Young Driver Education & Training

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and the Department for Transport (DfT) recently put out a consultation paper seeking views on wide-ranging changes to driver education and testing.

Safex 2008, the biannual two-day Driver Education World Conference, recently took place in London for 200 delegates from all over the world such as long-term driver education practioners, and researchers, mainly academics. Both groups agree that basic car control can be learned well enough by most people to pass a driving test, but it is their failure to apply what they know that causes 90 percent of accidents thereafter.

Most young male fatalities are traceable to over-confidence, distraction, frustration, poor observation, revenge, competitiveness, showing-off etc, and these are psychological, not technological or physiological issues. These inexperienced drivers lack awareness or responsibility, usually both, and it is this that coaching seeks to address.

The Goals for Driver Education Matrix (GDE-Matrix), which is now being quite widely used, distinguishes four levels of learning: 1. vehicle controls and manoeuvring skills; 2. mastering the variety of traffic situations; 3. current journey-related attitudes and behaviours; 4. engrained lifestyle and risk-seeking attitudes.

Senior Car Insurance Review

With an ageing population in the UK the number of motorists over 60 years of age has increased considerably in the last 10 years. This means that the market for senior car insurance policies is increasingly competitive, with insurers vying for a bigger slice of this lucrative market. Three-quarters of men in their 70s now hold a driving licence, 50 per cent up on 20 years ago. And within another 20 years, 90 per cent of men aged over 70 will still be behind the wheel.

The question is where do you turn to find the best senior motor insurance deal? There are a number of companies who specialise in serving this niche and their are other mainstream insurers who can deliver a competitive senior motor policy, with added features.

The starting point is (as always), make sure you shop around to locate the best deal - not particularly the lowest premium - but the combination of policy cover and price which best meets your driver and vehicle needs.

Simply obtaining a mainstream car insurance policy is probably not going to deliver the most suitable combination of price and protection. Every year you remain accident free, your premiums will decrease, so if you are a careful driver having spent years building your no claims discount, your premium will become even lower when you reach 50.

Industry research reveals that older drivers are inclined to have more mature driving attitudes than young drivers. As far as car insurers are concerned this translates into fewer accidents and most importantly lower insurance claims frequencies.

Senior car insurance is a legal requirement in the UK and it is against the law to drive without the protection of a car insurance policy. You must carry with you at all times, whilst driving, your certificate of insurance as this will provide evidence of your cover should it be required.

Remember Not all car insurance policies are the same!

RoSPA produce a great leaflet entitled ‘Older & Wiser’. The leaflet carries useful information and is a highly recommended read for senior drivers.

Young Driver Training

A quick update and refresher for all the young and newly qualified drivers out there. Whenever I speak to a young driver one of the first things mentioned in the conversation is the high insurance premiums quoted to the under 25’s.

There are obviously some common sense decisions you can make which will lower the price you pay for your new motor policy:

1. Get a smaller car - the less powerful the engine on your car, the lower your insurance premium will be!
2. Don’t modify your car – often (but not always) modifications made to cars, such as supercharging the engine, will force your insurance premium up!

etc.., etc..

However, one of the most overlooked decisions you could choose to make, but one which might possibly save your life, is to enrol for further driver training after passing your driving test. We have listed below two of the most popular and comprehensive young driver training programs in the UK today:

Institute of Advanced Motorists - DriveCheck
DriveCheck is a short Driving Assessment aimed at everyone who is interested in safer driving but who doesn’t feel they are (yet) ready to take the IAM Advanced Test. DriveCheck applicants are put in touch with their local IAM Group who will in turn arrange a mutually convenient time for the assessment to take place. The normal cost of DriveCheck will be £35.00, but as an introductory offer, the price is discounted to £25.00. Also check out…

The inaugural edition of Words on Wheels, the e-letter produced specifically for you and the other 7000 IAM members under the age of 30. It will bring you:

• News of the IAM’s embryo Young Driver Network (YDN)
• Topical stories of particular relevance to young drivers
• Hints and tips on a whole range of issues concerning cars and driving

PASS PLUS
PASS PLUS is a training scheme for new drivers. It’s much more than just a few extra lessons. This specially designed course by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA), with the help of insurers and the driving instruction industry, helps you

• Gain valuable driving experience safely
• Build on your existing skills and knowledge
• Reduce your risk of being in a road crash
• Save money on car insurance premiums
• Boost your confidence
• Give peace of mind to your loved ones

PASS PLUS consists of six practical modules which cover driving in town, in all weathers, on rural roads, at night, on dual carriageways and on motorways. You can take it at any time within the first 12 month of passing your test.

There is no test at the end of it – your driving will be continually assessed and you must successfully complete all the modules in the course to an achieved or exceeded standard:

• Achieved – successfully reached the standard required for each of the competencies
• Exceeded – exceeded the required standard for each of the competencies

In exceptional circumstances, if a module can’t be done on the road it will be covered in a theory session. The highest level you can reach is ‘achieved’ as you’ve not been able to demonstrate the relevant practical skills.

Crash Avoidance Car Technology

model. Specifically the company were focusing on a number of new features which enhanced driver safety:

Audi side assist
This feature uses radar sensors to monitor the car’s blind spot and the traffic situation behind the vehicle. The light in the exterior mirror informs or warns you if side assist considers a detected vehicle to represent a hazard if you were to change lane

Audi lane assist
Audi lane assist warns the driver if the vehicle strays from a marked lane, by way of vibrating the steering wheel

adaptive cruise control
The optional adaptive cruise control automatically regulates the distance from traffic ahead. If a car ahead of you slows down, the system also reduces your speed. If the vehicle in front brakes suddenly, the system first warns the driver acoustically before applying the brakes briefly if necessary

LED daytime running lights
The slimline, xenon plus headlights (optional on S line models) not only look good, they are also technically sophisticated: a strip of 14 LED lights provides the daytime running light function. LED lights consume considerably less energy than normal dipped headlights and have a considerably longer working life.

My next question would be how to filter down these safety technology developments into cheaper car insurance policies? For example would you receive a discount on your renewal if you were driving/insuring a new Audi A4?

With manufacturers like Audi and others competitively introducing cutting-edge safety technology that tries to stay one step ahead of you — and everyone else on the road, the time must be ripe of an innovative insurer to create a strategic partnership with a company such as Audi to offer cheaper policies to Audi drivers!

Safer Driving for Young Drivers

We came across the Auto Trader Young Driver website while surfing the web and thought it a sensible move to bring it to your attention.

‘I WAS A DICKHEAD’
Think it will never happen to you? Think that your driving is so great that you can overtake on a blind bend? Maybe watching this will make you think again - the guy featured in this film thought he was a good driver, till he lost it on the road and nearly lost his life. Think it will never happen to you? Watch the Film.

The facts surrounding the number of young driver deaths and injuries on roads across the UK and worldwide is staggering:

• One young driver or passenger is killed or seriously injured on UK roads every hour.
• Worldwide, someone is killed in a road crash every 30 seconds.
• Young drivers account for more than 2 in 5 road deaths.
• 200 hundred young people a week will be killed or seriously injured in a car accident in Great Britain during 2007.
• Road crashes are the leading cause of death for young people aged between 15 and 24.

Win a Pass Plus course of lessons and reduce your car insurance!

Learning to drive and gaining your freedom on the road is a skill for life. Developing good driving habits right from the start and building upon those skills with a Pass Plus course is an ideal way to increase your confidence and knowledge to handle situations on the road.

AA driving school and Auto Trader are giving you the chance to Win one of six Pass Plus courses. Pass Plus is made up of a total of six modules which cover urban driving, dual carriageways, motorways and rural roads, plus all-weather and night-time driving.