Newslink August 2024

msagb.com 

Newslink 

The Voice of MSA GB 

Issue 379 • August 2024 

Shock rise in 

drink-driving 

as politicians 

labelled ‘scared’ 

for refusing to 

take tough action 

Meet the new boss... 

the new Minister for 

‘the Future of Roads’ 

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The calm before the storm as 

King’s Speech leaves our 

sector alone for the moment 

Colin Lilly 

Editor, 


So here we are: it’s August, the dust from the 

General Election has settled, a new 

Government has been elected and Secretary 

of State for Transport appointed. 

The King’s Speech at the State Opening of 

the new Parliament did not mention any 

priorities for road safety, or the private 

motorist. Although the items mentioned in 

the King’s Speech do not form a 

comprehensive list of all actions a 

Government might take, it does show where 

most effort and parliamentary time will be 

placed in the short-term. 

The principal concern, currently, for most 

driver trainers is the length of the driving test 

waiting list. Without major changes in the 

driver testing system, it would seem the only 

way forward is to recruit more examiners. 

Attracting staff to an underpaid job is not 

easy, though the public sector wage review 

could have helped to ease the situation. The 

increase is reported to be above inflation, at 

five per cent, and it remains to be seen if that 

will be considered attractive. 

Many public sector staff, teachers, doctors, 

etc could claim to need an even higher 

increase after salaries have been held back 

for some years, and they would receive public 

support. Driving examiners may not be seen 

in that light, but given the current crisis I think 

many members of the public would support 

the creation of a package to attract recruits 

and retain examiners. 

Another manifesto claim of interest to 

driver training over the next few years was 

the re-introduction of 2030 as the year when 

the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles will be 

banned. As yet there has been no 

confirmation of this but the Department for 

Transport has confirmed the change will 

happen and is preparing a statement. 

Other changes may still be made through 

local government bills and the creation of 

more local mayors. 

The new Secretary of State for Transport is 

Louise Haigh MP. 

Of the three Parliamentary Under 

Secretaries of State, the one that will deal 

with the interests of driver trainers is Lilian 

Greenwood MP, who has been given the new 

title of Future of Roads Minister. 

Ms Greenwood has a large portfolio of 

responsibilities, including: 

n Road safety 

n Local roads and roads maintenance 

n Motoring Agencies (DVLA, DVSA, VCA) 

n Road vehicle decarbonisation 

n Automated vehicles 

All are topics of current interest. 

When the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 

Rachel Reeves, gave her first financial 

statement to the House of Commons she 

included other cuts that could well impact the 

road network, including withdrawing funding 

from a number of major road projects, 

including the A303 tunnel near Stonehenge. 

The ‘Restoring your Railways’ funding has 

also been axed. This will impact the volume of 

traffic on our roads. This project involved the 

reconnection of rail links where the land for 

the tracks still exists and a case for its 

reopening can be presented. 

The north Somerset town of Portishead is 

a case in point. 

In the 1960s, when it lost its railway station 

during the cull of our rail network, Portishead 

had a population of less than 6,000; it now 

has a population of almost 30,000 and is a 

major dormitory town for Bristol. Many locals 

would like the opportunity to travel to the city 

by train. Bristol is not a city that welcomes 

traffic. Drivers will not be encouraged off the 

roads if an alternative infrastructure is not 

available. Environmental targets will not be 

met. 

No doubt there will many changes ahead 

but MSA GB will continue to keep you 

informed and, where necessary, promote 

your cause to the DfT. 

More on page 14 

Welcome to your 

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on an advert? It it contains a web 

address or email, it’s interactive. Just 

click and it will take you to the 

appropriate web page or email so you 

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be found on the MSA GB website, at 

www.msagb.com 

COVER STORY 

After decades of 

drink-driving falling 

year after year, road 

safety groups are 

demanding the 

Government takes 

action after the 

latest figures 

showed a 

marked rise 

– pg 10 

Follow the link 

MSA GB sends 

you to access 

Newslink, 

and then just 

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NEWSLINK n AUGUST 2024 03

Contents 

09 

20 

14 

30 

Hillingdon eases its ban on local 

ADIs using council car parks 

Hillingdon Council has dropped its PCPO 

ban on learner drivers practising parking 

manoeuvres in public car parks – 06 

Drink-driving up 

15% increase in drink-driving deaths shows 

a new commitment is needed to tackle the 

issue... as BMA chief says ‘everything 

possible’ must be done by politicians –10 

RoadPeace backs GDL 

RoadPeace is the latest group to demand 

graduated driving licences be introduced to 

help novice drivers handle the pressures as 

they start their solo driving careers – 12 


The Voice of MSA GB 

The Motor Schools Association 

of Great Britain Ltd 

Head Office: 

Peershaws, 

Berewyk Hall Court, 

White Colne, Colchester, 

Essex CO6 2QB 

T: 01787 221020 

E: info@msagb.com 

32 

Politicians ‘scared’ of taking 

decisive action 

Young Driver conference hears leading 

academic criticise politicians for not 

being brave enough on road safety – 13 

Meet the new boss... 

Introducing the MPs who will lead transport 

and road strategy in Sir Keir Starmer’s new 

Government – 14 

Newslink is published monthly on behalf of the MSA GB 

and distributed to members and selected recently 

qualified ADIs throughout Great Britain by: 

Chamber Media Services, 

4 Hilton Road, Bramhall, Stockport, 

Cheshire SK7 3AG 

Editorial/Production: Rob Beswick 

e: rob@chambermediaservices.co.uk 

t: 0161 426 7957 

Advertising sales: Colin Regan 

e: colinregan001@yahoo.co.uk 

t: 01942 537959 / 07871 444922 

Views expressed in Newslink are not necessarily those 

of the MSA GB or the publishers. 

Improving road safety in Europe 

If we’re going to improve road safety, perhaps 

the UK should learn some lessons from our 

friends across the Channel... – 16 

He or she who hesitates... 

Steve Garrod looks at the challenge of 

helping your pupils make progress while 

driving, and to avoid undue hesitancy, 

especially on their L-test – 18 

Although every effort is made 

to ensure the accuracy of 

material contained within 

this publication, neither MSA 

GB nor the publishers can 

accept any responsibility for 

the veracity of claims made 

by contributors in either 

advertising or editorial content. 

©2024 The Motor Schools 

Association of Great Britain 

Ltd. Reproducing in whole 

or part is forbidden without 

express permission of the 

editor. 

04 NEWSLINK n AUGUST 2024


MSA GB Board 

of Management 

National Chairman & 

Area 2 - East Coast Chair 

Mike Yeomans 

7 Oak Avenue, Elloughton, 

Brough HU15 1LA 

T: 07772 757529 

E: mike.yeomans@msagb.com 

AREA 1 

Vice Chairman 

Peter Harvey MBE 

T: 01505 814823 

E: peter.harveymbe@msagb.com 

Area 1 – Scotland & 

Northern Ireland 

Chair: Steven Porter 

18 Heron Place, Johnstone 

PA5 0RW 

T: 01505 345372 or 

07747 600672 

E: steven.porter@msagb.com 

Area 3 – London & South East 

Chair: Tom Kwok 

52B Sutton Road, Muswell Hill, 

London N10 1HE 

07956 269922 

E: tom.kwok@msagb.com 

How MSA GB 

is organised, in 

four AREAS 

AREA 4 

AREA 2 

AREA 3 

Area 4 – West Coast & Wales 

Chair: Arthur Mynott 

9 Hagleys Green, Crowcombe, 

Taunton TA4 4AH 

T: 01984 618858 

E: arthur.mynott@msagb.com 

Keep in touch 

If you have updated your address, telephone numbers or 

changed your email address recently, please let us know 

at head office by emailing us with your new details and 

membership number to info@msagb.com. 

If you can’t find your membership number, give us a ring 

on 01787 221020. 

Follow MSA GB on social media 

Just click on the icon to go 

through to the relevant site 


News 

Council eases up on anti-ADI parking policy 

Colin Lilly 

Editor, 


In 2020, Hillingdon Council introduced a Public 

Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) which 

prohibited learner drivers from practising 

parking manoeuvres in their public car parks. 

You may recall Newslink covering the issue in 

detail at the time. 

The introduction of the PSPOs resulted in a 

number of driving instructors being fined. In 

all, eight fines were imposed, but it is not 

clear if any were issued to members of the 

public supervising learner drivers. 

The result was learners and driving schools 

were obliged to use retail car parks, with 

resulting congestion. 

At the time, MSA GB spoke to local ADI Paul 

Kerr, who said: “The issue began with car 

parks near the Hayes driving test centre 

(now closed). One particular car park was 

used by the examiners on tests, and so quite 

a few ADIs used it too. However, a local 

councillor took exception to this and before 

long a notice was displayed telling ADIs they 

could not use it.” 

Local ADIs were particularly upset by the 

tone of the notice, which “operates under 

existing public space protection orders 

(PSPOs),” Paul said, “and is used to guard 

against anti-social behaviour such as fly 

tipping, car racing groups or drinking.” 

“Why are ADIs being placed in with these 

people, when all we are doing is teaching 

learners a legitimate manoeuvre that they 

are required to perform on the Government’s 

L-test?,” he asked. 

Thankfully for local ADIs, however, PSPOs 

are not permanent, and have to be renewed 

every three years. 

Another local MSA GB member, David 

Newson, has got in touch with Newslink to 

update us on the story. He told us that in the 

latest version of the PSPO the council has 

Tough words: The sign that 

has dominated Hillingdon 

Council car parks since 2020. 

Thankfully the local authority 

has now relented, and allowed 

ADIs back into its parks for 

practice, with the provisio 

that if an official says you are 

causing a nuisance, the ADI 

must move on 

relented, following a consultation, and the 

restriction has been removed. Learner 

drivers can once again use the councilcontrolled 

car parks. 

However, if a council official considers they 

are causing a nuisance and asks them to 

move on, they must comply. 

Hopefully all parties can maintain this 

amicable resolution. Our member informs us 

that local instructors are still not using 

Hillingdon Council car parks. In the past most 

instructors would use them outside peak 

times and with consideration for the general 

public. 

Area 4: West & Wales 

Taunton meeting with the DVSA 

Date: Wednesday, August 7 

Time: 6.30pm 

Venue: Quaker Meeting Rooms, 

Crescent Car Park, Taunton TA1 4EA 

MSA GB West & Wales Area committee has 

rescheduled its members meeting with the 

DVSA. It was originally planned for the end 

of June, but had to be postponded because 

of the General Election 

The re-arranged date is Wednesday, 7th 

August. It will be held at the Quaker Meeting 

Rooms in Taunton. This is in the corner of the 

Crescent Car Park behind Boots, postcode 

TA1 4EA. Note, parking is free after 6.00pm. 

The speakers are; 

n Sue Robertson, DVSA ADI Area Manager 

n Darren Russell, DVSA – ADI Deputy 

Registrar 

We are also hoping to have LDTM/DEs 

from Taunton DTC in attendance. 

This will be the first face-to-face meeting 

in our locality for almost five years and it 

would be great to see as many instructors as 

possible. 

We are sure many of you will have 

questions to ask our speakers and this will 

be the ideal opportunity to get your voice 

heard. 

The meeting will start at 6.30pm and there 

will be a nominal charge of £5 to cover the 

cost of hiring the room. This can be paid in 

advance, if possible, just contact Area 

Chairman, Arthur Mynott, on the details 

below for the bank details and let me know 

asap if you intend coming. 

A lot of work has gone in to re-organising 

this meeting after the general election, so 

please come along if you can. 

The DVSA nowadays has a policy of only 

attending if there are at least 30 people in 

the audience. 

For more details and to book, contact 

Arthur Mynott, 

Chairman West Coast & Wales MSA GB 

07989852274 

arthur.mynott@msagb.com 



MSA GB Autumn series 

Every autumn MSA GB hosts meetings in each area which combine training sessions, 

information and the area AGM. See www.msagb.com for more details and to book. 

Scotland AGM & Training Event 

Date: 3rd November 

Join us for this year’s Scottish annual training 

event! With industry experts from across the 

road safety sphere, the latest training 

opportunities, and plenty of networking and 

socialising, it’s an event not-to-be-missed. 

Secure your place before August 31 to take 

advantage of our Early Bird ticket rate - just 

£50. This includes tea/coffee on arrival, 

morning coffee/tea, a two-course lunch with 

tea/coffee, and an afternoon tea break. 

All paperwork needed will also be provided. 

West Coast & Wales AGM Training Day 

Date: 11th November 

Mercure Bristol North, Bristol, BS36 1RP 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to secure 

your place at our West Coast & Wales Annual 

Training Day at our exclusive Early Bird rate - 

£45 for MSA GB members and £50 for 

non-members. We already have an incredible 

line-up of speakers confirmed, including: 

n John Sheridan, DVSA Driver Training 

Policy Advisor. 

n Daniel Cox, Avon & Somerset Police 

Road Safety Officer. 

n Great Western Air Ambulance. 

n Mike Yeomans, MSA GB Chairman. 

n Peter Harvey, MSA GB Vice Chairman 

And if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also 

secured a 15% discount at the hotel for any 

delegates travelling and wishing to stay 

overnight. 

East Coast AGM & Training Day 

London & South AGM & Training Day 

We will be finalising details of events in these 

two areas shortly. 

Keep an eye on the MSA GB website for more 

details, at www.msagb.com 


News 

RAAC problems hits two 

driving test centres 

LANCING DTC SHUTS 

Due to problems with Reinforced 

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) at 

Lancing Driving Test Centre, the site was 

permanently closed on Monday, August 

5. 

The driving test centre has moved 

permanently to Field Place. The address 

of the new DTC is: Field Place, The 

Boulevard, Worthing BN13 1NP. 

The DVSA has already contacted 

candidates affected by this relocation. 

However, if you have booked a test on 

behalf of your pupil, please let them know 

about these changes. 

MITCHAM 

RAAC problems have also forced the 

closure of Mitcham Driving Test Centre. 

Mod 2 testing will move to a temporary 

location. Mod 1 testing will continue from 

the current location. 

Mod 2 tests only will move to a 

temporary location: The Hilton Hotel, 101 

Waddon Way, Purley Way Croydon CR9 

4HH 

READING 

The DVSA has been advised that planning 

permission has been granted to 

redevelop the building DVSA currently 

leases for Reading Driving Test Centre. 

The DVSA lease runs until spring 2025, 

but is currently searching for a new site 

to serve Reading. It will announce the 

new test centre location when we can. 

Seven-week wait? You must 

be joking, says Glasgow ADI 

Members will recall that in the July issue, we 

published a comprehensive look at driving 

test centre waiting times for DTCs across 

Great Britain. 

