per cent.<br />
We also discussed the opening up of<br />
waiting rooms, as well as ‘blue light<br />
driver training and also tougher laws for<br />
mobile phone use.<br />
Watch out for more information on<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong> regarding these subjects.<br />
I would like to take this opportunity to<br />
thank Messers Warner and Sheridan for<br />
attending our meeting; it was<br />
greatly appreciated.<br />
As the Zoom seminar also<br />
included the AGM for MSA<br />
GB Scotland, we had some<br />
statutory steps to take. The<br />
current committee all formally<br />
stood down, before being<br />
re-elected into their office again<br />
for the next 12 months.<br />
The Regional Chairman is, therefore,<br />
the same, as for 2019-20:<br />
Chairman: Alex Buist (pictured)<br />
Deputy Chairman: Steven Porter<br />
Vice Chairman: Bob Baker<br />
Secretary: Brian Thomson<br />
Treasurer: Liam Baird<br />
Editor: Karen MacLeod.<br />
Committee members are Peter Harvey<br />
MBE, Judy Hale, Bryan Phillips, Mark<br />
Hewison, Richard Barclay and Ian<br />
Marshall.<br />
Finally, as this is the <strong>December</strong> issue<br />
of <strong>Newslink</strong>, may I wish the MSA<br />
Scotland committee and everyone<br />
reading this issue a very Merry Christmas<br />
and a better New Year in 2021.<br />
Take care everyone and I look forward<br />
to welcoming in the New Year with you<br />
in the January issue of <strong>Newslink</strong>.<br />
Taxman makes expenses easier - but not for ADIs<br />
There’s some good news for those ADIs<br />
dreading filling in their self assessment<br />
form in January – a more simplified way<br />
of calculating vehicle expenses has been<br />
introduced by HMRC.<br />
However, sadly, the scheme explicitly<br />
says it is not for ADIs with dual<br />
controlled cars.<br />
However, if you run cars for other<br />
business purposes, such as driver<br />
assessment courses or driver awareness<br />
training, you can now calculate your<br />
vehicle expenses using a flat rate for<br />
mileage instead of the actual costs of<br />
buying and running your vehicle.<br />
You can use simplified expenses for:<br />
• cars (except cars designed for<br />
commercial use, for example black cabs<br />
or dual control driving instructors’ cars)<br />
• goods vehicles<br />
• motorcycles<br />
The flat rate per mile with simplified<br />
expenses for cars and goods vehicles for<br />
the first 10,000 miles is 45p a mile;<br />
above that mileage it is 25p. For<br />
motorcycles it is 24p per mile.<br />
As an example, if you drive 11,000<br />
business miles over the year you can<br />
claim £4,500 for the first 10,000 miles<br />
and £250 for next 1,000, giving a total<br />
allowance of £4,750.<br />
You do not have to use flat rates for all<br />
your vehicles. Once you use the flat rates<br />
for a vehicle, you must continue to do so<br />
as long as you use that vehicle for your<br />
business.<br />
You can claim all other travel expenses<br />
(for example, train journeys) and parking<br />
on top of your vehicle expenses.<br />
Use the simplified expenses checker to<br />
compare what you can claim using<br />
simplified expenses with what you can<br />
claim by working out the actual costs.<br />
More details, plus links to the<br />
Simplified expenses checker, can be<br />
found at<br />
Simplified<br />
expenses<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
37
Regional News<br />
Theory test certificate holders lose out<br />
again as DVSA rules out extension<br />
Terry Pearce<br />
MSA West Midlands<br />
By the time you read this article, we will<br />
be out of the second lockdown.<br />
This time, because there were no<br />
emergency key worker tests, instructors<br />
were unable to carry on working by using<br />
that as an excuse, so hopefully they were<br />
forced to respect the lockdown this time.<br />
One thing I found to be very unfair is<br />
the fact that the theory test certificate<br />
was again not extended, the reason given<br />
being ‘your road safety knowledge and<br />
hazard perception skills need to be up to<br />
date when you restart driving lessons<br />
and take your driving test’.<br />
So where does this magical two-year<br />
figure come from? If someone passes<br />
their driving test just before the two-year<br />
deadline, it is assumed that their road<br />
safety knowledge will stay the same for<br />
their lifetime, so why would the<br />
knowledge of someone who is learning<br />
after two years and is still getting<br />
experience as a learner be different for<br />
someone who passed the theory test<br />
some time ago?<br />
Several of my pupils who pass when<br />
they are 17 do not drive again until they<br />
leave university and they still have the<br />
required skills.<br />
The quote we all use is that ‘driving is<br />
like learning to ride a bike’, implying that<br />
when you can do it, ‘you never forget’. I<br />
taught a 59-year-old lady who had not<br />
driven since she failed her driving test 30<br />
years previously and without any<br />
instruction she could still drive<br />
reasonably well.<br />
As far as hazard perception goes<br />
people are constantly practising it; it’s<br />
just that we call them ‘backseat drivers’.<br />
When I took my ADI theory test there<br />
were no printed questions, you were just<br />
given a list of books to read which<br />
included the Highway Code. It was about<br />
a year after I passed the theory test that I<br />
started teaching. I had bought myself a<br />
flip book of road signs to test my pupils<br />
because, before the present theory test<br />
started, you were asked questions about<br />
motoring matters and the Highway Code<br />
at the end of their driving test. When I<br />
confidently started to flip the pages to<br />
ask them what the sign was, I suddenly<br />
thought to myself ‘what is that sign’? I<br />
had forgotten!<br />
Now, if I could forget after being a<br />
motorist for 25 years which included<br />
driving fire appliances for the brigade,<br />
what is a reasonable time for a theory<br />
certificate to be valid? Apart from the<br />
theory exam, perhaps learners should<br />
also be asked some additional questions<br />
at the end of the test, then they would be<br />
encouraged to keep their knowledge up<br />
to date.<br />
I suppose that we should be grateful<br />
that the DVSA did not take advice about<br />
the two-year figure from TV programme<br />
documentary makers as they think we<br />
have a memory span of about four<br />
minutes. Halfway through a car chase<br />
