Newslink January 2022
Motor Schools Association of Great Britain, driving instructors, ADIs, driver training and testing, road safety
Motor Schools Association of Great Britain, driving instructors, ADIs, driver training and testing, road safety
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For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
Two signs of the times<br />
Rod Came<br />
MSA GB South East<br />
I have always used a roof box on my<br />
tuition car. It’s a standard size across the<br />
roof, a non-aerodynamic white plastic<br />
one with an L-plate on it of the prescribed<br />
size. It also has our company name and<br />
a landline telephone number on it.<br />
I know that it costs a little by way of<br />
the car using extra fuel – in fact I was<br />
surprised when I had use of a Nissan<br />
Micra quite how much drag there was<br />
from the box, and taking it off was like<br />
properly releasing the handbrake – but I<br />
have always thought that it was worth<br />
having one for the advertising benefit as<br />
well as from the road safety point of view.<br />
Currently it’s common knowledge that<br />
there are not enough ADIs to satisfy the<br />
demand for driving lessons. All those I<br />
have spoken to have plenty of work,<br />
many with a waiting list, but is this<br />
supported by evidence?<br />
I have no doubt that those ADIs have<br />
genuinely reflected their personal situations,<br />
but to see what demand there is for<br />
lessons I have conducted a little test.<br />
Do top boxes<br />
attract custom?<br />
For 15 months I have been teaching<br />
my granddaughters to drive, driving<br />
around in a Toyota Yaris with my box<br />
either on the roof or the rear parcel shelf,<br />
with the company name and telephone<br />
number prominently displayed. The<br />
phone has been manned 24/7 in<br />
anticipation of a flood of calls from<br />
frustrated learner drivers who are unable<br />
to have lessons because local ADIs are<br />
fully booked. Has anybody called? Is my<br />
diary filled? Have I a waiting list?<br />
No, not one single call.<br />
Does this mean that roof boxes are of<br />
no use? Probably not; they still have the<br />
additional benefit of showing other<br />
drivers that it is a tuition car ahead of<br />
them and it does keep the name of the<br />
ADI in the public domain, but whether<br />
the box in itself attracts new business is<br />
open to question.<br />
Signs<br />
There you are, driving down the road,<br />
with or without a pupil. The digital<br />
speedometer read-out is spot on 30,<br />
which is the limit for the road, the<br />
read-out on your portable satnav reads<br />
27mph and all is right in your world.<br />
But the local council is just about to<br />
shatter the illusion that you are a<br />
responsible, law abiding, professional<br />
driving instructor. It is about to announce<br />
to the world, well to the other people in<br />
the vicinity, that you are a criminal, not<br />
just any old criminal but a law breaker<br />
unworthy of your professional status.<br />
They will do this by illuminating a<br />
Should these<br />
signs be correctly<br />
calibrated to only<br />
show Slow Down<br />
when a vehicle<br />
does exceed the<br />
speed limit?<br />
large red, black and white electronic sign<br />
showing 30 Slow Down. It has clocked<br />
your speed and decided you are in need<br />
of a very visible reprimand from the<br />
camera in the form of a reminder of what<br />
the speed limit is. The highway authority<br />
has acted as judge and jury without even<br />
reviewing the evidence, you have had no<br />
opportunity to put forward your defence<br />
let alone plead mitigating circumstances.<br />
You have been convicted in the eyes of<br />
the general public. Justice has not been<br />
served. You must be speeding as the sign<br />
has said so<br />
Not only is this set of circumstances<br />
embarrassing, but there is the possibility<br />
that it could affect your business, your<br />
livelihood, your income, with no recourse<br />
to your accuser.<br />
My question is – should all such signs<br />
be correctly calibrated to only show Slow<br />
Down when a vehicle actually does<br />
exceed the posted speed limit?<br />
The 30 could show as a reminder with<br />
the admonishment to slow shown only to<br />
transgressors.<br />
Could you sue the council for a<br />
perceived loss?<br />
Mobile phone rules tightened ‘to keep up with tech’<br />
<strong>2022</strong> will see the rules on mobile phone<br />
use while driving finally tightened up to<br />
penalise persistent offenders.<br />
Previously it was a criminal offence to<br />
use a hand-held mobile phone to call or<br />
text while driving – but a legal loophole<br />
has ensured drivers escaped punishment<br />
for other actions such as taking photos<br />
or scrolling through song playlists. This<br />
is because such actions aren’t seen as<br />
‘interactive communication’, and did not<br />
fit the original definition of the offence.<br />
However, the Government confirmed<br />
the law will be ‘brought into the 21st<br />
century’ – banning drivers from using<br />
their phones to take photos or videos,<br />
scroll through playlists or play games.<br />
The new laws will come into effect in<br />
<strong>2022</strong>. Anyone caught using their<br />
hand-held device while driving will face<br />
a £200 fixed penalty notice and six<br />
points on their licence.<br />
The only exceptions will be for drivers<br />
making a contactless payment with their<br />
mobile phone while stationary in areas<br />
such as a drive-through restaurant or on<br />
a road toll.<br />
Drivers will still also be able to<br />
continue using a device ‘hands-free’<br />
while driving, such as a sat-nav, if it’s<br />
secured in a cradle.<br />
Grant Shapps, transport secretary,<br />
said: “We still have too many deaths<br />
and injuries resulting while drivers use<br />
mobile phones. By making it easier to<br />
prosecute people illegally using their<br />
phone at the wheel, we are ensuring the<br />
law is brought into the 21st century<br />
while further protecting all road users.<br />
“While our roads remain among the<br />
safest in the world, we will continue<br />
working tirelessly to make them safer.”<br />
A public consultation found that 81<br />
per cent of respondents supported<br />
proposals to strengthen the law.<br />
The new law will also be more precise<br />
about the fact that being stationary in<br />
traffic counts as driving, making it clear<br />
that hand-held mobile phone use at<br />
traffic lights or in motorway jams is illegal<br />
except in very limited circumstances.<br />
NEWSLINK n JANUARY <strong>2022</strong><br />
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