Darker Nights

Now the nights are drawing in and everyone is looking forward to Christmas it’s a good time to think about lights, and not just the ones on your tree. It’s very important to be seen in the dark afternoons and evenings. It’s not something everyone thinks about, we often get into the car, and as long as we’ve remembered to flick the light switch on we forget about it. We know it’s good practice, whatever the time of year to periodically check your lights.

Headlights and Indicators

Now check your headlights and indicators. Get back in the car and turn on your headlights and hazard lights. Get out to check everything is as it should be, you should see headlights, rear (red) lights and indicators on the front and rear. It’s worth doing this in the dark if you can, as you will be able to check your headlight alignment as well.

Alignment

Headlights should be angled so they don’t blind oncoming traffic. If one of your lights seems to be a bit off you can get it realigned in a garage, or you may be able to adjust it yourself.

To check alignment you will need to make sure there’s no weight in the car, so you don’t have anything in the boot or a friend sitting in the car. You also need to know your tyres are all inflated as they should be. You will need a wall that you can use to measure the field of light on. Park about 60cm away from the wall (facing it) the ground should be flat.

Turn on your headlights, not fog lights or full beam. The headlights will produce circle shapes on the wall. You need to use tape or chalk to make a cross on each circle. One line should go vertically from the top of the circle to the bottom and the other should go horizontally across the widest part. Where the two lines meet in the middle is the centre of your headlights.

The centre of both plus signs should be the same height, so use a tape measure to check. If they aren’t, you may need to lower one plus sign so that they are the same height.

Once you’re happy with your marks and they’re both the same height, reverse your car so it’s about eight metres from the wall. If the middle of your headlights still fall within your markings, then you don’t need to make any adjustments. If they are falling above, below, or to the side of the plus symbols, then you’ll need to realign your headlights. If you’re not sure about checking this on your own, don’t worry. Most garages will check your headlight alignment for you.

The First Speeding Ticket

The first speeding ticket was given way back in 1896. Back then the speed limit was a heady 2mph, and the law required you to have a man with a red flag walking in front of your vehicle. Walter Arnold was driving without this precaution at a heady 8mph! Of course the police man that caught him to give him a ticket was on a bicycle, so it must have been the slowest police chase that you can imagine!

The publicity that surrounded this case when it reached court didn’t do Mr Arnold any harm, he had to pay a 1 shilling fine plus costs, but at the time he was one of the earliest car dealers in the country. Having shown how fast you could travel in one of his new cars the publicity created a great demand for his Arnold Benz horseless carriages. The law was changed soon after to increase the limit to 14mph, and the man with the flag was no longer required. I can’t help thinking this was a clever way to earn a lot of publicity by a salesman who didn’t mind using the law to his own ends.

Safe Driving

When you learn to drive you have to learn what the limit is on different roads in the UK. We are all familiar with speed limit signs, they’re the round ones with the maximum limit on them. It’s also important to remember the limits for motorways, dual carriageways and single carriageways. You should also know the appropriate speed for a built up area, in case you’ve missed that all important speed limit sign. Not knowing what the limit is won’t be a good defence if you’re stopped by the police. Knowing your speed limits isn’t just to help you to pass your theory and practical driving test. It’s to keep you and other road uses safe for years to come.

We’re experts in teaching people to drive safely, if you’re interested in driving lessons get in touch.

New Highway Code Rules

At the beginning of the year the Highway Code was updated with new rules. These are to improve the safety of the most vulnerable road users, so we all need to be aware of them. Of course we have to be aware that drivers may not have caught up with the new rules, so caution is always a good idea. It’s not very useful to find yourself on the right side of the rules, but injured because someone else wasn’t aware of the change.

Hierarchy of road users

This concept has a system to order road users depending on their level of risk. The groups are:

• Pedestrians
• Cyclists, horse riders and drivers of horse drawn vehicles
• Drivers

Rule H1 applies to all road users. This states that it’s important that everyone is aware of the Highway Code, and their responsibility for the safety of others. The rule reminds us that it may not be obvious that other road users may have impaired sight, hearing or mobility.

