The TV adverts will show bikers with flashing neon signs attached to their bikes. The signs show the rider’s name and information about them such as ‘shy retiring type’ or ‘new dad’. The voiceover at the end asks drivers to look out for motorcyclists next time they are out driving.

The campaign was informed by research showing that drivers are more likely to notice motorcyclists on the roads if they know a biker themselves.

The adverts put motorcyclists at the centre of the campaign in a bid to tackle the huge over-representation of motorcyclists in road casualty figures. Despite only accounting for 1% of traffic motorcyclists make up 22% of deaths on Britain’s roads.

Mike Penning said: “As a biker myself I know how great motorcycling can be but as Road Safety Minister I know that the statistics show bikers are tragically over-represented in road casualties and I want to see this number come down.”

“The campaign I am launching today aims to get drivers to think again about how they look at bikers when they’re out on the road.  I hope this will help to reduce the number of bikers killed and injured in crashes with cars.”

The new ‘Named Riders’ TV campaign starts on Friday 2 March with radio and petrol station advertising running from Saturday 10 March.

Watch the TV advert on YouTube

This is a considerable victory for the MSA and other ADI groups who have been pressing for this for many years. MSA General Manager John Lepine said “We have been pursuing this policy for many years, in evidence that the MSA gave to the Transport Select Committee a couple of years ago we said

“Learner drivers should be allowed on motorways with driving instructors in dual-controlled cars, we think it is very important, not just because they need to go on motorways but because in a lot of areas there are road systems whereby there are no fast dual carriageways, the only fast dual carriageways are motorways and if we keep preventing learner drivers from going on motorways we are preventing them from driving at high speed.

“A motorway is just another road and the difference between that and a major dual carriageway is not that great. We encourage people to drive on major dual carriageways and we test them on major dual carriageways, but in some parts of the country there are none, there are motorways and we ought to be allowing them to drive on there with a driving instructor in a dual-controlled car.”

John went on to say “We also welcome the Ministers other decisions detailed in the article below and look forward to working with the DSA to help implement them.”

In an article published in the Telegraph their Transport Editor David Millward, writes:

The change, which will come into force next year, is intended to end the situation in which young drivers can be confronted with traffic driving at speeds of 70 mph or above without any preparation. Under the plans announced by Mr Penning, it will be possible for learner drivers to undergo some training on a motorway but only if accompanied by a qualified driving instructor. The change, however, will not be made compulsory because of the difficulties learner drivers in remote areas of the country would face in finding a motorway within a reasonable distance of where they lived.  Underpinning the move is concern at the number of young drivers being killed and seriously injured on the country’s motorways. According to figures compiled by the Department for Transport 82 drivers under 21 were involved in fatal motorway crashes between 2006 and 2010.

“Are we teaching young drivers to pass a test or are we giving them the skills to enjoy life on the road,” Mr Penning said. Since taking office Mr Penning has stopped driving test centres publicising the routes which will be used during the examination.

He has also banned the publishing of answers to the theory test to prevent candidates learning by rote. In afurther change Mr Penning plans to ban trainee driving instructors giving lessons unless they themselves are supervised by a fully qualified colleague.
Currently trainee instructors can give tuition and the only indication a pupil has that their teacher is not fully qualified is a small screen sticker.

“I am going to put a stop to that,” Mr Penning told The Daily Telegraph. “I am going to stop people who are not qualified doing this. Some of these guys never get qualified.”

• Scrapping the regulation requiring motorists to hold a paper counterpart to their driving licence by 2015 – saving drivers up to £8m.
• Improving the regulation surrounding the notification process for vehicles that are not in use on the road (Statutory Off Road Notification or SORN). Once drivers have notified the DVLA that their vehicle is SORN, they will no longer have the burden of annual SORN renewal.
• Only issuing hard-copies of V5C vehicle registration certificates for fleet operators when needed, with the potential to be rolled out to private motorists.
• Introducing a limited exemption from drivers’ hours rules so that those who also drive as Territorial Army reservists in their own time can continue to do so.
• Following a vigorous process of challenge, both by the public and within Whitehall, a total of 142 road transport regulations will now be scrapped or improved.

Justine Greening said; “Motorists shouldn’t have to keep numerous bits of paper just to prove they can drive and have bought insurance – we live in digital age and we need to embrace that.

