Drive Dynamics - How to pass your driving theory test

Getting behind the wheel of a car for the first time after passing your driving test is an exciting thing. The prospect of endless freedom to go where you want is great, but to get there in the first place, you need to pass your driving theory test.

The theory test must be taken and passed in order for you to be able to book and take your practical driving test, so it’s essential to pass with flying colours first time around if you want that freedom of not relying on mum and dad for lifts everywhere.

In short, the driving theory test is made up of two components - a multiple-choice section and the hazard perception test. We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to help you pass your driving theory test first time - explaining what it is, what you need to do to pass and what happens next once you've aced it. There’s also a separate guide on the hazard perception test, too.

• How to get your driving licence

What is the driving theory test?
The UK driving theory test is the first part of gaining your full driving licence. It must be taken before the practical test and aims to test your knowledge of the Highway Code and driving in the UK. Questions are based on official DVSA guides: The Official Highway Code, Know Your Traffic Signs and The Official DVSA Guide To Driving.

There are plenty of mock theory tests available online, the majority of which are free, so it’s a good idea to take a practice theory test to get used to the structure of the test and know what to expect.

• Practical driving test: top tips for passing

To take a theory test, you must book in advance at an approved driving theory test centre. At the end of the test, you will receive your results and, if you pass, a certificate, which is valid for two years. If you do not pass your practical driving test within two years of passing your theory, you will have to retake the theory test again.

Driving theory test fees stand at £25 for a standard car theory test but as of October 2015, it will be reduced to £23.

At the test centre, you will need your photocard driving licence with you. If you have a paper licence, you need to have your signed driving licence and a valid passport in order to take the test. If, for some reason, you don't have these, either update your licence to a photocard licence or get a passport. If not, you won't be able to take your test!

In terms of pass rates, the driving theory test currently sits at 50.7 per cent, a figure that’s decreased consistently in recent years.
For more information visit - http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/

Drive Dynamics - More than 500,000 motorists are STILL driving while using their mobile phones and the numbers are increasing

More than 500,000 motorists are still using their mobile phones while driving each day, according to shocking new figures.
And the number of phone-related crashes is rising despite dozens of deaths being caused each year by drivers using handheld devices.
Drivers aged under 30 are the biggest culprits with more than one in 20 (5.2 per cent) being caught flouting the law, the study found.
The research revealed that using a handheld device is more distracting than alcohol or drugs, with drivers twice as likely to have their head down and eyes off the road while texting or using the internet.
Campaigners today urged ministers to impose tougher penalties and boost traffic police numbers, which have suffered a 23 per cent cut over the last five years.
Edmund King, AA president, said: 'The only way to counter the addiction to mobiles is to have more cops in cars and for employers to take their duty of care more seriously. If not they could face corporate manslaughter.'
He said a 'hardcore' number of drivers 'still believe there is nothing wrong with their behaviour' and are putting lives at risk.
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said the figures were 'a worry'.
He added: 'In 2013 the use of a mobile at the wheel was a factor in 22 fatal accidents and this is likely to be underreporting of the true figure.

Drive Dynamics - THE RISE OF 24-HOUR PARKING RESTRICTIONS

A NORTH London borough is to become the first in the country to enforce widespread parking restrictions on residential streets 24 hours a day. The move means that residents and visitors must display permits at all times, or risk being ticketed by wardens.
Islington council says the move is aimed at simplifying parking rules, but critics claim it is intended to generate revenue. Motoring groups say the council is just one of many across the country using resident parking zones to raise money since the ban on CCTV cars earlier this year, which is expected to result in a reduction in parking fines being handed out.

Parking permits can cost more than £100 and are typically issued to residents on an annual basis, allowing them to park outside their home without fear of penalty if it is within a controlled parking zone (CPZ). Residents must usually buy parking vouchers to give to visiting family or friends who wish to park on their road.

Drive Dynamics - Lorry driven wrong way on M6 Toll motorway; both drivers banned

Two men have been banned from driving and given suspended prison sentences after they travelled the wrong way down the M6 Toll in Staffordshire.

Police were notified on the evening of Sunday 12 July that a white HGV was travelling the wrong way down the M6 motorway, proceeding south on the northbound carriageway.

Not only had the van been driving in the opposite direction to oncoming traffic, the drivers had also performed numerous U-turns and been speeding. The HGV was eventually stopped near junction T4 at Weeford near Shenstone.
The two men in the vehicle were arrested by officers from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) and charged with driving a motor vehicle dangerously.

CMPG Chief Inspector Jed White said, "On this occasion these two individuals were clearly putting lives at risk, including their own.

"The sentences imposed by the court are to be welcomed. Although the men did not receive a custodial sentence they have been disqualified from driving and are off the roads."

For more information visit - http://www.independent.co.uk/

Drive Dynamics - Could YOU pass the driving theory test?

Two in three experienced motorists would fail.. and the biggest stumbling block is basic road signs 

• Half of drivers in the study failed the multiple choice section of the test 
• More than a third failed the hazard perception section of theory exam
• Experts said the findings showed a worrying level of 'road illiteracy'
• Novices taking the test scored higher than experienced drivers on average

Two out of three experienced motorists would fail the driving theory test if they took it now, a study found.

And the biggest stumbling block? Basic traffic signs, according to researchers who gave 50 drivers a real copy of the test.

Only 33 per cent of them scraped through, compared to 51.6 per cent of novice drivers who pass their theory.

More than a third (34 per cent) failed the hazard perception test while half (50 per cent) did not answer enough of the multiple choice questions correctly.

Candidates need a pass in both parts to demonstrate basic knowledge and progress to the road test.

Drive Dynamics - Look no hands: Self-driving cars on a road near you?

Close your eyes and I'll take you there is what they sang in the musical, West Side Story. Fifty-eight years later, that proposition is the promise of the 21st Century automobile.

The self-driving car has long been the stuff of science fiction. Now it may soon be here, on the streets of Britain and other places.

The British government is interested, and putting money into the proposition. Three consortia of consultants companies and universities are revving up trials in places such as Greenwich, Bristol, Coventry and Milton Keynes.

But they have some catching up to do. For the past six years, Google cars have been cruising the roads and streets of California and Texas with a human driver ready to take over from the autonomous machine in an emergency.

They have racked up more than one million miles of autonomous experience, 14 accidents (mainly being rear-ended by distracted drivers), and vast amounts of data about this sort of transport.

To outsiders it appears as if Google has cracked the future of car, and even parked one of the first prototypes in the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Silicon Valley, California. I sat in it (static) last summer.

A Google Lexus driverless car

Google's driverless cars have already driven over one million miles

Autonomous vehicles do indeed have huge potential. In theory taking human beings out of the driver's seat altogether could cut accidents to close to zero. People who cannot drive for some reason could use car transport.

Drive Dynamics - How new road tax rules could affect you.

Changes to the vehicle excise duty (VED) system announced earlier this month by Chancellor George Osborne mean that many makes of car will pay more road tax in future.

The reforms, which are due to come into effect in April 2017, are in response to falling revenues.

Lower tax take

At present, VED is low or zero for a large number of low-emission vehicles including many petrol or diesel-only cars.

But as new model have become increasingly environmentally friendly, Treasury VED takings have been dwindling, with fewer and fewer motorists paying the tax.

The changes will only apply, however, to cars bought as brand new and registered after the reforms come into effect. 

Your current rate of VED will apply to your existing car until you sell it and buy another model.