Callum Miller, an ADI who uses the East 

Kilbride driving test centre, was prompted by 

the information to contact the editor. 

The table quoted the East Kilbride centre 

as having a wait of seven weeks. However, 

Callum pointed out this was not the case as 

students were having difficulty booking tests 

some months ahead. 

East Kilbride is a satellite centre of Glasgow 

Baillieston and operates two to three days a 

week using staff from the main centre. 

Baillieston has a waiting list of 24 weeks. 

The information we published was provided 

to the AA by the DVSA in good faith. 

How 


covered 

the DTC 

waiting 

times in the 

July issue 

I agree that it does not seem logical that a 

part-time satellite centre would have a 

waiting list that much shorter than the main 

centre. 

Thanks to Callum for bringing local issues 

to our attention. 

Congratulations, Mike 

MSA GB is delighted to announce that the 

association’s chairman, Mike Yeomans, will 

be presented with an award from IMTD for 

his Voluntary Contribution to the Driver 

Training and Road Safety Industry across 

many years. 

Very well done, Mike; this is justly 

deserved for all your hard work and 

dedication over many years. It is nice to see it 

recognised in this way. 

Mike will be presented with his award at 

the IMTD lunch on Sunday, 8th September. 

DfT unclear over roads 

maintenance plans 

A new report has criticised the DfT over its 

roads maintenance strategy, effectively 

saying it hasn’t used its funding effectively. 

The National Audit Office said the DfT has 

funds available for roads maintenance, “but 

does not have a good enough understanding 

of the condition of local roads, and does not 

use the limited data it does have to allocate 

its funding as effectively as possible. ” 

The DfT “does not know whether funds it 

allocates to local authorities are delivering 

improvements in road condition, and has not 

updated its guidance to local authorities, to 

share good practice.” 

The RAC described the admission as 

“staggering”. 


Road safety news 

Concern as drink-drive deaths see sharp 

increase and highest since 2009 

Road safety experts have voiced their 

concern after new figures showed a sharp 

increase in the number of deaths on Britain’s 

roads caused by drunk drivers. 

Final figures for 2022 released by the 

Department for Transport estimate that 300 

people were killed in drink drive accidents – 

an increase of 15% on the previous year, and 

the highest since 2009. 

The overall number of casualties was also 

up slightly – to 6,800 compared with 6,740 in 

2021. 

“Drink-drive casualties have been steadily 

declining since these figures were first 

published in 1979,” comments Hunter Abbott, 

MD of personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense. 

“But there’s been a shocking increase in 

fatalities over the past two years. In 2021, 

there were 260 deaths – which in turn was 

40 more than in 2020. 

“Some studies show that people who drink 

above Government guidelines have been 

drinking more heavily since the pandemic, 

which may explain the increase in collisions 

where alcohol is a factor. 

“Further, these figures only record crashes 

where a driver was actually over the legal 

limit, which in England and Wales is the 

highest in Europe. 

“What they don’t tell you is how many 

more casualties were caused by ‘lethal but 

“What they don’t tell you is 

how many more casualties 

were caused by ‘lethal but 

legal’ drivers – those who 

were under the official limit 

but still impaired”. 

legal’ drivers – those who were under the 

official limit but still impaired”. 

Analysis by AlcoSense of the new data 

shows that London and the South East 

accounted for 30% of all drink drive 

casualties in Great Britain, with the North- 

East recording the fewest (3%). 

June and July were the worst months for 

drink-related injuries on the roads, with 630 

casualties in each month. 

Just 37% of motorists involved in a collision 

were breathalysed, compared with 53% ten 

years previously. 

“More drivers need to be tested by Police 

after an accident,” adds Mr Abbott, who is 

also a member of the Parliamentary 

Advisory Council for Transport Safety 

(PACTS). 

“Every year 17% of motorists fail the test 

or refuse to provide a sample”. 

BMA chief urges ‘do everything’ to beat drink-driving 

Sir Ian Gilmore, president of the British 

Medical Association (BMA), has urged the 

Government and road safety leaders to “do 

everything possible” to stop drink and drug 

driving and save hundreds of lives. 

Sir Ian has led a group of stakeholders, 

including medical professional bodies, alcohol 

harm and road safety charities and campaign 

groups, and police and emergency services, 

to develop a consensus statement on alcohol, 

drugs and driving. 

The statement says we need to: 

n Lower the BAC limit for driving 

n Ensure enforcement and educating the 

public 

n Increase alcohol and drug treatment 

service capacity and capabilities and directing 

to those services 

n Mandatory labelling of all alcohol 

products to include health risks and warnings 

not to drive if drinking, similar to thoes found 

on cigarette packaging. 

The group has also called for the issue of 

drink and drug driving harm to be placed in 

the context of the wider harms caused by 

alcohol and other drugs. 

Mr Gilmore said: “Figures show that deaths 

owing to alcohol and other drugs throughout 

the UK are some of the highest they’ve been 

on record. 

“This harm is not equally felt in our 

communities: people living in the most 

deprived areas of the UK are more severely 

impacted in terms of mortality and morbidity 

from alcohol and drug-related causes than 

those in the least deprived areas, despite 

similar or lower levels of consumption. 

“Drink and drug driving is one of the 

contributors to the overall harm and its 

impacts extend beyond the individuals to 

other road users as well as their loved ones, 

and negatively impacts our public services, in 

a time when capacity is already stretched to 

breaking point.” 

England, Wales, and Northern Ireland 

currently have the highest legal BAC (blood 

alcohol content) limit for driving in Europe, at 

80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. 

Meanwhile, drink driving is estimated to 

cost Great Britain around £800 million each 

year. While the BMA says there is no 

estimate as to the cost of drug driving, these 

collisions increased by more than 60% 

between 2014 to 2019. 



Motorway red x catches out 53,000 

Cameras have caught more than 53,000 

drivers ignoring Red X signs on smart 

motorways since 2021, figures obtained by 

IAM RoadSmart show. 

The Red X is used to close lanes on a smart 

motorway when an obstruction such as a 

broken-down vehicle is detected in the road 

ahead. Closed lanes are also used by the 

emergency services attending those who 

might need urgent assistance at the incident 

in question. 

Enforcement cameras automatically 

detect vehicles passing illegally under a Red 

X, which can result in a fixed penalty notice of 

up to £100 and three points or, in some cases, 

more severe penalties. 

The data obtained by IAM reveals that in 

2021, nine police forces were enforcing Red X 

infringements, with 4,393 drivers caught. 

A further 11 forces began prosecuting 

against the contravention in 2022 resulting in 

20,773 motorists being captured by cameras. 

In 2023, a total of 21 forces used 

enforcement cameras to catch 28,231 drivers 

breaking the law. 

Almost all police forces with smart 

motorways within their boundary areas are 

now actively pursuing this type of criminality. 

Nicholas Lyes, IAM RoadSmart director of 

policy and standards, said: “Ignoring a Red X 

sign on a smart motorway is dangerous 

because it risks a serious collision and for this 

reason, we welcome police forces clamping 

down on those who break the law. 

“If a lane is closed on smart motorway, it 

usually indicates there is either a stranded 

vehicle ahead, people are working in the road, 

or there has been a collision. Disobeying the 

sign puts the lives of those in the vehicle as 

well as those ahead in danger. If you see a 

Red X sign, you should slow down and move 

into an open lane when there is sufficient 

space to do so. 

“The majority of drivers have serious 

reservations about the safety of smart 

motorways where the hard shoulder has 

been removed, and these figures are unlikely 

to persuade them they are safe. We know 

that no new all-lane running smart 

motorways will be built, but it does beg the 

question of what we do with the existing 

stretches that are in operation? 

“This is something the new government 

needs to give some serious thought to.” 


News 

RoadPeace adds its support for 

graduated driver licensing 

RoadPeace has become the latest 

organisation to call for the introduction of a 

graduated driving licence (GDL) in Great 

Britain. 

It has published an open letter urging the 

new Governmemnt to introduce GDL, saying 

it would ‘drastically reduce’ road crashes 

involving young and inexperienced drivers. 

The open letter has been signed by more 

than 1,900 people in just two weeks. Many of 

the signatories are bereaved parents whose 

sons and daughters were killed in young 

driver crashes, and are part of a GDL 

campaign group Forget-me-not Families 

Uniting, which was launched in April 2024 

with the backing of RoadPeace. 

RoadPeace says GDL “will help new drivers 

gain experience and skills gradually over time 

in low-risk environments.” 

It pointed out that in 2022, 4,935 people 

were killed or seriously injured in crashes 

involving at least one young driver. 

Nick Simmons, CEO of RoadPeace, said: 

“Bereaved families, academics and road 

safety bodies have repeatedly called for the 

introduction of a GDL system in the UK for 

decades to ensure that young drivers and 

passengers are far better protected from 

road harm. 

“However, these calls have been ignored, 

with concerns cited about restricting young 

people’s freedom. 

“But as bereaved parents know all too well 

– nothing is more restrictive on a young 

person’s freedom than a fatal road crash.” 

The RoadPeace letter follows the 

publication of the Road Safety Manifesto in 

May, co-ordinated by the Parliamentary 

Advisory Council for Transport Safety 

(PACTS), which has the support of almost 

100 UK road safety organisations. That 

document set out four priorities to reduce 

road death and injury, with GDL being one of 

them. 

Do we need a new 

licence category to 

take into account 

novice drivers? 

Jamie Hassall, PACTS executive director, 

said: “The introduction of GDL is a critical step 

towards making our roads safer. Young and 

inexperienced drivers are disproportionately 

involved in serious and fatal collisions, and 

GDL has been proven internationally to 

significantly reduce these incidents. 

“This measure is long overdue in the UK, 

and we strongly urge the next government to 

prioritise its implementation within the first 

100 days of Parliament. 

“The benefits in terms of lives saved and 

injuries prevented on our roads cannot be 

overstated.” 

We’re sticking to 20mph, says Welsh Government 

The Welsh Government has vowed to make 

its controversial 20mph default speed limit a 

success story, as it unveiled new guidance to 

support local councils when making decisions 

on speed limits. 

The guidance has been co-developed with 

highways authorities, the Welsh Local 

Government Association, and the County 

Surveyor’s Society for Wales. 

Wales introduced a default 20mph limit 12 

months ago, but it has met with considerable 

criticism from some motoring groups. Ken 

Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, said 

the Welsh Government was still committed to 

the lower limit but accepted that changes 

would be brought in. 

Mr Skates said: “Recent collisions data has 

shown encouraging reductions in casualties. 

We have still got a way to go but things are 

moving in the right direction. 

“By working together and supporting 

highways authorities to make changes where 

it is right to do so, I believe we can continue to 

make 20mph a real success story for Wales.” 

The guidance provides a framework to 

support highways authorities to make the 

right decisions for local roads – particularly 

when those calls are finely balanced. 

It prioritises 20mph limits where 

pedestrians and cyclists frequently mix with 

vehicles unless strong evidence supports 

that higher speeds are safe. However, the 

new framework allows room for councils to 

raise limits back to 30mph. 

Andrew Morgan, leader of the Welsh Local 

Government Association, said: “These are not 

easy decisions for councils and safety 

remains our priority. 

“There will need to be a high level of 

confidence that, if and where the limit is 

raised back to 30mph, it will not result in the 

very risks the policy was designed to 

mitigate.” 



Politicians ‘scared’ of introducing 

GDL for fear of public backlash 

Dr Ian Greenwood has told the Young Driver 

Focus conference that politicians are too 

scared of losing votes to introduce strong 

road safety policies, including graduated 

driving licences. 

He told the conference, which was 

organised by FirstCar, the RAC Foundation 

and Road Safety GB: “The politics is too 

cautious because it fears alienating voters. 

Instead, the dominant framing is car-centric, 

people blaming, and reinforced by language 

suggesting crashes are accidental and 

unavoidable.” 

He told the conference: “My contention is 

that until now, MPs do not believe there is a 

road safety problem in need of policy 

attention, and that existing policy solutions 

are too controversial or costly. 

“This has a direct impact on the number of 

deaths and serious injuries. 

“With young drivers, the policy to reduce 

deaths seems to be going round in circles, 

with the bias towards policy solutions that 

have less evidence supporting them in terms 

of success in reducing road deaths or injuries. 

“Items like GDL are left on the back shelf, 

despite decades of evidence that it can 

reduce serious injuries by between 20 and 

40%.” 

He criticised MPs for spending “years 

hoping that psychology and physiology are 

not relevant, when the evidence proves that 

they are.” 

Dr Greenwood’s PhD thesis on young 

driver safety policy revealed that the debate 

around new driver risk was first referenced in 

1937 – the year the driving test was first 

introduced. GDL was first looked at in 1993. 

Road safety groups have been calling for it in 

louder voices in recent years, with a 

groundswell of support, “yet despite this, and 

a succession of reports pointing out the 

advantages, the Department for Transport 

said before the General Election it had no 

plans to introduce GDL.” 

He called for a new “public engagement 

You can read more about the 

Young Driver Focus conference 

by clicking on the cover image of 

the report, left 

though the media, putting the case for GDL, 

providing clarity on its impact and 

implementation”. 

Dr Greenwood added: “We also need to 

change the language around GDL. Instead of 

framing it as restrictive, and a policy that will 

remove freedoms, we need to reframe it as a 

supportive transition, targeting risk areas 

and reducing death and injury. Point out that 

this would result in cheaper insurance in the 

long term.” 

He also said road safety groups need to 

“challenge misleading reports on GDL,” and 

embrace groups such as Forget-me-not 

Families “which have a direct connection with 

the issue.” 

He concluded: “We know the policy 

solutions that reduce death and serious 

injury from young driver crashes. However, 

politicians do not see, or are unwilling to 

acknowledge, a policy problem. Our politics is 

not moving in step with the reality of the 

carnage on our roads. 

“However, with the profile of young driver 

crashes increasing, this could prove to be the 

opportune time to lobby for a change in the 

law.” 

The families of four friends who died in a car 

crash have paid tribute to their loved ones. 

Andrei Tudorov, 18, Lyuben Gogov, 20, Narcis 

Titianu, 20, and Ioan Toma, 20, were found dead 

in the early hours of Sunday, July 25 by police 

on the A436 in Ullenwood near Cheltenham. 

The black Renault Clio they were travelling in 

had left the road and crashed into a tree. 

Gloucestershire Police said Mr Gogov, Mr 

Titianu and Mr Toma all lived together in 

Gloucester, while Mr Tudorov was visiting them 

on holiday. 

All four originally come from Romania. 


News 

Meet the new boss ... 

very different 

from the old boss ... 

