20 mph speed limits are going to introduced as the default speed limits in built-up areas throughout Wales. How long before the rest of the UK follows suit? There have long been 20 mph speed limits in zones in residential areas, which local councils could apply to introduce. The tables have now turned however. It …
Travel like you know them – what does it mean? Changes were made to the Highway Code in January 2022 to help improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and horse-riders. The main part of these changes was the Hierarchy of Road Users. To make people more aware of the changes, the DVSA launched a campaign …
Driverless cars are coming to the UK – should we be worried? Trials of these in the USA have actually resulted in hundreds of crashes, some of them fatal. During a four month period in 2022 eleven people were killed. Passengers and pedestrians are dying as a direct result of driverless technology. There are a …
Learner drivers who fail a driving test will have to wait longer before taking another attempt. Currently anyone who is not successful must wait a minimum of 10 working days before a re-sit. This summer however that period is going to increase to 28 days. Loveday Ryder who is the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency …
Most drivers recognise the national speed limit sign, although older motorists may call the sign used to mark this as ‘end of speed restriction.’ When it was originally launched that was actually the meaning of the sign; outside of a built up area there were no speed limits. Drivers on country roads could drive at …
UK traffic signs in one form or another have been around for a very long time. In Britain, it was actually cycling clubs which were responsible for their introduction in the late 1800’s. Riders were sometimes taken by surprise when coming into sharp corners or steep hills; and cycling organisations began to install signs at …
The work of UK Driving Skills is becoming very popular. Because of this the likelihood of copyright infringement unfortunately becomes more of a risk. People say that ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery’; however, we would prefer that people just admired our work rather than trying to pass it off as their own. Plagiarism …
There are millions of ‘cat’s eyes’ on the roads of Britain; a simple but very effective device; and one that has had a significant effect on road safety. It was Yorkshireman Percy Shaw, who patented the device in 1934. His inspiration for the invention has more than one story. One is that he used to …
The Belisha Beacon Many younger people probably don’t even know what a Belisha Beacon is, but we’re all very familiar with what they look like. They’re the flashing amber lights that stand on top of the black and white poles at zebra crossings. They’re called this after the minister for transport (Leslie Hore-Belisha) who oversaw …
So why are driving examiners striking? Pay Examiners are classed as civil servants, employed by the crown. In 2010 the Conservative government introduced its ‘austerity’ programme. This meant a decade of pay freezes and well below inflation pay awards for most civil servants (apart from those at the top of course). For 12 years the …