Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown (pictured) escaped a driving ban by claiming he needs his car – to do shopping errands for his elderly parents.
The 53-year old multi-millionaire singer pictured arriving at court, had faced disqualification under the totting up procedure
He pleaded guilty to travelling at 37mph in a 30mph zone along the A6 Wellington Road North in his Lexus. But the Fools Gold star who has made millions with his bandmates from their comeback gigs, said a ban would be an
‘inconvenience’ as it might hinder him driving eight miles to see his father George, 81, and mother Jean, 79, and getting groceries for them. On Friday, magistrates in Stockport, endorsed Brown’s licence with three penalty points – bringing the number to 12 but – let him back on the road after agreeing the star might suffer ‘exceptional hardship’.
In passing sentence, chairman of the bench Pauline McArdle said: “Mr Brown, we are dealing with an offence of speeding. What we have decided having listened to the arguments put forward, we are going to endorse your licence with three penalty points. We are not going to do the ban. We have listened to the argument for exceptional hardship and taken it into consideration. We are not going to ban you on this occasion but you will have 12 points. We have taken into account innocent third parties and have also taken into account loss of income but that was not the priority. The argument for exceptional hardship cannot be put forward again, if you come up before the court again you cannot use this argument again and you will be banned from driving.”
However, Jack Kushner, spokesperson for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “It is vital that public figures set a positive example of safe driv- ing behaviour, and it is disappointing that Mr Brown has failed to do so. 

“Speeding is a serious offence, and no matter who you are, driving faster than the speed limit is completely inexcusable.  

The number of motorists illegally using mobile phones while at the wheel is rising, an RAC survey suggests.
It says 31% of motorists said they used a handheld phone behind the wheel compared with 8% in 2014. The number of drivers who said they sent a message or posted on social media rose from 7% to 19%, while 14% said they had taken a photograph or video while driving.
The RAC’s annual Report on Motoring surveyed 1,714 UK motorists.
The breakdown organisation said the use of handheld mobiles was “the biggest road safety concern among motorists today”. 

It believes a 27% drop in full-time dedicated roads policing officers in England and Wales – excluding London – between 2010 and 2015 means drivers do not fear they will be caught for offences not detected by automatic cameras.
It is illegal to drive a car or ride a motorcycle using a handheld phone. Drivers can get an automatic fixed penalty notice, three penalty points and £100 fine. The case could also be taken to court, where the maximum fine is £1,000 and licence disqualification. 

Department for Transport figures show that a driver impaired or distracted by their phone was a contributory factor in 492 accidents in Britain in 2014 – 21 of which were fatal and 84 classed as serious. 

The survey also found: 

*   7% of those who admitted using a mobile while driving said they did it because they knew they would get away with it

*   23% claimed it was an emergency, 21% said they needed information for their journey and 12% said it was a habit 
The government is due to publish the results of a consultation which proposes introducing tougher punishments for illegal mobile use by drivers.
The minimum fine for non-HGV drivers is expected to rise from £100 to £150, while penalty points are set to increase from three to four. 
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told the Commons he would shortly be announcing “tough plans” to tackle the use of mobiles by drivers. “This requires, in my view, strong action. This is happening far too often,” he said.
RAC spokesman Pete Williams said: “It is alarming to see that some drivers have clearly relaxed their attitudes to the risks associated with this behaviour but more worrying is the increase in the percentage of motorists who actually admit to using a handheld device when driving. 
”The fact that drivers have little or no confidence that they will be caught when breaking these laws is a likely contributor to the problem and it is sadly the case that every day most road users see other drivers brazenly using their handheld phones when in control of a vehicle – a sight which should be a thing of the past.” 

