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Merseyside drivers fined £1.2m for using mobiles

mobile-phone-drivingIn the past year, drivers in Merseyside were fined more than £1.2m for using their mobile phones while driving.

The Liverpool Daily Post reported that between April and September this year, police gave out tickets to more than 20,000 drivers for using handheld mobiles while in charge of their vehicles.

Even a driving instructor was among those hit with an £60 penalty and three points on their licence. The driving instructor was teaching a learner driver at the time!

Merseyside Police warned that the number of killed or seriously injured on the road could potentially increase unless they enforced the law. The cause of accidents while driving is not recorded, so there is no available data for how many people may have perished on UK roads because of mobile use.

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Examiner withdraws driving test pass

Wannabe motorist Cara Griffiths, 28, from Romford, has been driven to despair after passing her driving test, only to be told hours later that she hadn’t because the examiner didn’t conduct her test properly.

According to the Romford & Havering Post, Cara cruised through her driving test first time with only five minor driving faults, observed by two examiners from the Hornchurch Test Centre.

She was presented with her driving test pass certificate and was so pleased that she immediately phoned family and friends to tell them her fantastic news. But Cara’s celebrations were short-lived when examiners contacted her four hours later to tell her that the pass certificate was invalid because the examiner had made a mistake during the test.

“I got home chuffed to bits as I’ve wanted to do this for years, only to be told I had failed,” said Cara, who has spent more than £600 on lessons and tests. “I drove exactly how I was instructed, but the examiner had only done one manoeuvre and forgotten to do a second one. Now I’m being penalised and have failed the test.”

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Oh Crumbs!

There are many reasons that driving tests get cancelled, but this one really takes the biscuit! Learner driver, Jack Hyde had his test cancelled when...

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Tributes to road death boy

chris_daleSource: Manchester Evening News

TRIBUTES have been paid to a popular teenage schoolboy killed in a car crash.

Christopher Dale, 15, was hit by a car as he walked across a main road in Oldham. Police confirmed that he suffered serious, multiple injuries and was pronounced dead later at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

In a statement Christopher’s family said: “We are devastated at the loss of Chris.

“He was a wonderful son and brother who will be very much missed by all who knew him.”

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Latics bans hands-free mobile phones

[caption id="attachment_360" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Latics bans hands-free"][/caption] In light of the latest research into the use of hands-free mobile phone equipment whilst driving, Latics' directors...

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Traffic lights – who needs ’em?!

traffic_lights2What would happen if all traffic lights were suddenly switched off?  Would there be chaos and traffic gridlock or would the queues of frustrated drivers miraculously disappear?

Well, in a brave attempt to find out if removing traffic lights will ease congestion, Ealing Council are putting the theory to the test!  For 6 months, traffic light signals at up to seven junctions in Ealing will be concealed by orange bags and drivers will be left to negotiate their way across by establishing eye contact with pedestrians and other motorists.

Council officials believe that instead of improving the flow of traffic, traffic lights lead to unnecessary delays and may even increase danger, with drivers racing towards green lights to make it through the junction before they turn back to red.

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Local artist creates an invisible car!

 Art student Sara Watson is studying drawing and image making  Photo: PA

Art student Sara Watson with her invisible car. Photo: PA

Sara Watson, an art student from Ashton under Lyne, has found the ultimate way of avoiding traffic wardens – by making her car invisible.

The 22-year-old student at the University of Central Lancashire spray painted a battered Skoda Fabia to match the car park and entrance to her art studio.

Her work, created as part of her drawing and image making course at the university, creates the illusion that the car is see through. She was given the car from a breakers yard and worked for three weeks to ensure that it blended perfectly with its surroundings.

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BBC Watchdog investigates DVLA licence blunder

bbc_watchdogWhen was the last time you checked your licence properly?  Have you applied for a replacement due to a change of name or address?  Have you checked the back of your licence to check that the DVLA haven’t mistakenly added full motorcycle entitlement and removed your car entitlement?  Or if you’re a motorcyclist, has your entitlement been removed for no apparent reason?

BBC’s Watchdog (which aired on 27th April 2009) broadcast a feature in which several members of the public pointed out that these things had actually happened to them. “The DVLA know where we live, when we got our licence and most importantly they know what we’re entitled to drive – or do they?”

Watch the full story here

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Learning to Drive Consultation… The Results!

DSA Learning to Drive Consultation

Results of the DSA Learning to Drive Consultation

On 7th May 2008, the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) issued a Consultation Paper setting out wide-ranged proposals intended to make Britain’s roads safer by getting newly qualified drivers to cope with the challenges of driving unsupervised in today’s modern driving conditions. The Government’s preferred approach to achieving this is through education and incentives, encouraging young people to participate in more effective and efficient learning.

The four key elements of the proposed programme were:

  • An improved learning process
  • Improved driving tests
  • Better information about driving instructors and improved driving instructor training
  • Further options for qualifications and learning

Today (21st April 2009), the DSA published its report on this consultation. Having read the document this evening, I have listed the main changes that will happen, changes that may happen and proposals that have been rejected or indefinitely postponed.

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