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One in three young drivers feel ‘unprepared’ after test.
Peter Woodman .
Tuesday 20 August 2013.
Almost a third of young drivers felt unprepared to drive alone when they passed their test, according to research published today. Many young motorists feel driving lessons are failing to get them ready them for life on the road, with 29 per cent of those aged 18-30 feeling unfit to drive solo when they earned their full licences.
In radical overhaul of driving test rules.
L-drivers face ' minimum learning period '
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin in attempt to reduce the number
of young motorists killed or seriously injured.
Learners could have to demonstrate they have experience of driving on motorways, as well as when it is dark and in rainy conditions. The tests are also expected to be toughened, possibly by doubling from ten to 20 minutes the amount of time that learners are required to drive unsupervised.
You can be fined for moving out of the way of an ambulance, here’s how to stay safe and legal
Examples that could see you be hit with a heavy fine include: entering a bus lane, stopping in a yellow box junction or driving through a red traffic light.
As CCTV cameras are increasingly being used to fine motorists for offences such as these – especially in city centres – the RAC is warning that getting out of the way for an ambulance, police car or fire engine won’t exempt you from paying fines.
As an example, you could be hit with a fixed penalty notice for £100 and three penalty points on your licence for jumping a red light – even if it’s at low speed to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle.
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/driving-advice/fined-for-moving-out-of-the-way-of-an-ambulance/
Learner drivers are to be allowed on motorways for the first time, ministers announce.
Novices must be with a qualified instructor - campaigners hope it will improve safety, especially among young drivers.
Monday 4 June 2018 06:44, UK
Learner drivers blacklisted from booking tests amid identity theft.
Unscrupulous instructors are using legitimate candidate details to block-book numerous tests and then reselling slots at inflated prices
27 June 2024 • 9:14pm
Massive test backlog
‘Eyewatering prices’
Desperate learner drivers are being blacklisted from booking tests after their identities are stolen by scammers, a driving school boss has claimed.
Seb Goldin, chief executive of Red Driving School, said the theft and abuse of personal details was resulting in learners being shut out of driving test booking systems.
Unscrupulous instructors are reselling valuable test slots for hundreds of pounds each, The Telegraph understands. Some are said to be using legitimate candidates’ names to block-book tens of tests at a time.
The DVSA charges £62 for a driving test and said it was cracking down on the misuse of candidate details by instructors.
The claim of identity theft comes after the AA Driving School found that waiting times for driving tests grew by a fifth between February and May.
Average waiting times across the country were more than four months (17.8 weeks) at the start of May, AA Driving School research revealed, up from more than three months (14.8 weeks) in February.
Millions of learners were forced to put their driving on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a backlog of hundreds of thousands of people.
Driving school bosses now say the DVSA needs to make more test places available to help clear the backlog and reduce the number of desperate learners turning to the black market to secure a slot.
Speaking to The Telegraph on Thursday, Mr Goldin said some learners were finding themselves shut out of the DVSA driving test system after using social media to find people claiming to have spare test places available for sale.
“There’s a bit of identity theft going on because to book a test, you need a provisional driving licence of someone who’s passed the theory test,” said Mr Goldin.
“And some people are finding that their identities are basically being stolen online. And then multiple tests are being booked in their name, they don’t know that.
“So when they actually then come to try and look at booking a test, they’re blacklisted by the DVSA because DVSA have seen that individual has booked 30 or 40 tests, but it’s not actually them.
“It’s some WhatsApp group somewhere else, not even in this country, who are basically using that identity to book tests and then resell them on.”
Mr Goldin’s comments were echoed by Camilla Benitz, chief executive of the AA Driving School.
“Basically a number of bots have been developed by businesses that mimic human behaviour to basically get those driving lessons slots as soon as they’re published,” said Ms Benitz.
“And they will then sell them on for eyewatering prices. You’re looking at a £250 per test.”
Both driving school bosses said the DVSA needed to do more
to tackle its backlog of driving tests, with Ms Benitz estimating that 1.2 million were cancelled during the pandemic years.
“That’s really disappointing, that turn of events, and they just don’t seem to have a plan,” she said.
“Now nothing’s been shared as to what happens next. But it’s just unacceptably high waiting times.”
Mr Goldin added: “If people get desperate and there’s more demand than supply, people will get pulled into these grey areas.
“If you can’t book a test in the local area when you go onto the website to try and book it... and someone suddenly offers you one, there’s probably something not quite right with it. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
Unscrupulous instructors are using legitimate candidate details to block-book numerous tests and then reselling slots at inflated prices
27 June 2024 • 9:14pmDesperate learner drivers are being blacklisted from booking tests after their identities are stolen by scammers, a driving school boss has claimed.
Seb Goldin, chief executive of Red Driving School, said the theft and abuse of personal details was resulting in learners being shut out of driving test booking systems.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) says that only approved driving instructors can book tests for their students but to do so, they need to insert each candidate’s details into a DVSA system.
Unscrupulous instructors are reselling valuable test slots for hundreds of pounds each, The Telegraph understands. Some are said to be using legitimate candidates’ names to block-book tens of tests at a time.
The DVSA charges £62 for a driving test and said it was cracking down on the misuse of candidate details by instructors.
The claim of identity theft comes after the AA Driving School found that waiting times for driving tests grew by a fifth between February and May.
Average waiting times across the country were more than four months (17.8 weeks) at the start of May, AA Driving School research revealed, up from more than three months (14.8 weeks) in February.
Massive test backlog
Millions of learners were forced to put their driving on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a backlog of hundreds of thousands of people.
Driving school bosses now say the DVSA needs to make more test places available to help clear the backlog and reduce the number of desperate learners turning to the black market to secure a slot.
Speaking to The Telegraph on Thursday, Mr Goldin said some learners were finding themselves shut out of the DVSA driving test system after using social media to find people claiming to have spare test places available for sale.
“There’s a bit of identity theft going on because to book a test, you need a provisional driving licence of someone who’s passed the theory test,” said Mr Goldin.
“And some people are finding that their identities are basically being stolen online. And then multiple tests are being booked in their name, they don’t know that.
“So when they actually then come to try and look at booking a test, they’re blacklisted by the DVSA because DVSA have seen that individual has booked 30 or 40 tests, but it’s not actually them.
“It’s some WhatsApp group somewhere else, not even in this country, who are basically using that identity to book tests and then resell them on.”
‘Eyewatering prices’
Mr Goldin’s comments were echoed by Camilla Benitz, chief executive of the AA Driving School.
“Basically a number of bots have been developed by businesses that mimic human behaviour to basically get those driving lessons slots as soon as they’re published,” said Ms Benitz.“And they will then sell them on for eyewatering prices. You’re looking at a £250 per test.
Both driving school bosses said the DVSA needed to do moreto tackle its backlog of driving tests, with Ms Benitz estimating that 1.2 million were cancelled during the pandemic years.
“That’s really disappointing, that turn of events, and they just don’t seem to have a plan,” she said.
“Now nothing’s been shared as to what happens next. But it’s just unacceptably high waiting times.”
Mr Goldin added: “If people get desperate and there’s more demand than supply, people will get pulled into these grey areas.
“If you can’t book a test in the local area when you go onto the website to try and book it... and someone suddenly offers you one, there’s probably something not quite right with it. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
Telegraph Learner Driver Stories.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/search/?q=Learner+Drivers&p=0&sortby=date