Bolton-born former trade union official 

Lilian Greenwood given oversight on road 

safety and the DVSA in new Government 

Lilian Greenwood MP has been appointed as 

the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State 

for Transport in Sir Keir Starmer’s new 

Government, where she has been given 

control of road safety and the three motoring 

agencies, including the DVSA. 

You can read too much into these 

appointments at times, but it is interesting 

that Ms Greenwood’s official title is Minister 

for the Future of Roads. 

The title change to ‘Future of Roads’ 

suggests a Government focused on making 

big changes to the road network and the way 

people use it. 

Ms Greenwood’s other areas of control 

include roads maintenance and infrastructure 

delivery (including National Highways); local 

transport including buses, taxis, light rail; 

active travel (cycling and walking); haulage; 

Future of Freight; women’s safety; and 

accessibility (cross-cutting lead as Ministerial 

Disability Champion), as well control of road 

safety strategy and the DVLA, DVSA and 

VCA. She is also over Kent including BROCK, 

TAP; EES and borders; 

About Lilian Greenwood 

Ms Greenwood was re-elected as the MP 

for Nottingham South in July 2024, and has 

represented the constituency since May 

2010.She was made Shadow Secretary of 

State for Transport between 2015 and 2016, 

also operating as Shadow Rail Minister from 

2011 to 2015. She was appointed Opposition 

Deputy Chief Whip by Sir Keir Starmer in May 

2021, occupying the role until 2023 when she 

was made Shadow Minister for Arts, 

Heritage, and Civil Society. 

Ms Greenwood also chaired the Transport 

Select Committee from July 2017 to January 

2020, so she does have some practical 

interest in transport matters 

Education 

Lilian attended Canon Slade School in 

Former NUPE official 

Lilian Greenwood is now 

heading up the part of the 

Department for Transport 

that oversees road safety 

and the DVSA... so 

effectively, she is ADIs’ 

new boss! 

Bolton, before reading Economics and Social 

and Political Sciences St Catharine’s College, 

University of Cambridge. 

Career before politics 

Lilian moved to Nottingham in 1992 to work 

for the National Union of Public Employees, 

now part of the public sector trade body 

UNISON. Away from work, Lilian is most likely 

to be walking in the hills, or at the theatre. 

Her in-tray 

The new Minister has a stacked in-tray to 

get through. Without wishing to bring political 

views into Newslink, it is very difficult to claim 

in any way that the Conservative 

Government placed great store on road 

safety. The complete absence of an overarching 

road safety strategy, or a plan to 

reduce road deaths or serious injuries, left it 

“You can read too much into 

these appointments at times, 

but it is interesting that Ms 

Greenwood’s official title is 

Minister for the Future of 

Roads ... it suggests a focus on 

making big changes to the road 

network and the way we use it” 

open to claims that it didn’t care too much 

about a policy area that seemed to gain few 

votes. 

The Conservatives had also placed itself as 

the ‘friend of the motorist’, and for some 

reason, drivers view policies that improve 

road safety as in some way anti-motoring. 

It is hoped by many in the road safety 

sphere that the new Minister for the Future of 

Roads will have a more active role in this area. 

First, it is hoped that Ms Greenwood will 

will need to get to grips with the appalling 

crisis in L-test waiting lists; this has to be a 

priority for many ADIs. 

But equally, it is hoped that Ms Greenwood 

wil lead reform of the L-test, to help it 

become an even better tool for measuring a 

learner driver’s ability. 

Certainly the system for training new 

instructors, and elements of the L-test itself, 

could be up for reform. It would be good to 

see the Minister green light a new IT system 

for the DVSA, and possibly a new structure or 

rules over who books a test, to beat the 

autobots. 

The new Minister may also look again at 

contentious issues such as the drink-driving 

limit and graduated driving licences, and 

re-introduce binding targets for cutting road 

deaths and serious injuries. These could be 

tied closely to urban motoring strategies, 

including more protections for vulnerable 

road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. 



Heads Up takes award 

for beating distraction 

A prestigious road safety award has been 

hailed as a sign people are looking at more 

than speed when it comes to reducing road 

deaths and serious injuries. 

Acusensus’s ‘Heads Up’ distracted driving 

solution was named winner of the Chartered 

Institution of Highways & Transportation 

(CIHT) 2024 Road Safety Award. 

UK trials of ‘Heads-Up’, which was developed 

in Australia, has showed its worth in spotting 

drivers using mobile devices or not wearing a 

seatbelt. 

The cameras look into the vehicle to check 

if someone is using a hand-held phone, or not 

wearing a seatbelt. Once the potential 

offence has been flagged up, a human checks 

the images to see if it should be passed on for 

further investigation. 

CIHT judges said the UK trial demonstrated 

the scale of this significant safety risk on UK 

roads and proved that technology could make 

our roads safer for everyone. 

Geoff Collins of Acusensus said: 

“Distracted driving is one of the most 

dangerous driving behaviours: one of the 

‘fatal five’. It has been identified as a problem 

for many years, but the dramatic growth of 

smartphone use globally has led to an 

increased desire to produce a practical, 

operational solution, delivering long-term, 

wide-scale driver behaviour change. 

“Until recently, there hasn’t been a 

practical solution to address these. However, 

this trial shows there is a solution, and 

highlights the magnitude of distracted driving 

and seatbelt wearing behaviours on UK 

roads.” 

Positive thinking helps drivers 

overtake horses and cyclists 

A new video resource has been produced to 

promote the safe overtaking of horses and 

cyclists with mindfulness techniques. 

Inappropriate overtaking is one of the key 

problems faced by cyclists and horse riders, 

which is typified by another vehicle 

approaching too quickly or too closely, and 

then passing without sufficient lateral 

clearance or at too high a speed. This can 

destabilise a bicycle and frighten a horse. 

Drivers overtake too close and too fast for 

a number of reasons: they may not know 

what distances and speeds are safe to adopt 

when overtaking, they may be prompted by 

negative attitudes towards a particular group 

of vulnerable road users, or they may be 

responding to in-the-moment emotions, 

such as frustration or anxiety. 

The videos, produced by The British Horse 

Society, Nottingham Trent University and 

Esitu Solutions, thanks to funding from The 

Road Safety Trust, show that mindfulness 

has many potential benefits for drivers 

including the removal of distractions, 

increased focus, and emotional regulation. 

They cover several topics, including The 

STOP technique – Stop, Take a breath, 

Observe why you are feeling this, and put 

negative thoughts aside and Proceed; as well 

as monitoring yourself for negative thoughts. 

The videos are informed by a large study of 

more than 1,000 drivers, which asked them 

what they felt, thought, and how they 

behaved around vulnerable road users. 

Spotting horses in the road ahead was 

most likely to lead to feelings of surprise 

and happiness in the drivers, whereas the 

strongest emotions evoked by cyclists were 

reported to be frustration and anxiety. 

Participating drivers agreed that their 

knowledge of how to pass cyclists/horses 

had improved (81% and 82%, respectively), 

that they will be in more control when 

overtaking them in the future (82% and 

84%), and that they will use the mindfulness 

techniques when they next encounter these 

vulnerable road users on the road. 

The videos have been turned into a 

four-week training intervention and will now 

be disseminated among a range of partners. 

The videos can be accessed via YouTube or 

the Road safety Trust website.. 

More cycleways 

heading for London 

Transport for London (TfL) has launched ten new Cycleways, 

totalling 35km in distance, as it continues efforts to make 

cycling safer and easier. London’s strategic cycle network has 

more than quadrupled in size since 2016, increasing from 90km 

to 390km today. 

TfL says delivering high-quality new Cycleways will support 

Londoners of all backgrounds and abilities to cycle safely, 

encouraging greater diversity in cycling. 

The new Cycleways include a new 3km link to Cycleway 2 

(Aldgate to Stratford), through the east of Newham, and a new 

cycleway from Burnt Oak to Colindale – the first in Barnet. 

Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, 

said: “Expanding London’s cycleway network is key to enabling 

more Londoners to choose cycling as their mode of transport.” 


News 

Finished? Some countries 

have just got started on 

improving road safety 

In the July issue of Newslink we published 

the latest PIN report from the European 

Transport Safety Council (ETSC). 

The report highlighted the progress 

Finland had made in the past 12 months, 

reducing its road deaths and serious 

injuries through a series of innovative 

programmes to improve driving behaviour. 

Since 2000, Finland has implemented 

several important measures to improve 

road safety. These include lowering the 

speed limits in most urban areas; the 

construction of a network of pedestrian 

and bicycle paths; and the construction of 

400 km of motorways, combined with the 

installation of automatic speed cameras 

on nearly 3,000 km of main roads. 

The impact has been considerable, with 

the combination of greater enforcement, 

education and practical steps backing up a 

view of Government, that the price we pay 

for personal mobility cannot be 

unnecessary deaths. 

Here we look at a number of other 

policies and programmes adopted by 

European nations which caught the eye in 

the PIN Report. Could some of these help 

reduce our KSI on the roads? 

Enforcement crackdown reaps dividends in Belgium 

Road deaths in Belgium decreased by 37% 

between 2013 and 2023, but between 2019 

and 2023, the decrease was 25%. But rather 

than celebrate the reduction, albeit one that 

had slowed down, the country decided to act. 

Belgium implemented several new road 

safety measures, with a focus on improving 

the safety of vulnerable road users and 

strengthening enforcement. Some of the 

country’s large cities extended the zones 

where speed is limited to 30km/h, some to 

the entire city, such as Brussels. 

The network of separated cycle paths has 

also been extended. 

Crucially, the enforcement chain has been 

improved. The treatment of motoring fines is 

now largely standardised and additional 

resources have been allocated to ensure that 

all fines are being treated – and followed up 

for payment. 

The deployment of safety cameras, 

including section control cameras, has 

increased. 5,000 Automatic Number Plate 

Recognition cameras that can automatically 

read vehicle number plates are now in use in 

Belgium. And these have been very active: A 

remarkable one-in-three Belgians received a 

ticket for speeding in 2023. 

Penalties, such as driving bans for 

handheld mobile phone use and combined 

recidivism (eg, speeding and alcohol), 

contribute to effective enforcement. 

Regular campaigns, like the BOB drinkdriving 

campaign, have raised awareness and 

encouraged responsible behaviour. 

During the BOB campaign, most police 

forces in Belgium conducted alcohol controls, 

reinforcing the vital messages around 

improving road safety further. 

Are we making progress on reducing road deaths? 

The EU has set a target to halve the number of road deaths by 

2030, based on their level in 2019. However, progress is poor. 

A person killed in traffic is someone who was recorded as dying 

immediately or within 30 days from injuries sustained in a 

collision on a public road. 

There has been a decrease in road deaths in 18 of the 32 

countries monitored. Malta led with a 38% reduction, followed 

by Luxembourg at 28%, Belgium at 11% and Hungary at 10%. 

However, while that sounds promising, it masks a poorer 

picture: seven nations showed huge increases in road deaths, 

while eight showed either slight rises or falls in deaths. 

The other problem is that the number of nations hitting the 6% 

target is just eight. The UK has failed to hit this target, and is at 

around a 3% decrease. 



“A disturbing trend of the last five years has been the rise of ‘culture wars’ around 

transport and mobility. There have been clashes over speed limits, speed cameras and 

low-traffic zones. The politicisation of road safety is not a new phenomenon, but it does 

feel that the tone of discussion has worsened. This makes little sense because there is 

not a family in Europe that hasn’t been affected in some way by road trauma...” 

Antonio Avenso, ETSC CEO 

ETSC targets improvements in 

enforcement and novice driver rules 

The ETSC has drawn up a list of priorities for 

improving road safety, which if taken forward 

would, it believes, deliver real progress on 

reducing road-related casualties. 

Principal among the recommendations is 

to support a new probationary period for 

novice drivers with a zero tolerance for drink 

and drug-driving. 

It would also challenge proposals by EU 

Member States to introduce an accompanied 

driving scheme for 17-year-old lorry drivers, 

and plans to further reduce the minimum 

recommended age for solo driving for bus 

and lorry drivers to 18 and 19. It also wants to 

end the possibility to further reduce the 

minimum age in the context of pilot projects. 

Finally, it would remove the possibility for 

16-year-olds to drive a car up to 2.5 tonnes, 

with speed limited to 45 km/h under the B1 

licence. 

The ETSC would also like to see the 

introduction of minimum standards for driver 

training and traffic safety education with 

gradual alignment in the form, content and 

outcomes of driving courses across the EU. 

Finally, it would encourage EU Member 

States to set up and implement a demerit 

point system, introduce stricter systems 

during a probationary period, and examine 

the expansion of continuous training for 

non-professional drivers post-licence. 

On enforcement and disciplinary measures, 

it would support the principle of EU-wide 

recognition of some driving disqualifications 

and encourage EU Member States to set up 

and implement a demerit point system. The 

ETSC would also encourage all EU Member 

States to set up virtual driving licences with 

penalty points for non-resident drivers to 

deter recidivists offending while abroad. 

As regards the regulations on vehicles and 

vehicle technologies: 

n Ensure that all vehicles entering the EU 

comply with all relevant safety and 

environmental legislation, through updates to 

the requirements for Individual Vehicle 

Approval and the relevant type approval 

legislation. 

n Review maximum limits for the size and 

weights of cars and vans. 

n Prepare for the latest advancements in 

safety technology. 

n Update the minimum safety 

requirements for motorcycles and ensure 

that ADAS systems installed in other 

vehicles, such as Automated Emergency 

Braking, can detect motorcycles. 

n Ensure fair access to vehicle systems 

and data, particularly for governmental 

activities (such as road safety analysis and 

policy making as well as vehicle approval, 

periodic and roadside inspection). 

n Set the KPI outcome targets to match 

the outcome performance of the three best 

performing countries for each KPI (when 

possible). 

Netherlands concern as fall in road deaths stagnates 

The Dutch have long been proud of their road 

safety record, regularly posting one of the 

lowest KSI figures in Europe. 

However, road deaths in the Netherlands 

have stagnated since 2010. Over the last 

year, there was a decrease, from 754 in 

2022 to 684 in 2023, but between 2019 and 

2023, road deaths went up by 3% and, over 

the decade 2013 to 2023, they actually 

increased by 20%. 

In 2023, for the fourth consecutive year, 

cyclists accounted for more deaths in the 

Netherlands (270 deaths, representing 39% 

of all road deaths) than car occupants (194 

deaths, comprising 28% of all road deaths). 

In 2023, 375 (55%) of all road deaths were 

people over the age of 60. The number of 

road deaths in this age group has been 

increasing for a number of years although 

this could be due to the population ageing 

and the fact that older people now form a 

larger share of the population. 

