Newslink April
Motor Schools Association, driver training and testing, road safety
Motor Schools Association, driver training and testing, road safety
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For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
AA survey finds ADIs and pupils are<br />
starting to love learning in an EV<br />
Driving instructors and their pupils are<br />
leading the way with the switch to<br />
electric vehicles, but infrastructure<br />
challenges could hamper progress, the<br />
AA Driving School has warned.<br />
In the first year since electric vehicles<br />
have been available to its franchised<br />
driving instructors, around 49,000 hours<br />
of lessons have been given in EVs to<br />
around 3,300 pupils by the AA’s driving<br />
instructors.<br />
Feedback from EV driving instructors<br />
shows the top two struggles faced when<br />
adapting to an EV are managing the<br />
range with lesson schedules and finding<br />
suitable public charging posts.<br />
On the positives, the top benefits they<br />
have found are the smooth, quiet ride as<br />
well as the cost savings and positive<br />
experience for pupils.<br />
The increasing acceptance of electric<br />
vehicles among learner drivers is<br />
reflected in the growing proportion of<br />
learners who pass their test in an<br />
automatic vehicle.<br />
DVSA pass rate statistics show people<br />
passing their test in an automatic<br />
accounted for 13% of new drivers in<br />
2021/22, compared to just 5% 10 years<br />
ago.<br />
Camilla Benitz, AA Driving School<br />
Managing director, said: “Our instructors<br />
have shown they want to make the<br />
switch to electric and help the next<br />
generation of drivers feel confident<br />
leaving combustion engines in the past.<br />
“Overall, the first year of offering<br />
electric vehicles to our franchisees has<br />
been really positive and many electric<br />
instructors say they wouldn’t go back.<br />
They enjoy the cars’ smooth, quiet ride<br />
and like the fuel savings – both economic<br />
and environmental.<br />
“There are challenges to teaching in an<br />
electric car though, particularly around<br />
whether the charging infrastructure is<br />
robust enough, and more needs to be<br />
done to ensure the industry’s progress<br />
towards electrification is not hampered.<br />
“A key concern is around ensuring<br />
there are enough public charging posts to<br />
support instructors who do not have<br />
access to off-street parking so cannot<br />
install their own private chargepoints.<br />
“The car you learn to drive in often<br />
leaves a lasting impression, so ensuring<br />
electric learners have a good experience<br />
is a vital tool in helping alleviate any<br />
concerns new drivers have about running<br />
an EV.<br />
“We are confident the industry can<br />
adapt to the challenges and are planning<br />
to significantly expand the range of<br />
electric vehicles available to our<br />
franchisees this year.”<br />
The AA Driving School launched EVs<br />
on its fleet last March with the Peugeot<br />
e208, Peugeot e2008 and Vauxhall<br />
Corsa-e.<br />
Full details about the AA Driving<br />
School’s EV franchise is available HERE:<br />
Pretty useful, that...<br />
Like the look of this streamlined motorway overhead<br />
gantry (left)? That’s good news, as it’s going to be a<br />
regular feature on your motorway journeys for the<br />
forseeable future, after the design was selected by the<br />
National Highways in an open competition to find a<br />
new-look gantry to replace existing designs.<br />
London-based architecture company Useful Studio will<br />
now work with National Highways to develop its design<br />
concept. It is expected to become the standard design<br />
for new gantries in around two years.<br />
NEWSLINK n APRIL 2023 39
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