So the rain has hit the Bury and Bolton region yet again, the River Irwell is rising and the signs of the flooding are appearing once again, making driving treacherous.
I see so many videos on facebook of people driving through water that really is a little too deep to call a puddle. Although it may seem like fun to drive through the water but trust me. For instance did you know its illegal to splash somebody as you drive through a puddle, its classified as “Careless Driving”
“”Since 2013 careless driving can be dealt with by a Fixed Penalty Notice with a £100 fine and three penalty points. “If, however, they refuse [the notice] then they will face a magistrate who could impose a fine up to £5,000, although the maximum is very unlikely.”
I know that sometimes its hard not to go out driving, jobs need doing etc. Before you do go out ask yourself, is your journey really necessary and will you actually be able to complete the job in hand anyway. For example only today the M66 was closed due to flooding would you have completed your journey ?
What most people don’t take into consideration is what damage the water may be doing to there car ?
This might sound really daft, but did you know driving through any puddle (never mind flood water) WILL PUT WATER INTO YOUR BRAKES !!!! Now why would you want to do that.
Driving through deep water could easily…….
FLOOD THE EXHAUST, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO STOP
FIND ITS WAY INTO THE AIR INTAKE SYSTEM CAUSING SERIOUS ENGINE DAMAGE
HOW TO DRIVE THROUGH FLOOD WATER
Drive in first gear as slowly as possible but keep the engine speed high and steady by slipping the clutch.
If the engine speed is too low, you might stall.
If you go too fast, you could create a bow wave. Water will flood the engine and it could cut out
Once you have cleared the flood water, make sure you test your brakes !!!!!!, they will need drying out. Whatever you do don’t leave it until you have to stop and then find out you can’t stop .
When was the last time you got “STUCK BEHIND A LEARNER DRIVER” ! How did you deal with it, with patience ? Or did you get agitated ? Unfortunately most people will have answered with the latter.
Lets relate “learning to drive” with “learning a new language” – Will you be fluent and happy to mingle with the locals when you go abroad ? Or will you be nervous and worried about pronouncing something wrong ? Well thats just how a learner driver feels when they are out on the open road. Unlike learning a new language, where you can practice in private – you have to learn on the open road, which can be scary (A bit like going into a busy city abroad and needing directions but nobody speaks English).
When learning to drive, all the natural mirror use, gears, observations that you take for granted are not in the learner drivers muscle memory, so they have to think about each stage seperatley, you know like, when you try and speak your new language and you have to speak a whole lot slower than the locals.
I hope you’ve found this useful – but please be a little more patient when you are “stuck behind a learner.
Adios ;>0
WOULD YOU LIKE MORE INFO ON LEARNING TO DRIVE WITH GET DRIVING TODAY ?
How to Choose the right driving instructor for you ?
Did you know every driving instructor is different ?
Did you know every driving instructor has the same goal ?….. (You passing your driving test.
It really is so important that you find the right instructor for you ? You need to find one that suits your learning style, personality and your actual learning style. Do you know what your learning style is ? Are you a note taker, do you like to watch and copy or maybe you just like being thrown in at the deep end and learn from making small mistakes. A good driving instructor will find this out and will adapt his or her method to suit yours, remember its your lesson not there’s.
Four Tips to Finding the perfect driving instructor for you.
Tip #1
Check they are qualified to teach….
A green certificate in the windscreen is the sign of a fully qualified instructor
A pink certificate in the windscreen means the instructor is still in training
No certificate displayed ILLEGAL INSTRUCTOR !!!! WALKAWAY Do not under any circumstances give them any money.
Tip #2
Try and find some reviews from “passed” pupils. Also look for a variety of people and find one that tells a similar story to yours. (You can view ours below)
Don’t necesseraley choose your instructor on price alone. The cheapest may not be the best instructor for you, and neither could the most expensive.
Tip #4 Shop around if you find an offer that seems too good to be true, then you wll need to check the snall print. (Watch the video, and Graham will tell you the main one to be careful of)
Thanks for reading Don’t forget to share this post.
Graham
WOULD YOU LIKE MORE INFO ON LEARNING TO DRIVE WITH GET DRIVING TODAY ?
MIBBA’S 2018 – THE MADE IN BURY BUSINESS AWARDS “Get Driving Today – adding another award to our “Officially the Most Trusted Independent Driving School 2018 – SME News.”
As a local boy – born and bred in Bury (Radcliffe to be precise) – I’ve always been supportive of local businesses and charities. Setting up my driving school ‘Get Driving Today’ – based primarily in Bury and Bolton – is something I’m proud of. Entering the local awards a few years ago seemed the right thing to do.