you have an advert break and when they<br />
come back, they give you a recap, very<br />
annoying.<br />
Not that I am cynical, but I think that<br />
is purely to avoid making a few more<br />
minutes real programming!<br />
Perhaps two years might be reasonable<br />
in normal cases but not extending the<br />
theory test through the lockdown was<br />
downright inconsiderate and unfair, in<br />
my view.<br />
West Midlands AGM<br />
We recently held our regional AGM<br />
digitally on ‘Zoom’ and I am pleased to<br />
say that the committee members have<br />
remained the same.<br />
As the regional editor can I make my<br />
normal request for items of interest; I am<br />
sure there are many stories waiting to be<br />
told. My contact details are at the end.<br />
Finally...<br />
Hopefully, we will be soon be getting<br />
vaccinated against Covid-19 and looking<br />
forward to a brighter future. I wish you<br />
all a Very Happy Christmas and a Happy<br />
New Year.<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article, or provide<br />
updates from your area, contact<br />
Terry at terry@terrypearce.co.uk<br />
38<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
New chair for South East after Terry steps down<br />
Fenella Wheeler<br />
MSA South East<br />
2020... it’s certainly been a particularly<br />
weird year for everyone! My deepest<br />
condolences go out to everyone who has<br />
lost loved ones or who is struggling with<br />
Covid-19.<br />
We held our seminar and AGM for the<br />
South East via Zoom on November 23. It<br />
was a first such meeting for many of us.<br />
In attendance were our local Hastings<br />
and Rye MP Sally-Ann Hart, and we<br />
were delighted to be joined by two<br />
members of the DVSA’s ADI Enforcement<br />
team, George Kountouros and Russell<br />
Cloke.<br />
In addition, Graham Hooper from the<br />
Tri-Coaching Partnership gave us a great<br />
talk on why we should coach.<br />
Finally, we welcomed MSA GB’s<br />
National Chairman, Peter Harvey MBE<br />
and Deputy Chairman Geoff Little, who<br />
provided us with a host of industry<br />
updates and ideas to help us all out<br />
during this very stressful and challenging<br />
time.<br />
I found myself hosting the event at the<br />
last minute as Terry Cummins, our<br />
regional chairman, was taken ill a few<br />
days beforehand. I am happy to say that<br />
he has recovered nicely. However, he has<br />
made the decision to slow down a little<br />
and has stood down as Chairman with<br />
immediate effect.<br />
As a result, we now have a new<br />
Committee line-up:<br />
Regional Chairman: Fenella Wheeler<br />
Vice Chairman: Terry Cummins<br />
Deputy Chairman: Bob Page<br />
Treasurer: Maranda Gould<br />
Secretary: Neil Palmer<br />
Editor: Fenella Wheeler<br />
Committee members: Rod Came, Oliur<br />
Rahman, Tina Rixon and Melissa Field.<br />
If anybody would like to join the<br />
committee, please do email me on the<br />
address at the end of this piece.<br />
For a first attempt, it was a successful<br />
meeting and I think everyone enjoyed it.<br />
We are looking forward to the time when<br />
we can meet face-to-face again, but in<br />
the meantime, virtual meetings are the<br />
way to go!<br />
Finally, I wish everyone a safe and<br />
happy Christmas and a prosperous New<br />
Year.<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article, or provide<br />
updates from your area, you can<br />
contact Fenella at<br />
lookingafterthelearners@gmail.com<br />
Drivers nervous at<br />
night time<br />
MSA GB Christmas social:<br />
East Midlands plays host for a<br />
members’ Zoom get together<br />
Date: Tuesday, <strong>December</strong> 15<br />
Time: From 7.30pm<br />
Free of charge<br />
MSA East Midlands is hosting a festive<br />
Christmas get together for members on<br />
Tuesday, <strong>December</strong> 15, via Zoom.<br />
It’s open to all driving instructors and<br />
trainers in the UK, both MSA members<br />
and non-members welcome.<br />
It will start with a spot of updating as<br />
our guest speaker will be Peter Harvey,<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
MSA GB National Chairman, and he’s<br />
happy to answer any questions you have.<br />
This will be followed by an evening of fun<br />
quizzes with some prizes to win, to be<br />
sent direct to your door.<br />
Dress theme – wear a Christmas jumper<br />
and hat! Bring your favourite tipple and a<br />
mince pie to spread some Christmas<br />
cheer! It’s got to be said, we all need it!<br />
Contact: chair.em@msagb.com for the<br />
link to join.<br />
Nearly a third (29 per cent) of UK<br />
motorists get nervous when driving<br />
in the dark, according to new<br />
research by SEAT UK.<br />
The survey of 2,000 motorists also<br />
revealed that 31 per cent of drivers<br />
actively avoid driving in the dark if<br />
possible. Of those who said driving<br />
in the dark makes them nervous,<br />
over two-thirds (68 per cent) said<br />
this is because they do not like<br />
having lower visibility.<br />
Perhaps surprisingly, 18-24-year<br />
olds (37 per cent) are most likely to<br />
feel nervous about driving in the<br />
dark, while experience counts, as<br />
only 25 per cent of over 55s have<br />
concerns.<br />
London drivers (40 per cent) are<br />
significantly more likely to get<br />
nervous when driving in the dark,<br />
and are more likely to avoid getting<br />
behind the wheel when it is dark<br />
(43 per cent), followed by motorists<br />
from the West Midlands (34 per<br />
cent). However, drivers in the South<br />
East are the most comfortable taking<br />
to wheel when the night has drawn<br />
in, with only 25 per cent saying they<br />
would avoid driving when it is dark.<br />
39
Regional News<br />
Good chance missed<br />
as Government ditches<br />
graduated licence plan<br />
Remind me,<br />
what’s the<br />
speed limit?<br />
A new survey from Venson Automotive<br />
Solutions has highlighted<br />
that the public needs more visible<br />
speed limit signs to stop them from<br />
‘unwittingly’ breaking the limit.<br />
It also found that employed<br />
35-54 year olds, earning an above<br />
average salary, are more likely to<br />
speed than their younger counterparts<br />
– knowingly or otherwise.<br />
Police road crash data shows that<br />
every year over 500 people are<br />
killed (almost one third of all road<br />
deaths), 5,000 seriously injured<br />
and almost 40,000 slightly injured<br />
in collisions involving drivers or<br />
riders who are driving for work.<br />
This includes other road users, as<br />
