In winter sometimes fallen leaves can obscure yellow lines, resulting in
drivers receiving parking fines for stopping on roads where they
thought that it was ok to park.
If leaves are obscuring lines on an un-spwept roads it is worth being
aware that this is grounds for appealing a parking ticket, but only if
certain conditions are met.
This is because it is the responsibility of local councils to keep roads
clean with parking restrictions clearly visible. If the lines were covered by leaves and there was
no relevant signage close to your vehicle then you have a good chance of
having the ticket overturned.
In order to appeal you need to do the following upon finding the parking fine.
look for signs that state the restrictions.
(If there’s one right next to your car then your appeal is likely to
fail).
Measure its
distance from your car to the nearest signage. (One pace = around a metre)
Take a
picture of your car in relation to the sign
Take a photograph of the road showing that the lines are obscured by leaves or flooding.
Most phones will embed Exif data on the image, this information can be used to prove the location and time that the
photo was taken. This could be vital in any appeal.
The Source of this information is aph.com, there are also many other helpful tips for winter in their article
Road safety campaigners want
anti-speeding technology (Intelligent Speed Adaptation - ISA) fitted as standard to all newly manufactured cars after a rise in the number
of crashes caused by breaking the speed limit.
The system shows the speed limit of the road a person is driving on and can control the speed of the vehicle.
Intelligent Speed Adaptationtechnology allows drivers to select an option where acceleration is
stopped automatically at the speed limit specific to any road (this can also be disabled via button). When this mode is turned off the speed limit is still displayedbut the speed not overridden.
Its developers say ISA is intended as a road safety device, but it could have additional benefits.
These
include reducing congestion as a result of collisions, and cutting
vehicle emissions as drivers adopt a smoother driving style
Campaigners are making the call as part of Road Safety Week after Scottish government figures earlier this
year showed a 14% rise in road deaths in Scotland during 2016
compared with 2015.
Jason Wakeford, director of campaigns for Brake, said:
"Speeding remains a major problem, causing untold suffering to families
up and down the country."
Since the paper tax disc was abolished the number of unlicensed vehicles on the road has tripled.
The
data, published every two years, shows that the government potentially
lost out on £107m from 755,000 unlicensed vehicles last year.
The RAC said the decision to get rid of the paper tax disc three years ago has proved "costly" when it should have saved the Treasury £10m a year.
"It appears that having a visual reminder was an effective
way to prompt drivers into renewing their car tax - arguably more
drivers are now prepared to try their luck and see if they can get away
with not paying any vehicle tax at all, or are simply forgetting to tax
their vehicle when they are due to."
When the abolition of the paper tax disc was announced by
then-Chancellor, George Osborne, the Treasury said it showed government
was moving "into the modern age".
The
RAC said a third of untaxed vehicles had changed hands since September
2016, indicating that many drivers were not aware that tax does not
carry over when ownership changes.
The seller receives a refund of any full months of remaining tax while the new owner must tax the vehicle immediately.
the Association of Optometrists has said that Drivers should have compulsory eye tests every 10 years.
One
in three optometrists say they have seen patients in the last month who
continue to drive with vision below the legal standard.
Motorists must read a number plate from 20m (65ft) in the practical driving test, but there is no follow-up check.
It is currently down to drivers to report changes to eyesight to the DVLA. However this is not always as simple as it sounds and this is down to the fact that sight changes can be gradual, often people won't realise that their vision has deteriorated over time.
Data
from the Department for Transport shows seven people were killed and 63
were seriously injured in accidents on Britain's roads last year when
"uncorrected, defective eyesight" was a contributory factor.
Currently when drivers pass the age of 70, the emphasis changes a little. Drivers must actively make a declaration every three years that they are fit to drive. As part of that they must confirm that they meet the minimum eyesight requirement.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has confirmed that the driving test in England, Scotland and Wales will change from Monday 4 December 2017.
The changes are designed to make sure new drivers have the skills they’ll need to help them through a lifetime of safe driving.
The changes will only apply to car driving tests to begin with.
The 4 driving test changes
1. Independent driving part of the test will increase to 20 minutes
The independent driving part of the test currently lasts around 10 minutes. During this part of the test, you have to drive without turn-by-turn directions from the driving examiner.
This part of the test will be made longer, so it’ll last around 20 minutes - roughly half of the test.
2. Following directions from a sat nav
During the independent driving part of the test, most candidates will be asked to follow directions from a sat nav.
The examiner will provide the sat nav and set it up. You won’t need to set the route - the examiner will do this for you. So, it doesn’t matter what make or model of sat nav you practise with.
You can’t follow directions from your own sat nav during the test - you have to use the one supplied by the examiner.
You’ll be able to ask the examiner for confirmation of where you’re going if you’re not sure. It won’t matter if you go the wrong way unless you make a fault while doing it.
One in 5 driving tests won’t use a sat nav. You’ll need to follow traffic signs instead.
3. Reversing manoeuvres will be changed
The ‘reverse around a corner’ and ‘turn-in-the-road’ manoeuvres will no longer be tested, but you should still be taught them by your instructor.
You’ll be asked to do one of 3 possible reversing manoeuvres:
parallel park at the side of the road
park in a bay - either driving in and reversing out, or reversing in and driving out (the examiner will tell you which you have to do)
pull up on the right-hand side of the road, reverse for 2 car lengths and rejoin the traffic
4. Answering a vehicle safety question while you’re driving
The examiner will ask you 2 vehicle safety questions during your driving test - these are known as the ‘show me, tell me’ questions.