To their credit the Dutch have now decided 

to take action, launching the Dutch Strategic 

Plan for Road Safety 2030. This has 

identified areas for improvement, and safety 

performance indicators are in place to 

address behavioural issues such as 

drink-driving, distraction, and use of 

protective equipment (seatbelts, child 

restraint systems, helmets). Additionally, 

road authorities now have access to more 

data, enabling them to identify high-risk 

road sections and crossings. 

In a 2022 report, SWOV, the Dutch road 

safety research institute, recommended 

several measures, including: 

n Reducing speed limits in cities to 

30km/h on unsafe 50km/h roads; 

n Improving cyclist safety by making 

cycling infrastructure ‘forgiving’; 

n Doubling the level of speed 

enforcement; 

n Re-introducing the alcohol interlock 

programme, combined with increased 

enforcement of drink-driving to boost the 

chance of being caught; 

n Introducing a progressive fine system. 

Let’s hope their progressive plans reap 

some dividends for them. 


Towards your CPD 

If it’s safe... let’s go: the 

cure for hesitancy 

Steve Garrod looks at the challenge of helping pupils 

make progress and avoid undue hesitancy 

I have recently been conducting some Part 

three and Standards Check training and have 

come across the same problem of making 

progress and avoiding undue hesitancy. 

In addition, I am often asked how to deal 

with these two subjects, or what the 

difference is between ‘being hesitant’ and not 

making progress. It can be tricky to interpret 

these faults if you are not present on an 

L-test or don’t sit in on a debrief. 

From my examining days, I can share the 

following (although thinking can often change 

and there are those who may not agree!) 

The key difference 

Being hesitant means not taking safe 

opportunities to proceed when safe to do so. 

The reasons for not doing so (the analysis) 

could include the pupil: 

n has not prepared the car and is therefore 

not ready to move off when safe 

n is unable to identify a safe gap 

n is unsure of who has priority 

n being over cautious (when deciding to 

move off) 

Not making progress means driving well 

below the speed for the road and traffic 

conditions. It is NOT simply failing to drive at 

the speed limit, as there may be some very 

good reasons not to drive up to the limit. 

Some of the reasons for not driving at an 

appropriate speed could include: 

n missing speed limit signs 

n failing to understand the national speed 

limit for the type of vehicle being driven 

n lack of confidence 

n mistaking KPH for MPH 

n being over cautious (mistaking driving 

slowly for being safe) 

Although both faults are relatively easy to 

identify, they are not always so easy to 

analyse, because they can often be to do with 

a lack of confidence. Therefore, telling 

someone to ‘Go now’ or ‘Speed up’ is not 

“Avoiding a charge on test of 

being hesitant means taking 

safe opportunities to proceed 

when it is safe to do so. The 

reasons for not doing so could 

include the pupil has not 

prepared the car and is not 

ready to move off, or is unable 

to identify a safe gap...” 

helpful (although tempting!). 

As with all faults, if they are not analysed 

correctly, it is unlikely they can be cured. The 

remedy for hesitancy is not moving off 

quicker but moving off earlier. 

It is more helpful to explain the importance 

of moving off earlier and what steps can be 

taken to prepare the car earlier to achieve 

success. The origin of this fault can stem from 

the first few lessons when dealing with 

junctions. For example, when pulling up at the 

side of the road (for a normal stop) pupils are 

correctly taught to stop the car, apply the 

handbrake then select neutral. If pupils 

transfer this procedure to stopping at 

T-Junctions, however, they are likely to 

develop a habit that is hard to break. 

In most situations, hesitancy is caused by 

failing to prepare to move off before the car 

has stopped or, if the car has stopped, not 

selecting first gear before deciding if it is 

necessary to apply the handbrake. Some 

learners are unaware that they can select 

first gear while the car is moving, although 



the speed must be at a slow walking pace to 

keep the change a smooth one. 

Whether you encourage your pupil to 

select first gear as they are coming to rest or 

when they have stopped will depend on their 

ability and the layout of the junction, but 

when dealing with emerging, learners should 

be encouraged to be ready to move off when 

the opportunity is first identified and not wait 

until the gap arrives before preparing the car. 

(This is a fault ADI trainers will role-play 

during their training sessions). 

ADIs are taught to watch their pupils’ eyes 

hands and feet when they are teaching. If you 

look at a pupil’s feet you will often find (in a 

manual car) that when a pupil is waiting to 

emerge from a side road or at traffic lights 

their right foot is on the foot brake and not 

covering the accelerator, and very often the 

handbrake is not applied. 

This could lead to a number of faults when 

they try to move off. If the handbrake is not 

applied, the car may roll backward or stall as 

they try to quickly counteract the car rolling 

backward by moving quickly from the brake 

pedal to the accelerator; they could over 

accelerate and move off into the path of 

passing traffic, or if the car does move off 

then it could be too slowly as their foot is not 

on the accelerator pedal as they rely on ‘tick 

over’ to move off. Even with the handbrake 

applied, some learners try to find the biting 

point between the clutch and brake, rather 

than the clutch and accelerator once the 

handbrake is released, which can cause its 

own problems. 

I appreciate that some diesel cars act like 

automatics insomuch as little acceleration, if 

any, is required to move off, but it takes time 

for to build up such delicate footwork in a 

petrol car. 

Part of any discussion on emerging should 

include the risks of not being ready to 

emerge when opportunities arise. 

It’s safe... let’s go 

If learners are encouraged to be ready to 

move off when a safe opportunity can be 

seen, once the last vehicle passes them they 

can move off earlier and under control rather 

than any quicker. If following drivers can see 

you are moving forward then they are less 

likely to become agitated and add more 

pressure you your learner. 

Teaching learners to select first gear 

before deciding if the handbrake should be 

applied encourages them to look at the layout 

of the junction, for example, is it up hill or 

down hill, and develops fluency. Although I 

have mentioned selecting first gear in these 

examples, second gear can be used for some 

“Learners should 

be encouraged to 

look for speed limit 

signs as failing to 

spot an upshift in 

the limit is a 

reason for failing 

to make progress at 

the required rate...” 

downhill junctions. 

As ADIs we can be a little negative, eg, 

focusing on looking for hazards as we 

approach junctions, when we really should be 

encouraging learners to identify safe gaps to 

proceed on approach to all hazards to avoid 

them approaching hazards too quickly, for 

example arriving at a junction when a car is 

passing causing your learner to stop. In some 

situations arriving a little slower would allow 

the passing car to clear the junction leaving it 

clear to emerge. 

I heard a good saying some years ago on a 

Lancashire County Council course,’Slow to 

Flow’. Slowing on approach to a hazard, such 

as a meeting situation or roundabout, 

increases the chance of being able to flow 

into the clear road. 

Making progress 

Making progress is driving at an 

appropriate speed, not necessarily at the 

speed limit, and I have listed some of the 

reasons above. If you can identify potential 

faults you will be able to find solutions to 

reduce the likelihood of the faults happening. 

Do your pupils know the speed limit, if it 

has changed? A questions and answer 

session on road signs and speed limits and 

where to find them, such as a the end of the 

road, repeater signs on lampposts, or at the 

mouth of a junction, could be instructive. 

Many signs are quite high on poles which 

means they can be easily missed because 

there is a tendency to look at eye level for 

hazards rather than out of the top of the 

windscreen. 

Learners should be encouraged to look into 

side roads for speed limit signs. If the side 

road is displaying 30mph signs the chances 

are the road you are on is a higher speed limit. 

Once a learner has identified the speed 

limit, I often ask if they feel confident to 

increase their speed. We can then work on a 

plan to drive to the road and traffic conditions. 

The practice of aiming the eyes high and 

keeping them moving to take in the big 

picture (Taken from the Smiths System of 

Driving) on approach to hazards is still valid. 

Looking for speed limits and other signs to 

help you plan your approach to hazards and 

look for safe gaps to proceed and reduce the 

risk of missing vital information, such as who 

has priority. 

Not making progress can become a serious 

fault, particularly if following traffic is being 

held up or if following traffic an overtake 

safely within the speed limit. Some learners 

feel that driving slowly or giving way to other 

traffic when they have priority, is safe, but in 

reality can be dangerous, as they can become 

a moving hazard. 

The risks of driving too slowly can be 

discussed a risk management before you 

take learners out on to faster roads help 

make sense of the subject. 


Towards your CPD: Checking your eyesight 

When it comes to safer 

driving, the eyes have it 

Good eyesight is a prerequisite for safe driving, writes Tom Harrington, but often there is 

confusion over some of the legal requirements. Here we look at the issue, why good eyesight 

is a critical factor in driving and list some of the most common eyesight defects. There’s also a 

look at the archaic system for checking eyesight before an L-test... and a shaggy dog story! 

Good eyesight is an essential pre-requisite for 

safe driving – but it also needs to be used 

properly. How many times have you heard 

drivers say “The other vehicle came from 

nowhere?” or “I never saw him until the last 

minute”? The driver might have good eyesight 

but perhaps they didn’t use it correctly! 

What’s certainly true is that driving a 

vehicle is a highly complex task, and about 

85-90 per cent of the information our brain 

receives and reacts upon comes through our 

eyes. Ergo, our eyes are vitally important in 

co-ordinating our psychomotor skills and 

decision-making while driving. 

If you cannot see clearly, you cannot judge 

distances or spot trouble, and you will not be 

able to make the best judgments. You also 

need to see peripherally or ‘out of the corner 

of your eye’ to spot vehicles, pedestrians, 

cyclists, motorcyclists, etc, coming up 

alongside you while you are looking at the 

road ahead. 

Your eyesight is so important that certain 

minimum vision requirements are laid down 

before a driver can obtain a licence, but 

everyone should always remember that their 

eyesight might detiorate as time goes on. 

Any suspicions of eyesight problems should 

be followed up without delay because of the 

serious implications for driving safely. 

There are many misconceptions about 

people who have poor vision, and everyone’s 

level of vision is different. But with an ageing 

population – and with it by default, an ageing 

driving population – the number of drivers 

with vision issues is set to increase. 

One of the principal problems is that many 

people think their eyesight is better than it 

actually is. It may have been good once, but 

may have deteriorated over the years. 

Surveys of large numbers of motorists have 

found that over 30 per cent failed some 

aspect of an eyesight test and were advised 

to have a detailed eye examination. Those 

with only one eye should not drive until they 

have had time to adjust to using the single 

eye. Plenty of time should be allowed after an 

eye operation. In both cases, once the driver 

has got used to their new vision, they are 

normally safe to drive. 

Glasses wearers must always be careful 

that their vision hasn’t altered; glasses may 

have become useless. That’s why regular eye 

checks are recommended – indeed, many 

believe they should be mandatory. 

Vision defects 

The good news is that eyesight problems 

rarely lead to fatalities. It is estimated that in 

only around 1-5 per cent of crashes, eye 

defects are listed as a contributory cause. 

Even when they are, often the situation is 

usually one in which a hazard is difficult to 

see, because of poor visibility or lighting, for 

example. 

The part of our eyesight which is most 

important for driving is the sharpness of 

vision, or your vision acuity. Visual acuity 

delivers sharp vision, and is dependent on the 

clarity of the retinal focus within the eye and 

the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of 

the brain. It measures only visual acuity and 

does not prove the absence of an eye disease 

or other eye problem. 

Visual acuity is checked with a Snellen 

distance test involving letters on a wall chart 

– the one you will have encountered the last 

time you went to the opticians. It is the 

standard used to measure the eyes’ ability to 

distinguish detail and shapes. 

Poor visual acuity is a potential problem for 

all drivers; it makes accurate observation 

challenging, particularly in busy road spaces 

where traffic is emerging among other 

vehicles and against a busy backdrop of 

street furniture. It also shows itself up in poor 

light; a driver with fading visual acuity may 

not see any sign of it in good light but in 

twilight, or fog, it could become more 

obvious. 

Peripheral vision 

Peripheral vision is defined as ‘a part of 

vision that occurs outside the very centre of 

gaze’, and is good at detecting motion. It is a 

gift human beings have which allows us to 

see either sides of us without turning our 

heads or moving our eyes. 

As we know, it is often difficult to determine 

just what we see with our peripheral vision, 

but even detecting movement or motion is an 

important factor while driving. Using 

peripheral vision takes a measure of training, 

ie, in order to fully understand it, one must 

learn to react to unreliable or ‘out of focus 

visual information’. In other words, because 

peripheral vision is not a direct-on view, our 

brains are essentially ‘guessing’ somewhat. 

Once peripheral vision is fully understood, 

we can add it to our repertoire of safe driving 

skills, on the understanding that we must 

verify what we think we are seeing. 

Adequate visual fields are important for 

driving and peripheral vision is particularly 

important in certain common driving tasks, 

such as merging into a traffic stream, 

changing lanes, detecting pedestrians when 

moving off in traffic, detecting pedestrians to 

the side of the line of vision, moving off from 

pedestrian crossings, leaving roundabouts, 

etc. Regard peripheral vision as an ‘extended 

view’ and therefore extended capability, and 

even though we might not see something 

clearly in our peripheral vision, we can make 

enough sense of it to utilise the information 

accurately and effectively. 

Tunnel vision 

As peripheral vision fails, tunnel vision can 

occur. The normal field of vision is about 160 

degrees but it can be narrowed to 90 degrees 

or less in those affected by tunnel vision. The 

most serious condition is the inherited defect 

Retinitis Pigmentosa, which gradually 

restricts the field of vision until almost 

nothing remains. 



that one-in-three drivers are unable to see 

totally clearly while driving, and one-in-five 

admit they had a crash in which poor 

eyesight may have been a factor; that’s 

according to a recent survey of motorists. 

These finding have prompted a call from 

many optometrists for compulsory eyesight 

tests to be introduced for all drivers at each 

application for a driving licence and renewal. It 

warns that some drivers with poor eyesight 

may be slipping through our system of sight 

test requirements for driving licences. 

Perhaps it’s not surprising that one-in-five 

drivers had a crash because of their eyesight: 

an astonishing survey of 2,000 motorists 

revealed that a third of those who require 

visual aids regularly drove their cars without 

their prescribed glasses or contact lenses. 

Sometimes, those affected by tunnel 

vision compensate by moving their head 

from side to side. Indeed, they do this so 

successfully that they may not be aware 

they suffer from the condition. If only one 

eye is affected the other compensates. 

For the driver, a loss of peripheral vision is 

a real danger. Those with tunnel vision do not 

see objects such as pedestrians or vehicles 

outside the narrow field of vision, and this is a 

potentially a dangerous situation. They will 

also find great difficulty when driving around 

corners. 

