TO THE C&D DIA WEBSITE. WE ARE A NON- PROFIT MAKING ASSOCIATION. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A DRIVING INSTRUCTOR TO BROWSE OUR SITE. EXAMINERS, LEARNERS AND THE PUBLIC ARE WELCOME TO COMMENT, ASK QUESTIONS OR SEND US YOUR STORIES. LIVELY DISCUSSION AND INFORMATION SHARING IS ALWAYS GOOD, ESPECIALLY WHERE SAFETY IS CONCERNED......!
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C&D DIA.... ON FACEBOOK.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CD-DIA/168071203257807
Would you like to join the DIA Committee..?
There is always room for fresh ideas and a new face on the committee...If you feel that you have the enthusiasm and would like to join us, Contact a committee member and join us in a meeting . Your input would be good...!
INTERESTING INSURANCE FOR TEENAGERS....!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/13549733
C&D DIA MEET ROSEMARY THEW !
left to right..
Fred Bailey Trudi Moorse Chris Barnett Rosemary Thew Mark Cole.
Some of the C&D DIA Committee in the 2 hour meeting with Rosemary Thew, Chief Executive Officer of the Driving Standards Agency. It was a very succesful meeting with Rosemary agreeing with many of our proposals and suggestions and giving us an insight into the DSA. We also had a short interesting tour. We asked many questions which will be published here soon.
Big thank you to Mark Cole for all his hardwork
putting the meeting together
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New Official DSA links to book your tests.
Beware of agencies charging higher fees..!
DVLA scam........
DVLA scam email warning : Directgov - Newsroom www.direct.gov.uk
Watch out for emails claiming to be from DVLA asking you to verify your driving licence details via an online link - it's a scam
- watch out for emails claiming to be from DVLA asking you to verify your driving licence details via an online link – it's a scam. DVLA has not sent any such email, so if you get one delete it immediately.
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Driving test pass Rates
This is a breakdown of pass rates for each individual test centre for the period of April to October, our test centres were,
Basildon 39.9%
Tilbury 38.4%
Brentwood 34.4%
Chelmsford 40.3%
Colchester 39.8%
Clacton 48.8%
Why such a difference between Clacton & Colchester...?
thats about a 24% difference. Readers thoughts please..!
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Answers
With regards to difference in test centre pass rates, I do seem to get better results in Chelmsford not quite sure why as test routes are comparable with Colchester apart from the use of A12, Boreham interchange.
As for Driving Instructor Car Insurance I had a policy which had full licence holders had to be 25. Good for me but not for my kids. Carol Joyce.
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BEWARE...Police are testing new vehicles on Essex roads.
LATEST DRIVING TEST VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbbERUEsQ4Q
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Driving Instructor Insurance
Did you know that many driving instructor insurance policies do not cover any full licence holder until they are 21 years of age. This is obviously a personal thing and your policy may be different but I would urge you to check yours before lending the kids the car.
SORN
The government are now doing away with SORN on all vehicles and even if a vehicle is not kept on the road but is registered to you it must be insured. You have been warned.
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INTERESTING DSA VIDEOS
http://www.youtube.com/dsagov
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Driving test centres could soon be a thing of a past.
Leaked documents suggest the Driving Standards Agency is looking at plans to close down test centres and use private firms as "delegated examiners".
The new plans could see examiners based at supermarkets and community centres.
The Public and Commercial Services union says it has seen leaked documents showing that the DSA is exploring several options to lower its costs.
The plans follow moves by the Government to study ways of providing driving tests more efficiently at a lower cost and whether they could be undertaken by other organisations inside or outside of the public sector, said the PCS.
General secretary Mark Serwotka said: "These new documents shed more light on the plans being hatched behind closed doors by senior managers and ministers.
"Worryingly, it is the latest evidence of the creeping privatisation of the agency's work, which puts ideology before road safety."
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LEARNERS BEING RIPPED OFF...?
27,000 reasons to come clean over trainee driving instructors
Failed tests cost learners millions as driving schools take pupils for a ride
Up to 27,000 extra driving tests have been failed in the last year by learners taught by trainee instructors – while most pupils did not even know their instructor was learning on the job, AA investigations reveal.