We first entered the MIBBA’s 5 years ago and have taken home an award (or three) every year. This year was different! Ohwe took home an award but somehow it felt better! Why is this year any different? Well, the awards have grown – massively. Originally entered by smaller growing businesses it is now extremely competitive and entered by much larger well-established businesses. The kudos of ‘winning’ has grown. The level of entry has soared, and the competitive edge is razor sharp. The winner of our category also took home Best in Class – Large Business!
It’s a long awards procedure, from entry in early July to interviews in September, with a judging panel consisting of 5 leading business owners. 10 minutes to showcase your business and why you think you should win! Sweaty palms time. Only 6 businesses get through from entry to judging day, so for hard fought categories it’s an achievement to get that far. These 6 are whittled down to 3 for the actual awards night.
On judging day you need to be a little bit ‘inventive’ so I took Brian – our chimpanzee mascot. On a normal working day he’s sat on the dashboard, next to the dashcam. I spruced him up, dusted him off and rolled him out. For those that know me – you’ll get the Brian thing!….. For those that don’t feel free to ask.
Get Driving Today were ‘officially’ the smallest business to take home an award at MIBBA 2018
So, at Get Driving Today I’m proud that we were there in the very early stages. I’m gobsmacked that we’ve taken home another award this year and yes, we’ll be there next year. I wanted to shout about it. – Why not …
Get Driving Today COMMENDED : Best in Class Motoring and Transport Made In Bury Business Awards – MIBBA
Was I disappointed in not winning? In all honesty yes, but only because I feel that committed to Get Driving Today and what we’ve accomplished over the last 11 years. I am without doubt over the ‘piggin’ moon with our award. The recognition of what we’ve achieved (so far), the lives we change by getting our learners through their test, is the best feeling in the world.
Why we’re different – we specialise in working with learner drivers suffering from stress and anxiety, and we care.
We specialise in working with people who suffer from anxiety, stress, dyspraxia etc. If you’ve had a bad experience in the past with a driving instructor don’t give up.
If you have a driving licence but don’t drive because you lack confidence, had a bad experience or just want a refresher – we can help.
No one is a lost cause where Get Driving Today is concerned. You may have decided that – another driving instructor may have told you that – but you haven’t met us yet!
If you know anyone who has struggled in the past with driving lessons because their anxiety has taken over, then get in touch with us today – Tel 01204 265055
We DO make a difference and we CAN help.
“The first time I met Graham I told him I would never be able to drive. I’d had a few instructors a good few years ago who’d told me it was a lost cause and really believed it myself”. James Inman James suffers with severe dyspraxia and passed with Get Driving Today in September 2017. Read James’s full review – nothing says it better than a satisfied customer.
Now – bring on 2019 and that entry form. MIBBAs 2019 we’re coming to get you.
The Most trusted independent driving school in Bolton and Bury
You know that ping you hear, when an email hits your inbox? You know the one that makes you think who’s selling me something, and you think you should ignore it because it will be 10 seconds of your life wasted while you put it in your “trash”.
Guess what? That’s what happened to me yesterday, “ping” it went, am I glad I didn’t just resign it to the trash folder, you’d better believe it.
It was one of the UK’s online SME (Small to Medium Enterprises) online magazines, who just casually informed me ………. We had been named ……
“The Most Trusted Independent Driving School in Bolton and Bury 2018”
SME NEWS BUSINESS ELITE AWARDS
I must admit to being taken aback, taken aback that much I was looking for the scam behind it and contacted some of my renowned business advisors to try and authenticate it. Anyways its only gone and turned out to be totally kosher and Get Driving Today are now the proud owners of the title “MOST TRUSTED INDEPENDENT DRIVING SCHOOL IN BOLTON AND BURY”
Even this morning I was still a little gobsmacked as to how it all can about and what the criteria was in winning. So, we asked SME BUSINESS what it was all about and how it was judged…….
“In terms of how your selection came about, we have an in-house research team here at the publication whom are responsible for the selection process when it comes to our programs. Our SME Business Elite awards are merit based rather than nomination based, and our team looked at a variety of different factors when determining our winners for each category.
For this program our team considered factors such as; previous accolades won, company performance over a given period of time, influence within your industry since inception, client testimonials or recommendations and recognition/community involvement within your region. As a digital publication, our team also place significant weight on a firm’s digital presence, such as how a brand utilises their own social media, whether that be through the likes of LinkedIn and Twitter, through a company blog or even simply through a news section on the website that’s updated frequently with latest news and statistics.
So, I have to say a massive thankyou to SME NEWS, for the award, and who knows what the rest of the year holds, watch this space.
