CADDI.ORG.UK (Clacton and District Driving Instructors)

Save Clacton Test Centre Demonstration Protest

Important please read the following very carefully, CADDI cannot be held responsible for any traffic violations caused in any way and any circumstances by it's members - it is up to you to behave in a legal and fitting manner for our profession

Please bring you ADI licence with you.

Make sure your car is taxed and insured.

If you are bringing a pupil with you, you must charge a fee (£1.00 will do)and it must be taken before the lesson starts.

Please keep moving whenever possible in Clacton (those of you continuing to Colchester, with pupils may want to supervise manoeuvres).

Please turn on your headlights.

Keep a good separation distance from the car in front (remember learners brake suddenly;)

Finally don't risk a penalty charge by using a hand held mobile (its illegal even if your pupil is driving).

This demonstration has been organised by CADDI (Clacton and district driving instructors)

The route:-

Head along the seafront towards Clacton and make a right turn into Carnarvan Road, follow the road ahead towards the test centre. At the roundabout take the 1st exit left into Wellesley Road and drive straight ahead to the mini roundabout, turn left towards town keeping left, then when past the Pelican crossing move to the right hand lane and turn right at the lights towards McDonalds, follow the road round to the right into Pier Avenue (this can only be used before 10am and after 4pm) after the humps keep to the right, enter the one way system and move to the left lane and turn left into Station Road, at the end of the road follow the signs and turn left and head back towards the test centre and roundabout to start again, do this course six times.... Then after the final time at the same roundabout turn right 2nd exit and follow the directions for London/Colchester, when reaching St Johns roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the bypass signposted London/Colchester and head towards the Weeley roundabout, those people continuing to Colchester just follow the leading cars, and those who want to return to Clacton should do so now.

Don't worry if other cars fill in the spaces, we will all catch up in the end. Remember to smile.... you could be on camera.

Protest on March 29th 2010 has been authorised. Please spare a half an hour on Friday 26th March 2010 @ 6pm to meet up at Wick Lodge car park to finalise details, cars, route etc. Also to discuss whether to continue on to Colchester on the day.

Please pass this information on to anyone you know to make them aware.

Apologies to anyone whose signature I couldn't read.

Pete introduced the meeting and informed the group that Sue Whiteley had joined the Committee as Press Rep. He briefly outlined the situation that all sites on the Gorse Lane Industrial Estate, that had been suggested by us or TDC as a new Test Centre had been dismissed by the DSA as unsuitable. There is nothing else in the pipeline. The lease on the current Test Centre is due to expire in June this year and will not be extended. It therefore appears that unless we can persuade the DSA to change their mind, all tests for Clacton area will be in Colchester after June. Pete said that there was now a petition available for people to sign on Facebook. This had already been signed by a number of people.

Pete also stated that he had obtained 3 books with a view to circulating them amongst all instructors as a petition, for pupils etc to sign. One would be at the Test Centre.

A group discussion took place and it was decided that this may take a long time and so a template for a petition would be prepared, and copies left at Test Centre and available on CADDI website to download and get pupils to sign. Suggestion from Tel, that we have `Save our Test Centre` stickers or something similar. Pete stated that he and Julie had been to the papers but there had not been much response yet. There had been an article in the paper which most pupils were now aware of.

Sue has written an article to David Whitely at the Inside Out TV programme, the letter was read out to the group and is available on the CADDI website.

Pete said that we should try by any means that we can think of to bring pressure to bear and asked for suggestions.

Question: Do the Examiners know what is happening? A discussion took place and it would appear from conversations with Examiners that they are not sure, but are making plans to go to Ipswich or Colchester in the event that Test Centre closes.

Question: Do we know what the Colchester people think? Consensus of opinion was that they do not want us, because there will be an extra 140 tests a week in Colchester going in and out of the same site.

Question: Can we explore the Legal view to fight DSA? It was considered that the DSA have to provide a Test Centre within 22 miles, and therefore we have no legal grounds to pursue.

Pete told the meeting that in his opinion our MP, Douglas Carswell had been brilliant in terms of effort and assistance in trying to keep a Test Centre in Clacton. Suggestion: That we publicise in Colchester that there would be an extra 140 tests per week there in addition to the extra lessons that would have to take place there.

Question: What was the difference between Southend Test Centre closing and Clacton's? Pete replied that the DSA had always said that Southend would close because of the new Basildon Test Centre, whereas DSA have always said to us that they wanted to keep a Test Centre in Clacton.

