Diary Of An ADI

I found this story about an instructor in Essex who has set up a website detailing what he considers to be “incorrect” signage. I’ll give the link to his website, even though it is a thinly disguised advert for his school – some of the key phrases in his header code are:

• Cheap Driving Lessons
• Driving School Southend
• Driving Lessons Brentwood
• Fleet Training Essex
• Advanced Driving

No mention of safety, a “campaign”, or anything even remotely connected with what the article is claiming. Still, it got him some valuable advertising from the Echo, who fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

The Echo story says:

One driving instructor has launched a campaign to shun the signs he believes are incorrect and could be dangerous for motorists…

…He has identified and photographed at least a dozen signs, which are inconsistent with driving manuals, and is now inviting people to add their own to his campaign.

A look at his site throws up this particular “anomaly” (shown left – also mentioned specifically in the Echo report).

According to this instructor, the sign has been erected like that, and he quotes regulations concerning “sign uniformity”. However, note the area I have marked with a red circle – the enlargement is shown on the right.

There is clearly a SQUARE sign on the opposite side of the chicane. I wonder what that might be showing? How about the “priority over oncoming vehicles sign”?

A closer look at the rectangular sign underneath the main in his photo leads to the obvious conclusion that some prat has deliberately turned it around to face the opposite way.

We get that around here. In Arnold, someone has obviously thought it brilliantly funny to change a “30” sign into an “80” – using orange paint (they’re not too bright in Arnold). Last year, someone with similarly brilliant wit thought it clever to change the “20” to “120” on a temporary sign after a country lane had just been dressed with gravel. On the A6097 at Gunthorpe, the local primates have turned the “END” signs around underneath the “Clearway” signs. On the unlisted Stoke Lane (into Stoke Bardolph – aka Stinky Town), a sign warning of a bend has been turned so it is parallel with the road instead of perpendicular to (i.e. it isn’t facing the traffic) – this one could have been due to wind, or a lorry or tractor hitting it. Direction signs are frequently mangled beyond recognition due to an HGVs having had a close encounter with them. Signs are frequently used as a canvas by troglodytes who have somehow managed to acquire sufficient skill to write their nickname or the name of their favourite football team using markers or spray paint. Signs are also an ideal place for those round “94.6” stickers, advertising some amateurish radio station.

As for trees and bushes – at this time of year councils around the country do nothing until well into the Autumn. It is an annual event for road signs to get obscured partially by new growth.

Now, I’m not saying he is wrong on all counts, but I think his rigid interpretation of the Regulations – coupled with the desire to add spin that suggests the signs were erected this way to start with - might be clouding his judgement a little on this. I doubt that anyone will have an accident as a result of a blue “mini-roundabout” sign on a roundabout that isn’t technically a “mini” one. A far bigger problem is people not seeing any signs or realising there is a roundabout there in the first place - whatever signs are erected.

Maintenance of the highways (including signs) has always been a problem. What IS new is someone using the issue as an advertising opportunity.

Someone found the blog on that search term. I’ve written about the handbrake before.

The answer is quite simple, really. They’re just bad drivers.

You often see people riding the clutch at traffic lights, and the car is rolling back and forth because they can’t do it properly.

You often pull up behind someone who insists on blinding you (especially at night) with their brake lights, as they sit there holding it with the foot brake.

The number who sit there with no brakes at all on level roads must be similarly high.

The things is, all of these are dangerous in one way or another. If you can’t ride the clutch properly you risk rolling back or surging forward into someone; if you hold with the footbrake, your foot might slip, especially if someone goes into the back of you; and sitting with no brakes at all is obviously dangerous for various reasons.

You’d be surprised how many people don’t use the handbrake properly, even after they have just passed their tests. It seems to be one of the first individual driving styles that develops once they are free of their instructor (along with mirror checks and driving too fast). It can be hard to get people to do it even on lessons.