We know that when you search google for driving lessons near you , that you can see a whole host of driving schools, instructors etc and it can be a minefield understanding the offers available.
There are lots of introductory packages about, who then hike the price after to recoup there losses etc. Read our blog post on how these offers work.
Here at Get Driving Today we want you to get the best value for money possible ! Which is why we give you the chance of saving money on every lesson you take with us, and not just the first few.
All you have to do is prepay your lesson by just 24 hours and we will give you 10% discount off our standard in-car hourly rate.
Its really easy to prepay your lesson as we accept all of the following methods.
Card payments over the phone
Card payments in-car
Bank Transfer
Via this web site
Or simply pay your instructor one week ahead on the lesson before.
Recently we became one of the latest members to purchase tickets for the weekly
Made In Bury Business Draw. It’s a great opportunity to win £2,000 every week and I’m hoping that it may be me sometime very soon.
However, as I’m a jolly decent bloke, (jolly and decent), I’d love to be able to share it with YOU!
How can you potentially get your hands on some of my winnings? Well I’ve got to win it first of course, but the odds are fantastic and all my digits are crossed and crossed again, just in case. You could be in with a chance of a share, should I win, I’m going to donate £500 to one lucky recipient.
So, if you are the person that has engaged the most with all of our social media accounts facebook, Twitter and Instagram in that same week, you will receive £500 cash! How good would that be ? In the meantime, like, share, engage – oh and keep your fingers crossed too. The power of positivity may just mean it could be us next week!
Here are your accounts to follow, share, retweet etc.
FACEBOOK – Either search for Get Driving Today or click this link www.facebook.com/grahamsdt
TWITTER Just follow and share @geadi
INSTAGRAM Follow and Like Get_Driving_Today
The weekly winner will be the individual who shares / likes/ retweets the most posts between 9:00 am every Wednesday through to 6:00 pm the following Tuesday.
If you follow Made in Bury on facebook watch out for our numbers being drawn which are :-
20633
20634
20635
20636
20637
FIRST WINNER COULD BE ANNOUNCED ON WEDNESDAY 30TH MAY SO START SHARING LIKING RETWEETING NOW.
Only posts that we have posted after 9:00 am this morning will count though !!
Normally after any form of event I am quite quick at getting a blog post online for maximum impact and to stay current. However last Saturday we were involved in something quite special, to the extent it has taken a few days to digest how the day went.
A few of you may remember an auction we did on behalf of the Hoyles centre in Bury just before Christmas, one of the prizes was a sponsorship package at Sedgely Tigers RUFC. A prize I was personally delighted to win, as we had something special planned for it.
Anyway we chose the Tigers home game against Chester which took place in a mud bath last weekend (March 10th), in all honesty the match, the result, the weather didn’t really matter. As you will know we support the Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour charity ( http://www.joshwilson.org.uk/ ) whenever we can and had asked them to find us a family who would like to be our guests on the day……. And that’s where the magic happened.
We are treated to the company of 4-year-old Oscar who suffers from Leukemia and his mum Leann. It really was remarkable to see such a young brave young boy, carrying on as if it was just another day. To say Oscar took over the day is a slight under exaggeration as Lynette (Mrs GDT) became his chaperone for the day leaving mum to have a bit of a well deserved rest. Me, I just let the two youngsters (Oscar and Mrs GDT) enjoy their day together, which I am sure the photographs will tell you, they had a ball.
Before the game we were treated by the fantastic Sedgley Tigers team to a fantastic meal where Oscar was adamant he was having chicken nuggets (not on the menu), but can you guess what he got ? After which he was shown how to unofficially drink gravy (straight from the boat), not too sure mum was watching at the time, but I am sure when he try’s it at home, we will find out and be in a bit of trouble.
After our guest of honour had taken over the table, conducted the raffle (which we didn’t win, even though Oscar gave his mums ticket a lucky dip in the gravy :>) ) It was playtime for Mrs GDT and Oscar, which included numerous selfies, a couple of facetime calls, we had to use facetime as Oscar didn’t actually want to stand with his mum and myself, preferring the company of Mrs GDT. I’m not too sure how much of the game they watched but it really did not matter, when you see the end of match photo with a rugby team caked in mud with the two bright gleaming SuperJosh hoodies of Oscar and Mrs GDT you will know why.
For this one day we had a sneak preview into the works of The SuperJosh charity, and what they must do on a daily basis for children with serious illnesses etc, proving what an awesome decision it is to support them when we can.
Will we do it again ? We have more involvement throughout the year planned, so just watch this space.
Once again we see the popular social media sites spreading some serious #fakenews. Now this isn’t being done deliberately, but simply by some people believing everything they read and treating social media sites like official news.