Much lower pass rates among those taught by trainee instructors* have cost learners over £1.7 million in additional test fees over the past 12 months, with millions more believed to have been spent on extra lessons needed to reach test standard.
The AA findings follow an expose by BBC One’s Rip Off Britain <http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00wdb93/Rip_Off_Britain_Series_2_Episode_10/> revealing that some major driving schools are charging pupils full-price for lessons without telling them their instructor is a trainee.
Few learners realise that trainee instructors are allowed to give lessons unsupervised without having passed an exam on their ability to instruct.
Yet the number of trainee instructors has soared in recent years – more than doubling in two years, to more than 7,600 by June 2010 – according to Driving Standards Agency data. This means one in seven instructors is now a trainee.
A major government study 10 years ago found that learners taught by trainee instructors are 25 per cent less likely to pass their driving test. It found that learners had little idea their instructor could be a trainee, yet they were generally charged full price. The study called for a major campaign to raise awareness about trainee instructors and their lower pupil pass rates.
Yet a recent request by the AA for up-to-date pass rates for trainee instructors was declined by the DSA on the basis that it would take weeks of work to create the necessary database.**
AA President Edmund King says: “It is a decade since officials found that thousands of learners were failing needlessly at the hands of instructors they didn’t even know were trainees. The number of trainee instructors has since surged, yet public awareness remains low, and it is unclear if the authorities are taking this issue seriously.
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INDEPENDENT DRIVE VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQRl3zkkOgg
A LIGHT HEARTED LOOK AT THE INDEPENDENT DRIVE.
( any similarity to examiners or instructors living or dead, is purely coincidental )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phbD3oQwb6M
INDEPENDENT DRIVE ADVICE
LOOK CAREFULLY AT SIGNS WHEN TOLD TO FOLLOW A DESTINATION....
PUT US ON YOUR FAVOURITES LIST
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Electronic parking brakes suitable for tests..!
Vehicles with electronic parking brakes can be used for tests
Change from 1 November 2010
DSA responds to advances in vehicle technology
From 1 November vehicles fitted with an electronic parking brake will be allowed to be used for practical driving tests.
There are usually two ways of releasing an electronic parking brake:
using the footbrake while releasing the parking brake, then coordinating the accelerator and clutch to move away
coordinating the accelerator and clutch - when the electronics sense the clutch is at biting point the parking brake releases automatically
The parking brake will not usually release automatically if:
the accelerator is not used
the controls are not coordinated correctly
If there is no loss of control either method is acceptable.
If the examiner needs to take action to stop the vehicle, and it’s not fitted with dual controls, they will apply and hold the electronic parking brake - this will bring the vehicle to a controlled stop.
Advances in technology
To begin with, electronic parking brakes were fitted only to top of the range vehicles. DSA decided not to allow manual vehicles fitted with them to be used for driving tests.
Electronic parking brakes are now being fitted to an increasing number of vehicles, so it’s unrealistic to continue this policy.
IF YOU HAVE FOREIGN STUDENTS, TRANSLATE AN INSTRUCTION HERE.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
BE CAREFUL OF YOUR PRONUNCIATION THOUGH...!
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COME ALONG TO OUR MEETINGS AND BE WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE. ALL ADI'S AND PDI'S WELCOME. NONE MEMBERS CAN JOIN ON THE NIGHT. MEETINGS ARE POSTED IN THE COLCHESTER TEST CENTRE AND ON THIS SITE A FEW WEEKS BEFORE.
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Tyres....tread Depth Law
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PLEASE PRINT A COPY AND ADD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO THE FORM
ROUNDABOUT CONFUSION...WHICH WAY ARE YOU GOING FOR CAMBRIDGE ?
IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT THIS SIGN IN FRONT OF YOU AND HEADING FOR CAMBRIDGE, YOU ARE TURNING LEFT AT THE FIRST ROUNDABOUT AND RIGHT AT THE SECOND ONE .
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AN INTERESTING SITE FOR MOTORING FINES.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW
USEFUL CURRENCY CONVERTER...
CLICK HERE
HOW A BASIC PETROL ENGINE WORKS
Just in case you didn't know ( Ok guys, so we all know it .!! )
Here is how it does....
DRIVING SCHOOLS SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION...