Learner drivers in Merseyside forced to wait more than three months to book their test

Learners are having to wait more than three months for a driving test in Liverpool.

Waiting times at test centres across Merseyside are at the highest they have been for years.

The test centres at Norris Green and Garston both have 12 week waiting lists for car tests, while anyone looking to book in at the Widnes has to wait 13 weeks.

The Upton, St Helens and Southport test centres are also booked up for nine weeks or more.

Chris Till, who has run Passfaster driving school in Mossley Hill for the past 15 years, said the delays are affecting his business.

The 43-year-old said: “It’s a bit of a joke. It’s been like this since the start of the year and it’s the worst I have seen it over a prolonged period of time by quite a long way.

“We probably lose a couple of jobs a day because of it. People want tests quickly and as we can’t give it to them they go to a different part of the country.”

Test centre waiting lists as far afield as Chester and Preston are also as long as nine to 12 weeks.

Father-of-three Chris believes the lack of test availability is part of a wider problem.

He said: “The government cuts reduced the number of examiners so there aren’t as many as there once was. Also they don’t pay examiners for weekend work which they used to, so that increases the length of time as well, as those slots aren’t available.

Waiting times at test centres across Merseyside are affecting Chris Till's business
“There’s also an increase in pupil numbers. My 40 instructors are completely full. You probably have to wait four or five weeks for a driving lesson, and that’s just for one hour.

“So, as there’s not only a shortage of examiners but instructors as well, we’re trying to recruit more instructors.”

The Head of Operations for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Phil Lloyd, apologised for the delays.

He said: “Demand for driving tests is increasing and we are working hard to ensure people can take their driving test as quickly as possible.

“As part of this, we are currently in the process of recruiting more HGV examiners. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the wait.”

Ashley Neal from Fazakerley, who has been a driving instructor for the past 16 years, believes the DVSA is doing everything it can.

The 40-year-old said: “It’s a simple case of supply and demand. The number of driving lessons and tests decreased in the last few years. People are now spending more money and demand for driving tests have gone up, so the DVSA haven’t had a chance to employ and train enough examiners.

“The examiners are doing everything they can. It’s not their fault. For the amount of tests required they just haven’t been able to train the right amount of people.”

The dad-of-three added: “I don’t care how long it will take my kids to pass, as long as they turn into safe drivers.

“The end result of people passing their test is not how quickly they do it but how safe they are on the roads.”

Driving Lessons Doncaster: Taking Professional Driving Training

When searching for the best School for you, you must always examine where the School is situated so you don't have to travel excellent ranges for the next few months in order to take your training. It's also wise to examine which vehicles they use to educate learners. There is no way to create your assured in the visitors without getting the help from certified trainer. The good driving Lessons Doncaster always highlight to the learners recognize their pros and cons about the driving techniques. Driving lessons Doncaster are a wonderful way to get ready new motorists for their certification examination, or to sweep up on essential abilities after a long period without driving. If you are in Doncaster, then studying high-quality driving lessons through a well known School of motoring in Doncaster is always a better option. When anyone wants to become expert car driver then understand from an approved driving trainer is a smart idea to choose. It is very necessary to seek the services of expert trainer to create you efficient car driver. You must be aware of every policy on the streets. You can be sure to get results that are compared with any other.

Drivers Education classes set for Gordon County schools

The 2015-2016 Drivers Education Program is accepting registrations for classes offered at Gordon Central High School and Sonoraville High School. The cost of the class is $250, with a non-refundable deposit of $50 required when applying for the class and the balance due on the first day of class.
Classes are open to any student that has their learner’s permit, regardless of where they go to school. Two classes are offered Gordon Central: a class beginning Oct. 19 and running through Oct. 29, and a class beginning Feb. 1, 2016 and running through Feb. 11.
The two sessions being held at Sonoraville High School are: class starting Nov. 30 and running through Dec. 10, and a class starting April 18, 2016 and running through April 28.
Students will receive 30 hours of classroom instruction, and six hours of driving time. Students will need to print paper and pencil/pen to the class. Any classroom instruction that is missed must be made up during a future class.
It is stressed that students must have their learner’s permit by the first day of class. Applications, which can be found at on the Gordon County School System website at www.gcbe.org and looking under the “Students” tab for the Drivers Education Button. Applications can be dropped off at either high school or at the Transportation Department, located on Dews Pond Road.