A pupil yesterday afternoon was repeatedly not doing it (he works at a go-kart track and drives the karts a lot, which obviously don’t have handbrakes). Some pupils have difficulty in disengaging or engaging it properly, so they fall into a subconscious routine of trying to avoid using it at all (similar to stopping at junctions when they have trouble with the clutch/bite – they try to avoid stopping!) I also suspect that there is some complex “I’m not a learner any more” reasoning going on in the background.

Sometimes, pupils get the idea that not using the handbrake means they can move away quicker. It’s actually quicker if they use the handbrake in most cases – they can get the gas/bite ready and release the handbrake when they’re set, instead of mis-timing the pedals and stalling.

Why use the handbrake at junctions?

Primarily, to prevent you from rolling backwards or forwards. However, sitting with the footbrake on means the brake lights are on, and at night that just dazzles people behind you. It is inconsiderate.

If you’re going to be waiting for any length of time, just use the handbrake. That’s what it’s there for. Not using it is as lazy as it is wrong.

Old, old, old, OLD story which is no longer valid. DSA is now DVSA, and the video is not available anymore.

The DSA Fraud and Integrity Team featured in an episode of BBC’s Fake Britain last year, as they investigated people impersonating driving test candidates.

In an email alert from the DSA, you can now watch the footage on the DSA’s YouTube channel.

An email alert from the DSA.

I must say, this is a bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted – these downloads are only really valid for another 7 months – but in the meantime they are still useful.

The lowdown on the new official DSA downloads for learner drivers and riders

The Driving Standards Agency’s (DSA’s) best-selling official car and motorcycle theory test guides are available as fully interactive downloads for the first time.

It’s estimated that 73 per cent of UK households have access to the internet. And 99 per cent of 16-24 year olds – the age group most likely to be learning to drive or ride – have internet access.

So the new official DSA interactive downloads are a significant development, making key information and advice available at the click of a button and giving theory test candidates the best start to their revision.

The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers Interactive Download – £9.99

The Official DSA Theory Test for Motorcyclists Interactive Download - £9.99

Written by the people who set the tests, learner drivers and riders can be revising within minutes using The Official DSA Theory Test for Car Drivers Interactive Download and The Official DSA Theory Test for Motorcyclists Interactive Download. Both products include every question that candidates could be asked in their theory tests until January 2012, together with the DSA explanations of the answers and a full digital version of The Official Highway Code. Not only that, but with no postage and packaging costs to pay, the new download costs less than the equivalent book and CD-ROM titles, making it the ideal choice for learners who need to start revising right away.

In November 2010, the Driving Standards Agency announced that it would stop publishing the multiple choice questions and answers used in the theory test from January 2012, to ensure that new drivers and riders learn the principles behind the theory, rather than just learning the answers. TSO, DSA’s official publisher, is 100 per cent behind this initiative, and from January 2012 all official DSA products will include revision questions rather than the live questions.

The official DSA interactive downloads already include practice for the case studies part of the test, which was introduced in 2009 to assess learners’ ability to apply the theory they have learnt to specific situations. Uniquely, there are also references throughout the downloads to the publications which provide the source material for the questions: The Official Highway Code, The Official DSA Guide to Driving – the essential skills (or The Official DSA Guide to Riding – the essential skills for motorcyclists), and Know Your Traffic Signs.

DSA strongly recommends that all drivers and motorcyclists study these source materials, not only to prepare themselves fully for their theory and practical tests, but to also become safe road users for life. These references will enable learners to relate theory test questions to the background information, aiding their knowledge and understanding of the theory. The theory test downloads also include an additional optional voice-over for those with dyslexia and/or reading difficulties.

These user-friendly downloads provide theory test candidates with the closest experience to actually taking their test. Results from the mock tests are analysed to highlight areas for further revision, and customised tests can easily be built to enable candidates to practice just the sections which need more work.

For more information, including a video trailer and free preview, go to: tsoshop.co.uk/dsadownloads now.
 

EDIT: The most recent DSA news update says the change comes into force from 23 January 2012.