Hello everyone,

I am going into Altcourse Prison in Liverpool on Thursday 25^th February.

Don’t worry – I haven’t done anything wrong! I’m going to talk to a number of the prisoners, mainly incarcerated for driving offences including causing death by dangerous driving, about my involvement with RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims and the work we do.

Following this, I shall be interviewed on the prison radio station, very likely on BBC Radio Merseyside, possibly Radio City, hopefully, some other stations and, with a bit of luck, some press and TV coverage. We are hoping we could get some national publicity.

All this is leading up to these inmates undertaking a Triathlon, on 12th March, to raise funds for RoadPeace. There will be two teams competing against each other. One will be led by their fitness instructor, Robbi Biddulph; the other by the chaplain, Martin Earl, who lost his brother in a road crash. In so doing, they are exhibiting remorse for their actions, attempting to redeem themselves by helping victims of similar crimes and, most importantly, sending a clear message not to drive as they did. I have, for many years, sought an opportunity for serious driving offenders to do something like this and finally it is here.

Each of us has a 1 in 75 chance of losing a family member in a road collision. My son, Nathan, was run over and killed at Christmas 2000. I hope none of you experience the same pain. Unfortunately, in the UK, seven families do every day. That is when they need the emotional and practical support RoadPeace provides. When you suffer a sudden, unexpected and violent bereavement you need someone who can be a listening ear, a guide through the paperwork and legalities, a companion to an inquest or trial, and much more. The volunteer befrienders of RoadPeace can provide this service because we've all been through something similar and can truly empathise with what is required. RoadPeace's campaigning for greater road safety is partly responsible for the fact that we've now got road fatalities and injuries down to the current level. Not that we're satisfied with those figures.

RoadPeace receives no government support, even though we often assist with their decision making processes. Most of the money that helps to run our office, website and helpline comes from the families who've suffered road trauma, with a little sponsorship from a few firms around the country.

So, now comes the bit where I ask for money.

The prisoners, fellow inmates, their families and guards will be sponsoring the competitors. The prison director has promised £250 to start us off.

If any of you would be so generous as to sponsor the prisoners in their efforts to raise funds for RoadPeace we would all be most grateful for your kindness. Even better, if you could tell as many people as you can, to help generate even more in the coffers, that would be brilliant.

Thanking you in advance for your generosity (no amount is too small and no amount is too large). Please help make this unique event even more memorable by helping us to raise an astonishing amount of cash.

You can make your pledge by going to

www.justgiving.com/RoadPeace-Altcourse-Triathlon

Please remember, if you are a UK tax payer use gift aid. This turns every £10 you give into nearly £12 for RoadPeace.

Please go to the RoadPeace website www.roadpeace.org to find out more. 

Best wishes and many thanks,

David Midmer

Come and visit us at the Liverpool Business Fair at Liverpool Town Hall, Castle Street. On March 23rd from 10am until 3pm, it would be great to see you and answer any questions you may have on driving.  It will be packed full of activities and useful features with something on offer for every business.  You can benefit from lots of practical information, advice and opportunities to meet local businesses. 

In short, an event not to be missed!

How do you know you are in a 30 mph zone?  what does it look like?  As I am currently involved with speed awareness courses in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and North Wales. The amount of people ending up on these courses, who really did not know they were in a 30 zone, seems to be on the increase.

 

However it is very simple to work out. Rule 124 of the highway code states you must not exceed the maximum speed limits for the road and for your vehicle the presence of street lights generally means there is a 30 mph speed limit unless otherwise specified.

 

So when you are on the road and have ‘lost the plot’ on the speed limit which we all do from time to time just look for the lights,  if there is regular street lights i.e. more than one street lamp, do 30 miles an hour unless you see a sign that tells you can do something else.

 

30 mph signs do not have to be repeated, so therefore once you enter a 30 zone you will not see another 30 sign until the speed limit changes,  this is why it is easy to ‘lose the plot’.

 

Many people believe that dual carriageways are higher speed limits, this is simply not true Aigburth Road example is a 30 miles an hour speed limit, the Bootle end (which includes the flyover at County road) and Allerton Road end of Queens Drive is also a 30 zone.

 

If anybody has any questions on speed limits please feel free to e-mail me 

Regular blogging will commence soon, sorry there has been a gap, so please keep checking for more. Happy New Year

 

        This is an article written by one of my fantastic driving instructors Simon Brown

 

Are you ready to take your practical driving test? 