Driving Lessons Ashford offers very well organized and methodical technique

 

Driving is a best expertise and every one must know how to drive, but regardless of that you cannot drive so no fear you have enough time now, you may also understand so if you have plan or wish so we are here to provide you best driving period. Our driving school provides top-rated motorists lesson. In this type of driving, all driving guidelines are followed totally by the driver. Driving lesson Ashford provides its driving to people of all age groups.  We also provide personal driving studying lesson so that one can understand in a comfortable atmosphere. You'll be qualified by accepted Innovative driving Instructors with years of encounter, and because you'll be qualified in a top of the range you can be assured that you're in one of the best and most secure vehicles on the street. The driving lesson Ashford follows a very well organized and methodical technique as the group of motorists observes down your driving time in their Long Guide after the finishing each period. Education regarding new visitor’s rules and guidelines is also very important. We also offer provides that are developed for the business viewers. Ashford also provides coaching regarding protecting driving.  One of the primary advantages of these driving lessons is versatility in arranging. There are applications, under which one is offered with few days or even a month's coaching.

Become the best participant of driving lesson Doncaster

Most school who give driving lesson Doncaster will continue to perform evenings and Saturdays and Sundays to fit in with people categories perform or research obligations. Before reservation any lessons people ought to evaluate expenses of various different trainer furthermore find a trainer who has an automatic that you they will feel certain driving.
Driving coaching is not just crucial for starter motorists or young people trying to improve their aptitudes. They are useful for students of all age categories. Over the Internet, you can easily list down the best driving lesson Doncaster. To avoid getting misinform, it would be suggested to research the views and suggestions released on the site. This will offer you with an alternative that is worth your money. Becoming a participant of driving lesson has helped many people in learning recommendations of the road efficiently. Driving lesson expenses vary on based on which trainer higher knowledge you choose to take your coaching with, but if you were to offer your nearest school a contact they would be able to offer you an accurate amount of how much coaching cost, but in the huge common plan of factors, coaching are precious in the information that you will be an individual person and will have control of your goes. A ton of young people predict the age where they can begin determining how to produce an automatic. On your driving educational expenses you are protected under your teacher's insurance, therefore there is no need to fear about anything. But before going on your first driving session you need unique to begin.

Driving Lessons Blackburn: Gain knowledge of becoming an expert driver

Your driving classes Blackburn will be much more effective if you work with a helpful and individual instructor! Exercising drive is an interesting level in the life of every person. To successfully pass the analyze, you require finish information of driving guidelines which must be followed while driving on street. You can perform the driving Lesson in Blackburn within an  time length. There are many educational institutions that provide these driving classes to its learners.  In these classes, your kid will be provided with the on street experience and theoretical information necessary to become an excellent car driver. Some take it as a excellent way to start a new section, while others are more hesitant about it.

The driving classes will help you in studying driving and knowing the visitors guidelines completely. They help to educate necessary abilities required to acquire a
driving certificate and provide training to qualified individuals like learners, grownups and seniors. When you understand how to drive you must have a excellent trainer by your side. There are many excellent locations in and around Blackburn that make particularly excellent baby's room driving tracks where it is easy to begin your driving profession without being under unnecessary stress and having to cope with too much other visitors.

The schools driving America's student loan crisis

WASHINGTON -- In August 2014, network technicians opened a special connection between computers at the federal departments of Education and Treasury. On nights and weekends throughout the month, that connection delivered to Treasury some 46 millions of pieces of information about student borrowers in the United States, including their financial situations when they started and left college, their incomes after school and whether or not they kept up with their loans.