well as at-work drivers and riders<br />
themselves. In fact, most of those<br />
killed on work-related journeys are<br />
passengers, pedestrians and riders<br />
rather than the at-work drivers and<br />
riders.<br />
Simon Staton, Director of Client<br />
Management at Venson Automotive<br />
Solutions comments, “Our survey<br />
findings suggest that more needs to<br />
be done to make people aware –<br />
both in terms of in-car tech to alert<br />
drivers to their speed and dominant<br />
signage on UK’s roads – of varying<br />
speed limits, particularly in the<br />
wake of new reduced limits across<br />
many towns and cities.<br />
“Driving a vehicle at excess speed<br />
is one of the most common<br />
motoring offences.<br />
“However, with the HSE<br />
estimating that ‘more than a<br />
quarter of all road traffic incidents<br />
may involve somebody who is<br />
driving as part of their work at the<br />
time’, more must be done to curb<br />
speeding.”<br />
Guy Annan<br />
MSA Western<br />
The Government’s decision to drop<br />
graduated driving licences is a mistake<br />
and a chance missed. In my personal<br />
view, it’s typical of the nanny state to<br />
take the easy way out rather than get off<br />
their backside and work for a living.<br />
They spout ‘road safety’ in one breath<br />
and do nothing about it when they get<br />
the chance to make a real difference.<br />
My suggestion would be for everyone<br />
wishing to drive (and those currently<br />
driving) to take a psychiatric evaluation<br />
and if they fail, they don’t drive. Not<br />
exactly a vote winner so I don’t think it’ll<br />
ever happen.<br />
Either that or put more police back on<br />
the streets in cars. The amount of bad<br />
driving is becoming worrying; cars<br />
weaving in and out at speed, running red<br />
lights, lots of queue jumping. There is<br />
just no patience or respect out there<br />
anymore.<br />
In Germany if anybody fails the<br />
practical driving test three times, they<br />
have to undergo a psychiatric evaluation<br />
before they take it a fourth time.<br />
It has been a tough month with the<br />
second national lockdown. It looks like<br />
our Prime Minister and the medical<br />
people don’t know what to do at the<br />
moment, so restricting movement of<br />
people is necessary.<br />
It is now getting really serious: many<br />
of the population think we are just being<br />
messed around because some people<br />
did not keep to the rules. When we get<br />
to talk about curfews, we know we’re in<br />
trouble. It reminds many of our older<br />
citizens of the war years.<br />
The consequences of the restrictions is<br />
clearly making people agitated, as they<br />
are stopped from doing the most normal<br />
things in their lives. The large number of<br />
contradictions from area to area is<br />
confusing, and our leaders are unable to<br />
deliver a clear message.<br />
We are all ‘fit and proper people’ and<br />
we should all take the proper<br />
precautions to minimise the spread of<br />
the virus but should we really make the<br />
call to impose sanctions by law on<br />
driving instructors who, for whatever<br />
reason, fail to wear a mask, as was<br />
being called for the month before last?<br />
I visited my doctor the other day and<br />
asked him how long he thought the<br />
pandemic would last.<br />
He replied what are you asking me for,<br />
I’m not a politician!<br />
Future thoughts<br />
At least now we’re out of lockdown we<br />
can get on with our lives. Let’s hope<br />
we’re as near to back to normal as<br />
possible soon. What will next year bring?<br />
My fear is that the pandemic is not<br />
going away very soon. I believe the<br />
DVSA has been told to form a three-year<br />
plan on how it will cope with on-going<br />
problems! I’m hearing whispers of<br />
Lockdowns 3 and 4 in 2021; let’s hope<br />
not.<br />
No one knows what’s going to happen<br />
so let’s enjoy every day.<br />
Christmas thoughts<br />
As at present you are only allowed to<br />
meet in 6s but allowed 30 at a funeral, I<br />
shall be having a funeral for my pet<br />
turkey on <strong>December</strong> 25th. I hope you<br />
join me in mourning its passing. It was a<br />
faithful chum.<br />
Whatever you do on the day, I wish<br />
you all a very enjoyable and safe<br />
Christmas and in the words of Dave<br />
Allen “may your God go with you”. Merry<br />
Christmas, and see you in 2021.<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article, or provide<br />
updates, contact Guy at g.annan@<br />
alphadrivingtaunton.com<br />
40<br />
NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
The A38: a traditional dual carriageway<br />
with a ghostly reputation<br />
Guy Annan<br />
Okay, I admit, this has nothing to do with<br />
driver training or road safety... unless you<br />
count the regular use of the emergency<br />
stop, of course. But as I was thinking<br />
about copy around Halloween, a story<br />
came back to me that I thought I’d share.<br />
The road between Taunton and<br />
Wellington – the A38 – is haunted.<br />
Don’t believe me? Well, drive along this<br />
road during the hours of darkness or in<br />
the early hours on a frosty night and it’s<br />
not unusual to encounter a tall, thin<br />
bedraggled figure hitching a lift.<br />
Apparently when he gets in the car he<br />
talks of the awful accidents that have<br />
happened along that road and then<br />
suddenly, when the driver turns his head<br />
to engage in conversation, vanishes, only<br />
to reappear two or three miles further<br />
down the road when he jumps out in front<br />
of the car, causing it to brake or swerve to<br />
avoid an accident. When the driver gets<br />
out of the car to check if the person is<br />
hurt there’s no one there.<br />
The police once found a car stopped on<br />
the side of the road with the driver in a<br />
state of shock as he recounted a story<br />
very similar to the above.<br />
Others have had similar experiences:<br />
they include a lorry driver who thought he<br />
had run a man down and a motorcyclist<br />
who broke his leg as a result of crashing<br />
to avoid a figure who materialised out of<br />
nowhere.<br />
The best known source of the story<br />
comes from 1958 and a lorry driver<br />
called Harold Unsworth. He said that on<br />
three separate occasions at about 3am he<br />
had given a lift to a man he picked up<br />
from the Blackbird Inn on the A38. Each<br />
time the hitchhiker described the<br />
accidents which had taken place along<br />