Night blindness 

Associated with tunnel vision is night 

blindness. The periphery of the eye is used in 

night vision, and as this becomes affected in 

those with tunnel vision, night vision 

becomes very poor indeed. You may see 

clearly and still not be able to judge distances 

– something that’s vital to safely navigate 

around other vehicles. 

Many drivers who may see clearly in the 

daytime have trouble seeing clearly at night. 

Some people see poorly in dim light. Others 

may have trouble with the glare of headlights. 

Have your eyes checked every year or so 

because you may never know about poor 

eyesight, including peripheral vision, unless 

you have your eyes checked by a healthcare 

professional. 

Who has poor vision? 

It’s heartening that poor eyesight does not 

appear to cause crashes, but the fact remains 

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) 

Perhaps the most serious eyesight issue is 

created by age-related Macular Degeneration 

(AMD). This is a condition that can affect your 

eyes as you get older and if left untreated can 

lead to blindness in just a few months. In fact, 

in the over 50s, AMD is the leading cause of 

sight loss. 

The exact cause of AMD is still unknown. 

Although there can be a history of the 

condition in certain families, AMD is still not 

believed to be genetic, however, if close 

relatives have suffered with sight loss in the 

past, then it may be worth getting your eyes 

checked more regularly. Studies have shown 

a definite link between smoking and AMD. 

Other factors such as high blood pressure 

and poor diet can also lead to a greater risk of 

getting AMD. 

The most obvious symptoms of AMD are 

distortion and blurring in the centre of vision. 

A quick and simple test for AMD can be 

carried out on what is known as the Amsler 

Grid, however, it is not a substitute for a 

proper eye test. 

People with AMD are recommended to 

seek medical advice before they drive; it is 

unlikely they will be allowed to do so. 

What to do if you have an eye problem 

If you have an eyesight condition when 

applying for your driving test, you must tell 

the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if 

you have a usual condition which affects: 

Both eyes - not including short or long 

sight or colour 

Your sight – blindness not including short 

or long sight or colour blindness – eg, you 

have sight in one eye only. The only test of 

visual acuity to drive is undertaken at the 

time of the driving test. 

Continued on page 22 


Towards your CPD - Checking your eyesight 

Safer driving... the eyes have it! 

Continued from page 21 

If your eyesight does start to fail, but you 

are within the legal boundaries, help yourself 

and help others by seeing and being seen. 

By that we mean, keep the windscreen as 

clear as possible. Make sure your windscreen 

wipers are effective, and clean the 

windscreen regularly to remove streaking 

that wiper blades and water can leave. 

How many times have you experienced a 

windscreen that is smeared with insects, bird 

droppings, road tar, spray or other messy 

deposits? Removing such debris with worn 

wipers is nigh impossible. Usually, you end up 

smearing the mess and obscuring your vision 

even more. If you change your wiper blades 

regularly (annually), you can avoid these 

problems, and help you see the road better. 

Also, upgrade all light bulbs when necessary. 

Conclusion 

Good vision is essential for safe driving, but 

also vitally important is its proper use. 

Looking and seeing are two different things. 

One can look but not see. Seeing is when the 

information received is mentally processed 

and acted on. Terms like scanning, ranging and 

all-round effective observation are 

appropriate when teaching students to drive, 

but the older expression of ‘loose vision’ is 

still relevant and helps to keep pupils visually 

alert in order to recognise and react early to 

hazards. 

Travelling at 60mph+ is equivalent to 

approximately 88 feet per second, therefore, 

if a driver perceives danger at only .25 second 

before another driver, then he has an extra 

cushion of 22 feet to react and deal with it. 

A shaggy dog story... 

Some years ago, a colleague and friend 

who was a senior DVSA driving examiner 

was conducting an L-test in Merseyside. 

On entering the waiting room he met the 

candidate who was accompanied by a 

lovely Labrador guide dog. Not wanting to 

embarrass the gentleman by asking about 

the guide dog and after completing the 

formalities, they walked to the car. The 

examiner selected a car with a spotlessly 

clean number plate and measured out the 

required distance. The gentleman came 

forward and without any difficulty 

whatsoever, read out the number plate 

- to the amazement of the examiner. 

“The saying ‘early vision means 

early decision’ advice is 

certainly worth remembering 

and acting upon...” 

Thus, the saying “early vision means early 

decision” advice is certainly worth 

remembering and acting upon. 

Drivers must also bear in mind that if you are 

involved in a crash and are subsequently found 

to have an undeclared visual impairment, your 

insurance cover could be at risk. 

However, more reassuringly, having a 

notifiable visual impairment does not 

automatically preclude you from being 

allowed to drive. Limited-period licences are 

issued to keep a check on your condition and 

licences restricting driving in daytime only, 

should be viewed as the ultimate safeguard 

of both vision care and road safety. 

Finally, driving trainers must ensure that 

pupils who normally wear glasses or contact 

lenses wear them every time they have a 

lesson. 

They can also play their part in helping 

pupils to detect some eyesight problems. 

Use the number plate test – even though it’s 

a basic one - and check for colour blindness 

using the Ishihara plates and observe 

carefully how well and how soon pupils react 

to hazards. 

However, eyesight impairment can be a 

sensitive issue and must be tactfully 

approached, but it is not one that can be 

overlooked, otherwise a potential accident 

could be looming up ahead for you and your 

client. 

Having completed the prescribed test, 

the examiner asked why he had a need to 

use the services of a guide dog. He said he 

had no difficulty reading or seeing objects 

at a distance but had problems with 

objects much nearer to him. 

The examiner probed further into his 

problem and asked the test applicant to 

move much closer – to a few feet – to a 

different vehicle. Initially, the candidate 

struggled to even see the number plate 

but as both backed away things came 

more clearly into focus. Eventually, at 45 

feet, he started to make out the details, 

but only when he was at the prescribed 

Does the UK 

system work? 

It is claimed that as many as 3.5 million 

people in the UK could be driving with 

eyesight below the legal minimum 

requirement – and one-in-five road users 

have not had an eye test in the past two 

years. The findings also showed that 

drivers with the minimum legal vision 

required for driving strayed out of their 

lane 62per cent more often than a driver 

with normal vision, and could recognise 

only 77per cent of the road signs they 

passed. 

So why is there no mandatory thorough 

eyesight test before obtaining a 

provisional licence to drive, and a proper 

sight test before the L-test? 

Is the driving examiner ‘qualified’ to 

carry out an eyesight test, even a basic 

one? What about the other myriad of 

eyesight defects, eg, glaucoma, cataracts, 

macular degeneration and illnesses linked 

to diabetes? 

For some reason, in Great Britain, we 

don’t test candidates’ sight properly, yet 

it is such a vital part of driving. 

However, there is little evidence that 

drivers who would fail the present test are 

more dangerous than those who would 

pass, or that a more rigorous testing 

would reduce accident rates. 

But does that mean the current simple 

pre-test eyesight check should be seen 

as enough? 

distance for the test eye check could he 

clearly read the number plate. 

So should he pass or fail? The candidate 

had satisfied the eyesight requirement by 

reading the number plate at the required 

distance, but the examiner still had no 

option but to issue a failure notice and 

explain the unusual circumstances to the 

DVLA at Swansea. 

This incident highlights the problem 

associated with vision impairment for 

driving and supports the introduction of a 

compulsory eyesight tests by a competent 

eye care specialists prior to obtaining a 

provisional driving licence! 



Mirror, mirror on the trucker’s wall... 

Arthur Mynott 

West Coast 

& Wales 

Over the last few weeks I have done quite a 

bit of motorway driving, and as I was passing 

a Tesco’s lorry (other supermarket brands 

are available!) on one of the trips, I noticed 

there were no door mirrors on the cab. 

My first thought was that they had been 

broken off. When I was close enough to have 

a quick glance it seems there was a camera 

on the arm sticking out where the mirrors 

normally are situated (as in picture 1). When 

in front of the vehicle I could see in my mirror 

that it was the same both sides. This was a 

new lorry and over the next few days I 

noticed a few more lorries with the same 

cameras and these were also very new, less 

than a year old. 

Obviously I was intrigued and thought this 

required further investigation. The lorries 

have no mirrors but there is a screen inside 

the lorry cab to show the image from the 

camera, (as in picture 2). 

Regulations introduced globally in 2016 

allowed camera monitor systems to replace 

mirrors. The European Commission estimates 

that forthcoming General Safety Regulations 

will reduce the number of crashes and save 

over 25,000 lives, and at least 140,000 

serious injuries, by 2038, and the camera 

monitoring systems will contribute to these 

numbers. But the main reason behind the 

development of these monitoring systems 

has been better aerodynamics and the 

possibility of saving fuel and reducing CO 2 

. 

Other benefits of a camera monitoring 

system are; 

n No physical mirrors blocking your sight 

as a driver such as at complex junctions and 

roundabouts 

n Automatic and manual trailer tracking to 

enable them to follow trailer movements 

when reversing 

n Built-in reference lines 

n No image distortion as there is in 

ordinary convex mirrors 

n Surveillance systems when driver is 

sleeping, hopefully parked up!! 

A camera generally offers better vision 

during rain since the lens can be better 

protected inside the camera arm and, with 

the screen being inside the cab there is 

1 

improved visibility compared to when there is 

rain on both the window and on the mirror. 

There are challenges to driving with 

cameras instead of mirrors, however: 

n Mirrors give a three-dimensional image 

whereas cameras are two-dimensional, so 

depth vision and assessment of speed of 

vehicles behind requires some getting used to. 

n The resolution of a camera can be a 

disadvantage compared to a mirror. 

n The placement of the screens must be 

adapted to fit the cab interior to avoid 

creating another blind spot. 

n Repairs are more costly. 

I had a look at what others thought about 

lorries having cameras instead of mirrors and 

some interesting comments surfaced. One 

motorcyclist said that when he wants to pass 

a truck it is really difficult to know if the driver 

is aware of him or not because with a mirror 

he can see the driver’s face and can make 

eye contact with him. I must say I also tend to 

look in the lorry’s mirrors to see if I can see 

the driver so I know they can also see me. 

One truck driver commented that the 

camera is great when he is reversing to the 

left (blindside) as the camera moves with the 

trailer, with a mirror you can’t really stick 

your head out of the near side window! But 

another trucker reckoned they are terrible; 

he can’t judge distance and the yellow and 

red lines on the screen to help you judge the 

distance can make it hard to spot vehicles. 

2 

Another thing I was wondering myself is 

that with ordinary door mirrors the act of the 

driver actually turning their head to look in to 

the mirror means they can also see some of 

the blind spot, but when looking at a screen 

inside the cab this may not be the case. 

One of my sons drives double decker buses, 

and I asked if he had used one. He hasn’t, but 

knows that there are some buses in the 

country using cameras instead of mirrors. 

It has been commented that getting rid of 

the mirrors is a good idea, as on buses they 

are set at the perfect height to cause serious 

head injuries to pedestrians and cyclists. 

I had a look to see if any cars were being 

fitted with door cameras instead of mirrors 

and there are a few. The Audi e-tron has a 

camera in place of door mirrors, and it’s been 

around since 2019. Honda will include the side 

mirror camera system as standard on some 

of its E range. These are just a couple of 

examples. 

When I started looking in to this subject I 

was surprised how long these camera 

systems had been in place so obviously I was 

quite late in knowing about them but it has 

been quite a learning curve for me especially, 

but when I’ve questioned a few friends and 

colleagues some of them were already aware 

of them. Perhaps I just lead a very sheltered 

life! 

Contact: 

Arthur Mynott, 

MSA GB West Coast & Wales Chairman 

arthur.mynott@yahoo.com 

Tel 07989 852274 


Members’ section 

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The cost-of-living crisis is putting many 

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AlcoSense: Every ADI should have one handy 

MSA GB has teamed up with leading supplier of personal 

breathalyser kits AlcoSense to bring our members a 

very special offer. 

The AlcoSense kits give an instant and accurate 

snapshot of whether you – or your pupil – has alcohol in 

your/their system, and are particularly useful ‘the 

morning after.’ 

Peter Harvey, MSA GB national vice chairman, 

commented: “These are a quality product. They arrive 

well packaged, with the required batteries, five 

mouthpieces and full instructions. They are very easy to 

use, with a simple menu, and can be adjusted to suit the 

country you are in depending on the legal limit there. 

Once set up, the breathalyser gives a very clear reading 

in traffic light colours, making it easy to follow. 

“Green, as you would expect, tells you you are okay to 

drive. Amber advises you that alcohol is present but you 

are below the limit you entered at set up – though it is so 

important to check what the limit is in the country you 

use it. Red is pretty self-explanatory – Don’t drive. 

“The set is very compact, about the same size as a 

mobile phone but a little deeper. It is ideal for eliminating 

any concerns you may have the morning after – or for 

your pupils.” 

The Excel model costs around £100 and can be viewed: 

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But we’ve negotiated a special discount on the entire 

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ADI groups and associations 

MSA GB is proud of its long-standing links with many local ADI 

groups around the country. Many are small, dedicated to driver 

training in one city, town or even focused on a sole DTC, but all 

work tirelessly to improve the work of being an ADI. This can 

be in representing ADIs’ interests and views to your DVSA area 

manager, offering an ADI’s voice to local authorities and town 

planners, or by simply providing a network within which ADIs can 

find help and advice from their fellow instructors. After all, for 

many ADIs working as sole traders, being a driving instructor can 

be a lonely task: local ADI groups help stop it feeling quite so much 

that it’s ‘you against the world.’ 

In every issue of Newslink will be publishing a list of local ADI 

groups and associations. We will only publish those groups who let 

us know they are happy to be included in our list, so if you would 

like to see your details here, please contact Peter Harvey at 

peter.harveymbe@msagb.com 

Aberdeen and District Driving Schools 

Association 

Secretary: Derek Young 

T: 07732 379396 

E: derekyoungcreel@aol.com 

Meets quarterly February (AGM), May, 

August and November. 

Cost £35 per annum 

Angus Driving Instructors Association 

Secretary: Frances Matthew 

T: 07703 664522 

E; francesmatthew@hotmail.co.uk 

This group holds six meeting per year 

(usually one week after the Scottish 

committee meeting) 

Cost £20 per year. 

Aylesbury Vale Driving Instructors 

Association 

Chairman: Sue Pusey 

T: 07780 606868 

E: AVDIA@btinternet.com 

Meetings are first Wednesday of every 

month at Roman Park Hall, Sir Henry Lee 

Crescent, HP18 0YT. 7.30pm start. 

Guest speaker every other month, 

refreshments provided. 

Annual fee £30. First meeting free as try 

before you buy. 