Which current story are we talking about ?
“Your Insurance is invalid if you drive in an area with a red zone weather warning”
#FAKENEWS
There are so many reasons that this would be impossible to enforce, eg
What happens of you are already out on the roads and a red zone is declared ? Do you just get out of your car and walk ?
That doesn’t mean that you carry on as normal when it snows as there are certain criteria that you can be prosecuted when driving in the snow, here’s a few of the most popular.
You must clear your vehicle of any ice and snow. It may seem a load of hassle to clear your roof of snow, however when the car warms up, it starts to melt and come loose, and when you brake, it can then slide down the windscreen and block your view of the road ahead. Imagine that happening on the motorway ?
All of your lights must be visible THIS INCLUDES THE LIGHT OVER YOUR NUMBER PLATE.
Your number plate must be visible to the front and rear. (This could invalidate your insurance if it is stolen or in an accident)
Careless or dangerous driving.
WE WANT YOU ? Are you looking for a change of career ?
BECOME A DRIVING INSTRUCTOR WITH GET DRIVING TODAY
Well its been mooted around for almost a year now, with the government saying learner drivers will be allowed on Motorways in 2018. Finally they have given a date for this too happen and I can officially say from Monday 4th June 2018 that learner drivers will be allowed on the Motorway network of Great Britain.
Now before everybody loses the plot and starts shouting “carnage” “what a stupid idea” and other statements which undoubtedly will have some expletives in, is it really as bad an idea as allowing anybody to drive on a Motorway from the second they have passed their test without any further training ?
When we say learners are allowed on the Motorway it doesn’t actually mean any learner driver, of any standard, sat with any driver (or worse on their own) There are some strict restrictions on learning on a Motorway :-
Must be accompanied by a fully qualified driving instructor, so please ensure anyone giving you motorway training has a green badge in the window. Trainee driving instructors ARE NOT ALLOWED to give motorway lessons. (Trainee instructors have a pink badge in the window)
The car used for the training MUST HAVE DUAL CONTROLS.
HOW TO DEAL WITH A LEARNER DRIVER ON THE MOTORWAY
Always remember a learner driver, is exactly what it says on the tin LEARNING !! So maybe with your expertise in driving you can show excellent forward planning and either overtake them or stay well behind. Remember they are only doing what the instructor has asked them too.
If a learner was to overtake you, please don’t take this as embarrassing or angrily, you will undoubtedly doing a speed you are comfortable with, the learner is just being shown how to use the motorway network and make the best progress through this network.
Personal quote from Graham (Get Driving Today)
“Motorway driving is an essential skill that should be taught and taught well, in Bolton and Bury we have one of the busiest motorway networks in the country, so I can assure you that everybody that starts lessons with us will be introduced to motorway driving as soon as we feel they are at a standard to cope with its speeds, and varying traffic conditions.”
This can be nerve wracking to new and experienced drivers alike, when you hear the sirens or see the lights, and there are a few simple things you can do to make everything work smoothly for yourself and the emergency vehicle.
Remember what the Highway Code advises:
Rule 194: Emergency vehicles. You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police or other emergency vehicles flashing blue, red or green lights, headlights or sirens. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of the emergency vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but do not endanger other road users.
‘You should look and listen’
This is something that you are expected to do all the time, your Look Assess Decide Act routine should be happening every moment you are in charge of your vehicle. However, distractions from passengers, radios and the like may mean that you do not notice things as early as you should. Be aware of these distractions. If you like loud music, increase your observations – don’t let yourself drive on autopilot – being surprised by something, especially an emergency vehicle, means that you have let your concentration slip. Bear in mind that speeds above 45 mph may mean you cannot hear an approaching siren from behind simply due to road and engine noise.
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‘do not panic’
Easy to say, but not so easy to do. The simplest way of avoiding panic is to be aware of what is happening early, so that you can start planning. Assess the situation, and decide on the best course of action early, you will be able to put it into action smoothly and safely if you start working before you become a hazard to the emergency vehicle.
‘Consider the route of the emergency vehicle’
You may hear the sirens before you see the vehicle, and though advances in sirens do help you to work out which direction the vehicle is approaching from, in built up areas this is not always possible. Keep looking all around, including your mirrors. At this point, remember other drivers may be changing their own plans, be aware of other drivers slowing or pulling over ahead and behind you.
When you can see the vehicle, you need to assess it’s likely route. If you feel you may prove an obstacle to this route, you will need to plan your actions early, using the MSM routine.