Most students, as well as their parents if they are paying for lessons, are keen to take their practical driving test as soon as possible. The most common reason for failing the driving test is taking it before you are fully ready.  Remember, the examiner will be deciding if you are a fit and proper person to drive, unaccompanied, through busy city centres, around schools and on motorways.  They are not going to give you a licence if they are not certain that you are good enough. 

Ask yourself the following questions and answer them honestly:  

1       Can you operate all the controls, when required, without any prompting?  This includes gears, handbrake, indicators and windscreen wipers amongst others. 

A Yes

B Most of the time

C No, my instructor is still telling me

 2       Can you cope with every situation you meet on your driving lessons, including rural roads, dual carriageways, roundabouts town traffic etc?

 A   Yes

B   Most situations, but the odd thing still worries me

C   No, I still need instruction 

 3       Does your instructor ever need to reach across and use the controls to avoid danger? 

A   No, not any more

B   Occasionally

C   Most lessons  

4       Can you complete all the manoeuvres without any prompting and with full observations? 

A   Yes

B   Usually, I still occasionally clip a kerb or come wide

C   I still find manoeuvres difficult  

5       Do you feel that you sometimes hold up the traffic behind you

 A   No, I keep up with the traffic flow

B   Sometimes I may stall, or take a few seconds to get up to speed

C   I feel like traffic seems to get frustrated with me, and sometimes people try to overtake me.  

6       Are you comfortable handling a car at 60 or 70 mph? 

A   Yes, and I am happy to overtake when necessary

B   Usually, I’m still a little wary of overtaking

C   I’m not happy at these speeds. 

 If you have answered all ‘A’s, then you are probably ready to take your test.  If there are one or maybe two ‘B’s in there, ask your instructor about booking the test, as the waiting lists are usually 6 or 7 weeks on Merseyside.  If there are more than 2 ‘B’s or any ‘C’s, then you are not ready to take the practical test yet. If cost is on your mind, think of things this way.  If you fail a test, then you need to book another at £62.  You will also need lessons to correct what went wrong, and to keep fresh, so that you are ready the next time.  Bearing the long waiting lists in mind, let’s assume that you take 2 hours per week for 7 weeks between your tests, totalling £280.  Therefore, the real cost of a failed test is £280 + £62 = £342. 

At Insight2Drive, no instructor will tell you that you are not ready to take your test when you are!  Please remember that driving is a skill for life, and that the road is a very dangerous place.  Licence costs money, there is no escaping this, and we all appreciate that driving lessons are expensive.  But please remember that a failed driving test adds a lot more to this cost.

New drivers are normally penalised by insurance companies as soon as they sit behind the wheel. Premiums on even the most modest family car will skyrocket when a learner driver tries to gain that valuable practice between professional driving lessons – increases of more than £3,000 are not uncommon.

 

But not any more………………

 

The team behind Young Marmalade, the award-winning young driver specialists, have developed Provisional Marmalade, which provides a stand-alone insurance policy to allow a learner to practice in a family or friend’s car. There is an added bonus in that should anything happen whilst the learner is driving, the claim is made against his or her policy and does not affect the insurance of the car owner, even the no-claim status.

 

The Driving Standards Agency responsible for overseeing the driving tests recommends additional private practice to help new drivers gain experience and have a better chance of passing the driving test.

 

Costing in the region of £3 per day and providing comprehensive cover for cars up to insurance group 16 out of 20, this new policy will benefit many of the 1 million plus new drivers that apply for a provisional licence every year.

To get your quote click here

 

email press@youngmarmalade.co.uk

 

Telephone 0845 644 4206

News from the DSA

DSA has carried out a risk assessment on the Toyota iQ, and due to the lack of all round vision it has been decided, with immediate affect, that it is unsuitable for driving tests.

The vast majority of hatchbacks, saloons and estate cars are suitable for driving tests; but increasingly the designers of cars are producing models with sweeping lines. These vehicles have good forward vision but large blind spots to the rear, which present examiners with problems of observation.

Vehicles supplied by motor manufacturers have been through the type approval process, but this focuses on vehicles from the driver’s point of view and, does not necessarily make the vehicle suitable for driving tests.

Vehicles for test must allow examiners all round vision so they can see approaching vehicles, particularly when the vehicle is at an angle to others during reversing manoeuvres and when emerging at a junction with the vehicle at an angle to the major road.