Programme 16 – Driver Training Programme for the Young
1 May 2012 | No Comments | posted by admin | in Blog
Young driver training is a new programme of three hours (costing £99 including VAT), which has started in The Alconbury Driving Centre (ADC) and it especially aims at training youngsters to become “better than average drivers” by learning advanced driving techniques.
The programme is only for serious youngsters who are committed to learn to become “better than average drivers” and are enthusiastic.
Young Drivers Training At Alconbury Driving Centre
Alconbury has excellent facilities and is very safe. It has a great team of expert trainers and supervisors who practice the art of expert teaching in order to cater to learners of different abilities. Parents can trust their young children in a safe environment to learn driving.
For driving on the road it is mandatory to have a license and is only permissable for people 17 and over. Alconbury Driving Centre offers young driver training for people as young as 14 on our safe, off-road, facility to teach them to be safer and better prepared than the average learner driver..
Students drive in dual controlled cars under their instructor’s supervision. They may also be driven by instructors on public roads so as to familiarize the student with the road and traffic, and observe the behaviour of other drivers. Due to unforeseen circumstances we are currently using a temporary training area.
“Programme 16” is open for those above 14 years and there are special offers such as birthday group booking, birthday gift or gift vouchers.
Please contact Alconbury Driving Centre for more details:
01480 457439
Young Driver Training BBC Look East Review
1 May 2012 | No Comments | posted by admin | in Blog
Following thr tragic death of local teenager Amy Gonzales the BBC Look East team visited the Alconbury Driving Centre to see what is being done regarding young driver training including skid training.
This is their video report.
Andrew Cropper (narration): ‘18 year old, Amy Gonzales was knocked down by a drink-driver in St Neots on Christmas morning nearly 3 years ago. She died a month later; another teenager who became a victim of a collision involving a young driver. Her parents have campaigned on the issue ever since’
Melanie Gonzales: ‘We need to get these young drivers, when they start driving, just to realise how dangerous it can be driving a car. I don’t think a lot of them realise that just driving a car in the wrong way makes it become a lethal weapon.’
Andrew Cropper (narration): ‘Today it was reporters spinning round Alconbury Airfield, but when the new course opens for business next week, it will be a mix of teenagers at school and fee paying adults.’
Terry Turner: ‘You could think this was purely commercial, but it’s not. 90% of what we’re going to be doing here is going to be working with young drivers. We know that they are 3-4 times more likely to have a bad collision than any other age group.’
Student: ‘We’ve learned basically how to drive and we get taught about it to help us out we come to taking our driving test.’
Andrew Cropper: ‘So youngsters who have done courses like this before have given it the thumbs up. Well now it’s time to give it a go myself.’
Andrew Cropper: ‘Right then Jim, how did I do?’
Jim Hawkins: ‘I’ve got my score sheet here, and I’m afraid it’s only 3 out of 10 at the moment.’
Andrew Cropper: ‘More work needed.’
Jim Hawkins: ‘A lot more.’
Andrew Cropper (narration): ‘While today was just a bit of fun, there remains a serious side. It’s hoped this course will offer a chance to reduce the heavy death toll of young drivers on our regions roads. Andrew Cropper, BBC Look East, Alconbury Airfield’
Young Driver Skid Training At Alconbury Driving Centre
5 Apr 2012 | No Comments | posted by admin | in Blog
Alconbury Driving Centre offers training for young drivers even before they have secured their driving license.
ITV Anglia Tonight visited the centre to report on this service and you can see their report here with the transcript below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFJNIkXRB1c
Female presenter: ‘…driving skills before they’ve even passed their test’
Male presenter: ‘Instructors are using a ‘skid-car’ to simulate dangerous situations. Our reporter Mathew Hudson has had a go.’
Mathew Hudson (narration): ‘It looks like fun, and it is, but it might also help keep you alive. And here’s a stark fact for you; drivers ages 17 to 25 are four times more likely to lose control of the wheel than anyone else. Driving lessons teach the basics, but not how to drive in dangerous conditions. This new scheme provides teenagers with some of the skills you need before they ever drive on a road.’
Terry Turner: ‘We run programmes for 16 year old, non-licence holders, and from the moment they come here and we start teaching them advanced driving methods. So that we know that when they’re actually on the road they should be better than average drivers. It’s a tremendous opportunity for them.’
Matthew Hudson (narration): ‘The disused runway at the former RAF Alconbury, near Huntingdon makes an ideal skid pan. The special skid-car is mounted on a hydraulic frame. The instructor can lift the weight of the car off the tyres, replicating wet or icy conditions. Even at low speed the effect is stunning.’
Matthew Hudson: ‘Of course the beauty of this scheme is it’s able to simulate a number of different driving conditions for drivers, without actually having to wait for the rain or the snow to come down. And until you’ve had a go here you really don’t realise just what difference a certain amount of ice on the road can make. You don’t realise it, perhaps, until it’s too late.’
Matthew Hudson (narration): ‘The charity behind the scheme subsidises classes for schools by hosting corporate events. Because it’s on the airfield, even 15 and 16 year olds can have a go; invaluable experience for when they start driving for real.’
Ben Hobbs: ‘We all know already how to drive properly, and so we should be able to get through our driving test a lot easier and quicker.’