Suggestion: Can we get petitions set up and put in each School and what about fliers being distributed. Pete replied that he would look into the cost of getting some printed Suggestion: Is it worth getting a letter from Southend Instructors as to why they use Clacton? Pete replied that he would contact one of the Southend Instructors that we had spoken to recently Discussion then took place with regard to having a Demo drive around Clacton to raise awareness of the situation. It was stated that we do not want to annoy locals who would be sympathetic to the situation but at the same time, we need to make an impact. It was decided that we would have a Demonstration on Monday 29 March 2010. A protest drive to take place from about 8 am for around 2 Hours. This would involve as many local Driving School cars possibly 30-40. All cars, having `Save our Test Centre` posters or similar. Paula agreed to contact Clacton Police to explore the legal aspect to ensure everything was above board and any required notice would be given. Sue agreed to contact the Press to get maximum coverage Info regarding the meeting with Police would be put on the website. Meeting ended

As you will see from the end of this letter we share the same surname, and I hope you will be interested in sharing a dilemma we are having in Clacton, as well. As you may know we are a busy, seaside town with lovely beaches and a thriving Hotel and B&B trade.

We also have a thriving Driving Test Center in Canarvon Road in town and yet this test center is in danger of being closed by the Driving Standards Agency! The local examiners, of which there are 4, conduct an average of 7 tests each a day, 5 days a week, a grand total of 140 tests a week, most weeks, all year round. We are particularly busy now as the Test Center at Southend-on-Sea was closed last year by the DSA. All the test candidates now either come to Clacton or go on to Braintree or Basildon. A long way from home I am sure you will agree! They tend not to go to Colchester for test as it has a long waiting list, and can be a difficult town to negotiate if you are not familiar with it.

The lease on the current test center is running out in June 2010, and even tho the DSA have been aware of this for at least 2 YEARS there has been little or no effort made to find another venue for testing pupils. We, (the local driving instructors association- CADDI) have mooted several sites, but alas none of these have met with the DSA approval. In fact we found one site at our local shopping village site at Gorse Lane only to be told it was too industrial! At this point I should like to make you aware that Ipswich Test Center is smack in the middle of an industrial site, and is simply some up market porta cabins, and yet this seems to suit their purposes there, but does not suit not in Clacton. Double standards at work here I feel?

We do have our local MP Douglas Carswell interested in this problem, and he has been a great help to date but even he cannot seem to get a definitive answer to what is going to happen in our town. It is not just the driving instructors, of whom there are 43+, who will suffer if our test center closes. It will affect a lot of local Hotels and B&B's as we have a large proportion of out of area work and they all have to stay somewhere when they come for lessons and a test.

Also the DSA now test on Eco Driving. How then do they square this with making local instructors drive an extra 19 miles each way to Colchester for tests and lessons? If we go to Colchester petrol may be cheaper so we will buy our fuel there and local garages will also suffer, not to mention the extra pollution and tyre wear!

Also due to time constraints and the fact that Colchester is a very busy town and almost impossible to get into and out of at peak hours will be restricted in the times and number of tests we can take out of town during a normal working day. For instance, we would be unable to conduct a test at 8.40 or 9.37 due to being unable to get into Colchester town at these times because of traffic. And similarly we will not be able to present a candidate for the 2.30 or 3.27 tests also due to traffic flow. We feel therefore that if we have to take the Colchester option we will be deprived of the means to make a reasonable living in what is a difficult profession at the best of times.

Add to these problems the fact that pupils of 17 or 18, perhaps just doing a Saturday job, or with no help from parents, are going to be hard pressed to afford 2 or 3 hour lessons and you can see what a quandary we find ourselves in.

I myself have several pupils in their mid to late 60's and it is unfair & unreasonable to ask them to test in an area outside of where they have learned. At the end of the day all they want to do is be able to drive themselves to church, the cemetery and the local supermarket, not negotiate Colchester with its myriad of mini roundabouts!

You can contact me by e-mail or phone if you would like to know more about this problem. I hope this will be of some interest to you, as it is an area of utmost concern not just to the local driving instructors, but to Clacton as a whole, and whilst awaiting your reply, I remain,

Yours Sincerely,

Susan Whiteley
TEL's School of Motoring,
Clacton-on-Sea.

Persons Present, Darren Dunn,Lee Boot, Ian Thornton,Cheryl Grego,Keith Sampson, Demush Ismaili, Paula Hilsden,John Hilsden,Alison Denby, Marion Freeman, Jane May, Gary Birkett, Robert Davis, Barry Moir, Sue Whitley, Terry Whitley, Allan Heighway, Keith Leggett, Yorick Rowe,Glen kilgour, Jenny Kilgour, Pete Everett, Julie Hartigan, Steve May (apologies if I have missed anyone)

Guest Speaker Amanda Izzard Test Centre Manager Clacton-On-Sea DTC

Pete Everett introduced the meeting and briefly outlined the meeting at The Town Hall involving members of the DSA Terri Triggs and Graham Waite, members of Tendring District Council and Mr Carswell MP. Pete then introduced Amanda who told us that the meeting at the Town Hall was a positive one. Terri Triggs stated that we cannot continue using the current test centre because of its inadequacies. However she does not want to close Clacton down as a Test Centre.

