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Welcome to the latest 2pass Newsletter
In this months Issue:-
- Christmas Gifts Ideas
- Check your Tyres for Winter
- Tyre Tread Done...Now Check the Pressure!
- Driving Tip of the Month - Roundabouts
- Independent driving...Lastest from a Test Centre near you!
- Insurance Advice For Learner Drivers
- How To Deal With Crash For Cash Scams
- Driving Test DVD
- Electronic parking brakes NOW suitable for tests
- ADI News
Chief driving examiner launches official Facebook page
Road Safety Week - 22nd - 28th November 2010
November issue of the DSA Despatch ezine
1) Christmas Gifts Ideas
Looking for that perfect Xmas gift for the learner driver?
Visit the new 2011 Software gift pack range of products. We are sure these make an ideal Birthday or Christmas present for anyone who is learning to drive.
All despatched within 24 hours (Mon to Fri) and all at special low busting prices with FREE P&P
See the complete range
2) Check your Tyres for Winter
Adequate tread depth is essential in wet conditions as the tread pattern helps to remove water from the road surface enabling the tyre to grip, steer, accelerate and brake properly. Current UK law requires car tyres to have a minimum of 1.6mm of tread across the central three-quarters of the tyre, around its entire circumference. Drivers who fail to comply with this law face an increased risk of being involved in an accident and also risk a fine of £2,500 and three penalty points for each illegal tyre.
Checking is easy, you simply need to insert a 20p coin into the main grooves of the tyre and if the rim of the coin is covered by the tread, this indicates sufficient tread depth to be safe and legal.
Watch the video below which demonstrates that the 20p test is so simple, even an adult can do it.
For the practical test, all the Tell Me/Show me Tyre questions
3) Tyre Tread Done...Now Check the Pressure!
At least every week check the tyre pressure (including spare). Incorrect tyre pressure may adversely affect tyre life and vehicle handling. Tyre pressure should be checked when tyres are Cold after the vehicle has been parked for three or more hours, or driven less than 1 mile. COLD tyre pressures are shown on garage forecourt. Different vehicles have different tyre pressures so check the charts or check your vehicle handbook.
iPhone users in the UK can now be sure of inflating their car tyres to the correct pressure following the launch of the FREE TyreSafe iPhone app.
Users simply input their vehicle registration details and the app provides the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended tyre pressure settings in both psi and bar.
Read more and how to get your app.
4) Driving Tip of the Month
Roundabouts - When is it safe to Go?
We get hundreds of messages from Learners who find it difficult to understand when to stop or go at a roundabout.
Roundabouts allow traffic from different roads to merge or cross without necessarily stopping.
The video below shows how to watch for other vehicles on or approaching the roundabout and whether to stop or go.
Before you enter a roundabout, you normally give way to any traffic approaching from your immediate right.
However, you should keep moving if the way is clear.
Hopefully you will find this video useful when you are trying to 'read' the vehicles approaching from the right.
More Video Lessons available from our Video Page Index
5) Independent driving...Lastest from a Test Centre near you!
Independent driving became part of the practical driving test in UK on 4th October 2010.
Cameras go behind the scenes in a test centre near you.
"Variance" and "chi" are in the news. Apparently, if an examiner's pass rate goes a certain amount above or below a standard figure for that test centre, they will get investigated. There have been articles in the press about an examiner who was sacked for passing too many candidates.
"Private runners" are learners who attend the test in their own car, and do not have dual controls fitted. There are stories (unconfirmed, obviously) that they do not go to the most difficult routes as the examiner feels more at risk.
6) Insurance Advice For Learner Drivers
Did you know? You must have a valid insurance certificate covering you for third party liability.
Before driving any vehicle, make sure that it has cover for your use or that your own insurance gives you adequate cover.
You MUST NOT drive a vehicle without insurance.
With a Collingwood Learner Driver Insurance policy you can drive almost any car, when you need it, from as short as a week.
Drive your parents, grandparents, friends or relatives car without any risk to their insurance. Just take out a policy for each vehicle when you need it.
More Information about Collingwood Learner Driver Insurance
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7) How To Deal With Crash For Cash Scams
New drivers have a hard enough time as it is, especially younger motorists.
There’s obviously a few nerves to deal with the first few times you hit the road without the calming influence of your trusty driving instructor. Then there’s the notoriously high car insurance premiums for young drivers, even if you shop around for the cheapest quotes. And there’s even been calls from boffins at Cardiff University to ban new drivers from the roads at night or from having too many passengers because of their inexperience.
But there’s also a more sinister problem that young drivers are having to face up to. More and more motorists are staging deliberate accidents so that they can claim money back on car insurance. In simple terms, scammers are crashing for cash.
Read More
8) Driving Test DVD
Check out this Driving Test DVD.
Expert briefing with video backup on how to pass YOUR UK Driving Test !
Video footage filmed and edited in Glasgow and Dunbartonshire by Gerry Brennan, an Approved Driving Instuctor with over 25 years experiance.
See report from the Clydebank Post
Read More
9) Electronic parking brakes NOW suitable for tests.
Electronic parking brakes are now being fitted to an increasing number of vehicles, so it’s unrealistic for the DSA to continue with its policy to ban these cars from the test.
From 1 November vehicles fitted with an electronic parking brake will be allowed to be used for practical driving tests.
There are usually two ways of releasing an electronic parking brake:
The parking brake will not usually release automatically if:
If there is no loss of control either method is acceptable.
If the examiner needs to take action to stop the vehicle, and it’s not fitted with dual controls, they will apply and hold the electronic parking brake - this will bring the vehicle to a controlled stop.
Minimum test vehicle requirements for a car and car and trailer test
10) ADI News
Chief driving examiner launches official Facebook page.
Driving instructors, trainers and other road safety professionals can now keep up to date with Great Britain's chief driving examiner on Facebook.
The Driving Standards Agency's Trevor Wedge has launched an official Facebook page - and he wants you to follow him and get involved.
Trevor says: "My Facebook page is a great way of helping fellow road safety professionals keep up-to-date with developments. It's just one of the many new ways that DSA is using to keep people informed."
To take a look at Trevor's page and to start following him on Facebook, go to
facebook.com/trevorwedge
Road Safety Week - 22nd - 28th November 2010
Driving Schools are ideally placed to get key road safety messages over to young people at the beginning of their driving journey.
Get involved in Road Safety Week!
Read on for 3 simple ideas!
November issue of the DSA Despatch ezine
In this issue, we get the first feedback about independent driving - we hear from industry representatives, and also find out what the first candidates have been saying about the new test.
Elsewhere, we take a look at the work being done to stamp out illegal instruction, and there’s a reminder for LGV drivers to start their obligatory periodic training before it’s too late. For this and more, see the links below.
There are three ways to read Despatch:
- view the interactive Flash version
- download the PDF version (878Kb)
- view the text-only version - ideal for slower internet connections or reading on mobile devices
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