the road in the past. On the third occasion<br />
of giving the man a lift, Unsworth said<br />
that the mysterious man asked him if he<br />
would wait while he collected some cases<br />
and then drop him off at another point<br />
further down the road. After waiting for<br />
20 minutes Unsworth decided to continue<br />
on his journey alone.<br />
Three miles down the road he saw a<br />
figure in his headlights waving a torch. He<br />
was terrified to see that this figure was in<br />
fact the man in grey, who was shaking a<br />
fist at him. The figure leapt in front of his<br />
lorry, causing Unsworth to stop and get<br />
out, expecting to find that the man had<br />
been struck. However, he found the man<br />
standing in the road again, shaking his<br />
fist and cursing at having been left<br />
behind. To his shock the figure then<br />
turned his back on Harold and vanished<br />
instantly.<br />
Other similar tales have arisen from the<br />
same stretch of road. A woman in white<br />
is said to haunt a stretch of the A38 near<br />
the reservoir at Barrow Gurney. As with<br />
the figure described above, drivers have<br />
reported having to slam the brakes on or<br />
swerve to avoid a figure who suddenly<br />
appears in the middle of the road before<br />
vanishing. The road is littered with skid<br />
marks which show where drivers have<br />
been forced to suddenly brake to avoid<br />
the woman, who is said to be dressed in<br />
a long white coat...<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong> writes... We’re not commenting<br />
on the supernatural, and we’ve certainly<br />
never heard of a haunted test centre...<br />
but the A38 isn’t the UK’s only road with<br />
a ghostly reputation, as we discovered...<br />
Harewood Road, Holymoorside<br />
The three-mile lane linking Beeley Moor<br />
with Holymoorside is reported to be<br />
haunted by phantom monks.<br />
Monks would be sent over from<br />
Beauchief Abbey to Harewood Grange, to<br />
work on the land, as a punishment for<br />
misbehaving.<br />
An uncomfortable atmosphere has also<br />
been reported around the entrance to the<br />
abandoned Hunger Hill Pumping Station.<br />
A11 Thetford Bypass<br />
The A11 dual carriageway Thetford<br />
bypass is reputedly haunted by a<br />
phantom gamekeeper appearing on car<br />
bonnets. While waiting at a traffic light,<br />
one driver witnessed a car from the<br />
1930s pass and vanish.<br />
The A38 near<br />
Barrow Gurney<br />
reservoir:<br />
haunted by a<br />
mysterious<br />
woman in white<br />
A21 Sevenoaks Bypass<br />
The A21 Sevenoaks Bypass is reputedly<br />
haunted by a ghostly sliproad which leads<br />
drivers into oncoming traffic.<br />
A22 Caterham Bypass<br />
On a certain section of the Caterham<br />
bypass, spectral females have been seen<br />
in the carriageway and crossing the road.<br />
A61 Unstone-Dronfield Bypass<br />
Cars heading northbound past Monk<br />
Wood are known to suddenly veer off<br />
down an embankment just a few feet<br />
before the crash barrier starts.<br />
The bypass is also believed to be<br />
haunted as a result of horrific fatal injuries<br />
sustained in accidents.<br />
A616 Stocksbridge Bypass<br />
The A616 north of Sheffield is known<br />
as the Stocksbridge Bypass.<br />
During the bypass’s construction,<br />
security staff reported encounters with<br />
phantom children dancing around an<br />
electricity pylon and a ghostly monk<br />
standing on Pea Royd Bridge; he was<br />
believed to have been from the Hunshelf<br />
Priory.<br />
A75 road, Scotland<br />
The A75 road between – appropriately!<br />
– Annan and Gretna Green has been<br />
called Scotland’s most haunted road.<br />
According to one story, in 1957 a truck<br />
driver swerved to avoid a couple walking<br />
in the road but when he stopped to<br />
investigate, the pair had vanished. Other<br />
versions of the stories tell of a couple or<br />
group of friends walking down the road at<br />
night and drivers constantly plagued and<br />
harrassed by shadowy figures, from an<br />
elderly woman to the back-end of a semi<br />
truck that they nearly hit before braking,<br />
only for it to disappear.<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
41
Meet the ADI<br />
Continuing our series of Q&As with MSA GB members,<br />
this month, from Cornwall, Kris Ford<br />
Kris pictured in her normal<br />
attire for a driving lesson...<br />
Ditch the manoeuvres and<br />
get busy sorting out<br />
the L-test backlog, DVSA<br />
When did you become an ADI, and<br />
what made you enter the profession?<br />
I started training in 2011, and<br />
qualified in 2012. As for why, that’s a<br />
long story! To keep it brief, my mum lives<br />
in Cyprus, and I know that one day I am<br />
going to need to be there for her, so I<br />
needed to think of a trade I could take<br />
with me – and if you saw the standard of<br />
driving on the island, well, I think you<br />
would understand why I followed this<br />
route!<br />
What’s the best bit about the job?<br />
The smiles on clients’ faces when they<br />
have passed their test and their comments<br />
afterwards.<br />
... And the worst?<br />
The weather... hot days are so stifling,<br />
and cold or very wet dreary days. Sucks<br />
the life out of me.<br />
What’s the best piece of training advice<br />
you were ever given?<br />
Always make yourself heard and<br />
clearly understood. Never leave it vague,<br />
unclear or open to query.<br />
What one piece of kit, other than your<br />
car and phone, could you not do<br />
without?<br />
My roof sign. I know that some ADIs<br />
don’t like them but for some reason I’ve<br />
never quite fathomed, magnetic L-plates<br />
don’t like my car! Plus I like the free<br />
advertising<br />
What needs fixing most urgently in<br />
driving generally?<br />
Other road users, if that’s at all<br />
possible. There are some very<br />
inconsiderate drivers out there. I should<br />
stress there are some lovely ones, too.<br />
What should the DVSA focus on?<br />
At the moment their backlog of tests.<br />
We understand the reason but come on,<br />
let’s see some action!<br />
What’s the next big thing that’s going to<br />
transform driver training/testing?<br />
Electric cars... I’m a big fan if they<br />
save the environment.<br />
How can we improve driver testing/<br />
training in one move?<br />
Remove manoeuvres from the L-test.<br />
Let’s see them signed off by the<br />
instructor so more time can be spent<br />
driving.<br />
Who/what inspires you, drives you on?<br />
My kids and grand kids... they always<br />