After taking pains to protect the privacy of individual students, Treasury's chief economist, Adam Looney, and a Stanford University economics graduate student named Constantine Yannelis began sifting the loan data for patterns. They wanted more information on what many political leaders have dubbed an economic and educational crisis in the United States -- a spike in the number of students who have defaulted on their loans in recent years.

"It was just constant amazement," Looney said in an interview. "You see things for the first time. It is very hard to see what's going on in the loan market from published statistics and what you can find online."

What they saw was less of a national crisis than a very localized one: The surge in defaults was largely concentrated among relatively older, lower-income students who attended for-profit colleges.

That's a group of Americans who, on the whole, were desperately seeking new skills in hopes of finding better-paying jobs through the 2000s -- and especially the Great Recession. The data suggest many of those borrowers have found added struggle instead.

Default rates among so-called "traditional students" at four-year schools and graduate schools have stayed relatively low since 2000, Looney and Yannelis report today in a study released by the prestigious Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.

But defaults have soared among non-traditional borrowers, particularly at for-profit schools (and to a lesser extent, at two-year public or non-profit schools), a group whose ranks swelled in the 2000s. Those students, the economists write, borrowed heavily to pay relatively high tuition costs at schools that don't have a good track record of graduating their students, and which don't put their students on paths to good jobs nearly as well as other colleges do.

Of the students required to start repayment on loans in 2011, 2 percent of graduate students and 8 percent of traditional undergraduates had defaulted within two years. Among non-traditional borrowers, about 21 percent had defaulted. Of all the borrowers who were in default in 2013, 70 percent were non-traditional students.

The change in the types of schools students attended - particularly the shift toward for-profits -- explains by itself between one-third and one-half of the increase in loan defaults over the decade, Yannelis and Looney calculated.

"Part of the story is certainly that there was an increase in disadvantaged students, particularly during the recession, and that increased the instance of default and delinquency," Looney said. "But that's not the whole story. The institutions themselves matter."

Students at for-profit colleges only account for 11 percent of the total higher-education population, but 44 percent of all federal student loan defaults, according to the Education Department.

The study adds to a growing chorus of research questioning the value of for-profit colleges.

While the rising cost of college has led to increased borrowing across the board, the financial dynamics at for-profit schools places added pressure on their students. Few for-profit colleges offer scholarships and grants to cover tuition and fees, which according to the College Board costs an average $15,230 a year for full-time students.

As the authors note, students who attend for-profit colleges are typically from low-income households without the financial means to pay for school. About 73 percent of full-time students at for-profit colleges use Pell Grants, a federal program that provides money to the country's neediest college students, according to the Education Department. That compares to 37 percent of students at private universities and 45 percent of students at public universities.

Corinthian Colleges, the now defunct for-profit chain, is being sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for steering students into private loans, known as "Genesis loans," with interest rates as high as 15 percent. The bureau said Corinthian set its tuition and fees for bachelor's degrees at $60,000 to $75,000 to force students to borrow from the program and then received a slice of the lenders fees.

The end of the recession has stemmed the rise of for-profits, which the new study suggests is good news for policymakers looking to solve the student default crisis.

The number of new borrowers at for-profit schools fell by almost half between 2010 and 2014, Looney and Yannelis note, which means the current default rate - a 20-year high -- will almost certainly fall in the years to come.

Get protective and protected driving lesson Crawley with full consideration

The Driving Lessons in Crawley are a must for any individual who desires to become a excellent car driver. While selecting the school for your needs, do evaluate the fee framework of various educational institutions.You can go on an extensive driving course that will be on long lasting foundation. Information of the visitors guidelines will help you in becoming a safe car driver.

If you use a online look for motor and type in lesson Crawley or school of driving Crawley you will be given hyperlinks to sites of organizations who offer these services. One of the opportunities that's becoming more popular these days is that of becoming a certified accepted driving instructor. If you live in or around the Crawley area and want to take driving lessons Crawley then you will need to discover organizations who offer education in these locations.