It was suggested that a Portacabin in a Council Car Park, could be an option, which has been used elsewhere in the Country. However the DSA view is that this would only be a temporary option and not the answer, it could be considered whilst for example a new build was in process.

Amanda told us that Sally Looker, the Regeneration Officer at TDC, had suggested a unit in Brunel Rd near the previously suggested building. This unit has good access and possibly 20 parking spaces. It is low rent and has been empty a long time. The Developer is keen to work with the DSA and develop the site. Some alterations such as windows and toilets would be necessary before it could be used, but Amanda and Graham Waite (sector manager) have put forward a Business Plan for its use as a Test Centre, including a Motorcycle Test Centre (module 2) and possibly for ADI testing (Parts 2 & 3), and the proposal has been forwarded to the DSA estates manager. Peter Francis (Estates DSA) is now in contact with the Agent (Whybrow) acting on behalf of the developer, and negotiations are taking place. The situation now is that it is up to us to push options to the DSA. If we do not come up with a site by next June we, our centre is likely to close and we could face a merger with Colchester or even Ipswich.

We have looked at Car Parks like Hazelmere and York Rd & others with a view to siting a Portacabin. Graham Waite has suggested a build by TDC, with it then being leased back to DSA. However, Sally Looker (TDC) held little hope of this option being a viable one, believing it would be too long in the pipeline and not feasible. It is encouraging that DSA are looking at this Brunel Rd site and progress is being made.

Questions were then asked for from persons present.

Q. It was suggested that everyone comes up with a suggestion of a location

Q. The Car Park off Deanhill Ave was suggested, apparently its is gated off at present and believed to be owned by Colchester Institute

Further discussion took place regarding locations and suitability.

Amanda then outlined some changes to the Driving Test that the DSA will be introducing next year. From October 2010, the Test will include a period of 'Independent Driving.' It is believed that the current instructions/directions are not helping to encourage independent driving, given that they can often 'prompt' the candidate as to start of MSM etc. DSA propose this to be done in one of 2 ways. Firstly, giving the candidate a series of directions, this would be done while stopped at the side of the road and the examiner would ensure that the candidate was clear about the instructions/directions before proceeding. Secondly, the candidate may be asked to follow traffic signs and directions to a particular location (such as follow the traffic signs to London). The independent drive will take up about 10 mins of the test and during that time the examiner will not make conversation. The idea is that candidates will be encouraged to think for themselves with no distractions.

From October 2010 each test will have only one manoeuvre, and a controlled stop will be included in approximately every 3rd test.

The reasons for these changes are because 1 in 5 of all newly qualified drivers has an accident in the first 6 months after their test and 16% more drivers are killed now than 15 years ago even after the introduction of theory tests and improvements in practical Tests.

Amanda stated that she will forward on to us any further information regarding the changes to the tests as and when she has further details. She confirmed that the new 'Independent driving' was definitely going to be included, whilst the 'ADI being present' was still under consideration.

A discussion then occurred regarding the new information. Amanda confirmed that 'Bay Parking' would be included if the new test centre goes ahead, and it would be possible that after the Bay park there could be no other manoeuvres for the rest of the test.

Re: Routes and signs: When independent driving comes in, it may have to combine instructions and following route signs, depending how good the signs are on each route.

The proposals re Bike tests are changing again, details still to come in.

There followed a discussion regarding ADIs having to be present during driving tests. DSA think that it would be a move forward to have an ADI present during the Test. There were mixed opinions within the group.

Amanda then spoke about the DSA visitors that had been to the Test Centre the week before. They were Quality Assurance Monitors. They accompanied examiners on tests, chatted to Instructors, looked at routes, waiting room facilities and procedure, customer service etc. Their job is to establish uniformity nationally between Test centres.

Amanda then cleared some of the confusion over the Tesco roundabout on the Clacton Bypass. When returning along the bypass back towards Clacton, the examiners will ask candidates to take the second exit, signposted towards Clacton. The pupil can then use either lane whichever they choose. The inside lane was thought most straightforward and less likely to cause problems on exit, but to use right hand lane would also be ok providing it was done safely and that the candidate had shown awareness for any traffic that maybe on their left as they exit. Using a right hand signal when on the roundabout should be avoided as it could be misunderstood and even confusing for other traffic.

Pass Rates: Clacton has a rate slightly higher than other test centres in the area. Amanda attributed this to good communication between Examiners and Instructors at end of Tests and also having an exchange of information with ADIs attending meetings such as this one.