Dvsa warn about fake email for fixed penalties

Probably the busiest motorway in the north of England. How does this happen?
Wrong-way driver crashes on clockwise M60 near Trafford
Shocked motorists were forced to swerve as an elderly motorist drove more than five miles the wrong way around the M60 motorway, before crashing.
Dozens of drivers were forced to avoid the man as he travelled anti-clockwise in the right hand lane between Cheadle and Trafford Park on Monday evening.
His red Ford Fiesta collided with two vehicles before crashing. The man, who is in his 80s, suffered minor injuries.
The road was shut between Trafford Park and Carrington for more than an hour as police investigated the collisions.
Greater Manchester Police tweeted : “Male who drove the wrong way on the M60… Luckily all minor injuries!”.
Driver Gemma Ecclestone tweeted: “Just had to narrowly avoid an old man driving up the wrong way of the M60. Hope he’s going to be okay.”
She told the BBC she was in the fast lane travelling back home from the Lake District when she saw “this little red car driving towards me. Fortunately I was able to get into the middle lane and out of the way. I was really shocked, she said. All the cars were trying to swerve and people were all trying to get out of the fast lane and over to the middle lane and so they were nearly hitting each other. I don’t think the driver knew he was going the wrong way. He seemed fixated on the road. Other cars were flashing him and he was just carrying on. I was really worried the whole way home, for him and also he may have hit someone.”
Another motorist, Nathan Fearn, said: “I was just travelling towards Stockport and had overtaken someone and I moved back into the middle lane. About 30 to 40 seconds later I saw an elderly white man with an old fashioned coat, and I think a cap on, driving towards me in the far right lane I had just moved from. I thought I was seeing things and going crazy. He was driving a red ford fiesta. I was scared for the driver he had obviously lost his senses. I beeped my horn to warn other drivers and phoned the police. They told me others had phoned in.”
The elderly driver was admitted to hospital with minor injuries.

A year ago I posted about the legal limits and the affected prescription drugs. It seems some people think they’ll get away with it.
There were almost 8,000 arrests last year for drug
driving in England and Wales, figures obtained by
BBC Radio 5 live have suggested.
The statistics from 35 of the 43 forces showed that 7,796 people were arrested between March 2015 and April 2016.
New Legislation was brought in covering legal driving limits for 17 illegal and prescription drugs in March last year.
Under the old laws, police had to show driving was impaired by drugs to prosecute.
From March 2015, the new drug driving laws in England and Wales made it a specific offence to drive after having certain drugs above prescribed levels.
Those caught face a minimum 12-month driving ban, up to six months in prison and an unlimited fine and a criminal record.
The Metropolitan Police carried out the most arrests from March 2015 to April this year with 1,636, followed by Greater Manchester Police with 573, and the Cheshire force came a close third with 546.
A case study: ‘Bill’, 31, spent almost 10 years abusing cocaine and other drugs.
“I drove a car for many years and took cocaine… I didn’t have a car for a long period of time, I ran out of money, and then I used to steal my sister’s car, or parents’ car, often to go in search of more drugs. I’m incredibly lucky to have never been involved in an accident. Quite often if I had mixed drugs – if I had taken cocaine, large amounts of it, and mixed it with Xanax [used to treat anxiety and panic disorders] or a painkiller of some sort – I would sort of temporarily black out, lose consciousness and come to and I’d be on the motorway and suddenly wake up and realise where I was. That’s happened on a few occasions. Obviously I couldn’t drive at all. I mean it was very dangerous, very selfish, very reckless. It’s one thing I’m eternally ashamed about.”