Birmingham Approved Driving Instructors 

Contact: Dave Allen 

T: 07939 627493 

E: Daveallen1999@googlemail.com 

Cornwall Association of Approved Driving 

Instructors (CAADI) 

Secretary: Rachael Lloyd-Phillips 

E: rachael@oneandallsom.co.uk 

This group meets via Zoom on the 3rd 

Monday every other month at 7.30pm. 

City of Dunfermline and District ADIs 

Secretary: Gail Pilch 

T: 07817 661450 

E: dunfermlineadisecretary@outlook.com 

Meetings are bi-monthly, at 

Dunfermline Northern Bowling Club, Dewar 

Street, 

Dunfermline KY12 8AD 

Glasgow & District Driving Instructors 

Association 

Contact: Bryan Phillips 

T: 07989 339 646 

E: bryan.phillips@hotmail.co.uk 

Meet on the last Sunday of the month, 

once every quarter, at 

The Fort Theatre, Kenmuir Ave, 

Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, G64 2DW. 

Joining fee: £15 per year 

Hinckley & District Driver Trainers 

Association (HDDTA) 

Chairman: Barrie Pates 

T: 07914 408 739 

E: haddta@yahoo.com 

Hull and East Riding Driving Instructors 

(HERDI) 

Contact: Andrew 

T: 07754542993 

E: herdi.rsa@gmail.com 

Lanark Driving Instructors 

Secretary: Sandra Smillie 

T: 07975 147150 

Meet quarterly from March which is our 

AGM 

South Warwickshire Association 

of ADIs (SWAADI) 

Contact: Andy Thomas 

T: 01926 717230 / 07900 673634 

E: artommo@hotmail.com 

We meet at 8.30pm every third Monday of 

the month except August and December 

(no meetings) at The Windmill Inn, 

Tachbrook Rd, Leamington Spa CV31 3DD, 

Rolls and snacks are available for a small 

charge and membership is £25 a year and 

includes a monthly newsletter and addition 

to a WhatsApp group for local issues/ 

traffic updates, etc. 

Swindon Driving Instructors Association 

(Swindon DIA) 

Contact: Sandra Jill Richens 

T: 07795 006015 

E: SJRichens@btinternet.com 

Taunton Association Driving Instructors 

See Facebook page – search ‘Taunton ADI 

& PDI Forum’ 

Wirral Association of Professional Driving 

Instructors (APDI) 

Chairman: Brian Murray 

T: 07810 094332 

Secretary: Richard Gillmore 

T: 07790 193138 

E: wirral-apdi@hotmail.co.uk 

W: wirralinstructors.co.uk 

Meet monthly on the first Thursday of the 

month (except January and August) 

at Heswall FC, Brimstage Road, Heswall, 

Wirral CH60 1XG 

Further information and to join, please visit 

the website. 

Why join a local association? 

Local news, local input – a local voice... 

If you want to see your local ADI group listed in this directory, 

contact Peter Harvey on peter.harveymbe@msagb.com 


Area news and views 

Improving road safety may involve starting 

the next generation of drivers very young 

Janet 

Stewart 

London & the 

South East 

Adrian Harding, Schools Liaison Officer for 

Young Driver Foundation, recently gave a 

presentation hosted by IAMRoadSmart. I 

found it very interesting and rather 

challenging to some of my previously held 

ideas. 

Adrian is of the opinion that it is very 

important to start learning to drive, and to 

learn about safe driving generally, from a 

very early age. And we’re not just talking 

about school here; we’re talking about 

pre-school. He believes that what needs to 

be done is to model and change attitudes – 

literally to “make road safety cool”. 

Young Driver takes children from age four 

up to 6th form and has proven that this idea 

works over a period of 14/15 years. 

In the age 4 – 10 range children are put into 

electric Firefly sports cars that are built by 

Young Driver in the West Midlands. They are 

the ones being used in the photo top right. 

The cars are taken to participating schools 

and part of the playground is marked out with 

cones. The pupils learn how to start, stop, 

brake, steer and navigate junctions. 

This is a very steep learning curve for 

young children but they do learn to handle 

the vehicles well and quickly. 

In the 10 – 17 age group the pupils are put 

behind the wheel of a manual Vauxhall Corsa. 

They learn how to start, stop, move off, 

change gears and steer while developing 

respect for driving and road safety. 

Here’s a surprising fact: when the venue is 

suitable, speeds of up to 70mph can be 

achieved. 

It is better to start off-road where they are 

not ‘under duress’ from other motorists. 

There will be three pupils in the car with the 

instructor and they would typically drive for 

20 minutes each. 

As to the benefits: we are all familiar with 

the figures: 17-24 year olds make up 8% of 

drivers but 23% of KSIs. Young Driver has 

found that this figure can be reduced from 

23% to 3.2% for those who have had the 

opportunity of learning with them. 

The argument that these pupils are 

self-selecting, ie, they are drawn from 

wealthier backgrounds where there is money 

for comprehensive driver training, is 

countered by going into all types of schools 

and colleges and providing the training at 

cost. 

Young Driver has about 500 ADIs on its 

books to cover the lessons and the general 

opinion of these instructors is that these 

pupils learn well and develop good attitudes 

to road safety because they are not working 

towards a test, they are in a normal (school or 

college) learning environment and they want 

to get it right and do it really well. 

What of the students’ views? When asked, 

students felt they became better passengers 

and would be more able to deal with 

distractions because they had a better 

understanding of the skills and concentration 

needed by a driver. 94% thought the course 

made them better pedestrians or cyclists, 

87% thought it made them safer drivers and 

84% thought Young Driver made them more 

receptive to road safety messages. 

Attitude is almost as crucial as skill. Adrian 

re-iterated that we need to make safe driving 

cool and also to “normalise” it. At the 

moment, driving after passing the L-test is 

what he described as “an explosion of 

freedom after a very short period of training”. 

Adrian was asked about graduated driving 

licences (GDLs), another hot topic. His view 

was that restrictions, whatever they might 

be, would not address the root cause. 

Further, restrictions such as number of 

passengers or curfews would hit hardest 

those on lower incomes, who are more likely 

to be involved in the hospitality industry, and 

those living in rural areas. 

How would restrictions be policed? Police 

will stop a driver committing an offence 

anyway. Adrian thought that, for example, 

restricting passenger numbers would just 

lead to young people scrunched down on the 

floor in the back of the car. 

It is the attitude that needs to change. 

Adrian’s view is that the driving test is 

inadequate and that if it were more relevant 

to people’s needs it would be treated more 

seriously. 

At the moment a young person has to pass 

the test (usually very expensive) and is then 

faced with the cost of a vehicle and insurance. 

If restrictions are added into the mix might 

not some new drivers simply decide not to 

bother? 

GDLs would be a short-term solution to a 

long term problem. 

Contact: 

Janet Stewart, 

MSA GB London & the South 

E: janetslittlecar@btinternet.com 



Hastings event 

MSA GB London and South East hosted another informative CPD event for 

members last month in St Peter and St Paul’s Church Hall, Hastings. 

Part of the evening saw a presentation to Terry Cummins to mark his 

birthday. 

Presentations covered the work of the local air ambulance, offers from 

CA Cars, and an update from Lawrence Brand from the DVSA on the 

situation at the local test centre update, back up by an open Q&A session. 

The event was rounded off by a lively session from Tom Kwok, MSA GB 

London and SE Area Director, on tackling test nerves. 

All attendees received a CPD Certificate. 

Exclusive MSA GB payment hotline makes 

it easier to keep on top of the admin 

Dear MSA GB member and colleague, 

While being a driving instructor does offer incredible flexibility, we understand that it 

can leave you time poor for those everyday admin jobs. 

So, to help make things easier when paying for your membership or booking tickets for 

our calendar of events, we’ve set up a dedicated payment line: 01787 221299. 

This also means that our membership team are more available for answering member queries and 

resolving any issues you may be experiencing. 

Our membership team can still be contacted on: 01787 221020. 

We look forward to taking your call. 

Remember: 01787 221299 and 01787 221020 


Area news and views 

ADDSA is giving Aberdeen’s 

ADIs a powerful local voice 

MSA GB is proud to have strong links with many of the ADI groups who work so hard to improve the 

conditions and status of instructors at a local level. Here Derek Young, secretary of the 

Aberdeen & District School Association (ADDSA), looks at the history and work of his group 

In 1971 Aberdeen & District Driving Schools 

Association (ADDSA) was established to 

support local driving schools and ADIs, 

helping them to navigate local and national 

legislation and issues relating to road safety. 

It launched with 18 local instructors, 

founded on a philosophy of being a cohesive 

support body to independent ADIs who are 

proprietor owners of their own business, as it 

was felt that franchisees were provided with 

industry support from their franchise. 

This remains the case today. With 108 

members and still growing, ADDSA is 

recognised as the largest and longest 

established local driving schools association 

in the country. Members are informed of new 

members who have joined and those who 

have applied to join. 

Current local and national matters of 

interest and relevance to our industry are 

covered at meetings with a ‘no stone left 

unturned’ approach to ensuring all members 

are heard, updated, and kept informed. An 

update on new members and ADDSA 

housekeeping / membership revenues and 

expenditures are also covered during 

meetings. 

The key goal is to support and inform 

members and be the communications and 

engagement facilitator between its members, 

the DVSA and local authorities (roads 

departments, emergency services, other local 

groups and enterprises); to be the unifying and 

overarching voice of a group of like-minded 

professionals, to share and exchange 

knowledge, information and experiences. 

Members engagement 

Engagement and seamless communications 

are key to the sustainability of ADDSA. 

The ADDSA committee and members meet 

quarterly and the meetings are always very 

well attended. It is the nature of the 

profession that not all members can attend 

every meeting, but those who are unable to 

attend are provided with updates and 

minutes by email to ensure that everyone is 

has equal access to information. 

Meetings are held in person and on Zoom. 

If the meeting is being held at a nominated 

venue, those who can attend do so often at 

the end of a working day or on a weekend 

day, and providing a warm meal also 

encourages attendance rather than members 

having to go home or prepare a meal in 

advance of the meeting. 

Members who attend benefit from the 

social aspect of interaction and can actively 

participate in healthy debate and have the 

opportunity to contribute to discussions in a 

safe space. Some interactions often prompt 

the committee to investigate matters arising 

to be addressed and discussed if not before, 

then at the next meeting. Any developments, 

updates and progress in engagement is 

relayed to members immediately by email. 

ADDSA finds that new members approach 

the association to become members more 

than we have to campaign for new members. 

Existing members also promote the benefits 

of becoming a member to non-member and 

encourage them to become a member. 

Existing members are proud of the ADDSA, 

and encourage new members by word of 

mouth. They promote the values of 

membership from their own personal 

experiences. Some members have been 

members since the launch of ADDSA. 

It’s good to report that local test centres 

are happy to display ADDSA recruitment 

notices in the test centre waiting rooms, and 

meeting news. 

Social media 

New members are welcomed through the 

ADDSA social media platforms, by email and 

always officially welcomed at quarterly 

meetings. 

If matters arise in between meetings or 

integral to daily members’ activities, then 

members are notified live/in real time via 

WhatsApp. 

DVSA liaision 

Since the DVSA introduced surgery 

meetings they have proved a huge benefit to 

all instructors as well as association 

members. These meetings take place most 

months usually, on Zoom, and centre 

managers attend ADDSA quarterly meetings. 

The managers provide invaluable information 

back to the instructors; for example, details 

of the common faults pupils have been 

making on L-tests lately. 

It is a two-way communications link as the 

managers always encourage instructors to 

contact them at any time if any problems 

with tests, manning or waiting times. 

ADDSA has always had a close working 

relationship with the DTC managers and hope 

this will always continue as this engagement 

alone proves a huge benefit to members. 

Such is the rapport ADDSA has with the 

DVSA, Loveday Ryder recently met privately 

with the committee to discuss its work and 

activities. 

Effective engagement 

If there is anything ADDSA is proud of, it is 

action and proactive engagement which 

results in positive effectiveness. 

Examples include: 

n Engaging the City Council to address the 

issues around potholes and repairing them. 

Committee members met on site with roads 

inspection engineers to discuss the conditions 

of some roads that not only members and their 

students have to endure, but all motorists and 

road users every day of the year. 

The meeting secured a commitment from 

the council to attend to the rapid repair of 

potholes and the reinstatement of road 

markings that have faded and as a result 

have had a detrimental impact on students 

when sitting their L-test. This achievement 

also positively affected all other road users. 

n The ADDSA positive engagement with 

the DVSA helped reduce waiting list times for 

driving tests down from six months. 



ADDSA backs Eleanor’s driving programme 

In a geographical region that has just under 500 miles of B roads, and 

nearly 3,000 miles of A roads, ADDSA and its members have road safety 

at the heart of all they do. A major achievement for the ADDSA was the 

introduction and the organising of the Schools Driving Ambition 

Programme. Eleanor Mennie of Ellon Academy contacted the police after 

her son was involved in a fatal crash during school lunch break, and 

ADDSA was only too happy to help by providing instructors to assist with 

the practical driving part of this programme. 

This came as a result of strategic planning 

across all members and their pupils, ensuring 

pupils are as confident of a first-time pass as 

possible and that they are empowered, safe, 

thinking drivers before they go to test. 

n ADDSA historically works closely with 

Police Scotland, including assessing the 

police officers’ driving skills in its annual 

competition. Our local Fire Service regularly 

invites members to road safety and 

awareness seminars so that this can be 

communicated back to members and 

members’ pupils. 

n As a vibrant forward-thinking 

association, ADDSA are also committed to 

providing CPD to our members. This is 

facilitated at most meetings by members 

who make a presentation on a particular 

subject relating to our profession. 

Recently ADDSA has encouraged members 

to attend various professional CPD course, 

which is funded by the association providing 

the members provide feedback and 

knowledge sharing at the next meeting; thus 

motivating more members to participate in 

further CPD. 

ADDSA was potentially a founder of CPD 

before it became a buzzword. Many years 

ago, almost 30 members attended our local 

college to gain a qualification in classroom 

teaching. This allowed a skills transfer into an 

in-car setting. 

This alone demonstrates that although we 

Derek Young with his 

tuition car: “The 

biggest single 

advantage of being a 

member is that you 

have 111 other 

members who have 

your back...” 

are a profession of individuals, ADDSA brings 

members together to align as a team. 

Supportive members 

The biggest single advantage of being a 

member is that you have 111 other members 

who have your back. If you have family 

problems that prevent you from conducting 

your business, ill health or a bereavement, 

there is always a network of members ready 

to step up and help on a temporary or 

permanent basis, usually within minutes of a 

WhatsApp message. 