Amanda informed us that The Test Centre Building will be having new windows fitted in about 8 weeks time ie.mid to late October. The work would take about 3 weeks. There will be 2 large vans in Car park and this is likely to cause some parking problems. During this time Examiners may have to avoid bringing pupils into Car Park at the end of test (depending on the location of the scaffolding/vans etc). DSA suggested using Colchester for 3 weeks, but Amanda would like to avoid the centre closing for the three weeks and feels that any operational problems can be worked around. There may be some disruption to test timings during this time, but hopefully with everyone's cooperation, tests will not be lost.

Pete talked about some ADIs who were parking their cars in Wellesley Rd and walking into town using valuable parking places for test pupils, and suggested they find elsewhere to park. Currently, the spaces without white boxes can be used by candidates parking for tests providing yellow lines or other parking restrictions are not in place.

Responding to a question regarding the possible closure of the test centre in June next year, Amanda stated that as far as she was aware, the public would be given notice of such a closure, but she was unsure as to what length of notice would be given.

To outline the current situation, Terri Triggs has stated that Clacton Test Centre at its current location will close in June 2010, unless it is a bridging period whilst a new centre is finished. The currently suggested unit requires planning permission for windows etc and change of use. The DSA now have to negotiate with the developer and reach an agreement for it to go ahead.

Amanda was thanked for her attendance and the information she had brought to the meeting. The meeting was then closed.

Persons present Terri Trigg - DSA, Graham Waite - DSA, Douglas Carswell - MP, Neil Stock - TDC Mike Bateson - TDC, Sally Locker TDC, Pete Everett, Julie Hartigan, Paula Hilsden, Steve May all representing CADDI.

Committee Members Speaking: Julie Hartigan, Pete Everett

Members Present: Demush Ismaili, Cheryl Grego, Terry Whiteley, Suzi Whiteley, Marion Freeman, Michelle Saich, Daphne Halesworth, Darren Dunn, Gary Birkett, Yorick Rowe, Robert Davies, Allan Heighway, Paula Hilsden, John Hilsden.

Pete Everett introduced the start of the Meeting, which was called to update members on the future of the Clacton Test Centre.

Congratulations were passed on to Sue Whitely for passing her Part 3 and during discussion Sue said that she had sort advice/training from Brian Stratton a former Examiner who she would definitely recommend to anyone else for Part 3 training.

Julie Hartigan then recapped over the shutting of the Test Centre and the current lease which is due to expire in June 2010. She advised that the DSA have sent her correspondence stating that they are happy for a Test Centre to remain in Clacton, provided that suitable premises can be found. A discussion then took place between members as to what specifications were on the original plans for the prospective Brunel Court Test Centre, when they were shown to Caddi members during a previous meeting in 2008 . At least 7 members present remembered the plans being shown to Caddi members.

Pete then asked those present if anyone was against a Test Centre remaining at Clacton, as he had heard rumours that some Instructors were in favour of moving to Colchester, due to the potential extra income it would generate. Everyone present at the meeting was in favour of keeping the Test Centre in Clacton.

Pete stated that a meeting had been set on June 19th, between members of TDC, Mr Carswell MP and a representative of DSA together with Caddi members in order to get some definite plans in motion.

Pete also wished to put on record that Mr Carswell had been excellent in pushing the DSA to keep a Test Centre in Clacton.

A discussion took place regarding The Building Centre, Oxford Rd as a possible location. However it was believed that it had been involved in a Bankruptcy of the company and may not be released for some time.

Robert Davies asked re the premises and whether premises could be converted and locations in Gorse Lane Ind Estate were discussed. The Abbey craft factory was suggested as it has space for a large number of cars and may be able to be converted to spec required. Clacton Common was also discussed as a possible location, together with an area at the rear of the Range.

Julie confirmed that the current Test Centre Lease expires in June 2010. DSA have an Estates Dept but to date have not found a suitable location which is why the meeting on June 19th with representatives of TDC regeneration dept, is so important to try and identify such a place. The DSA Area Estates Manager is attending this meeting.

A further discussion took place regarding Training Seminars organised by DSA, if there was sufficient interest from CADDI members it was suggested we could organise a minibus. Several members were interested and Pete stated he would put details in Test Centre when available.

Pete stated more Caddi Logos were being ordered, as there was still demand for them. Sue said that there were 3 at the Car Wash in Wellesley Rd which appear to have been left behind by members.

Julie asked members if they wanted to hold another Bar B Que similar to last year on a Sunday afternoon in August on Clacton Beach. This was agreed with date to be set later.

Allan Heighway is doing the Caddi website with up to date info re the Test Centre and other Caddi info. Available at www.caddi.org.uk.

Pete then highlighted an Incident that he was involved in where his door mirror was struck by another vehicle whilst being driven by a nervous female pupil. The occupants of the other car became quite intimidating and aggressive, demanding money for the damage. At that time he would have appreciated some back up from another Driving School car, but unfortunately there were no other cars around. It was suggested that all Caddi members keep an eye out for similar situations when they occasionally arise and give assistance if necessary.

The Meeting was then concluded.