Hastings mum drunk on school run disqualified from driving

A drunk mother who drove her two unrestrained kids on a treacherous morning school run behaved in a "terrible" way, a judge says.

Hastings woman Beverly Hale had her two children, aged 5 and 2, unrestrained and standing on car seats as she sped through traffic past schools, mounted a traffic island, and hit a parked car before walking the kids into school.

When sentencing Hale in Hastings District Court on Wednesday Judge Bridget Mackintosh said her offending was "terrible".

But the judge noted Hale had a number of personal issues and that she was remorseful.

She sentenced Hale to four months community detention and intensive supervision for 12 months.

Hale was disqualified from driving for 14 months.

Hale's lawyer Eric Forster said although she had an extensive criminal history she had not offended for about 10 years and only had one conviction for drink driving which was in 1994.

According to the police summary of facts it was only when Hale had dropped the elder child at Hastings Central School and was walking back to her car that she realised there was a problem.

On the morning of Wednesday, May 6, Hale, 40, drove her Honda Odyssey from Flaxmere into Hastings. She had earlier told a relative she was too drunk to drive but became impatient and chose to drive anyway.

As she drove along York Rd, a driver and passenger in another car became alarmed at her driving as she tried to overtake them. She got past them by swerving into the inside cycle lane as they drove along Wall Rd.
The occupants of the other car noticed there were two young children in Hale's car and both were unrestrained. One was standing on the front passenger seat.

They rang police and continued to follow Hale's car to advise police of her location.

As Hale turned into Murdoch Rd, she crossed the centreline, forcing oncoming vehicles to take evasive action. She continued at speed past a daycare centre, where a large number of parents were arriving to drop off their children.

A little further on, she sped past Hastings Boys' High School, and was seen overtaking two more cars.

When she reached Hastings Central School, she slowed down and did a U-turn. In the process, she mounted a traffic island before bumping into a parked car on the opposite side of the road. The car was not badly damaged.

Hale then got out of her car and took both her children into the school. She dropped off the elder one and was returning to her car with the 2-year-old when police approached her.

They said she appeared drunk. She was incapable of performing an evidential breath test and refused to provide a blood sample.

She refused to say why she drove, and abused police.

Hale pleaded guilty to two charges of ill-treating a child, one charge of driving dangerously, and one charge of refusing a request for a blood specimen.

Driving lesson Canterbury: Get positive environment for learning

Driving Lesson Canterbury provides driving to people of all age groups. We also provide personal driving studying sessions so that one can understand in a comfortable atmosphere. One of the main benefits of these driving sessions is versatility in arranging. During a car driving period, an professional and extremely professional car driver would educate you the fundamental concepts of driving and the street symptoms as well as symptoms. If you're looking for driving lessons Canterbury from the best, you've come to the right place.

Canterbury also provides coaching regarding protecting driving. These motorists sessions are affordable and time preserving, and the training is given by a group of professionals. With the best encounter we create you best encounter owner so finish your need and create your profession in driving.

Educate defensive training with Driving lessons Ashford

Options for learning driving methods abound. Multiple driving schools provide driver training, as well as latest or advanced driving lessons and traffic safety classes. Exhaustive research and analysis into driving mishaps and their reasons has resulted in the production of the quality learning elements used to educate defensive Driving lessons Ashford methods. Research now shows that drivers who adopt driving as a matter of course have a statistically better chance of averting serious harm whilst driving on the roadways.

Adopting decent Driving lesson Ashford techniques is as riding a horse. Once educated and integrated into your regular driving habits, they’ll stand you in safe, good stead for the rest of your life. At any point in your driving career, there may come a time when you missed points because of traffic infringement or violations. While some folks are not related with this matter, there are some who are desired to undergo lessons to further enhance their driving skills, one of that is a driving course.