Congratulations to David Martin who passed his driving test in Navan on Tuesday 4th March 2014 at his FIRST attempt!!
David had been driving for a number of years and came for a pretest a week before his test. We identified a number of issue including clutch and observational errors as well as trouble with his manouevres.
In a few days and with lots of practice he eliminated the clutch errors and didn’t collect any faults for this aspect of his driving!
Really well done David, drive safely!!!
Congratulations to Celine who passed her driving test in Navan today, 20th February 2014.
Celine came to iDrive for a pretest a few days before her test. During the pretest we identified observational errors. Things like not using the mirror before signalling, over observing or not looking in the right places prior to and during turns. She was also unsure of how to carry out her manoeuvres.
Having sat 2 driving tests previously, before coming to iDrive, Celine was determined to pass this time round. She worked extremely hard to fix her bad habits and even coped with having her seat re-positioned, the hour before her test, to help eliminate a clutch fault. Thankfully she coped with this late change and she didn’t pick up any marks for her clutch during her test!
Really well done Celine, safe driving!!!
I received this email during the week from the Road Safety Authority. I’ve written about this on Facebook before.
Dear ADI,
We would like to inform you about the unofficial Driving Theory & Driving Test websites that are ripping off Learner Drivers to the tune of an estimated €200,000 per year. The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have teamed up to warn Driver Theory Test and Driving Test applicants to only book their tests through official websites.
The call comes as figures show that unofficial third party websites in the UK could be profiting in excess of an estimated €200,000 each year by charging unsuspecting Theory and Driving Test customers in Ireland an unnecessary extra fee to book their tests.
Last year, one in eight Driver Theory Test candidates in Ireland, approximately 7,000 customers, booked their theory test through these unofficial websites, paying up to an additional €23 on top of the theory test fee. As a result, the operators of these websites are making an estimated €90,000 to €160,000 annually from Driver Theory Test customers. In addition, over 4,750 people who applied for their driving test, since July 2011, have also been affected, paying an additional €18 per booking, netting these bogus sites over €73,000
Mr Declan Naughton, Director of Driver Testing and Licensing with the Road Safety Authority said, “We are really concerned that customers in Ireland are being ripped off by these websites who are charging customers up to €23 extra to book their theory or driving test for them. These so-called services are making a huge profit at the expense of unsuspecting customers who may not realise that they are paying a totally unnecessary extra cost to book their test. We want to remind customers that when they book their test through the official channels, there are no hidden extras; they only pay the cost of the test itself. In addition, their data will be stored in accordance with Irish Data Protection Laws.”
Explaining how customers may end up on one of these websites instead of on the official test booking websites, Mr Naughton said, “These unofficial websites advertise to book theory and driving tests online and customers think that they are the booking on official websites, which they are not. These websites lure customers in by appearing official, using words associated with the driving and theory test and even using our name. The RSA has tried to beat these sites at their own game by advertising the official sites online. However, many customers continue to book their tests on the unofficial sites. The only winners are the unofficial sites in the UK who are targeting unsuspecting learner drivers, and companies like Google, who profit from all the advertising.”
The RSA is also warning learner drivers of the dangers of passing on their personal details, such as their PPS number and driver number, to these sites. While such information is required to book a test, it should only be provided when booking a theory test and driving test on the official RSA Driving Test application website www.rsa.ie and the official driver theory test website www.theorytest.ie where you will only be charged the cost of the test.
Joe O’Connor, President, Union of Students of Ireland commented, “It is unacceptable that these websites try to trick learner drivers into paying an extra fee to book their test. Students are already under pressure with mounting college fees and expenses and we would urge all students to only book their tests through the RSA’s official channels. For many students, the additional booking charge of over €20 can make a significant difference when relying on a grant or waiting for their next paycheque.”
Concluding Declan Naughton, RSA said, “Consumers need to be extra vigilant when booking their Driver Theory Test or Driving Test online. Unofficial third party companies advertise on search engines and in some cases they may look similar to that of the official website. They do not adhere to Irish Data Protection Laws, therefore your personal details, including your PPS number, driver number and credit card details may be compromised during the booking process.”