The change in the law covered eight illegal drugs including cannabis and cocaine, eight prescription drugs including Temazepam, which is used to treat anxiety, and morphine, which is prescribed for pain relief.
People are not penalised if they use prescription drugs within recommended amounts.
They also have to follow doctors’ advice, including if that advice is not to drive while taking certain substances.
A study published by the Department for Transport suggests 25% of young drivers know someone who has driven after smoking cannabis, and 11% know someone who has driven after taking Class A drugs.
Athol Johnston, a professor of clinical pharmacology at Queen Mary University of London, was on the panel that advised the Department for Transport on drug driving limits. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Of the 17 drugs on the list, over half of them are actually sedatives so they’ll have a very similar action to alcohol, they’ll make it more difficult for you to drive, you’ll lack attention. Then you’ve got the stimulants, they’ll really distract you from driving, you’re not paying attention, you don’t drive as well. Then you’ve got things like Ketamine and LSD, which frankly, if you take those, you don’t know what you’re doing, because you’re hallucinating, you may see things that aren’t there, and you won’t be able to control your car properly.”The prescription drugs covered by the new law
Clonazepam is prescribed to treat seizures or panic disorders
Diazepam is used for anxiety disorders, alcohol withdrawal symptoms or muscle spasms
Flunitrazepam (also known as Rohypnol) is a sedative originally used in hospitals for deep sedation in the 1970s Lorazepam is used to treat convulsions or seizures caused by epilepsy
Oxazepam is used to relieve anxiety, including anxiety caused by alcohol withdrawal
Temazepam affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause insomnia problems Methadone is used in the treatment of heroin addiction and for pain relief
Morphine or opiates treat moderate to severe pain
At the same time as the law changes in England and Wales, forces were issued with roadside drug testing kits allowing them to check if a person has taken cocaine or cannabis.
They are not used by either Police Scotland or the Police Service of Northern Ireland, where separate legislation covering drug driving is in force.
In both countries, offenders are prosecuted under legislation making it an offence to drive while impaired by drink or drugs.
The testing kit uses a mouth swab to check for the presence of drugs and a blue line appears after eight minutes if the person has taken them. It only works for cocaine and cannabis. Drivers have to be taken to a police station for a blood test for other drugs.
‘Completely unpredictable’
Figures provided by some forces show the impact the new test is having.
South Yorkshire Police drug driving-related arrests went from 13 in the year the test was introduced to 456 the following year – a 3,400% increase, according to a BBC Yorkshire Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
Gloucestershire Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, the roads policing lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “The drug testing kit and the legislation are immensely helpful and have provided the operational officer with the tools necessary to help catch those who take the risk of drug driving.
“People who previously got away with driving under the influence of controlled drugs are now being detected and prosecuted.”
Assistant Chief Constable of Cheshire Police Mark Roberts said the message to people who had even had a small amount of cannabis, for example, was: “The drugs in your system will impair your ability to respond. It’s completely unpredictable.
“You don’t know what you’re putting in your system. You can’t consider yourself safe and you shouldn’t be doing it.”