ADDSA is also on hand to offer support to 

members who may encounter issues during 

lessons, such as road rage or mechanical 

issues. Should a member have a mechanical 

issue with their vehicle that needs to be 

attended to and the member may be about to 

go to out on an L-test, within minutes, other 

members rally round to offer a solution. 

Again, a demonstration that as a member 

you are not alone in what is recognised as a 

solitary profession. 

Post-test training 

We encourage our members to offer Young 

Driver programmes and Pass Plus for preand 

post driving test experience. 

Many of our members have gained 

qualifications in Coaching for Driver 

Development and Driving Psychology. This 

also promotes the use of coaching 

techniques in a client-centred learning 

environment in car. 

Social side 

On a social side the ADDSA arranges social 

gatherings, attending sports events, evening 

meals and unwinding at the end of the year 

with a Christmas night out. 

Professional links 

Professionally, ADDSA is a member of the 

MSA GB. It has lobbied public bodies such as 

councils, the DVSA, ADINJC and MSA GB, and 

in so doing we feedback the outcomes of this 

activity to our members. 

One of our committee members also 

attended various meetings in England 

enduring a 900-mile round trip to provide 

invaluable information back to our members. 

It is an invaluable aspect of our association 

to be members of national bodies to also 

engage and keep members abreast of 

forthcoming and new legislation. 

During lockdown, ADDSA worked in close 

co-operation with ADINJC and MSA GB, to 

author the risk assessment document that 

was instrumental in influencing Government 

to allow driving instructors and the driving 

profession across the UK back on the road. 

Proud legacy, exciting future 

What makes ADDSA stand out is our 

provenance, our heritage, our longevity and 

our tireless commitment to promoting safety 

on our roads. 

Our future plans are to continue the growth 

of our association, to continue improving our 

teaching skills which will improve road safety 

and to support all members in any situation. 

Regular feedback from new members is 

always positive, which gives the committee a 

great deal of satisfaction. The role of the 

ADDSA is to go above and beyond towards a 

continuous road to progress and the 

furtherance of safety on our roads locally and 

nationally. 

Finally, we are award winners: in 2020 the 

ADDSA won the GoRoadie Local ADI 

Association of the Year, and in February 2021 

we were also shortlisted for the national 

Intelligent Instructor Awards. 


Special feature 

It’s often been commented that whenever you see armed militia in the Middle East or North Africa, they are always astride Toyota 

Hilux pickups or Landcruisers. How did the Toyota workhorse become the vehicle of choice for insurgents around the world? 

Tom Harrington takes up the story of the desert ‘Stallions of steel’ and a conflict that became known as the ‘Great Toyota War’ 

It’s not often a car manufacturer gets a war 

named after it, but that’s the case for Toyota 

after the final phase of the Libyan-Chadian 

conflict in the 1980s was nicknamed The 

Great Toyota War. 

The name was in tribute to the role played by 

the role played by Chad’s roughly 400 heavily 

armed Toyota Hilux and Landcruiser pick-ups, 

which ultimately gave Chad its victory. 

The ‘Great Toyota War’ took place in 1987 

on the Chad–Libya border, and was the last 

phase of a longer conflict. Originally 

outgunned and with fewer military assets 

than their better financed rivals, the Chadians 

adapted a fleet of ordinary Toyotas to a 

battlefield role that proved crucial. 

The 1987 war resulted in a heavy defeat for 

Libya. According to American sources, the 

Libyans lost one tenth of its army, with 7,500 

men killed and US$1.5 billion worth of military 

equipment destroyed or captured. 

Chadian forces suffered only 1,000 deaths. 

Going to war.... 

Going to war.... 

in a Toyota! 

Why Toyota? A most reliable car brand... 

Toyota has long been regarded as one the 

country’s most reliable volume car brands. 

The 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey 

ranked Toyota second, only beaten by its 

sister luxury brand Lexus. The RAV4 and Yaris 

hatchback are hugely popular, with 99.3 per 

cent and 98.6 per cent of drivers praising 

their reliability. Claire Evans, What Car? 

Consumer Editor, commented: “Toyota builds 

extremely robust cars, and offers rock-solid 

reliability across its model range. They are all 

highly dependable.” 

The rise of the ‘Technicals’ 

So how did Toyotas gain their military 

stripes? Over the last 30 years ad hoc armies 

have increasingly favoured armed pick-ups 

as the ideal military land vehicle, dubbing 

them ‘Technicals’. 

This is nothing new, of course. Anyone 

familiar with the birth of the SAS will know its 

origins came from the Long-Range Desert 

Group in North Africa in World War II, which 

was famed for its use of Land Rovers and 

Jeeps as moving armed platforms, bolting 

machine guns on wherever possible to take 

the fight to the enemy. 

But the world’s first insurgent ‘Technicals’ 

were those of the Sahrawi People’s 

Liberation Army in Algeria in the late 1970s. 

Since then, Technicals have seen use in 

Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, as well 

as being used by Western and Russian 

Special Forces. Many vehicle brands are used, 

but overwhelmingly insurgent forces choose 

Toyotas. 

The Chad civil war 

Largely forgotten amid the world’s more 

pressing conflicts is the conflict in Chad. 

Chad’s President, Hissene Habre, was sorely 

pressed by Libyan-supported rebels, but with 

former colonial master France on his side the 

two sides were largely deadlocked. But a 

striking feature of the fighting was the role 

played by the Toyotas: Times Nairobi Bureau 

Chief James Wilde spent ten days with the 

Chad army, travelling by Land Rover from the 

capital city of N’Djamena to Sahara outposts 

near the Libyan border. 

He reported what he saw: ‘Small groups of 

Toyotas, with 106-mm recoilless rifles 

mounted at the rear wheel, charging like 

cavalry in the vastness of the Sahara. 

Outriders hang from the sides, firing their 

AK-47s with deadly grace. 

‘Very young and very brave, the men of 

these small fighting units, or ‘escadrons’, 

(squadrons), whip their Toyotas’ flanks until 

the vehicles seem to snort and froth at the 

bit like fine-blooded Arab stallions. The young 

soldiers move silently, without war cries 

except for the high-pitched scream of their 

engines.” 

These men were part of the Chad army, 

fighting a daily game with rebels who 

infiltrated from Libya to the north and Sudan 

to the east. 

Chad’s best fighters were the Goran, 

tribesmen from the northern district of 

Tibetsi, a starkly beautiful area of volcanic 

massifs, gorges and craters that was known 

in antiquity as the land ‘where the wind is 

born’. A French officer says that the Goran are 

still the finest light cavalrymen in the world. 

But now, he adds, “they are mounted on 

Toyotas instead of horses.” 

400 Toyota pick-ups v One of Africa’s best 

equipped militaries 

The 1980s conflict pitched Chad against 

the far better resourced neighbour to the 

north, Libya. Its leader, Colonel Muammar 

Gaddafi. used his financial resources to 

support insurgencies and coups across 

Africa. The most significant was in Chad, 

which was fuelled by a desired to achieve 

strategic importance and natural resources. 

Gaddafi supported groups in the north of 

Chad who were reacting to the repressive 

government run by Habre, and with Libyan 

support they formed the National Liberation 

Front of Chad. Gaddafi’s help ranged from 

significant financial and military support to 

the full-scale involvement of Libyan armed 

forces, leading to Tripoli claiming sovereignty 



It’s never been clear 

whether Toyota approves 

of its vehicles being used in 

such an overtly aggressive 

military capacity, but 

interestingly, this recent 

press image for its new 

Landcruiser has an Apache 

attack helicopter for 

company. Almost like they 

like the military link... 

over the Aouzou Strip, a section of land on 

Libya’s border but within Chad. Though the 

area is mostly desert, with a small population 

in the town of Oasisi Aouzou, the area was 

rumoured to have vast uranium deposits. 

Shortly before the conflict started Gaddafi 

was able to buy the strip for $40 million from 

Habre’s predecessor in Chad, President 

Francois Tombalbaye. For three years Libya 

and friendly rebel groups occupied the strip 

and Libya was able to expand its presence 

into northern regions of Chad. However, the 

overthrow of Tombalbaye’s government and 

the installation of Hissene Habre, who 

opposed Libya’s occupation of northern 

Chad, led to conflict. 

Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser 

One of the critical parts of Chad’s war 

strategy was the use of the Toyota Hilux and 

Land Cruiser, and they provided a major 

turning point in the war. The Chadians did not 

have a conventional armed military force, but 

they did have 400 Toyota Hilux and Land 

Cruisers which they equipped with mounted 

anti-tank missiles and heavy machine guns. 

The Libyan military was made up of mostly 

Soviet-made tanks, armoured personnel 

carriers, modern artillery, fixed-wing jets, 

and attack helicopters. The Libyan military 

forces on paper were formidable but they had 

severe flaws. Its forces in Chad were mostly 

conscripts who had no desire to fight in a 

foreign land, and the military command 

structure was unclear due to Gaddafi’s fear of 

a coup d’ état against his regime from the 

military. Leadership was cumbersome and 

multi-layered, making the Libyans unable to 

respond quickly to changes in any battlefield 

engagement. Despite their menacing 

presence, its tanks and APCs were slow and 

unreliable, tactics were confusing and while a 

threat, could not handle engagements with 

faster, smaller and more nimble vehicles. 

In contrast the Chadians, in their Toyotas, 

were quick around any battlefield while still 

packing a punch. The Toyotas could handle 

rough terrain, rarely broke down and needed 

far less fuel than the thirsty Libya tanks, 

making logistical control easier. 

In any firefight the Chadians favoured 

‘probe and hit’ tactics; testing Libyan 

positions for weaknesses, and pouring forces 

through any gaps found. Everything was 

done at pace, with Toyotas hitting 50mph 

across the desert to attack the enemy, while 

the Libyan tanks trundled along at 10mph, 

struggling to bring their heavy weaponry to 

bear on the smaller, agile 4x4s. 

The first organised use of the Toyotas was 

at the Battle of Fada, in January 1987. A full 

Libyan armoured brigade was destroyed, with 

about 800 Libyans dead. Chad lost 18 killed 

and four pick-ups destroyed. 

In March 1987, the Chadians attacked a 

Libyan airbase at Ouadi Doum which was a 

heavily fortified with 5,000 soldiers and 

protected by a minefield stocked with Soviet 

mines. However, the minefield was meant to 

deter tanks and other heavy vehicles, and 

the Chadians discovered that if they drove 

their Toyotas at high speed over the mines, 

they did not go off. The airbase fell quickly, 

with the Chadians using similar ‘probe and hit’ 

tactics as in the Battle of Fadua. Estimates 

suggest more than 3,000 Libyan soldiers 

were killed, captured, or deserted, and large 

numbers of tanks, armoured personnel 

carriers, artillery, fixed-wing aircraft, and 

helicopters were captured or destroyed. 

Finally, in August 1987, the Chadians 

carried their offensive into the Aouzou strip 

itself. But after sweeping the Libyans away 

the Chadians had over-reached themselves. 

Libya launched a counterattack – ironically 

using tactics stolen from Chad, by using 

modified 4x4s to spearhead the asssault, 

backed by close air support and traditional 

tracked armour. 

Not to be outdone, once they had 

regrouped the Chadians attacked another 

Libyan airbase. Again relying on their 

squadrons of Toyotas they destroyed 32 

Libyan aircraft and killed over 1,000, 

capturing another 300. 

This proved to be the end of the Great 

Toyota War. France, which had provided air 

cover to Chad, withdrew its support as they 

felt further attacks on Libya could seriously 

destablise the region. With Gaddafi also 

wanting an end to the war amid increasing 

domestic opposition and international 

pressure, a ceasefire was signed in 1987. 

The two countries agreed in 1990 that the 

case for sovereignty over the Aouzou strip 

should be referred to the International Court 

of Justice (ICJ). In 1994 Gaddafi accepted the 

court’s decision in favour of Chadian 

sovereignty over the strip, and the area was 

returned to Chad. 

As ever in war, there were no real winners. 

Despite his military success Hissen Habré 

was despised, and was deposed in 1990. He 

fled to Senegal to live in exile. In 2016, he was 

found guilty by an international tribunal in 

Senegal of human-rights abuses and 

sentenced to life in prison. He was the first 

former head of state to be convicted for 

human rights abuses in the court of another 

nation. He died in 2021 after testing positive 

for Covid. 

Gadaffi clung on to power throughout the 

1990s but was eventually overthrown in 2011 

and fled Tripoli for his home town of Sirte, 

where he was shot and killed in a firefight 

with rebels. 

But if there was a winner, it was Toyota’s 

reputation. The Hilux and Land Cruiser were 

shown to be tough, fast, agile, and 

dependable, despite the rugged terrain and 

dramatic driving styles they were exposed 

to. If you are going to go to war, they are the 

vehicles to choose. 


News 

You’ve got to laugh as a driving 

instructor... Bob certainly did! 

The world lost a comic genius towards the 

end of July with the sad news that Bob 

Newhart had died, aged 94. 

Bob who? I hear some of you younger ADIs 

cry. Tut, tut, unforgivable, for a driving 

instructor to not know who he was. 

Bob was an American funnyman of the 

deadpan kind, someone whose routines 

shunned bad language and harsh portrayals 

for observations on everyday life. He didn’t 

tell jokes, rather commented on life in a wry 

manner that was instantly relatable. Think 

Jack Dee with the cynicism dialled down. 

But why, dear reader, are we going on 

about this in Newslink? Why has the death of 

a 90-something American stirred the MSA 

GB pot? 

Because arguably his most famous sketch 

was The Driving Instructor, a one-sided 

monologue between Bob, playing the hapless 

Frank Dexter, and his elderly pupil, Mrs Webb. 

But before that, a little bit more on Bob. 

Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when 

his album of comedic monologues, The 

Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, reached 

number one on the Billboard pop album chart. 

The follow-up, The Button-Down Mind 

Strikes Back!, was also a success, and at one 

point the two albums held the Billboard 

number one and number two spots 

simultaneously. This was at a time when 

comedians often released albums of their 

material, to compete with the latest music. 

He continued producing material, recording 

albums and touring throughout the 1960s 

before landing his own TV show, The Bob 

Newhart Show, at the start of the 1970s. You 

would expect with a name like that that it 

would feature Bob doing his monologues to 

camera, but rather playing against type it was 

a classic sitcom with an ensemble cast, in 

which Bob played a psychologist called 

Robert Hartley. In it he usually took the 

straight man role while those around him 

provided the laughs, much to Hartley’s 

confusion. 

The show fared well against more 

established players like Soap, MASH and I 

Love Lucy, before a dip in ratings led to its 

cancellation at the end of the decade. 

