As usual, Matt from the Telegraph has a good angle on the current weather.

Not the sort of situation you want to be in on that first lesson...
But can you think of a suitable caption?
Post your ideas using the "... comment" button below.
Anyone can enter, but if you are not registered on this site your entry may not be seen immediately.

Update - the winners are:

There were 18 votes, and the winners with 4 votes each were:

"you thought we were in an aeroplane.........when we did the cockpit drill!!" from someone anonymous

and

"Earn £30,000 a year as a RED arrows instructor" from Steve Curtis

Well done! Watch this space for Januarys competition.

The British School of Motoring has just changed hands (again) and is reportedly looking for 3000 new instructors. Currently BSM have 2600 ADIs.

The new owners of the company are Abu-Haris Shafi and Nikolai Kesting, who joined BSM after Arques purchased it for a symbolic fee just nine months ago.

BSM, independent until 1997, is 100 years old next year. This latest change of ownership is the fourth in four years. Mr Shafi reportedly said that there was no shortage of pupils, but that BSM had a lack of candidates for it's ADI training courses. This has lead BSM to reduce the cost of their instructor training.

Read more:

• The Telegraph
• Mirror
• thisismoney

     More Videos Here
The DSA have uploaded some useful CPD (continuous professional development) videos to their YouTube site. It's worth checking their YouTube channel quite often, as content is being added on a regular basis.

There have been many stories doing the rounds about gangs of criminals staging rear end shunts, then claiming thousands of pounds compensation for whiplash injuries and the like.

Fortunately, one of these criminal drivers won't be able to fleece the public and insurance companies for a few years - as he is serving a prison sentence.

So the stories are not urban myths after all, and it does really happen. Proving that the driver in front deliberately caused the accident can be very difficult, but maybe not quite so hard now.

Check the links below for the full story:

• BBC
• Reuters
• The Sun

Lord AdonisIt has been announced today that instructors and drivers accompanying learners will not be made to sit in the back of the car during the driving test.

In a victory for common sense, Lord Adonis (Transport Minister) said that the new proposals "have been reversed to avoid unnecessary regulation"

The only relevant change is that the learner will be asked by the examiner at the start of their test whether they want their accompanying driver to sit in during the test.

Press coverage:
Daily Mail

It has been widely reported in the press that Harriet Harman had a collision with a parked car - while using her mobile phone.
She allegedly told onlookers, "I'm Harriet Harman - you know where you can get hold of me," before leaving the scene.
It will be interesting to see how the police and legal system handle this offence. Will it be one rule for them, and another for us?
Read more about this in the press:

• Guardian
• Mirror
• Telegraph
• Daily Mail

How often do you see these three institutions in the same sentence? Not that often, for sure. Things are changing though.

The Driving Standards Agency are really getting up to date, and using Twitter and YouTube to keep us all better informed.

Their YouTube channel has several videos including "In the Driving Seat" (a fifteen minute drama, aimed at 15-16 year old pre-drivers) and "Are You Ready?" - advice for theory and practical test candidates.
Like all YouTube content, the DSA videos can be embedded in your own website.
Below is the "Are You Ready?" official DSA car theory test video. Click the youtube link to see all of the DSA videos - new content is being added regularly.

     More Videos Here

And like Stephen Fry, Britney Spears, Jonathan Ross and Arnold Schwarzenegger (top 50 twitterers) the DSA are twittering all their latest news.

How long before you can book a test on twitter...

Click on "Read more" to find out how to set up twitter on your mobile phone:

A fed-up learner from Romford, Essex, passed her test with only five driving faults. Four hours later Cara Griffiths got a phone call from the DSA telling her that the test was invalid!

A DSA spkesman said:
"We apologise for what was a genuine mistake. The examiner missed out one of the manoeuvres which made the test illegal."
"We have offered a free re-test and will bring someone in especially for this so the candidate is not waiting weeks."
"We would like her to get in touch as soon as possible. We are very sorry and understand how disappointed she must be."

Read the press reports in the Daily Mirror or the Romford Recorder.

The theory test is changing - again!
From September 28th 2009 candidates will have to read a "case study" and answer five related questions.

DSA's Director of Driver Education and Learning, Jill Lewis, said:

"Case studies are widely used in education to put learning into context and test comprehension of a subject, so many candidates will have encountered this type of question before."

"Initially we are introducing one case study based on existing questions in the theory test question bank, to get candidates used to the concept. It will also allow us to monitor any impact on the theory test. Over time, we plan to introduce more case studies into the theory test to assess candidates' understanding of what they have learned."

There is a lot of debate in the member's section of our forum about this. Head over there now - or join DIDU to get access.