A 12 and a 14 year old from Wales have made the final of a national driving competition – despite not being old enough to hold a driving licence. Jenson Jones, 12, from Clydach Vale, Tonypandy and Cameron Redwood, 14, from Llandough, Penarth have both been awarded a place in the final of the Young Driver Challenge 2021, having beaten off stiff competition from hundreds of other entries. The … [Read more...]
Insurance fraud & finding best premiums for youngsters
Go Compare insurance has found that almost a quarter of parents could be risking a trip to court and a criminal record for ‘fronting’ their child’s car insurance policy. ‘Fronting’ is when an older or more experienced driver - usually a parent - claims that they’re the main user of the car but it’s mostly driven by a young person, or other high-risk motorists, to reduce the cost of car … [Read more...]
Transport sector is suffering effects of ‘long covid’ bureucracy
The government is under further pressure to alleviate Britain's lorry driver shortage. Groups have told Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng there's an impact on supply chains and want a review of plans not to grant temporary work visas to drivers from the EU, and better training as pressure builds towards the Christmas period. Ministers have previously said employers should invest in … [Read more...]
Newslines 17 August
Powys is one of the more dangerous places for new drivers, warn Zutobi. Road accident statistics show there are about 351.1 accidents per 100,000 people, the second highest in the UK but about half the total for Westminster, London which is Britain’s worst accident area. A £30m scheme on the A55 to improve safety, further protect against flooding and provide a new active travel route is … [Read more...]
Learners knocked back nine-months by pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic delayed learner drivers’ gaining their licence by an average of nine months, according to GoCompare Car Insurance. Lockdown restrictions meant driving lessons and driving tests were cancelled across the UK, causing chaos for thousands of learner drivers hoping to get legally on the roads. According to a new survey from GoCompare, who interviewed over 1000 … [Read more...]
Newslines 5 July
Over the past 12 months used car purchases completed entirely via mobile devices have soared by 48.7%, compared with a rise of 22.1% on desktop or laptop computers and BuyaCar analysts say that transactions via tablets, such as iPads, are also up, but account for little more than one in every 100 sales. Mobile phones are thought to account for a tenth of sales. One in 20 learner drivers have … [Read more...]
Practical test pass rates soaring
Learner drivers passed their practical tests at the highest rate ever recorded during the pandemic, according to the Department for Transport. The data, which spans April 2020 to March 2021, shows that 49.8% of learners passed the test, up by 3.9% on 2019-20 figures. There was more good news for learners taking theory tests, with 55.7% passing, the highest rate since 2013-14 and 8.6% higher than … [Read more...]
Bid to ease driver shortage for HGVs
With more than 45,000 HGV driver tests outstanding at DVSA as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Logistics UK is pressing government to introduce a seasonal visa for European HGV drivers to protect the nation’s supply chain while the organisation catches up with this backlog. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, understandably, all driving tests were suspended,” explains David Wells, the business … [Read more...]
Newslines 13 May
For the first time youngsters up to seven years under the legal driving age will be able to take to the wheel of three iconic British-made classic cars. Thanks to the UK’s largest pre-17 driving school, Young Driver, youngsters aged 10 and over can take a spin in a Vauxhall VX490, Morris Minor or Austin 7 with a fully qualified driving instructor and adults are welcome to sample … [Read more...]
Learners are getting older, survey suggests
As driving lessons and tests return, new figures from a car insurance comparison website show almost a third of all learner drivers are over 30 years of age. Quotezone.co.uk data also reveals that many motorists spend longer as learner drivers than might be expected, with almost a third (32.2%) holding a provisional licence for more than a decade. While the general picture of learners being … [Read more...]