“Reducing the number of rules and regulations in our life is absolutely vital to removing barriers to economic growth and increasing individual freedoms. This whole process just proves that there’s so much sitting on our statute books that at the very least needs a good spring clean or can be scrapped entirely.”

Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk said: “I’m delighted that so many motoring regulations will be scrapped or improved, particularly those that affect business.

“The Red Tape Challenge has built up real momentum since it was launched in April. Overall, of over 1200 regulations considered so far, we have agreed to scrap or improve well over 50 per cent.

“We have already published regulations covering 12 themes, and there are 13 themes to come, so there remains huge scope for reducing the burden of regulation on business and individuals even further.”

Other proposed changes to road transport regulations include: 

• Removing the need for an insurance certificate. The Department for Transport will work with the insurance industry on removing the need for motorists to have to hold an insurance certificate.
• Abolishing the requirement for drivers to prove they have insurance when applying for tax meaning 600000 more people will be able to tax their car online. This has been made possible by new checks of existing databases for insurance under new Continuous Insurance Enforcement rules. The DVLA’s records are compared regularly with the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to identify registered keepers of vehicles that appear to have no insurance.
• We will look at experience in other countries on driver Certificates of Professional Competence (CPC) – the qualification for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers. In particular, to see if we could remove the need for some sectors, such as farmers who drive stock to market, from needing a CPC.
• Local Authorities will now have to ensure business interests are properly considered as part of any future proposed Workplace Parking Levy scheme. They must show they have properly and effectively consulted local businesses, have addressed any proper concerns raised and secured support from the local business community.
• Abolishing the regulations on the treatment of lost property on buses. Bus companies currently have to wait 48 hours before they can throw away perishable items left on the bus.

“Ridiculous”, “diabolical”, “extortionate”, “crippling” ….  these  were some of the hundreds of comments about the cost of insurance made by young drivers surveyed by Young Marmalade.

The survey found that 96% of young drivers feel they are being priced off the road because of high insurance premiums – many reported insurance quotes up to double the value of the car to be used by the insured driver.

As a result a fifth (21%) of young drivers say they have considered driving without insurance, and nearly a third (30%) have considered altering the information they provide to insurance firms in order to secure a lower quote.

As well as keeping young people off of the road, or tempting them to turn criminal, the high cost of insurance is also keeping many of them from finding employment, as is evident in a number of the responses to the survey. A young man from Cornwall, for example, who says the lowest quote he found for insurance was £4,500, complained: “Living in Cornwall I need a car to hold down a job. Public transport is limited and this severely impedes my ability to get to town in time for work. This is impacting on my future opportunities.”

Most of the respondents said they understood that young drivers were higher risks for insurance companies, but many posed solutions which would make premiums more affordable. The “black box” technology to monitor drivers – as used by Young Marmalade – was much favoured, and there were many suggestions for increasing the excess and lowering premiums. Another idea posed by respondents was to link premium cost to engine size.

Other comments reflected frustration with “stereotyped risk assessment”. As one young man from Manchester said: “Just because we are young does not mean we cause all the accidents. It is cheaper to drive uninsured and pay the fine if caught than insure a car. How are we supposed to pay the insurance premiums on the wages we earn?”

Transport Committee Chair, Louise Ellman, MP, described the Young Marmalade survey results as “shocking” and “revealing” and said she will present the results to Ministers appearing before the Transport Select Committee.

The articles state that there are growing fears that tens of thousands of people may have been granted British driving licences despite not being able to read road signs in English.
Mike Penning, transport minister, is reported as saying that the Government was studying how to change the rules to ban the “politically correct” foreign language tests.

“I find it incredible that Labour thought it was a good idea to let people, without a basic grasp of English loose on our roads,” he said. “Road safety should be our priority, not political correctness.

The rules currently allow the theory test to be sat in 19 foreign languages. People are also permitted to attend the practical test with a translator. In total, 93,407 car driving theory tests were sat in a foreign language last year. There were 18,927 Urdu tests last year, 12,905 in Polish and 298 in Albanian.

