Latest news with #drivingschool
CTV News
6 days ago
- CTV News
Northern Ont. driving instructor's licence suspended after traffic stop
A patrol officer with the Thunder Bay Police Service holds up a roadside breathalyzer inside their cruiser indicating an alert following at traffic stop on July 16, 2025. (Thunder Bay Police Service/Facebook) A Thunder Bay driving instructor faces a licence suspension and fines after police say a traffic stop revealed multiple infractions, including alcohol consumption, cellphone use and failure to wear a seatbelt. The Thunder Bay Police Service stated in a social media post on July 16 that an officer pulled over the instructor at 9:40 a.m. while he was driving a marked driving school vehicle on his way to work. A 'troubling' stop 'A very troubling stop on many fronts,' police said. The officer initially stopped the driver for using a cellphone while operating the vehicle and not wearing a seatbelt. From bad to worse 'Bad yes, but things get worse,' the post continued. Authorities said the officer detected alcohol on the driver's breath and administered a roadside breathalyzer test, which registered in the 'warn range' of 50 to 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. As a result of the incident, the driving instructor received a three-day licence suspension under Ontario's warn-range suspension rules, along with two tickets – one for distracted driving for the cellphone use and another for not wearing a seatbelt. No lessons that day 'He will not be conducting any driving lessons today,' police confirmed in their post on Wednesday. The incident has raised concerns about road safety, particularly given the instructor's role in training new motorists in the region. Police have not released any information about the instructor's identity or employer.
South China Morning Post
13-07-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Hongkongers use driving schools over border to get cheap licences illegally
Mainland Chinese middlemen are offering Hongkongers driving lessons and tests at nearly half the price of city rates and showing them how to convert permits into local licences, a practice that authorities have deemed illegal. Checks by the Post on popular mainland social media platform RedNote have found that a driving school in Shenzhen is offering tailor-made packages for Hong Kong residents, including ways to circumvent legal requirements. It charges 6,800 yuan (HK$7,422) for a driving course to obtain a licence in Shenzhen, including five test retakes within three years. In Hong Kong, it costs learner drivers at least HK$15,000 for lessons and other fees before taking the test. The process is also much faster in Shenzhen, where a licence can be attained within three months, compared with at least a year in Hong Kong, assuming a learner passes written and road tests. 'We will lend you our employees' addresses. They are real and reliable,' an agent with the driving school told a Post reporter pretending to be a potential customer. 'More than 1,000 Hongkongers have successfully used our service to obtain mainland driving licences and get them converted in Hong Kong in the past two years.
Japan Times
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Times
Translation apps help break language barriers at Chubu driving schools
Driving schools in the Chubu region have started using translation apps that recognize spoken words and automatically translate them into other languages. Amid an increase in traffic accidents involving foreign drivers, these apps are expected to help communicate Japanese traffic laws to students who are not fluent in Japanese. Homechigiru Driving School in Ise, Mie Prefecture, began using an app developed by a group company in April. The app supports English, Burmese, Chinese and Vietnamese, and it was first introduced to Vietnamese students on a trial basis. On a smartphone attached to the dashboard of a training vehicle, the Japanese words spoken by the instructor in the passenger seat are instantly translated on the app during driving lessons and tests. The translated speech is read aloud, so students don't need to look at the screen while driving. The app also simultaneously translates the student's speech into Japanese. Initially, there were some issues with accuracy, but updates have improved performance. A full-scale rollout is planned for this summer, with additional languages expected to be supported. Shingo Kato, 46, the school's assistant manager, said that the demand for foreign workers is growing amid labor shortages in the transportation industry. 'We want to eliminate language barriers' by using the app, he said. According to the school and other sources, some driving schools have refused enrollment of foreign nationals with limited Japanese skills, citing difficulties in providing practical driving instruction. Most foreign nationals at Homechigiru Driving School are either technical interns working in the Chubu region or international students, who typically obtain a driver's license through lessons offered in training camps. Around 200 Chinese and 100 Vietnamese people have been enrolling in the school annually, with those struggling with the Japanese language having been taught by instructors fluent in their native languages. Amid rising demand, however, the app was introduced so that any instructor could accurately convey traffic rules. As Japan's birthrate continues to fall, securing enough students has become a challenge for driving schools. Foreign nationals, who enroll year-round, help fill the gap during off-peak seasons when fewer high school students apply. 