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 />
Prepare for a decade of<br />
momentous changes<br />
Colin Lilly<br />
Editor, MSA GB <strong>Newslink</strong><br />
To start, MSA GB would like to wish you<br />
all a very Happy and Healthy New Year.<br />
This year has the potential to be a<br />
prosperous one, with the continuing<br />
driving test backlog and waiting list of<br />
frustrated learner drivers. We hope we<br />
can reach the end of <strong>2022</strong> with no<br />
further restrictions due to Covid variants.<br />
So here we are, another year into what<br />
could well be a defining decade for<br />
motoring and driver training. After 2030,<br />
sales of petrol and diesel engine cars will<br />
be banned so there will be a wind-down<br />
in their sales towards that date. Some<br />
hybrids may remain available until 2035,<br />
but certainly the trend will be towards<br />
automatic gearboxes.<br />
A number of driving schools are already<br />
opting to offer training in hybrid or<br />
electric vehicles which will restrict<br />
successful learners to a manual licence<br />
once they pass their test. In fact, there<br />
has been some promotion of the idea of<br />
learning in an electric car as being an<br />
easy option. Some drivers select learning<br />
in an automatic for a number of reasons<br />
but to make the choice as the ‘easy<br />
option’ does not seem a good route to a<br />
safe driving career.<br />
Selecting the easy option on any topic<br />
in life does not always produce the best<br />
result. Learning to drive competently<br />
requires quite an effort.<br />
The driving test pass rate in 2020/21<br />
for automatic cars was 41.5 per cent<br />
compared with an overall pass rate of<br />
50.5 per cent. This suggests it may not<br />
be the most efficient route to take.<br />
The majority of new drivers opt for an<br />
older second-hand car which in the main<br />
will have a manual gearbox. Many would<br />
find the price of a new electric vehicle<br />
costing at least £20,000 beyond their<br />
reach, while second-hand prices,<br />
beginning at around £10,000, will be too<br />
steep for many.<br />
We operate at the entry level of car<br />
ownership. To suggest that young drivers<br />
will opt for the electric route is a bit<br />
futuristic, but they realise that at some<br />
point in their driving career they will have<br />
to make the change to an electric car.<br />
Some of my learners already have a<br />
much-loved family car that’s less than<br />
five years old waiting for them for when<br />
they pass their driving test. In most cases<br />
these are manual vehicles.<br />
We must continue to offer manual<br />
lessons for those that need the freedom<br />
to choose. It is reasonable to suggest that<br />
manual driver training will still be needed<br />
after 2030 until an equilibrium is<br />
reached.<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article or any other<br />
issue surrounding driver training and<br />
testing, contact Colin via editor@msagb.com<br />
If you want to contribute to the February issue of <strong>Newslink</strong>, send<br />
your article to Colin Lilly at editor@msagb.com by 21st <strong>January</strong>.<br />
MSA GB Annual Conference <strong>2022</strong><br />
MARCH 18-19<br />
at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Coventry<br />
• DVSA officials<br />
• Trade stands<br />
• Networking events<br />
• Road safety speakers<br />
• Business advice<br />
• MSA GB AGM<br />
Prices start from just<br />
£50 for the<br />
Conference day.<br />
See pg 18-19 for<br />
more details<br />
Welcome to your<br />
digital, interactive<br />
<strong>Newslink</strong><br />
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or on an advert? It it contains a<br />
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To get the<br />
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How to access this<br />
magazine<br />
You can read <strong>Newslink</strong> in three<br />
ways:<br />
Go online and read the interactive<br />
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or, if you would like to read it<br />
when you don’t have a mobile<br />
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Alternatively, a pdf can be found<br />
on the MSA GB website,<br />
at www.msagb.com<br />
Follow the<br />
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GB sends<br />
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access<br />
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Download<br />
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COVER STORY<br />
Major overhaul of the<br />
Highway Code gives the<br />
most vulnerable road<br />
users priority – but will<br />
the public embrace the<br />
changes?<br />
See pg 8<br />
NEWSLINK n JANUARY <strong>2022</strong><br />
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