‘take appropriate action to let it pass’
The easiest thing that you can do, as the highway code suggests, is to pull to the side of the road and stop. However, there are some situations where this is not possible. If there is no room for the vehicle to pass you, continue safely to the earliest place where you can pull over. Avoid pulling over opposite other obstructions as this will make the road narrower for the emergency vehicle.
If you are in a position to be easily overtaken, simply slowing down and moving over may be enough to allow the emergency vehicle safe passage, but be very careful – they have safety procedures to follow, and the safest vehicle to pass is one which is not moving.
If you are waiting at a junction and hear an emergency vehicle approaching, do not enter that junction. However if you are travelling toward a green traffic light and are entering the junction as you hear the siren don’t brake harshly, as the emergency vehicle going through a red light ‘should not’ put itself into your path until they can see that you have reacted to them.
If the emergency vehicle is approaching from the opposite direction, assess whether it has a clear run through traffic, taking into account parked cars or moving traffic it may need to overtake. It may still be necessary to select a safe place to pull over using your MSM routine.
‘do not endanger other road users’
Do not panic
Do not drive onto the kerb or pavement
Do not proceed across a red traffic light
Do not stop on a road with a solid white centre line on your side
Do not alter your course or speed until you know where the emergency vehicle is coming from and going to
Do not stop opposite an obstruction making the road narrower
Do not move off again until you are certain there are no more emergency vehicles, and be very aware of following vehicles moving off and using this as a chance to overtake
Most importantly in all of this – keep your head, and try to be as little trouble to the emergency vehicle as possible, one day you may need their help yourself.
Quote from Met Police web site :
“Emergency vehicles. You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights, headlights or sirens. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of the emergency vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but do not endanger other road users.
We would further add;
We do NOT expect you to risk damage to your tyres, wheels or steering by bumping up kerbs to make way for us.
We do NOT expect you to put yourself in danger by crossing red traffic lights to make way for us.
We do NOT expect you to risk road camera fines by, for example, moving in to bus lanes during hours of operation to make way for us.
We would however, appreciate your co-operation by looking well ahead and choosing sensible places to pull over. If possible avoid stopping before bends, brows of hills or narrow sections of roads where we may have difficulty passing”
In this latest blog post we are putting our money where our mouth is, on the home page of our website we state we are HIGH ANXIETY specialists, and I honestly believe we are. The bulk of our customers have a higher than the normal rate of anxiety, or to put it simpler, are more than just nervous about learning to drive, because let’s be honest most people are nervous when they start learning a new skill, especially one as dangerous as driving can be if you get it wrong.
So I thought I would share a quick few tips on how those with that higher level of anxiety can realise that passing the driving test is not unrealistic and is highly achievable.
FACT 1 .
Understanding the anxiety is a massive factor in gaining the confidence in driving. Eg Once you actually realise what that anxiety is then we will give you various coping strategies to help ease any or all those anxieties.Did you see what we did there? We didn’t tell you, it will be alright, or even say there’s nothing to be anxious about? That’s because it’s not our anxiety its yours! So I will repeat, we will give you coping strategies to help deal with the anxiety!!!
FACT 2
It is highly likely it will take you a little longer to learn to drive, that does not mean you can’t pass the driving test, it means what it says, it may take a little longer and yes I wont hide from it, that will make it a little more expensive as well. However if this is understood before you start then once again you should have no problems being capable of passing the driving test and gaining your independence.
FACT 3
Avoid at all costs these comments .
“You will never pass”
“Why is it taking you so long, it only took me a few lessons”
Only listen to positive people ! This is so important, You have to avoid them or put your fingers in your ears and tell them to go “knit one, pearl one” (You’ll have to read to the end of this blog to understand that comment”)
Listening to these people and believing what they say is like giving up. REMEMBER this is your journey, and it will be as short or as long as it will be, as long as we focus on the goal (driving licence) at the finish line then I promise we will get there together.
TRUE STORY
I recently had a young lady with seriously high anxiety, not just in driving but in other parts of life. She was taking quite a while to learn to drive and was being pressurised by her partner as to the cost and length of time it was taking. So we had to find a fix for this……… This young lady was a fantastic knitter (I know bare with me) , so I asked her to challenge her partner, that he couldn’t knit an easy pattern small jumper for their baby to be before she passed her driving test. knittings’ easy, right ? Not for this guy, and she passed her driving test well before the first sleeve was completed.
Moral of the story – Not everybody finds everything easy, everybody has their own skill set, and learning speeds. This lady, unlike her partner never gave up PASSED FIRST TIME.
[clickToTweet tweet=”How knitting helped one high anxiety pupil, #knitonepearlone” quote=”Tell your friends about Knit one, Pearl One'” theme=”style4″]
