Army improves facilities at world’s largest driving school

NEW facilities for thousands of armed forces personnel learning to drive the latest military vehicles and their instructors have been officially opened.

The development – which includes classrooms for 200 students and facilities for instructors, as well as three huge storage facilities for Mastiff and Wolfhound vehicles – was erected in just 20 weeks at the Defence School of Transport at Leconfield.

The buildings are the latest addition to the world’s largest driver training establishment.

About 850 civil servants and support staff are employed on site beside 230 military staff, who put 16,000 students through their paces every year.

Most students go on to front line operations in Afghanistan.

The new facilities, called the “Herrick” block, referring to recent operations in Afghanistan, were officially unveiled by director general of Army recruiting and training, Major General Gerry Berragan.

Major Shaun Robjohns said as well as four state-of-the-art classrooms, 60 instructors who work day and night shifts were getting their own facilities, including showers and a kitchen.

Even modern vehicles needed regular modifications, he explained, adding: “The new vehicles are designed in such a way with such an emphasis on safety that it is giving soldiers so much confidence to do their jobs.”

Engineers have been installing the latest seats in Wolfhound vehicles which protect drivers from explosions – at a cost of £10,000 each.

During their Leconfield training, students are put up against mock river crossings, gullies and other obstacles they are likely to encounter in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While taking your redhill driving lessons you wont have to do river crossings but we will arrange a mock test with one of our other surrey driving school instructors so you can get used to the test conditions before the real thing !!

First three lessons half price*

It is still not to late to start your redhill driving lessons, it may be feeling like winter is fast approaching but it is still summer. So why not get started now and beat the clocks going back and have some lessons in day light hours.

We do the first three lessons at half price for beginners, we also have many other offers too, so call us to have a chat about what you need and we can get you started with either Jane or Paul depending on weather you want a lady or a man.

Last year our pass rate was 94% first time, so wouldn't it be great if you was one of those pupils to say I passed first time.

CHILDREN DRIVE YOU TO DISTRACTION

We can all become distracted when driving, with mobile phones, sat navs, eating and drinking. However, statistics show that the most distracting of all is passengers, in particular children.

Drivers with children are encouraged to plan their journey and to ensure that children are adequately catered for before setting off.

It is not only the little passengers that can cause drivers to lose attention on the road but adult passengers as well.

Drivers require a noise and distraction free environment when driving. Making sure that all in car gadgets are programmed and working and that passengers have all they require for the journey will minimise the risk of an accident.

We often get asked when taking their redhill driving lessons weather or not their friend can come and sit in the back of their lesson, this is just not helpful when you are trying to concentrate.

Three Lessons half price*

At m & m driving school surrey we offer the best tuition possible to help you pass your test first time. Last year we had a 94% first time pass rate, this is some thing we are very proud of and we are aiming to try and beat this figure this year!

If you are looking to start your driving lessons surrey then as a beginner we can offer you the first three lessons at half price for a beginner* this will help you to get started and spread the cost too.

Your redhill driving lessons can be during the day, evenings or Saturday mornings, so there should be a time to suit most people. we have male and female instructors and if you are nervous we can help with that too. So contact us either by e-mail through are web site or call us direct and we will arrange you first lesson.

MORDEN TEST CENTRE SLAMS THE BREAKS ON CON ARTIST

A DSA (Driving Standards Agency) examiner at Morden Test Centre alerted the police to a 35 year old who regularly took practical driving tests for other people.

Gageen Preet Singh who took payment of up to £3000 from individuals wanting him to impersonate them on test would wear wigs and disguises in order to trick examiners. Unfortunately his disguise on this occasion led to him being sentenced to a 12-month prison sentence at Guilford Crown Court.

Mr Singh is thought to have taken over 100 fraudulent tests, many of which he failed. He even sat exams whilst disqualified for drink driving.

Officers found around £55,000 in Mr Singh’s property thought to be from the scams, this money along with his car is to be forfeited.

It is worrying to think that if this examiner had not informed the police, thousands of potentially dangerous and unqualified drivers would be on the roads. Even more worrying is that Mr Singh could not pass the practical test despite taking it hundreds of times.

Here at m & m driving school surrey we use reigate test center, so we have not seen Mr Singh, but be assured if we had seen any body or had any person contact us for redhill driving lessons that was not as they seemed, we would contact the DSA and report them.

Now, in-car driving coach that reminds you to keep your eyes on the road

Cell phones, music players, and a numerous other gadgets in cars pose a constant problem - distraction for the drivers. But soon, in-car coach could solve this problem.

Professor Linda Ng Boyle from University of Washington has developed an in-car driving coach, an electronic device that reminds you to keep your eyes on the road if it finds your vision wandering away from the road.

The coach uses an eye tracker to monitor drivers’ gaze. This is because where we look is normaly where we tend to steer. When taking your redhill driving lessons this is one of the early things we work on as it helps to be on the correct side of the road !!

“By providing continual feedback, drivers may be more likely to learn from their mistakes and put their eyes back on the road,” said Boyle.

In the study, the high-risk drivers’ longest glances tended to be between 2 1/2 seconds and 3 seconds. They also had the shortest time to collision, a measure of how long until they could crash.

After the drive, a trip report summarized what the driver did right and wrong.

The coach decreased the length of high-risk drivers’ glances by an average of 0.4 seconds and the feedback also increased the high-risk drivers’ time to collision by roughly 8 seconds.

“I think that drivers are coachable,” Boyle said.

“The worst drivers can benefit the most, because we can change their behavior the most dramatically. We can also reinforce the good behavior for safer drivers,” she added.

HOUSEHOLD SEWAGE RUNS VW BEETLE

A two-litre VW Beetle convertible with top speeds of 114pmh now runs on human excrement.

UK engineers have established the bio bug which runs on methane gas generated by human excrement. Household sewage is processed by anaerobic digestion at sewage works, which in turn generates enough energy to power the vehicle.

It is hoped that energy will also be generated through treating general household food waste. Don't worry we wont be running our cars on sewage, so your redhill driving lessons wont need to come with air fresheners !!

The methane tanks are found in the boot of the Beetle and the car cleverly converts back to petrol when the methane tanks run out. The car does use unleaded petrol until the engine is up to temperature but swiftly converts to methane.

This new green motoring idea is thought to out shine electric models and is thought to be one of the most sustainable cars around.

Jane of m and m driving school surrey said: “It is amazing that this prototype could soon become reality with millions of drivers recycling energy to power their cars whilst reducing CO2 emissions. I just hope that the cars come with an air freshener!”