Need help with driving lessons in the Milton Keynes and Buckingham area? Or are you just looking for advise and tips on how to improve your driving. This blog on driving is here to help you. Feel free to check out my posts and subscribe.
The time is coming when your son or daughter reaches their 17th birthday. Driving lessons are one of the obvious things that the son or daughter would like to start and you will be thinking that's a great idea. Then you check out the local driving instructors in your area and you also decide to help your child with some private driving lessons in your own car.
This short video from my YouTube channel is an introduction into what mum or dad need to be thinking about.
To make sure our driving examiners have enough time dedicated to their training and development, from 10 October 2018 we'll be changing the testing schedules for driving examiners on one day a week.
This will help us to deliver a better service to customers and provide more opportunities for our staff to develop their skills.
How this will affect testing
To build in this extra time for our examiners, you’ll see some small changes to the test times throughout the day.
The training and development time will be on the same day every week. During the rest of the week, examiner schedules will remain unchanged.
We’ll continue to deliver the same amount of tests on the day the development time is scheduled as we do now.
You should contact your Local Driving Test Manager if you have any questions on the change to schedules.
Media captionThe Kitty Hawk Flyer's makers say they aim to eliminate traffic
It seems just about everyone has been launching a flying car lately, but the Kitty Hawk Flyer stands out for one big reason: it’s here today.
Specifically, it’s in Las Vegas, flying over a big lake.
This is where Kitty Hawk - a company owned by Google co-founder Larry Page - has set up a small hangar and training facility.
It’s where new flyers learn the ropes, a process that currently takes a mere 90 minutes. Most of it is spent rehearsing what happens if something were to go wrong.
The training begins in a basic simulation, a computer game that teaches you about the two controls you need to worry about - one switch to control altitude, and a small joystick to handle direction.
Then you move on to a real Flyer that is strapped to the ground, an exercise designed to remove any nerves you might have about being in the vehicle.
And then you practice getting out in an emergency. The team has set up a ball pool to rehearse getting out of the craft if it happens to land upside down on the water.
And then you’re good to go.
Sadly, the company wouldn’t let me try it out the Flyer for myself. For now I’d have to stand on the shore and watch Brittney Miculka perform manoeuvres over the water.
Driving examiners will now be using a new mobile search app to check if cars used for driving tests have a valid MOT and tax.
Most people won't have to worry as instructor cars should have both valid tax and MOT.
Only cars which examiners have reasonable concern with will be checked, and it will not change how long the driving test is.
If a car is found not to have either a valid MOT or tax, the test won't go ahead. Read the updated DT1 driving test form
Changes to rules for vehicles used for driving tests
From Monday 4 June 2018, you will not be able to use any vehicle (not including motorbikes) for a driving test if:
its engine management light is on, or if the light does not work
its reversing lights don’t work (this only applies to cars first used from 1 September 2009)
If the engine management light comes on during a driving test, and the car appears to be working normally, the test will continue. The driving examiner will tell you this happened at the end of the test. New rules reflect MOT changes
The new rules reflect changes made to the MOT test on 20 May 2018. These defects are now classed as major defects in the MOT, and cause the car to fail the test.
Find out more about the rules for cars used for driving tests or the changes to the MOT test.
From 1 May 2018, we'll be changing the way 78 theory test questions are worded, to make them more accessible to everyone.
We've worked with the British Dyslexia Association and the British Deaf Association to develop the changes. We trialled the changes with over 7,000 candidates, who found the revised questions easier to understand.
Main changes to the questions
We've rephrased all of the ‘continuation’ questions in the test. This type of question asks the candidate to choose an answer from a list, to complete a sentence. We're changing the wording so that the candidate has to pick a statement to answer the question instead.
We've also removed long and complicated words, with shorter simpler words. This includes replacing words like 'increased' and 'decreased' with 'bigger' and 'smaller'.
You can find more information on helping candidates with learning difficulties take their theory test on GOV.UK or Safe Driving for Life.
The Highway Code section about MOT tests has changed from 20 May 2018. This is because the rules for MOT tests have changed.
The changes are to annex 3 of The Highway Code, which covers documents you need for a vehicle.
From 20 May 2018, cars, vans, motorcycles and other light passenger vehicles manufactured or first registered over 40 years ago, will be exempt from the MOT test, unless the vehicle has been substantially changed within the previous 30 years.
Filling up at the petrol station for the first time can be one of those moments that you will worry about because it all looks like a busy car park with no clear way to park up and fill up with ease.
The short video is here to give you lots of tips and advise on what you need to do to successfully enter and petrol station, fill up and leave without getting all stressed.
From 3 April 2018, you'll be able to book your standards check on GOV.UK.
When your standards check is due, we'll send you a reminder letter. You'll then need to book your standards check online in the next 14 working days.
You'll get a link to the online booking system in your letter, so you can book a test at a time and location that suits you.
This will make it quicker and easier for you to book your standards check.
This week we saw the official start of the UK Autodrive trials in Milton Keynes, with self-driving pods taking to the pavements and streets of the city over the next 12 months.
Milton Keynes Council is working with Aurrigo, the autonomous vehicle division of RDM Group, to test out a new first/last mile transport solution for local people, shoppers and visitors to MK.
Up to 40 pods - capable of travelling up to 15 miles per hour and lasting up to 60 miles off one charge - will operate in the city centre from Central Station to Campbell Park and Silbury Boulevard to Avebury Boulevard.....
Today (18 January 2018) the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the result of their consultation to extend a vehicle's first MOT to 4 years.
Most of the responses to the consultation were against the proposals on safety grounds, and DfT has announced a vehicle's first MOT will stay at 3 years.