The best idea I’ve seen in ages. Sadly it’s voluntary The app that blocks your phone while driving: Romex tracks how fast you are moving to lock down distracting handsets
Figures suggest that a staggering 95 per cent of motorists have seen other drivers using their phone at the wheel.
In a bid to curb this illegal activity, a London-based firm has developed an app that makes it physically impossible to check messages while the car is moving.
Called Romex MyFix, it uses the phone’s GPS system to detect when it’s travelling at 4mph
(6km/h) or faster and disable the screen.
It was developed by employer-tracking firm of the same name Romex. The firm already sells a similar product to the car fleet sector and is now adapting it to the consumer market with the app, called Distraction Prevention.
When the app detects movement at speed it locks the phone, disabling calls, texts, emails and social media messaging, among other distractions. It can also monitor a driver’s speed and time spent behind the wheel.
The app doesn’t disable the phone entirely and will allow people to accept calls using a Bluetooth headset. Source: Mail Online

How die this affect us? Read on. Does driving in the dark make YOU speed? Navigating at night tricks our brains into thinking we’re travelling slower than we are
When you drive you rely on your brain’s ability to process how fast the ground in front of you is speeding past, according to a new study.
Driving in the dark or in fog makes it more difficult to see objects moving past, making it seem like you are travelling more slowly than you really are.
This is because you rely on the whole road and not just the edges, the researchers have said.
A new study by the University of Leeds examined how people assessed how fast they were moving while driving.
The results could also explain how animals routinely move through the world by following demarcated paths, trails or runways, the researchers said.
HOW THE STUDY WORKED
The study used a driving simulator to test whether human steering was influenced by visual speed signals.
The textured ground either side of the road – on the inside and outside of bends – was manipulated to move artificially faster or slower than the driving speed.
It found a driver’s steering responded to the average ground speed, irrespective of which side moved faster or slower.
This suggested human brain uses the ground movement signal from across the whole of the scene to guide steering, and not just the road edges. When travelling across a ground surface we experiences the apparent perceptual motion of texture elements, referred to as optic flow.
When the optic flow is degraded, for example by the presence of fog or driving at night, this can reduce the perceived speed.
‘Whereas increases in flow quality or quantity, like driving with a seated position close to the ground along narrow country lanes, would increase perceived speed,’ the study said.
Lots of species are sensitive to the movement of objects around them as they move, including bees, flies, birds, desert ants and humans. Associate Professor Dr Richard Wilkie, co-author of the study, said ‘different species are sensitive to optic flow and one control solution is to maintain the balance of flow symmetry across visual fields.’
But he said it is not clear whether animals are sensitive to changes in asymmetries when steering along curved paths.
Road edges alone provide enough information for successful steering, but the brain also uses flow speed information to guide steering.
But he said ‘while asymmetric flow-speed conditions of the type simulated in this study are unlikely to occur naturally, the speed information from the global flow field can vary considerably across different real-world environments.
‘Conditions where the quality of flow is degraded, for example the presence of fog or driving at night, can reduce the perceived locomotor speed, whereas increases in flow quality/quantity for example driving with a seated position close to the ground along narrow country lanes would increase perceived speed.
‘Our findings indicate that such conditions could cause systematic steering errors even when there are clear visual markings for the position in lane and future steering requirements

In an era of anpr, vosa merging with Dvla and that in turn with Dsa to form DVSA, you’d think people would understand the shared information network of these bodies would end illegal driving instructors. Ask to see their licence. No show, no go. What investigating illegal driving instruction involves
By Andy Rice: DVSAs Fraud and Integrity Team
My investigative team encounter a range of situations when they’re out investigating suspected cases of illegal driving instruction. In this blog post, I’ll describe what this work typically involves.
The team although small, covers the whole of the country. Our investigative managers always work in pairs for safety reasons, as they can occasionally face aggressive hostility when trying to get statements.
Recently, 2 members of my team started off their day in the South Staffordshire area by
investigating a case involving a local instructor who is no longer on the register but continues to operate. He’s also suspected of offering motor racing tickets for driving lessons!
To help build the case against him, my team visited a number of his learner drivers to get witness statements. On this occasion, none of the pupils were in, so my team had to post letters through their door, asking them to call.
The next job involved the team trying to contact a different driving instructor whose licence ran out in November and hasn’t been renewed, despite him continuing to give lessons.
On a typical day, the team have to travel back and forth to follow up on cases, depending on whether they are contacted by potential witnesses.
For example, after having agreed to meet with the instructor whose licence had run out, they then got a call from are contacted by a pupil willing to give a statement as a result of an earlier letter drop. This meant they then have to re-order their workload.
Getting witness statements can be a lengthy process as often pupils won’t be in. This means that my team often have to return in the evening to either try again, or if they get a call from someone as a result of receiving the letter.
Once one of our investigating managers even turned around and drove 100 miles back down a motorway to get a statement.
Potential witnesses are often reluctant to get involved with an investigation for various reasons. Pupils often feel potentially at risk as an instructor knows where they live, what their parents do and when people come and go from the house.
On the other hand, we have had cases where the pupils themselves are reluctant to give a statement but are overruled by their parents into doing so.
My team’s hard work with Northumbria Police recently resulted in an illegal driving instructor being convicted of fraud by false representation, and sentenced to a 6 month custodial sentence, suspended for 2 years.
This particular investigation found that the instructor wasn’t qualified to take payment for driving instruction (section 123 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 prohibits drivers from receiving payment for providing driving instruction unless they’re qualified and registered with DVSA).
The instructor had previously failed to qualify as an approved driving instructor despite several attempts to do so.
Coming soon to a (TV) screen near you
You’ll soon get the chance to see some of our work in action. We’ve recently been working with TV production companies to film some of our investigative work for forthcoming documentaries about driving test fraud.
Acting Senior Investigations Manager, Vasim Choudhary being filmed for a future documentary about fraud.
Keep a watch on our Facebook page and Twitter channel for details of timings.
How to report suspected illegal instruction
If you suspect someone is charging for lessons when not qualified and registered then please let us know. You can contact us on 0191 201 8120 or send an email to fraudandintegrity@dvsa.gov.uk