The National Driver/Rider Training Standard™ sets out the skills, knowledge and understanding required to deliver driver and rider training programmes for cars, light vans and motorcycles, both before and after a candidate has passed their test. The standard sets out what instructors need to be able to do, and the knowledge they need to have, in order to deliver effective learning that will help people to become and remain safe and responsible drivers. This covers areas such as devising effective lesson plans, understanding different learning styles and needs, and giving clear instructions and constructive feedback. The document builds on DSA’s existing National Driving and Riding Standards that help to define safe and responsible driving and motorcycling.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “The driver and rider training industry has a vital role to play in making sure that Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world. The publication of this standard will help to ensure that all drivers acquire the right skills, knowledge and attitude to use our roads safely.”

The DSA has developed the National Driver/Rider Training Standard™ in collaboration with the driver and rider training industry, and will continue to seek feedback from trainers to ensure the standard remains relevant and up to date.

DSA chief executive Rosemary Thew said: “I want to thank the driver and rider training industry for their input in to the development of the standard. This document contributes to the work the DSA is doing to modernise the industry, and is an important step towards improving the way people are taught to drive and ride.”

The publication of the standard fulfils the commitment made in the Government’s Strategic Framework for Road Safety to specify national standards for professional instructors, and will help to inform ongoing discussions around the modernisation of the driver and rider training industry.

So far 75 English local authorities have published some or all of their information showing accident and casualty rates as well as speeds at camera sites before and after the introduction of speed cameras. This will allow local residents to see whether speed cameras are having a positive impact on accident rates in their areas.

All local authorities were asked to publish information about the effectiveness of their speed cameras as soon as practicable and provide a web link to this material by 20th July 2011. The remaining 72 authorities plan to publish their data in the next few weeks.

Road Safety Minister Mike Penning said: “Local residents have a right to expect that when their council spends money on speed cameras, they publish information to show whether those cameras are helping to reduce accidents or not.

“I hope that this information will help local people to make informed judgments about the impact cameras are having on their local roads.

“However, residents can only hold their council to account if it has made information available so I would urge those councils which have not yet published their data to do so as soon as possible.”

Links to the local authorities’ information can be found on a central hub on the Department’s website.

Police forces are to publish the number of prosecutions arising from each permanent or long term temporary fixed camera site in their area each year, along with the total number of offences recorded by all cameras and the total numbers of offenders given a fixed penalty notice, or taken to court and the numbers of people opting to complete speed awareness courses. Some forces, including Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Lancashire, and Thames Valley have already provided some offence data but in most cases this information will be published by police forces later in the year. The Department will then review the position related to the publication of speed camera information with the police.

Test Revision and Comprehension
The DSA will make available a parallel set of theory test questions to help candidates prepare for their test. These will be known as the Official Revision Questions.  These revision questions will cover all the same topics but may be worded slightly differently from those which candidates will be asked in their actual Theory Test.

Promoting Revision, Awareness and Safer Driving
The move by the DSA is expected to encourage wider learning and understanding of driving related materials. This should contribute to new drivers having greater awareness of relevant issues and ultimately driving more safely.

What does this mean for test candidates?
Candidates can no longer simply memorise the correct answers, but will instead have to learn and understand the principles behind driving. With the increased emphasis on revision, learners will undoubtedly benefit from a dedicated, reliable and up to date theory test revision aid if they want to achieve a first time pass.

Speaking on the change, Road Safety Minister, Mike Penning MP, stated “This emphasises the fact that driving is not just about vehicle-handling skills, but also about having the knowledge and understanding of safe driving theory.

“Stopping the publication of the questions and answers will mean that candidates will have to understand the theory rather than memorise which answers to choose in the multiple choice section.”*

Preparation: Key to success
The pass rate for the driving Theory Test is at its lowest in five years. The DSA believe that this is because learners aren’t preparing properly. Around 1.5 million car Theory Tests were attempted in 2009/10** with almost 4 in 10 tests (36%) resulting in a fail, the lowest pass rate on record since 2004/05.

With over 1,200 questions in the current official DSA revision bank, candidates must be prepared to put in a considerable amount of effort if they are to walk out of the test centre with a pass certificate. It’s vital that candidates study the latest edition of the Highway Code, learn and understand the principles behind all of the official revision questions, and develop their hazard perception skills. These subjects and more besides are covered in a number of different products including new items from the Driving Test Success range.