have a positive outlook<br />
What keeps you awake at night?<br />
Worrying about family!<br />
No one is the finished article. What do<br />
you do to keep on top of the game?<br />
I keep on top of and follow updated<br />
guidelines from MSA, from colleagues<br />
and from the DVSA. Information is good!!<br />
What’s the daftest /most dangerous<br />
thing that’s ever happened to you while<br />
teaching?<br />
A client trying to pull out on dual<br />
carriageway roundabout thinking they<br />
were good to go... trust me, they were<br />
NOT!<br />
When or where are you happiest?<br />
When I’m travelling and meeting new<br />
people or with my friends and family...<br />
they are both things that I’m really<br />
missing right now.<br />
Left, Kris with her<br />
‘Pudsey-d up’<br />
tuition car, as she<br />
prepares to take<br />
part in the Big<br />
Learner Relay for<br />
Children in Need<br />
42 NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
ADIs have a value long after the L-test<br />
Mike Yeomans<br />
MSA GB North East<br />
Seasons greetings to all, and a big thank<br />
you to the members of MSA North East<br />
for their support during this last year.<br />
What an interesting year we have all<br />
had – and what an interesting year we<br />
have to come, too, with a new head to<br />
the DVSA, changes to Standards Check<br />
procedures and the way we go about our<br />
every day business.<br />
In the North East we are keen to help<br />
ADIs get the best out of the situations we<br />
face. We are running courses to help<br />
members to connect more and receive<br />
up-to-date information from NASP and<br />
MSA GB.<br />
In the North East we have several<br />
non-ADI members who have joined so<br />
they can tap into our knowledge on road<br />
safety issues and to enhance their ability<br />
to deliver diversion schemes and work<br />
with company drivers on risk<br />
assessments.<br />
Increasingly I find many ADIs are<br />
diversifying their work from the<br />
traditional route of learner driver licence<br />
acquisition. They are taking on the<br />
training of other ADIs through ORDIT, or<br />
helping companies with fleets manage<br />
the transition to electric vehicles, or<br />
simply offering training and guidance on<br />
the best methods to keep the driving<br />
workforces safe. I guess it is the next<br />
step after the ‘L’ test.<br />
As currently the graduated driving<br />
licence is not being pursued by the UK<br />
government, many driver trainers are<br />
continuing to press on with encouraging<br />
ex-students to take further training, and<br />
looking to work with the organisations<br />
they themselves work for.<br />
Here within the North East region we<br />
can help with those developments;<br />
guidance is always available for getting<br />
the best out of the ADI business.<br />
An ADI is not JUST an ADI. A<br />
professional ADI is mentor, confidante<br />
and imparter of knowledge, someone<br />
who keeps people safe on our roads for<br />
life. From L-test to buses and lorries,<br />
from tanks to off-roaders, we are pivotal<br />
in imparting the best and safest<br />
knowledge. Never undervalue your place<br />
in the industry; remember, there are<br />
many opportunities to enhance and to<br />
sell your skills.<br />
So, regardless of the rough year many<br />
of us have had, we are still vital, and it<br />
really can be and will be an exciting year<br />
to come.<br />
MSA GB North East CPD meeting and<br />
AGM, October 29<br />
There was a reasonable turn out for our<br />
North East AGM at the very end of<br />
October and as you’ll probably guess,<br />
lots of questions on the situation for ADIs<br />
on the second lockdown.<br />
We were grateful to MSA GB National<br />
Chairman Peter Harvey MBE for leading<br />
the response. He was quick to answer<br />
questions and gave those meeting us on<br />
Zoom a detailed update on the industry<br />
changes, from waiting rooms to<br />
Standards Checks and all the other<br />
concerns that ADIs have at this moment<br />
in time.<br />
At the AGM, presided over by the MSA<br />
GB Deputy National Chairman Geoff<br />
Little, the 2020 committee were<br />
re-elected for 2021. We are looking<br />
forward to the National Conference in<br />
March 2021 when the positions will be<br />
ratified.<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article, or provide<br />
updates from your area, contact<br />
Mike at chair.ne@msagb.com<br />
Christmas Greetings...<br />
from MSA GB Greater London to all MSA members.<br />
This is the moment you share time, enjoy and be happy with<br />
your family.<br />
My committee and I wishing you all a Merry Christmas, and<br />
let’s hope for peace on Earth.<br />
Tom Kwok, MSA GB Greater London Chairman<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
43
Motoring news<br />
UK takes next STEP in kerbside<br />
electric vehicle charging<br />
World-first technology that could<br />
unlock electric vehicle charging at<br />
homes without drives or garages<br />
is being trialled in London. Sarah<br />
Clements, Senior Consultant at<br />
element-energy.co.uk reports<br />
Start-up company Trojan Energy is<br />
installing 200 of its electric vehicle<br />
chargers across the London boroughs of<br />
Brent and Camden in a bid to solve the<br />
problem of how to charge electric<br />
vehicles in for those homes which do not<br />
have a garage or drive.<br />
Each charge point is slotted into the<br />
ground with a flat and flush connection.<br />
The technology has no permanent<br />
footprint or street clutter as the hardware<br />
is only visible when a vehicle is charging.<br />
The Subsurface Technology for Electric<br />
Pathways (STEP) project has been<br />
awarded £3m in co-funding by Innovate<br />
UK. If successful it will enable entire<br />
streets to be filled with the charge points<br />
so that no matter where a driver parks,<br />
they will be able to charge their EV.<br />
The technology consists of two parts<br />
– a charge point slotted into the ground,<br />
and a ‘lance’ which is inserted into the<br />
charge point in order to charge. The<br />
charger can provide charge rates from<br />
2kW to 22kW, and up to 18 chargers can<br />
run in parallel from one electricity<br />
network connection. This will in turn<br />
create opportunities for electric vehicle<br />
owners to use spare capacity in their<br />
batteries to provide services to electricity<br />
network operators which could make the<br />
cost of owning and running EVs cheaper.<br />
Brent and Camden are at the forefront<br />