However, its closure led to a new sitcom, this 

time called simply Newhart, which ran until 

1990. 

He also appeared in films, including Catch 

22 and the Disney-animated move The 

Rescuers, before reaching a new audience 

with key roles in the modern Christmas 

classic Elf and a recurring role as a senior 

academic in the popular US TV sitcom The Big 

Bang Theory, for which he won an Emmy. 

His passing on July 23 was marked by, 

among others, President Biden, who praised 

his ability “to keep generations of Americans 

laughing for decades.” 

Among fans on this side of the Channel 

was the late Queen, who saw Bob at a Royal 

Variety Performance and is said to have 

personally requested he perform again. 

As for The Driving Instructor, well, we’ve 

taken a bit of a chance here, and reproduced 

it. If you want to hear it/see it, simply put Bob 

Newhart + The Driving Instructor into Google, 

you’ll find it. There is also this funny tribute 

from Jeremy Vine to watch, which gives you a 

nice flavour of a genuinely funny man. 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

watch/?v=791330606183903 

But let’s Bob have the last word… (see facing 

page) 



The Driving Instructor, by Bob Newhart 

SAYS BOB... “There are a group of men [sic] who everyday, when 

they go to work, never know if that night they’ll return home 

safely, because they face death in a hundred different ways... 

and I’m talking about America’s driving instructors. And I’d like 

to present the first episode in the new TV series The Driving 

Instructor. Now I’d like to have you picture, if you would, this is a 

car, I’m the driving instructor and seated next to me is a woman 

driver.... 

How do you do. You are Mrs. Webb, is that 

right? Oh, I see you’ve had one lesson 

already. Who was the instructor on that, 

Mrs. Webb? Mr. Adams. I’m sorry, here it is: 

Mr. Adams. Just let me read ahead to kind 

of familiarize myself with the case. 

How fast were you going when Mr. Adams 

jumped from the car? 75 (mph)! And where 

was that? In your driveway! And how far 

had Mr. Adams gotten in the lesson? 

Backing out, I see, you were – backing out 

at 75 and that’s when he jumped. 

Did he cover starting the car? He did... and he 

covered the “other way of stopping”. 

Sorry... what’s “the other way of 

stopping”? Throwing it in reverse. Yes... that 

… would do it. 

All right, you want to start the car? Mrs. 

Webb, you turned on the lights. You want to 

start the car. Yes, they all look alike, don’t 

they. I don’t know why they design them 

that way. 

Let’s pull out into traffic. What’s the first 

thing we are going to do before we pull out 

into traffic? What did Mr. Adams do before 

he let you pull out into traffic? Well, I mean 

besides praying, let’s say. 

No, what I had in mind was checking the rear 

view mirror. You see, we always want to 

check the rear view mirror. DON’T PULL 

OUT !!! Ha ha ha! Please don’t cry. I’m sorry, 

but there was this bus... 

All right, the lane is clear now. You want to 

pull out? Oh, that wasn’t bad at all. You 

might try it a little slower next time. All 

right, let’s get up a bit more speed and 

gradually ease it into second. - Well, I didn’t 

want to cover reverse this early, but as long 

as you’ve shifted into it... 

Of course, you are nervous. I’m nervous. I’m 

not just saying that, I’m really very nervous. 

Well, just don’t pay any attention to their 

honking, you are doing fine. You are not 

blocking anyone’s lane. No, as long as you 

are here on the safety island you are not 

blocking anyone’s lane. 

Now, let’s practice some turns. The important 

thing on turns is not to make them too 

Below, Bob in the 

modern classic 

Christmas film, Elf 

sharp, just to make a kind of gradual ... Now 

that was fine. That was a wonderful turn. 

It’s hard for me to believe you’ve only had 

two lessons after you make a turn like ... 

You’re sure you haven’t had more now? I 

find that very difficult to believe. Just one 

little thing: this is a one way street. Well, 

actually it was partially my fault, you see. 

But you were in the left-hand lane and you 

were signalling left and I just more or less 

assumed you were going to turn left. 

Same to you, ... feller! No, I don’t know what 

he said, Mrs. Webb. All right, let’s pull into 

the alley up there and practice a little alley 

driving. This is something a lot of the 

schools leave out but we think it is pretty ... 

YOU ARE GOING TOO FAST, MRS. WEBB !!! 

You were up around 60 (miles) and it’s kind 

of a sharp turn there. 

All right, just drive down the alley, that’s the 

way. Mrs. Webb, maybe we better stop 

here. Why? Well, because I 

don’t think you are going to 

make it between the truck and 

the building. Mrs. Webb, I, I, Mrs. 

Webb, I don’t think, Mrs. Webb ... 

I really ... I really didn’t think you 

were going to make it. It just 

shows you we can all be wrong, 

too. 

No, no, I get out on your side, 

that’s all right. Mrs. Webb, 

maybe it might be a good idea if 

we went over to the driving 

area. Well, let’s turn right here. 

Well, now that was my fault 

again, you see. I meant “turn 

right” on the next street. Not 

this man’s lawn. Sir, sir, would 

you mind turning off the 

sprinkler, - please? 

Newly seeded, is that right? 

That is always the way, isn’t it. 

When a car drives on your lawn. 

Why, no, now I think about it, I 

don’t suppose it is so damned 

funny. 

All right, Mrs. Webb, you want to 

back out and get off the man’s 

lawn... Yeah, just back out, Mrs 

Webb. Thank you very much, sir, for … Oh, 

now we hit someone, Mrs. Webb! 

Remember you were going to watch the 

rear view mirror, remember? We covered 

that. 

Oh, the red light blinded you? The flashing red 

light blinded you? The flashing red light on 

the car you hit blinded you. Yes, officer, she 

was just telling me about it. All right, all 

right. Mrs. Webb, I’m going to have to go 

with the officer to the police station. They 

don’t believe it and they’d like me to 

describe it and now the other officer is 

going to get into the car and he’s going to 

drive you back to the driving school and 

then you are to meet us at the police station 

too. 

My name is Frank Dexter, why do you ask? 

You, because uou want to be sure and get 

me next time!? 


Members’ discounts 

Members’ discounts and benefits 

MSA GB has organised a number of exclusive discounts and offers for members. More details can be found on our website at 

www.msagb.com and click on the Member Discounts logo. To access these benefits, simply log in and click on the Member 

discount logo, then click the link at the bottom of the page to allow you to obtain your special discounts. 

Please note, non-members will be required to join the association first. Terms and conditions apply 

Access to a replacement dual 

control car after a crash 

EXCLUSIVE DEAL FOR MSA GB MEMBERS 

MSA GB has arranged to provide members with a replacement dual controlled car when 

things don’t quite go to plan. 

If you lose your dual-controlled tuition car in a crash, MSA GB’s new partnership will have 

you back on the road and teaching in no time. 

Our exclusive agreement will supply a replacement vehicle to you should the need arise 

– at no cost. Contact 07914 275539 for more details. 

Ford updates special 

members’ offer 

Ford has partnered with MSA GB to offer exclusive 

discounts on all car and commercial Ford vehicles. 

Take a look at the Ford website www.ford.co.uk 

for vehicle and specification information. See the 

Members’ Benefits page on the MSA GB website 

and follow the Ford link for more details.. 

Please note these discounts are only available to 

MSA GB members and their immediate family if they 

are members who pay annually. 

ACCOUNTANCY 

MSA GB’s Recommended 

Accountancy Service, FBTC 

offers a specialist service for 

ADIs. It has been established 

over 20 years ago and covers the 

whole of the UK. The team takes pride in 

providing unlimited advice and support to ensure 

the completion of your tax return is hassle free, 

giving you peace of mind. 

MSA GB OFFER:: FBTC will prepare you for 

Making Tax Digital and will be providing HMRC 

compliant software to all clients very soon. 

Join now to receive three months free. 

ADVANCE DRIVING 

AND RIDING 

As the UK’s largest road safety 

charity, IAM RoadSmart is 

proud to partner with the 

Motor Schools Association 

GB. Working together to promote and 

enhance motorists skills on our roads. 

MSA GB OFFER:: Get 10% off Advanced courses; 

visit www.iamroadsmart.com/course and 

use the code MSA10 at the checkout or call 

0300 303 1134 to book. 

BREATHALYSER KITS 

Protect yourself and your pupils with a 

personal breathalyser. We’ve teamed up with 

AlcoSense, the award-winning range of 

personal breathalysers, to offer an exclusive 

discount to all MSA GB members. A personal 

breathalyser takes the guesswork out of 

whether there’s residual alcohol in your 

system (or that of your learner driver pupil) 

the morning after the night before. 

MSA GB OFFER:: 10% off any AlcoSense product 

(excluding single-use disposables) – from the 

entry-level Lite 2 (£44.99) to the top-ofthe-range 

Ultra (£249.00). 

CAR AIR FRESHENERS / CANDLES 

Mandles’ handmade scented collections use 

quality ingredients to ensure superior scent 

throw from all its candles and 

diffusers. Check our our website 

for further details. 

MSA GB OFFER:: Special discount 

of 20% on all car air fresheners 

and refills. 

CARD PAYMENTS 

MSA GB and SumUp believe 

in supporting motor vehicle 

trainers of all shapes and sizes. 

Together we are on a mission to 

ease the operational workload of 

our members by providing them with the ability 

to take card payments on-the-go or in their 

respective training centres. SumUp readers 

are durable and user-friendly. Their paperless 

onboarding is quick and efficient. Moreover, 

their offer comes with no monthly subscription, 

no contractual agreement, no support fees, 

no hidden fees – just the one-off cost for the 

reader coupled with lowest on the market 

transaction fee. 

DISABILITY AIDS 

Driving shouldn’t just be a 

privilege for people without 

disabilities; it should be 

accessible for all and there’s never been an easier 

time to make this the case! MSA GB members 

can take advantage of BAS’s Driving Instructor 

Packages which include a range of adaptations at 

a discounted price, suitable for teaching disabled 

learner drivers. 

MSA GB OFFER:: Special Driving Instructor 

Packages for MSA GB members. 

FUEL CARDS 

Save up to 10p per litre of fuel with Fuel Card 

Services. Fuel Card Services offers a large 

choice of networks from leading brands, such 

as BP, Shell, Esso and UK Fuels so you can 

decide which networks you wish to include on 

your business account. 

MSA GB OFFER:: An MSA GB fuel card will save 

you up to 10p per litre. 

HEALTH / FINANCE COVER 

The Motor Schools Association of Great 

Britain has agreed with HMCA to 

offer discounted rates for medical 

plans, dental plan, hospital cash 

plans, personal accident plan, 

travel plan, income protection 

and vehicle breakdown products. 

MSA GB OFFER:: HMCA only offer 

medical plans to membership groups 

and can offer up to a 40% discount off the 

underwriter’s standard rates. This is a 

comprehensive plan which provides generous 

cash benefits for surgery and other charges. 

To get the full story of the 

discounts available, see 

www.msagb.com 



PUPIL INSURANCE 

Join the Collingwood 

Instructor Programme and 

refer your pupils for learner 

insurance. 

MSA GB OFFER:: MSA GB OFFER:: £50 for 

your first referral and £20 for all additional 

referrals. 

PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING 

Confident Drivers has the only 

website created especially for 

drivers offering eight different 

psychological techniques 

commonly used to reduce stress and nerves. 

MSA GB OFFER:: One month free on a monthly 

subscription plan using coupon code. 

PUPIL SOURCING 

Go Roadie provides students 

when they need them, with all 

the details you need before you 

accept. Control your own pricing, 

discounts and set your availability 

to suit you. Full diary? No cost! 

MSA GB OFFER:: Introductory offer of 50% off 

the first three students they accept. 

QUICKBOOKS 

50% Discount on two 

packages for MSA GB 

members 

Quickbooks is offering an online 

50% discount for MSA GB members on two of 

their premium accounting packages. 

Essentials Package For small businesses 

working with suppliers. Manage VAT and 

Income Tax with up to three users. 

Plus For businesses managing projects, 

stock, VAT, and Income Tax. Up to five users. 

The packages are contract-free throughout 

with no cancellation fee. This exclusive 

member offer can only be secured by 

contacting our MSA GB representative at 

Quickbooks - Ollie Nobes, on: 07723 507 026 

or email: Ollie_Nobes@intuit.com quoting: 

**MSAGB** 

To get the full story of the 

discounts available, see 

www.msagb.com 

Membership offer 

Welcome, new ADIs 

We’ve a special introductory offer for you! 

Congratulations on passing your 

Part 3 and becoming an ADI. 

There’s an exciting career 

open to you from today, 

one that’s alive with 

possibilities as you build 

your skills, your client base 

and your income. 

But for all the excitement, 

it can also be challenging; 

who can you turn to if you’re 

struggling to get over key driver 

training issues to a pupil? Where can 

you go to soak up advice from more 

experienced ADIs? Who will help you if you 

are caught up in a dispute with the DVSA? If 

the worst happens, who can you turn to for 

help, advice and to fight your corner? 

The answer is the Motor Schools 

Association of Great Britain – MSA GB for 

short. 

We are the most senior association 

representing driving instructors in Great 

Britain. Establised in 1935 when the first 

driving test was introduced, MSA GB has 

been working tirelessly ever since on 

behalf of ordinary rank and file ADIs. 

We represent your interests and your 

views in the corridors of power, holding 

regular meetings with senior officials 

from the DVSA and the Department for 

Transport to make sure the ADIs’ voice is 

heard. 

SPECIAL OFFER 

Join MSA GB today! 

SPECIAL OFFER: Join for just £65 with your 

PI & PL insurance included immediately! 

No joining fee - saving you £25 

Call 01787 221020 quoting discount code 

Newslink, or join online at www.msagb.com 

We’d like you to 

join us 

We’re there to support you 

every step of the way. 

Our office-based staff are 

there, five days a week, 

from 9am-5pm, ready to 

answer your call and help 

you in any way. 

In addition our network of 

experienced office holders and 

regional officers can offer advice over 

the phone or by email. 

But membership of the MSA GB doesn’t 

just mean we’re there for you if you’re 

in trouble. We also offer a nationwide 

network of regular meetings, seminars and 

training events, an Annual Conference, and 

a chance to participate in MSA GB affairs 

through our democratic structure 

In addition, you’ll get a free link to our 

membership magazine Newslink every 

month, with all the latest news, views, 

comment and advice you’ll need to become 

a successful driving instructor. 

You’ll also automatically receive 

professional indemnity insurance worth up 

to £5m and £10m public liability insurance 

free of charge. 

This is essential legal protection covering 

you against legal claims ariving from your 

tuition. 


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Newslink August 2024

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