You’ll be asked the:
‘tell me’ question (where you explain how you’d carry out a safety task) at the start of your test, before you start driving
‘show me’ question (where you show how you’d carry out a safety task) while you’re driving - for example, showing how to wash the windscreen using the car controls and wipers
How the new test will work
This video shows how the test will work from 4 December 2017.
Who it affects
All car driving tests taken from 4 December 2017 will follow the new format. This includes if:
you fail a test before then, and retake your test from 4 December 2017
your test is cancelled or moved for any reason, and your new test date is from 4 December 2017
Your driving instructor should have been teaching you everything you
need to know to drive safely, so you shouldn’t need to worry about
learning anything new.
The pass mark is staying the same. So, you’ll pass your test if you make no more than 15 driving faults and
no serious or dangerous faults.
The examiner will still mark the test in the same way, and the same things will still count as faults.
The overall time of the driving test won’t change. It will still take around 40 minutes.
Road collisions are the biggest killer of young people. They account
for over a quarter of all deaths of those aged between 15 and 19.
DVSA wants to make sure that training and the driving test reduce the number of young people being killed in collisions.
These changes are being made because:
most fatal collisions happen on high-speed roads (not including
motorways) - changing the format of the test will allow more of these
types of roads to be included in driving test routes
52% of car drivers now have a sat nav - DVSA wants new drivers to be trained to use them safely
research has shown that new drivers find independent driving
training valuable - they can relate it to driving once they’ve passed
their test
Changes are supported by the public
The changes follow a:
public consultation that over 3,900 people took part in
trial of the changes involving over 4,300 learner drivers and over 860 driving instructors
88.2% agreed with increasing the length of the independent driving part of the test
70.8% agreed with asking candidates to follow directions from a sat nav
78.6% agreed with the plans to change how the reversing manoeuvres are tested
78.4% agreed with asking the ‘show me’ question while the candidate is driving
Helping you through a lifetime of safe driving
Transport Minister, Andrew Jones, said:
Our roads are among the safest in the world. However, road collisions are the biggest killer of young people.
These changes will help us to reduce the number
of people killed or seriously injured on our roads and equip new drivers
with the skill they need to use our roads safely.
DVSA Chief Executive, Gareth Llewellyn, said:
DVSA’s priority is to help you through a lifetime of safe driving.
Making sure the driving test better assesses a driver’s ability to
drive safely and independently is part of our strategy to help you stay
safe on Britain’s roads.
It’s vital that the driving test keeps up to
date with new vehicle technology and the areas where new drivers face
the greatest risk once they’ve passed their test.
More information
More information for driving instructors is being published on DVSA’s Despatch blog.
According to new data only around half of fixed speed cameras on British roads are switched on.
The figures that were released by 36 police forces in the UK show that of a total 2,838 cameras, just 1,486 - or 52% - are active. (Fixed cameras only not mobile devices)
according to information obtained by the Press Association (PA), some police forces have completely turned off all their cameras. Northamptonshire police deactivated all of theirs in 2011 but left the machines in place as a deterant. (Cleveland, Durham and North Yorkshire said theirs are all also turned off)
A spokeswoman for the National Police Chiefs' Council said the decision to use cameras was "an operational matter", adding that "all forces have individual responsibility for their use of speed cameras".
Fixed speed cameras in Cleveland, Durham, North Yorkshire and Northamptonshire are all inactive
Staffordshire Police has 272 fixed cameras across the region, of which 14 are active
In Scotland, less than 29% of fixed cameras are switched on
Forces where less than 25% of fixed cameras are active: West Yorkshire, Kent, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire
Derbyshire force operates 112 cameras, of which 10 are switched on
Gwent police force has 17 fixed speed cameras of which 8 are active while South Wales has 88, 59% of which are switched on
Police forces with all fixed speed cameras switched on include: the City of London, the Metropolitan Police/Transport for London, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Northern Ireland
Edmund King, president of the AA, said: "Many of the empty yellow cases are due to cuts in road safety grants and the fact that digital cameras, although more effective, are very expensive."
He added: "It has long been the case that cameras were moved between sites, depending on need. When it comes to the chances of being caught on camera, it is a postcode lottery. All cameras in City of London and Suffolk are working whereas only 5% are active in Staffordshire."
"However, drivers should remember that lack of a yellow fixed camera doesn't mean they are immune from mobile hidden cameras. Best advice is stick to the limits rather than gambling on the yellow boxes."
The Escort Passport Qi45 is designed by Escort to be the quickest and
easiest to install integrated radar detector system made for an under
the bonnet hidden solution. The system has three components: The
antenna/receiver, the interface, and the display/controller. Just
connect the interface to a switched power supply and connect the antenna
and display using standard RJ11 cables.
In addition to being easy to install, the Qi45 offers excellent performance. The Qi45 detects all bands of radar and Laser. The Passport Qi45 has voice alerts, a Signal Strength Meter, AutoMute, and three sensitivity levels.
Because
the display can be mounted almost anywhere, it is easily concealed. If
you have been looking for an integrated radar detector to replace your
traditional windshield mount one, then the Qi45 may be exactly what you
have been looking for.
In winter sometimes fallen leaves can obscure yellow lines, resulting in
drivers receiving parking fines for stopping on roads where they
thought that it was ok to park.