of the EV transition in the UK. Both<br />
boroughs have rapidly growing EV usage,<br />
encouraged by council policy determined<br />
to drive down air pollution in their<br />
neighbourhoods.<br />
Cllr Shama Tatler, Lead Member for<br />
Regeneration, Property and Planning at<br />
London Borough of Brent, said the<br />
council was “thrilled to be among the first<br />
to try these innovative new charging<br />
points. Electric vehicles will play an<br />
important part in improving our local air<br />
quality which we know can have a<br />
detrimental impact on people’s health.<br />
“I hope these discrete kerbside chargers<br />
will make electric vehicles accessible for<br />
more people and get us one step closer to<br />
our aim of becoming a zero-carbon borough.”<br />
The technology has been developed by<br />
Trojan Energy, a team of ex-oil industry<br />
engineers determined to use their subsea<br />
skills for good, and contribute towards<br />
solving the problem of high CO 2<br />
emissions.<br />
Trojan Energy Managing Director, Ian<br />
Mackenzie said: “We are grateful for the<br />
support we have received from our<br />
consortium partners and Innovate UK.<br />
This backing will allow us to bring our<br />
discrete kerbside charging to cities where<br />
the need to transition to EVs is greatest.<br />
Our technology will allow us to electrify<br />
whole streets at a fraction of the cost of<br />
traditional charging infrastructure and<br />
without the need for kerbside clutter. We<br />
are looking forward to bringing this revo-<br />
lutionary solution to London and beyond”.<br />
Element Energy, a strategic energy<br />
consultancy specialising in the analysis of<br />
low carbon energy, is leading the project,<br />
using its sectoral and project management<br />
expertise to achieve the best commercial<br />
and environmental return for investment.<br />
Celine Cluzel, Element Energy Director,<br />
said “STEP is trialling a solution to what<br />
is often the Achilles’ heel of charging<br />
infrastructure: scalability. The project is<br />
also conducting research on consumer<br />
and wider street users’ preference – a<br />
typical gap in research so far. These facts,<br />
combined with the excellent team<br />
brought together, make us confident that<br />
the trial will be a significant step forward<br />
for the uptake of electric vehicles.”<br />
Other members of the consortium<br />
include UK Power Networks, Birmingham<br />
City Council and the University of Leeds.<br />
Award-winning renewable electricity<br />
supplier Octopus Energy will also be<br />
recruiting their customers for the trial and<br />
providing expertise in back end billing<br />
which will be invaluable to EV owners.<br />
A key aspect of the trial involves<br />
collecting consumer feedback on the<br />
technology and gathering new information<br />
on the charging behaviour of EV drivers<br />
who park on-street. This research will be<br />
led by the Institute for Transport Studies<br />
at the University of Leeds, which is a<br />
world-renowned research establishment,<br />
alongside input from Element Energy,<br />
which also has previous experience of<br />
conducting EV trials. Feedback from this<br />
research will crucially inform the<br />
development of commercialisation plans.<br />
44<br />
A CGI mock-up of how the STEP<br />
charging system will look
Test centre changes<br />
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
There have been a number of changes to<br />
driving test centres during November, as<br />
the DVSA continues to reform its estate<br />
to cope with Covid-19 restrictions, new<br />
regulations, maintenance issues and<br />
fluctuations in customer demand.<br />
Gillingham driving test centre<br />
The driving test centre in Gillingham will<br />
be temporarily relocating during March<br />
2021.<br />
Car, motorcycle module 2 and ADI<br />
tests will be temporarily carried out from<br />
the LGV test centre in Gillingham from<br />
March 1 to March 26. Additional<br />
motorcycle module 1 test provision will<br />
be provided at Erith and Herne Bay test<br />
centres during this time. Testing will<br />
resume from March 29.<br />
Gillingham LGV test centre is at<br />
Ambley Road, Gillingham, Kent ME8 0SJ<br />
Penzance driving test centre<br />
Repairs made to a leak at Penzance<br />
driving test centre roof have led to the<br />
discovery of asbestos in the ceiling.<br />
This needs to be safely removed and<br />
disposed of before extensive repair work<br />
can be completed.<br />
This work is on-going, and L-test will<br />
continue out of Cambourne driving test<br />
centre until Penzance can safely reopen.<br />
Herne Bay driving test centre<br />
The driving test centre at Herne Bay<br />
will now carry out car and trailer (B+E)<br />
tests, alongside the other tests currently<br />
carried out here.<br />
If you are a trainer booker, please note<br />
that the opening day for booking these<br />
tests week commencing 25 January will<br />
fall on a Tuesday, in line with Mod1&2<br />
tests, instead of the normal opening day.<br />
This only applies to that week.<br />
Bristol (Brislington) driving test centre<br />
The DVSA is closing its driving test<br />
centre at Bristol (Brislington) after the<br />
landlord served notice.<br />
The last day of testing at Flowers Hill<br />
on Bath Road will be February 19.<br />
Alternative nearby test centres include<br />
Bristol (Kingswood) and Bristol<br />
(Avonmouth). Candidates travelling from<br />
Bath will also be able to use the test<br />
centres at either Chippenham or<br />
Trowbridge.<br />
The DVSA has said it is looking for a<br />
new venue to accommodate tests in the<br />
Brislington area.<br />
Chertsey driving test centre<br />
The driving test centre in Chertsey will<br />
be temporarily closing from March 18<br />
2021 so that refurbishment work can<br />
take place. Test capacity will be<br />
increased at nearby test centres in<br />
Ashford, Guildford, Slough, Farnborough,<br />
Morden, Mitcham, and Redhill.<br />
It is hoped that testing will resume at<br />
the normal test site on April 21.<br />
Oxford (Cowley Road)<br />
The driving test centre in Oxford<br />
(Cowley Road) will be temporarily<br />
relocating during March and April 2021.<br />
The new location will be the Oxford<br />
Kassam Stadium, which will host tests<br />
from March 22 until April 20, with<br />
testing resuming at Cowley Road from<br />
April 22. The address of the temporary<br />
tests centre is: Oxford Kassam Stadium,<br />
Grenoble Road, Oxford OX4 4XP<br />
Tolworth driving test centre<br />