The RSA has highlighted the gathering of such personal data by these unofficial websites to the Data Protection Commissioner. However, as these websites are outside of Irish jurisdiction, Irish agencies are unable to bring proceedings against them. The RSA will continue to monitor these websites and explore new ways to negate their online activity.
Please note that we are currently trying to tackle the issue with paid advertising on google so we’d appear first when searched and advertising online and have developed posters, see attached . These will be placed in driving test centres and NDLs centres countrywide in the coming weeks. We also had an article published in the Independent last Wednesday in relation to this. Please see the link to the article here
Congratulations to Chris who passed his test in Navan today, 7th February 2014 at the FIRST attempt!
Chris came to iDrive for Essential Driver Training (E.D.T.)
He had some road experience before starting but mainly driver tractors and the like. This proved both a help but sometimes a hindrance as he’d often postion the Fiesta on the road as if he was in the tractor!!
He took a few additional lessons, after completing EDT, in order to sharpen up his skills and go over some test routes. He really improved over these final few lessons and by the time his test came round was reversing around the corner beautifully!
He passed just a few short weeks after his 18th birthday.
Well done Chris, drive safely!
Congratulations to Aaron Fitzhenry who passed his driving test in Navan on 4th February 2014 at the FIRST attempt!!!
Aaron was our 2nd pupil to pass that day.
Aaron came to iDrive for Essential Driver Training (E.D.T.). When he came he’d already done EDT 1 with another instructor but decided to change after his brother had already passed FIRST time with us. Aaron became a good, confident driver during the course of the EDT lessons and then wanted to put in some extra work on test preparation as he was determined to pass first time!
His effort was rewarded on the day with a pass. It goes to show that if you prepare properly for the test you increase your chances of passing FIRST TIME!
Well done Aaron, drive safely!
Congratulations to Philip McCrory who passed his driving test in Navan on 4th February 2014 at the FIRST attempt!!
Philip, who could already drive, came to iDrive for a pretest and a couple of lessons to iron out his bad habits.
He listened well to all the advice given to him, working hard to eliminate as many of his errors as possible which paid off on the day!
Well done Philip, here’s to many years safe and happy motoring!
The Rules of the Road state:
Only use a horn to:
(i) warn other road users of on-coming danger, or
(ii) make them aware of your presence for safety reasons when reasonably necessary.Remember, the horn does not give you the right of way.
Do not use your horn in a built-up area between 23:30 hrs and 07:00 hrs unless there is an emergency
So there we have it. Clear and concise. No way it can be misinterpreted.
A horn should not be used to lambast other road users for mistakes. We all make them, even you Mr/Miss/Mrs Perfect!!
Neither should it be used to beep at learner drivers who stall or are slow moving off at junctions, as happened to a pupil of mine this morning. Here’s what happened:
Sitting at a set of traffic lights, waiting on then turning green. The light changes, immediately my pupil (a 17 year old, on his first real venture on the road) goes to move off and stalls. Within 2 seconds, not 1, not 2 but 3 separate people were blasting their horns. Not mild little beeps, no, full blown blasts of 5 and 6 seconds with only brief pauses for the horn to regain it’s breath. How the young lad held it together to move off properly, after only holding the traffic up for 20 seconds, I’ll never know!!
What did they expect this idiotic behaviour to achieve? Only they can answer.
Ok, I can you are delayed (you must be soooo important). I get that it can be irritating (if you’ve zero patience). I also get that you were probably, maybe still are, a learner (on your 6th provisional) but all that kind of behaviour is likely to do is make the learner (or otherwise nervous fully licensed driver) panic more and therefore delay you further!!
Use your horn in the way it’s designed to be used, not as a display of superiority!!
Driving along the road, coming up to a set of traffic lights, for example, have you ever noticed black lines, forming squares or rectangles in the tarmac (circled in red in the above picture) and wondered what they were?
