Well once again, Christmas has come, and many of us will be visiting family and having a good time. Apart from the usual family member who will drink too much then sleep in the armchair all afternoon. The rest of the family will only have a few drinks during the day. Isn't it amazing how the drinks add up though: a sherry when guests arrive, a glass of wine or two with the turkey, a short drink afterwards.... then its time to go home. Safely?
About a week ago I was watching the Police Camera Action Drink Driving Special with Gethin Jones. In the program several people were interviewed, and I was amazed at the stupidity of them. Even knowing they were probably over the limit they said they would (and do regularly) drive after drinking. The program revealed that many drivers have no idea what the legal alcohol limit is for driving. Their ideas about how much they could drink and still be ok to drive verged from slightly off to unbelievably optimistic, with one girl being way over the limit after drinking 8 malibu and cokes (or some similar drink).
Of course people are different: your size, metabolism and how full your stomach is can all have an effect on how much alcohol you can consume before noticing any impairment... but can we really rely on whether we feel in control or not? Gethin Jones discovered the answer is no.
Even after one drink, when he was well under the limit, his driving ability was noticeably worse... and predictably did not get any better the more he drank over the course of his experiement. Furthermore, the most concerning thing was that after becoming over the limit, he felt more confident, and as if he was more in control than when he had consumed less alcohol. Tracking his eye response to the road as he drove proved otherwise... his eyes darting everywhere except where he needed to be looking.
This tv program of course is by no means an especially foolproof or scientific plumbline for drink driving studies, but it did reveal the attitudes of some of the general public. A suprising number of people drink and drive. So if you need to drive this Christmas, don't drink! No alcohol is the safe bet... but if you have to drink at all, work out accurately how much you can have beforehand... then stick well under that limit.
Remember, its not just you thats on the road... many drivers will be out there after being 3, 4, 5 or more times over the limit. Don't become one of them.
Oh, by the way.. happy Christmas!
Friday, 26 December 2008
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
5 Things You Need to Know about Driving Crash Courses
Driving Crash Courses!
You see adverts everywhere claiming you can pass your driving test in 7 days... is there any truth in this, or is it just a tag line designed to take your money? Lets find out!
Here are 5 things you should know about driving crash courses:
1. First the good news. Yes it IS possible to pass your driving test within a week. But this is dependent on several factors, which I'll tell you about shortly. Crash courses, or intensive courses are not for everyone. They are generally high pressure and very tiring.
2. No driving school can guaruntee you will pass your driving test at the end of the course. If they say they can guaruntee it, don't touch them with a barge pole! No matter how well you drive with your driving instructor, it is still possible that you will make a serious mistake on the test. We are all human, and are affected by nerves, and the lack of experience as a new driver means that you will often make more mistakes than an experienced driver.
3. Every student has a threshold at which they cannot take in any more information. After a certain amount of time, fatigue sets in, or concentration fades and you cannot learn any more in a single sitting. This time period varies vastly between students. Courses that have you driving for 8 hours a day can actually hinder your progress! Most people cannot concentrate for more than 2 to 3 hours before needing a break. Even after a break, fatigue will set in quicker than it did in the first sitting, so after a total of approximately 4 to 5 hours, the majority of people have stopped learning, and are almost on autopilot... just going through the motions. This is all time you are paying for on the course.
4. There is no substitute for varied experience over time on the road. If you get all your driving experience in one week, you will almost certainly not get a very good overall driving experience. For example, if the course is taken in a school holiday week, it is quite possible that you may not get to experience heavy traffic situations. If your test is taken under the same conditions then you could get away with it, but what will you do when you have to face unfamiliar situations after the test?
5. Some of the big schools use trainee instructors on intensive courses. A trainee instructor may be great, or they may be terrible. Either way, they have not passed the strict Driving Standards Agency teaching test for driving instructors. They will display a pink triangle badge in the car, instead of a green octagon which is displayed by fully qualified instructors. Crash courses are good learning exercises for trainee instructors... but when time is the main factor, do you really want to be used as a guinnea pig?
Summary:
Intensive courses can be great for some people. Passing your driving test doesn't have to take 6 months, but it is better to attempt a semi- intensive course spread over a period which is longer than 7 days. This will give you a better chance of passing first time, and hopefully save you a fair bit of money too. It will be cheaper in the long run, to spend a bit more on a longer course, than to fail the test repeatedly because you aren't quite ready. The driving test can cost you as much as your lessons if you're not careful!
Happy driving folks.
You see adverts everywhere claiming you can pass your driving test in 7 days... is there any truth in this, or is it just a tag line designed to take your money? Lets find out!
Here are 5 things you should know about driving crash courses:
1. First the good news. Yes it IS possible to pass your driving test within a week. But this is dependent on several factors, which I'll tell you about shortly. Crash courses, or intensive courses are not for everyone. They are generally high pressure and very tiring.
2. No driving school can guaruntee you will pass your driving test at the end of the course. If they say they can guaruntee it, don't touch them with a barge pole! No matter how well you drive with your driving instructor, it is still possible that you will make a serious mistake on the test. We are all human, and are affected by nerves, and the lack of experience as a new driver means that you will often make more mistakes than an experienced driver.
3. Every student has a threshold at which they cannot take in any more information. After a certain amount of time, fatigue sets in, or concentration fades and you cannot learn any more in a single sitting. This time period varies vastly between students. Courses that have you driving for 8 hours a day can actually hinder your progress! Most people cannot concentrate for more than 2 to 3 hours before needing a break. Even after a break, fatigue will set in quicker than it did in the first sitting, so after a total of approximately 4 to 5 hours, the majority of people have stopped learning, and are almost on autopilot... just going through the motions. This is all time you are paying for on the course.
4. There is no substitute for varied experience over time on the road. If you get all your driving experience in one week, you will almost certainly not get a very good overall driving experience. For example, if the course is taken in a school holiday week, it is quite possible that you may not get to experience heavy traffic situations. If your test is taken under the same conditions then you could get away with it, but what will you do when you have to face unfamiliar situations after the test?
5. Some of the big schools use trainee instructors on intensive courses. A trainee instructor may be great, or they may be terrible. Either way, they have not passed the strict Driving Standards Agency teaching test for driving instructors. They will display a pink triangle badge in the car, instead of a green octagon which is displayed by fully qualified instructors. Crash courses are good learning exercises for trainee instructors... but when time is the main factor, do you really want to be used as a guinnea pig?
Summary:
Intensive courses can be great for some people. Passing your driving test doesn't have to take 6 months, but it is better to attempt a semi- intensive course spread over a period which is longer than 7 days. This will give you a better chance of passing first time, and hopefully save you a fair bit of money too. It will be cheaper in the long run, to spend a bit more on a longer course, than to fail the test repeatedly because you aren't quite ready. The driving test can cost you as much as your lessons if you're not careful!
Happy driving folks.
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