Matthew Hudson (narration): ‘Young irresponsible drivers can kill other people as well as themselves. Amy Gonzales was killed by a drunk 21 year old racing through St Neots on Christmas morning 2004. Her parents are helping to promote the initiative.’
Kevin Gonzales: ‘We’ve seen first-hand the carnage and pain & suffering that can be caused by driving a car in the wrong way. And any initiative like this, anyway we can get the message across we’re delighted to be involved with.’
Matthew Hudson (narration): ‘Teaching teenagers how to deal with a sudden skid could save their life. Better to go out of control here, than on a busy motorway. Matthew Hudson, Anglia News, at Alconbury, near Huntingdon.’
What is a Skid?
20 Mar 2012 | No Comments | posted by admin | in Blog
A vehicle tyre loses grip when forces acting on the vehicle exceed the coefficient of friction between the tyre and the road surface. Many things can cause this, such as excessive speed for the road conditions, sudden braking, fierce acceleration and harsh or excessive steering. A car’s condition can also play a major role, particularly if the tyres or brakes are worn.
Skids don’t just happen. They are human error. Usually as result of poor concentration and failure to take road conditions into account. If you tackle a corner too fast, for example, the front tyres might not have enough grip to cope with what you are asking them to do, and the car will tend to plough straight on (a car without anti-lock brakes will also slide straight on, irrespective of any steering adjustments, if you lock up the wheels under emergency braking).
This is under steer, so called because the car is literally turning less than you want it to.
Likewise with the back end, this will slide wide and the car might start to spin. This is known as over steer because the car is turning more than you want it to.
It is harder to contain an over steering car, particularly if you are inexperienced. You can apply “opposite lock” by turning “into” the skid (in the same direction the tail is moving). Because you are pointing the front wheels in the direction you want to go, this is a more natural reaction than it sounds, but many drivers do it too aggressively. If that happens, the car might start to over steer in the opposite direction when the tyres bite, and you are likely to find yourself “fishtailing” down the road.
If the worst happens and you should start to over steer or under steer for whatever reason, the quickest way to regain control is to take the correct very prompt action. Remember that a car is much more likely to spin out of control in damp, wet or icy conditions, but never forget that you could encounter an unexpected hazard – such a slippery diesel spillage, mud, sand, loose gravel or fallen leaves – on an apparently dry surface.
More than 90 per cent of all accidents involve some sort of skid.
Stay alert and observant and you might have no need to worry about such things, if you’re lucky, but it brings a huge safety benefit for all drivers to invest a few hours in some form of skid control, skid prevention training, just in case. No amount of theory will help you in a sudden emergency, when the natural human reaction is to panic and freeze. But with a skid control, skid prevention training course and practice in a safe environment, you can gain an instinctive understanding of how to stay out of trouble and this course could save your life.
ESP Science Explained
6 Mar 2012 | No Comments | posted by admin | in Blog
Bosch call it the electronic guardian angel.
They describe critical manoeuvres with and without ESP.
Vehicle without ESP:
1. Vehicle approaches an obstacle.
2. Vehicle goes of course, enters oncoming traffic lane and driver loses control.
3. Counter steering causes the vehicle to go into a skid.
Vehicle with ESP:
1. Vehicle approaches an obstacle.
2. Vehicle threatens to break away. ESP intervenes and restores full steerability.
3. Counter steer results in threat of renewed breakaway. ESP intervenes again
4. Vehicle is stabilized.
Bosch says the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) supports the driver in nearly all critical driving situations. It detects skidding instantaneously and actively counteracts it. ESP goes beyond ABS and traction control systems (TCM). Sensors read desired steering direction, the vehicles rotary movement and lateral accelerations.
From this data the control unit calculates the actual movement of the vehicle, comparing it 25 times per second with the driver’s desired direction. If the values do not correspond, ESP reacts instantly without any action on the part of the driver. It reduces engine power and brakes individual wheels. Skidding is counteracted and the car remains safe on its desired course.
The system was developed in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz who was the first to launch it in 1995 in their S-class. Bosch has since refined the system.
Don’t be confused with manufacturers trying to differentiate themselves with different names for what is the same system. They may call it DSC, PSM, VSA or VSC but it’s ESP.
Components of ESP from Bosch are:
• ESP-Hydraulic unit with integrated ECU.
• Wheel speed sensor.
• Steering angle sensor.
• Yaw rate sensor with integrated acceleration sensor.
• Engine management ECU for communication.
Only 1% of those surveyed identified ESP and are aware of ESP as an active – corrective – safety system.
The life saving potential of ESP has been confirmed by several scientific studies:
• Toyota has concluded ESP could reduce driving accidents by 50%.
• Daimler-Chrysler reported a 42% reduction in accidents since introducing ESP as standard on Mercedes-Benz in 1999.
• VW think it could reduce fatal accidents by 35%.
• German studies show 25% of all injuries are due to skidding.
• 60% of fatal accidents are due to side impacts caused by skidding.
• American studies revealed a staggering 67% reduction in single SUV accidents when fitted with ESP.
With a skid control, skid prevention training course and practice in a safe environment, you can gain an instinctive understanding of how this technology works to keep you out of trouble, and this training and new knowledge could save your life.
Following this link to download the ESP guide document as a pdf.