They are called Detector Loops and understanding how they work will help you anticipate whether a traffic light you’re approaching is likey to change against you or help you to activate a filter light if you intend to turn right. They are often found on busy main roads and at junctions with housing estates etc.
After the tarmac is laid, at traffic light controlled junctions, the contractor sawcuts the road surface and installs coils of wire into the groove. The sawcut is then filled with a rubber mastic compound to seal the road surface. These wires are laid under the road surface back to the junction control box which changes the sequence of the traffic lights.
Looking at the above picture, the road running bottom to top is the main road and therefore has priority for traffic flow. Once traffic is freely moving through this junction bottom to top or top to bottom the vehicles will pass over the detector loops (circled in red) sending signals to the control box which keeps the main road lights at green. If traffic moves onto the detector loops on either of the two side roads they too send a signal to the control box saying there’s traffic now waiting. If there is a sufficient gap in traffic on the main road, i.e. no vehicle is moving across the detector loops, the lights on the main road will turn red, allowing the traffic on the side road(s) their chance to go. If no traffic moves onto the detector loops on the right or left the light may never turn red on the main road. This knowledge can now help you to anticipate the chance of a traffic light turning red as you approach. In other words, as you approach the light look to the side roads (if visible) to see if there’s traffic waiting. If so, there’s a possibility the light might turn red against you. If there’s a big enough gap between you and the vehicle in front this possibility is increased. The light could also turn red against you anyway as the light sequences are normally on a timer which can be overridden depending on traffic flow.
Turning Right
Look at the car circled in blue, it is waiting to turn right.
When the light goes green this car should move forward of the stop line and sit in the turning box. This box also contains a detector loop (red arrow pointing to it). However, if the car stays where it is in the picture the control box will not know that someone is sitting in the junction waiting to turn right. This means the the right hand filter light will not come on and the car could miss their turn at the lights. This is something I see on the roads day in, day out. Not moving into the box affects traffic flow and could, if you were sitting your driving test, result in you failing.
This post is for information only. This information does not reduce your responsibility to assess the situation or road/traffic conditions in front of you as you approach junctions.
The last week has seen a powerful road safety ad from New Zealand go viral.
“Mistakes” highlights a couple of issues which occur everyday on roads all over the world, people driving too fast and other misjudging whether it’s safe or not to exit a junction. It really is the most thought-provoking road safety ad that I’ve seen.
Drivers do make mistakes, all the time. It’s important that we drive at a speed that’s appropriate for the conditions before us and take allowance for other’s errors of judgement by observing properly and anticipating the likelihood of something, like that depicted in the video, happening in front of you.
Be in with the chance to win 5 FREE driving lessons!!
It’s Christmas time, and there’s no need to feel afraid……to learn to drive!!!
Make 2014 the year you make the leap and learn to drive with iDrive. Why not be our next success story?
Our Christmas Gift Vouchers could be the very thing to get you on the road!
They come in 4 festive designs and can be bought for any amount from only one lesson. They can be used for Essential Driver Training (E.D.T. Lessons), Pre-tests, standard lessons, motorway lessons, parking lessons or winter driving lessons, basically if you have a learning need, whether you are a learner permit holder or have that pink licence the vouchers can help you!.
How do I win 5 FREE driving lessons?
To be in with a chance of winning in our Christmas Prize Draw all you have to do is buy or have bought for you a Christmas Gift Voucher for a minimum of 5 driving lessons. This will get you one entry to the prize draw. A voucher for 10 lessons will get you 2 entries to the draw.
How much are the vouchers?
A Gift Voucher for 5 lessons is € 135
A Gift Voucher for 10 lessons is €260
How can I get my hands on the vouchers?
Simply call Andy on 087 0663947 or email [email protected]
Terms & Conditions
Vouchers are valid until 24th December 2014.
For the draw to go ahead a mimimum of 5 sets of 5 lessons must be sold.
Vouchers can be transferred to another person.
24 hour notice must be given to cancel any booked lesson or the lesson is forfeited.