The driving test centre in Tolworth will<br />
be temporarily closing from March 18<br />
2021 so that refurbishment work can<br />
take place.<br />
Test capacity will be increased at<br />
nearby test centres in Ashford, Guildford,<br />
Slough, Farnborough, Morden, Mitcham,<br />
and Redhill. Motorcycle module 2 test<br />
capacity will also be increased at<br />
Farnborough and Mitcham. Testing will<br />
resume at Tolworth on April 21.<br />
Ashford (Kent)<br />
The driving test centre in Ashford<br />
(Kent) will be temporarily relocating<br />
during March 2021. Tests will be carried<br />
out at the temporary location at The<br />
Riverside Centre from March 1 until<br />
March 26.<br />
Testing will resume at the normal<br />
location at the Civic Centre on March 29.<br />
We have emailed anyone with a test<br />
booked during this time to let them know<br />
about the new location.<br />
The address of the new, temporary<br />
location is: The Riverside Centre,<br />
Gateway Church Ashford, Clockhouse,<br />
Ashford TN23 4YN<br />
Aberfeldy driving test centre<br />
The driving test centre in Aberfeldy will<br />
be reopening for testing from January 6<br />
2021. The DVSA will email candidates<br />
who are already on hold waiting for a<br />
test to offer them a suitable time and<br />
date.<br />
Ban buds on<br />
cyclists, says<br />
world survey<br />
The majority of road users support<br />
banning people from wearing<br />
headphones while cycling, a new<br />
international survey has found.<br />
The survey, conducted across 32<br />
countries by the E-Survey of Road<br />
Users’ Attitudes (ESRA), found that<br />
two-thirds of the 35,000 respondents<br />
were in support of introducing a ban<br />
on cyclists wearing headphones.<br />
Support was a little higher in the UK<br />
where 68.2 per cent of people said<br />
that they were in favour of the ban.<br />
Across Europe, support for the<br />
ban on cyclists wearing headphones<br />
varied. Spain felt most strongly<br />
about the introduction of the policy<br />
with nearly 80 per cent of all road<br />
users surveyed in that country<br />
voting in its favour. Finland,<br />
however, felt least strongly, with<br />
only one in three (36 per cent)<br />
believing the ban would be a good<br />
move. In Germany and Hungary,<br />
support for the ban was at similar<br />
levels to those in the UK at 69.8 per<br />
cent and 69.9 per cent respectively.<br />
The European average was 66.5<br />
per cent in support of the ban, with<br />
even cycle-loving Holland and<br />
Denmark showing small majorities<br />
in favour of new controls.<br />
Internationally, female road users<br />
were more in favour than males of a<br />
ban on headphones or earbuds<br />
while cycling.<br />
Neil Greig, Policy and Research<br />
Director at IAM RoadSmart, said:<br />
“It’s clear that the majority of road<br />
users are very concerned about<br />
distracted cyclists wearing<br />
headphones or earbuds while riding.<br />
“Being plugged in to either<br />
headphones or earbuds is the<br />
ultimate distraction, as it completely<br />
shuts you off to your surroundings,<br />
creating a potential road safety risk.”<br />
www.msagb.com<br />
45
Membership<br />
Members’ discounts and benefits<br />
MSA GB has organised a number of exclusive discounts and offers for members. More details can be found on our website at<br />
www.msagb.com. To access these benefits, simply log in and click on the Member discount logo, then click the link at the<br />
bottom of the page to allow you to obtain your special discounts. Please note, non-members will be required to join the<br />
association first. Terms and conditions apply<br />
Ford launches special offer<br />
for MSA GB members<br />
Some exciting news for members: Ford has partnered with<br />
MSA GB to offer exclusive discounts on all car and<br />
commercial Ford vehicles.<br />
Take a look at the Ford website www.ford.co.uk for vehicle<br />
and specification information.<br />
For further information, to view frequently asked questions,<br />
to request a quote and to access the member discount<br />
codes, please go to the Members’ Benefits page on the MSA<br />
GB website and follow the Ford link.<br />
Please note these discounts are only available to MSA GB<br />
members and their immediate family if they are members<br />
who pay annually.<br />
ACCOUNTANCY<br />
MSA’s Recommended<br />
Accountancy Service, FBTC<br />
offers a specialist service for<br />
driving instructors. It has been<br />
established over 20 years ago and<br />
covers the whole of the UK. The team takes<br />
pride in providing unlimited advice and<br />
support to ensure the completion of your tax<br />
return is hassle free, giving you peace of mind.<br />
MSA OFFER:: FBTC will prepare you for<br />
Making Tax Digital and will be providing<br />
HMRC compliant software to all clients very<br />
soon. Join now to receive three months free.<br />
ADVANCE DRIVING<br />
IAM RoadSmart, the UK’s<br />
largest road safety charity, is<br />
proud to partner with the<br />
Motor Schools Association GB<br />
in order to work together to<br />
make our roads safer through driver skills<br />
and knowledge development.<br />
MSA OFFER:: Enjoy a 20% saving on our<br />
Advanced Driver Course for MSA members.<br />
BOOKKEEPING<br />
Easy-to-use bookkeeping & tax spreadsheets<br />
designed specifically for driving instructors. It<br />
will reduce the time you need to spend on<br />
record-keeping. Simply enter details of your fee<br />
income and expenses throughout the year and<br />
your trading profit, tax & national insurance<br />
liability are automatically calculated.<br />
MSA OFFER:: We’re proud to offer all MSA GB<br />
members 25% discount.<br />
CAR AIR FRESHENERS / CANDLES<br />
Mandles’ handmade scented collections use<br />
quality ingredients to ensure<br />
superior scent throw from all<br />
its candles and diffusers.<br />
Check our our website for<br />
further details.<br />
MSA OFFER:: Special discount<br />
of 20% on all car air fresheners and refills.<br />
CARD PAYMENTS<br />
MSA and SumUp believe in<br />
supporting motor vehicle<br />
trainers of all shapes and sizes.<br />
Together we are on a mission to<br />
ease the operational workload of our members<br />
by providing them with the ability to take card<br />
payments on-the-go or in their respective<br />
training centREs. SumUp readers are durable<br />
and user-friendly. Their paperless onboarding is<br />
quick and efficient. Moreover, their offer comes<br />
with no monthly subscription, no contractual<br />
agreement, no support fees, no hidden fees<br />
– just the one-off cost for the reader coupled<br />
with lowest on the market transaction fee.<br />
MSA OFFER:: We are offering MSA GB<br />
members discounted 3G reader.<br />
CPD & TRAINING<br />
COURSES<br />
As part of its new relationship<br />
with MSA GB, Tri-Coaching is<br />
delighted to offer a massive 20% discount<br />
across the board on all our training products<br />
and courses, exclusively to MSA Members.<br />
MSA OFFER: 20% off all Tri-Coaching<br />
courses.<br />
DISABILITY AIDS<br />
Driving shouldn’t just be a<br />
privilege for people without<br />
disabilities; it should be<br />
accessible for all and there’s<br />
never been an easier time to make<br />
this the case! MSA GB members can take<br />
advantage of BAS’s Driving Instructor<br />
Packages which include a range of adaptations<br />
at a discounted price, suitable for teaching<br />
disabled learner drivers.<br />
MSA OFFER: Special Driving Instructor<br />
Packages for MSA members.<br />
HEALTH / FINANCE COVER<br />
The Motor Schools Association of Great Britain<br />
has agreed with HMCA to offer discounted<br />
rates for medical plans, dental plan, hospital<br />
cash plans, personal accident<br />
plan, travel plan, income<br />
protection and vehicle<br />
breakdown products.<br />
MSA OFFER: HMCA only offer<br />
medical plans to membership<br />
groups and can offer up to a 40% discount off<br />
the underwriter’s standard rates.<br />
This is a comprehensive plan which provides<br />
generous cash benefits for surgery and other<br />
charges.<br />
To get the full story of<br />
the discounts available,<br />
see www.msagb.com<br />
46 NEWSLINK n DECEMBER 2020
For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
PUPIL INSURANCE<br />
Help your pupils private<br />
practice by signing them up<br />
to Collingwood’s instructor<br />
affiliate programme.<br />
MSA OFFER:: £50 for your first<br />
referral and a chance to win £100 of High<br />
Street vouchers!<br />
PPE<br />
Effective PPE (Personal<br />
Protective Equipment) is<br />
vital to provide the protection<br />
your workforce requires in<br />
order to work safely and ensure<br />
that all employment laws are complied with.<br />
MSA OFFER:: 15% offer for MSA members.<br />
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES<br />
Driving Instructor Services offers call<br />
handing, web design, reports and pupil<br />
text reminders, to name a few<br />
of our services.<br />
MSA OFFER:: Free trial<br />
of all our services and 10%<br />
discount for the life of your<br />
MSA membership.<br />
PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING<br />
Confident Drivers has the<br />
only website created<br />
especially for drivers offering<br />
eight different psychological<br />
techniques commonly used<br />
to reduce stress and nerves.<br />
MSA OFFER: One month free on a monthly<br />
subscription plan using coupon code.<br />
PUPIL SOURCING<br />
Go Roadie provides students<br />
when they need them, with<br />
all the details you need<br />
before you accept. Control<br />
your own pricing, discounts<br />
and set your availability to suit you. Full<br />
diary? No cost!<br />
MSA OFFER: Introductory offer of 50% off<br />
the first three students they accept.<br />
TYRES<br />
VRedestein’s impressive range<br />
of tyres includes the awardwinning<br />
Quatrac 5 and the<br />
new Quatrac Pro – offering<br />
year-round safety and<br />
performance.<br />
MSA OFFER: 10% discount on purchases<br />
across our tyre ranges.<br />
To get the full story of<br />
the discounts available,<br />
see www.msagb.com<br />
Membership offer<br />
Welcome new ADIs<br />
We’ve a special introductory offer for you!<br />
Congratulations on passing<br />
your Part 3 and becoming<br />
an ADI.<br />
There’s an exciting career<br />
open to you from today.<br />
It’s one that is alive with<br />
possibilities as you build<br />
your skills, your client<br />
base and your income.<br />
But for all the excitement, it<br />
can also be a challenging<br />
profession. Who can you turn to if<br />
you’re struggling to get over key driver<br />
training issues to a pupil? Where can you<br />
go to soak up advice from more<br />
experienced ADIs? Who will help you if<br />
you are caught up in a dispute with the<br />
DVSA? If the worst happens, who can you<br />
turn to for help, advice and to fight your<br />
corner?<br />
The answer is the Motor Schools<br />
Association of Great Britain – MSA GB<br />
for short.<br />
We are the most senior association<br />
representing driving instructors in Great<br />
Britain. Establised in 1935 when the first<br />
driving test was introduced, MSA GB has<br />
been working tirelessly ever since on<br />
behalf of ordinary rank and file ADIs.<br />
We represent your interests and your<br />
views in the corridors of power, holding<br />
regular meetings with senior officials from<br />
the DVSA and the Department for<br />
Transport to make sure the ADIs’ voice is<br />
heard.<br />
SPECIAL OFFER<br />
We’d like you to join us<br />
We’re there to support you every<br />
step of the way. Our officebased<br />
staff are there, five<br />
days a week, from 9am-<br />
5.30pm, ready to answer<br />
your call and help you in any<br />
way.<br />
In addition our network of<br />
experienced office holders and<br />
regional officers can offer advice<br />
over the phone or by email.<br />
But membership of the MSA doesn’t just<br />
mean we’re there for you if you’re in<br />
trouble. We also offer a nationwide<br />
network of regular meetings, seminars<br />
and training events, an Annual<br />
Conference, and a chance to participate in<br />
MSA GB affairs through our democratic<br />
structure<br />
In addition, you’ll get a free link to our<br />
membership magazine <strong>Newslink</strong> every<br />
month, with all the latest news, views,<br />
comment and advice you’ll need to<br />
become a successful driving instructor.<br />
You’ll also automatically receive<br />
professional indemnity insurance worth<br />
up to £5m and £10m public liability<br />
insurance free of charge.<br />
This is essential legal protection covering<br />
you against legal claims ariving from your<br />
tuition.<br />
So join us today and save £25<br />
including the first year’s joining fee:<br />
just £60 for 12 months.<br />
Join MSA GB today!<br />
and save yourself £25<br />
Call 0800 0265986 quoting<br />
discount code <strong>Newslink</strong>, or join<br />
online at www.msagb.com<br />
Just<br />
£60<br />
for 12 months<br />
membership<br />
www.msagb.com 47