Sandgate Driving School Quality

Driving Tests	Driving tests can be booked, cancelled or rescheduled online at www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest where you can also check all test availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

£60 off Pass Plus	Once you have passed your test why not consider a Pass Plus course. Kent County Council are offering a £60 sponsorship. To be eligible you must:: Be aged 17-19 and live in the KCC area (excluding Medway) Use an approved driving instructor registered with KCC Register with KCC before starting the Pass Plus Course Further details can be seen at www.kent.gov.uk

Raising the Driving Test Age?	There is a possibility that the age for taking the driving test will be raised to 18, matching the school leaving age. A Government Committee is due to publish a report this autumn. Under the proposals, a pupil would be able to begin learning at 17 but not take a practical test until they are 18. Research suggests that this 12 month learning period would greatly reduce accidents by improving the standard of driving of new drivers.
Theory Test	New questions will be added to the theory test with effect from 28th September 2009, and will include case studies. New study material will be available online from HMSO.
Changes to the practical test from October 2010	Independent driving will become part of the practical driving test in Great Britain in October 2010. It's tasking the candidate to drive for about 10 minutes, either following a series of directions, following traffic signs, or a combination of both. To help the candidate be clear about where they’re going, the examiner can show them a diagram too. It doesn't matter if candidates don't remember every direction, or if they go the wrong way - that can happen to the most experienced drivers. Newspaper reports. The claim in some newspapers that independent driving would lead to a fall in the driving test pass rate is based on early research where conditions did not reflect the eventual design of the new element of the test. Subsequent trials with a larger number of participants and more closely reflecting the conditions in the planned new test showed no significant fall in the pass rate. The DSA has published a short video on its YouTube channel explaining more about independent driving. Watch the video on YouTube. Observer on test. Anyone accompanying a candidate TO THE TEST CENTRE must sit in the test vehicle on the test for category B but Not B+E. Hoping this may lead to all test candidates using a registered instructor and raise “Quality Assurance” in the industry. There are many benefits not least helping with the debrief section of the driving test. Flexible manoeuvres. Only 1 manoeuvre to be assessed as there is a negligible risk of KSI during manoeuvres. Giving more time to assess high incident risk areas i.e.; Rural roads, busy right turns across traffic, joining and changing lanes and faster moving traffic where there is greater stats of KSI (Killed & seriously injured). Trials have taken place at Cardington with ADI’s and their pupils, where the ADI sat in the front seat and examiner in the rear during a test situation, good feedback received but to implement this system all 400+ test centres must look for suitable test routes to use.
Government Drops Plans To Force Driving Instructors To Sit In On Their Pupils L-Tests	From the Daily Mail - 12th October 2009 Radical plans to force driving instructors - whether parents or paid-for professionals - to sit in on their pupils' L-tests have been 'put into reverse' by the Government. Ministers announced last May that a revamp of the driving test would 'require' candidates to take with them during their practical driving test an observer who could be their instructor, a parent or a friend. The idea was that this 'observer' could give valuable feed back to candidates who fail the test. But that mandatory requirement has now been dropped, though candidates are free to have their instructor on-board if they wish, the Daily Mail can reveal today. As a result, new driving test regulations being drawn up by the Government's Driving Standards Agency and which were planned originally to be introduced in October 2010 could now be accelerated and introduced sooner. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis denies the reversal is a road safety u-turn - insisting that the decision had been taken to 'avoid unnecessary regulation' and arguing that the measure was too bureaucratic, would slow up introduction of the new test, and that 'education not regulation' was needed to improve standards. The original Driving Test revamp consultation unveiled by former Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly in May 2008 said: 'We propose that the person presenting the candidate should have to sit in the car with their student when the candidate takes the practical test, and to stay as the examiner gives their pupil feedback.' Last night Transport Secretary Lord Adonis told the Daily Mail that the plan to insist that driving test candidates are accompanied by an observer 'have been reversed to avoid unnecessary regulation.' The Department for Transport has now ruled that 'Candidates will be encouraged to take an observer – who could be their instructor or a parent or friend – in the car for the test to help them understand feedback from examiners and tailor further learning. But after a review of the proposals the Government will not regulate to make this mandatory.' Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said: 'We want all learner drivers, from the start of the process, to consider the benefits of having an observer with them on their test. 'Having someone sitting in will enhance their learning experience and, in turn, improve road safety. An observer who has witnessed the test can give far better advice to the learner on how they performed and what areas of their driving they need to work on - whether they pass or fail.' But after reviewing plans we have decided that encouraging candidates to take an observer is much more appropriate than introducing regulations to make it compulsory. It also means we can take this forward much sooner than previously planned – delivering the road safety benefits without the delay and costs of new regulation.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1219711/Government-drops-plans-force-driving-instructors-sit-pupils-L-tests.html#ixzz0ThzwvbUS


Big enough to be competitive - small enough to care