Rule H2 applies to everyone except pedestrians. It reads “At a junction you should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which or from which you are turning.” Previously drivers were told to give way to pedestrians if they “have started crossing and traffic wants to turn into the road”. It is not a big change, it only applies to junctions, and means you have to be aware that a pedestrian may step out into the road to be able to cross. A good driver should be aware of pedestrians and should be extra vigilant when turning into a junction. Pedestrians need to be aware that they can’t just step out into any road and expect the traffic to stop. A new addition also makes it clear to pedestrians that they should “cross at a place where drivers can see you.”.

Staying Safe

Rule H2 also advises on priorities at zebra crossings. This tells drivers they:

• MUST give way when a pedestrian has moved onto a crossing
• SHOULD give way when a pedestrian is waiting to cross

Rule H3 applies to drivers and motorcyclists:

“You should not cut across cyclists, horse riders or horse-drawn vehicles going ahead when you are turning into or out of a junction or changing direction or lane, just as you would not turn across the path of another motor vehicle.”

Cyclists also have advice about their position on the road.

Cyclists should ride in the centre of their lane:

• on quiet roads and streets
• in slower-moving traffic
• when approaching junctions or narrow roads

If these conditions have not been met, and it is safe to do so, cyclists should allow vehicles moving faster than them to overtake, while keeping at least 0.5 metres – or further – from the kerb themselves.

Basically drivers should give way to cyclists, and cyclists should try to ensure they are not holding traffic up when it is safe to do so.

It can feel difficult to keep up with new rules, but these new Highway Code rules are keeping everyone safe on the road.

If you want to learn to be a safe driver why not learn to drive with us!

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High petrol costs

It now costs over £100 to fill the average cars petrol tank, which is a painful fact for most motorists that need to drive to get to work. Fuel prices have been rising sharply since 2020, over the last two years they have risen around 50 pence per litre. The rise in petrol prices is due to a number of factors. The main one is the war in Ukraine, and moves to reduce our dependence on Russian oil. The cut in fuel duty has not had much of an effect on prices as they have been rising so quickly. A full report about the rise in petrol prices can be found on the BBC, that you can read here.

The Solution

With petrol prices rising to this all time high, and the climate crisis requiring us all to use fewer fossil fuels, now is a good time to invest in electric vehicles. These are only greener if your electricity is generated by renewable sources, but it is possible to have carbon free motoring in the future. We recognise that learning to drive is going to change dramatically in the future, with more people wanting to learn in an electric vehicle.

Todays learners will spend most of the rest of their lives driving electric cars rather than the petrol vehicles that most people learn to drive. This is why we have invested in a fully electric car. This makes sense not just in economic terms, with no more expensive trips to the petrol station, but in terms of the future for our learners.

Learner Drivers

If you’re thinking of learning to drive, or teaching someone else to drive there are things you need to know before you get behind the wheel of a car. We know rules are not the most interesting topic, but without them you could get yourself into serious trouble. It’s worth spending a few minutes getting to grips with what you need to know.

Legal Car and L Plates

Once you’ve got the paperwork sorted you’ll need a car to drive and some L plates. The car doesn’t have to have dual controls for you to learn to drive. If you learn with a professional driving school, such as Always Pass, all of the cars have dual controls. This means that if you make a mistake your driving instructor can help you out and ensure that you don’t do anything dangerous. If you’re learning with a friend or member of your family you will have sole control of the car. This can be daunting for a new learner.

The car that you learn to drive in has to be legal (obviously!). This means it has an MOT and the correct insurance to allow you to drive it. You also have to display L plates on the front and rear of the car. This lets other road users know that you don’t have as much experience behind the wheel, so they can give you extra room and be patient if you stall the car at a junction.

Learn Your Theory

Before you start it is a very good idea to learn your driving theory. Traffic laws don’t discriminate, so if you do something illegal you can still be prosecuted even if you’re a learner. Some things are very obvious, such as you can’t have a diving lesson if you’ve been drinking. The traffic laws also apply to the person supervising you, so they must be sober and not using their phone during your lesson. They are there to keep you safe, so it’s important they are trustworthy.

It’s worth reading the highway code and trying out a few practice theory tests before you start, so you know the rules. This makes the practical driving easier and you are more likely to pass your theory test.