Motorway lessons for learner drivers from 2018

The Government has announced that as from next year learners will be able to have motorway lessons in dual control cars with approved driving instructors. (England, Wales and Scotland)

Currently you have to have passed your driving test to be allowed to drive on motorways. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the lessons would make UK roads safer.

He said: "Allowing learners to drive on motorways in a supportive environment will help them develop a practical understanding of how to use motorways safely before driving independently."

Mr Grayling said young drivers were more likely to be killed or seriously injured on Britain's roads - and a lack of experience was an "important factor".

"The UK has some of safest roads in the world and we want to make them even safer," he said.

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Motorway rules

• When joining the motorway give priority to traffic already on the road. Match your speed to fit safely into the traffic flow and remain in the left-hand lane long enough to adjust to the speed of traffic before considering overtaking
• When you can see well ahead and the road conditions are good, drive at a steady cruising speed within the speed limit
• Always drive in the left-hand lane when the road ahead is clear. If you are overtaking slower-moving vehicles, return to the left-hand lane as soon as you are safely past
• Only overtake on the right-hand side, when it safe and legal to do so. In congested conditions, however, you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake
• Do not stop on the hard shoulder except in an emergency
• Do not reverse, cross the central reservation, or drive against the traffic flow. If you have missed your exit, carry on to the next one

Source: The Highway Code

For more on this story please read this article by the BBC

Police to net an extra £12 million from speed awareness courses

More than a million drivers each year now opt to attend speeding awareness courses instead of receiving points and a fine

Currently police forces are not supposed to generate and income from the courses but do receive a "flat fee" to cover their costs, because of a £10 per person price rise from last month, they are estimated to receive an extra £12 million a year from speed awareness courses going forwards

With thousands more speed cameras being placed around the country, Police forces have now been accused of deliberately targeting motorists to raise revenue

Hugh Bladon of the Alliance of British Drivers claimed it was clear by the huge numbers taking part, that police forces were generating significant amounts of revenue from the schemes.

He said: "The incentive is clearly there for the police to get people onto these courses because they benefit financially. It does not accord with what our definition of justice is in the UK".

Claire Armstrong of the group Safe Speed, also said it was nonsense to suggest speed awareness courses were about anything but making money.

She said: "These course are using the police as a sales mechanism for the speed camera industry. It is so far from being about road safety that they should be embarrassed.

"Motorists are being bribed into doing these courses that are not improving road safety. It is a huge scam."

Two private companies run the majority of courses, but five police forces; Lancashire, Merseyside, Humberside, Cheshire and Northamptonshire run their own.

Any profits they make, must be put back into road safety, but with forces facing unprecedented financial pressure, any extra revenue will be welcomed by Chief Constables.

For more information around this please read this story in the Telegraph

Motorway roadworks speed limit could be increased

Speed limits for motorway roadworks where the limit is currently 50mph could be raised in a bid to ease congestion in England.

Highways England recently carried out trials in which it was discovered that drivers' heart rates were lower when they drove at 55mph or 60mph rather than the usual 50mph through roadworks. The study further suggested that motorists felt more relaxed travelling at higher speeds, partly because they had a greater ability to accelerate past heavy goods vehicles.

It is reported that the new limits could come into effect in some areas this year. Unite a trade union, which represents road workers throughout the UK, said the proposed speed increases ignored the safety of those maintaining motorways, who "work in already very dangerous conditions".

A spokesman said: "Sadly, in recent years there have been several deaths of motorway workers and these changes will make their work even more dangerous. 
"Already motorists frequently drive into coned-off areas. At increased speeds, it will make such potentially lethal accidents even more common."

Edmund King, president of the AA, said increasing the speed limit could help reduce congestion, he said it had to be targeted at the longest stretches of road works where there were no workers.
He said: "When work is going on and it's in close proximity to the carriageways we should stick at lower speeds and sometimes it needs to be lower than 50mph, depending on the layout."

Jim O'Sullivan, chief executive of Highways England, told The Times that the 60mph limit was "something that we want to introduce to as many roadworks as possible".
But Mr O'Sullivan said that lower speeds were likely to be maintained in areas with narrow lanes, contraflows or where workers are close to the road, due to safety reasons.


Other sources include: BBC

Drivers who kill will now face life sentence

Dangerous drivers who cause death while using their mobile phones or speeding will now face life in prison.

Drivers who kill while under the influence of drink or drugs will also face a life sentence. And there will be a new offence of causing serious injury through careless driving, as part of renewed efforts to improve road safety.

The new measures mean such drivers could face the same length of sentence as those convicted of manslaughter, with maximum penalties raised from 14 years to life.

Read the full story in the guardian