Yet another life ended too soon. As a parent, I can’t and won’t imagine this. A teenager died after sustaining a head injury which was caused by his friend driving dangerously on a secluded country road, a court has heard.
Tragic William Sangster (pictured) 19, passed away following a collision between Adam Youngson’s car and a tree in Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, on November 29 2014.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard on Wednesday how moments before the incident, another car being driven by Scott Neil,19, came close to the back of Youngson’s red Ford Fiesta. Youngson reacted by accelerating away from Neil’s car.
However, Neil then broke the speed limit to keep up with Youngson, who had passed his driving test four months earlier. Youngson – who ignored his passengers requests for him to drive carefully – lost control of his vehicle, causing it to leave the road.
Mr Sangster, of Auchnagatt, Aberdeenshire, was a back seat passenger in Mr Youngson’s car. Fire and Rescue staff had to cut him free, but he was pronounced him dead at the scene.
His devastated sister Nicole was also present in the motor at the time of the incident.
The story emerged after Youngson, of Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire, pleaded guilty before judge Lady Wolffe to causing Mr Sangster’s death by driving dangerously on the A950 New Pitsligo to Mintlaw Road near to Aden Country Park.
His co-accused Neil, of Stuartfield, Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving at excessive and inappropriate speeds on the B9030 road.
Mr Sangster’s family spoke of the “close” relationship he shared with them, particularly his sister Nicole, who was then aged 17. “William came from a big extended family and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him. He was well-known as a larger than life character and always had a big smile on his face. He was very close to his sister, they did everything together.

Now that insurers recognise dash cams is this the time to buy or is it telematics?
My driving score cut my premiums by £140′: How technology can cut car insurance costs
New technology is changing the way car insurers calculate risk, with the happy result that, for many, premiums are going down.
But there’s a price to pay: in many cases, to qualify for lower premiums, you need to be prepared to share more data with the insurer, including information about when, where and exactly how you drive.
A growing number of motorists are using dashboard cameras, or “dash cams”, to lower insurance premiums or to provide evidence when a claim is made.
Sales of the gadgets have increased by 800pc year-on-year, according to car and bike chain Halfords.
Last year Nextbase, a dash cam manufacturer, asked 29 top insurers about the technology. All of the firms confirmed to researchers that they would consider using dash cam evidence in their claims process.
Cameras track the time, speed and location of the car and continuously film the view through the windscreen. The gadget is wired into the dashboard and starts recording as soon as the engine starts. Dash cam prices range from £20 to £200, but despite this, the number of drivers with dash cams is still low.
Axa, which also operates under the Swiftcover brand name, is one of the insurers offering a discount – of up to 12.5pc – to customers with the gadget fitted. It says that just 1.45pc of its customers have them fitted.
However, is the discount being offered by insurers much more than a marketing ploy? Ian Crowder, from the AA, said: “One or two insurance companies offer discounts, but in some cases you need to have a particular model of camera for the discount to apply.
“They can certainly help if you have an accident and it’s not your fault.”
Over 400,000 drivers already use “telematics” technology to slash the cost of their car insurance, a number which is growing at the astonishing rate of about 40pc per year.
For careful drivers this technology offers savings of up to 25pc.
The technology works by deploying “black boxes” in the vehicle – or on the driver’s phone -to monitor a number of factors including speed, cornering, acceleration and breaking. The black boxes also store the location and time of drivers’ journeys.
Insurers use this information to assess the risk of the driver. The safest are rewarded with the biggest discount. Over 40 insurers in the UK sell black box policies, including Aviva, Admiral, Direct Line and Tesco.
Of course, there is a risk that some drivers’ premiums will rise. And the way insurers choose to reward customers varies, as some will give lower premiums from the outset while others give discounts for good driving.
Andrew Seddon, a transport manager from Liverpool, drives almost 100 miles on his daily commute. He used the Aviva Drive app to cut £140 off his car premiums. Source: Telegraph
Andrew Seddon cut £140 from his
premium by using an app
CREDIT: LORNE CAMPBELL /GUZELIAN