'Many of them want to properly learn Japan's traffic rules before getting a license,' Kato said. 'We hope to help prevent tragic accidents by conveying the rules.' A smartphone screen shows spoken Japanese translated into Vietnamese on a translation app used at Homechigiru Driving School in Ise, Mie Prefecture. | Chunichi Shimbun At Chubu Nippon Driver School in Nagoya, a collaboration with Tokyo-based printing firm Toppan led to the adoption of an upgraded version of the school's translation app last fall. The app now includes specialized terminology for driving schools in multiple languages and can be used during enrollment, classroom lessons and practical training. The app has been sold to more than 10 driving schools nationwide. 'We hope this will promote the acceptance of more foreign students,' a representative of the school said. Meanwhile, traffic accidents involving foreign drivers have been on the rise. In 2024, 7,286 such cases were reported, which was up by 342 from the previous year and accounted for 2.7% of all traffic accidents in the country. During a parliamentary committee session in May, National Police Agency Councilor Tatsuya Abe noted that differences in traffic rules — such as driving on the left side of the road in Japan as opposed to the right side in many other countries — may be contributing to the increase in accidents. Incidents involving driving in the wrong direction, as well as drunken driving have also drawn attention. In May, a foreign national drove the wrong way on the Shin-Meishin Expressway in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture, injuring four people. In the same month in Misato, Saitama Prefecture, a car driven by another foreign national plowed into a group of elementary school students, injuring four. In both cases, the drivers were reportedly driving under the influence of alcohol, and had obtained the Japanese licenses by converting those issued in other countries. According to NPA statistics, 75,905 people acquired Japanese licenses through the foreign license conversion system in 2024. The number has increased by 2.5 times over the past decade. While the link between the conversion system and a rise in traffic accidents involving foreign drivers is not clear, critics argue that the written test on Japanese traffic rules required for conversion is too easy, and the government is considering tightening the regulations. Yasumi Ito, professor at the University of Yamanashi's Graduate School and an expert on traffic science, noted that rental car accidents by foreign drivers often involve right-turn collisions or intersection crashes, possibly due to their unfamiliarity with Japan's rule to drive on the left side. Ito stressed the importance of having foreign drivers thoroughly learn Japanese traffic rules and manners. 'It's important to raise their awareness for safety under the guidance of experienced instructors,' he said. This section features topics and issues from the Chubu region covered by the Chunichi Shimbun. The original article was published June 8.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Driving instructor says he has changed lessons due to potholes
A driving instructor has said he has had to change the way he teaches his students due to the amount of potholes in the Whitburn, 58, has operated a driving school in Nottinghamshire for 16 years, but has said he has noticed learner drivers' anxiety rise as the number of potholes have said he now avoids roads covered in potholes with some students who "refuse" to drive down them and has had to start teaching how motorists can tackle cratered streets safely."I spend more and more time teaching students about them," he added. "The roads have got so much worse over the past ten years - before, we barely spoke about potholes, now, my students always bring them up. "Lots of students panic about them as they see other drivers suddenly swerve away from them without looking and so on."They are concerned about damage to the vehicle, but in avoiding them, they may strike the curb, get too close to other cars or put nearby cyclists at risk."I teach them to observe the situation and only swerve out of the way if it's safe, otherwise, there is no option but to go through them." Mr Whitburn also teaches learner drivers with disabilities, for whom he says potholes pose added difficulties."When a vehicle shakes as it goes over a pothole, these clients find it even more difficult to control the car and their steering," he said."We go through them and deal with them, but it should not be this much of a hazard."You can always expect to see a few, but on some roads you can see between 20 - 30. That just is not acceptable." Mr Whitburn said he has spent had £1,000 on repairs to his car caused by potholes over the last 14 months and had one student suffer a blowout during a lesson. He added: "Myself and the student discussed the pothole on approach - to which he said - "what pothole?"He was, unfortunately, too late."I only swerve or steer the wheel out of the way if we are in an emergency. Having to do that knocks students confidence."Mr Whitburn said there are a number of road riddled with potholes on his patch - and highlighted Digby Avenue, Mapperley, as a particular problem, as it is on a test said: "Digby Avenue is already near a school and lots of parked cars, and when the potholes are everywhere, it's really hard to be safe. "Your car shakes so is almost comical." The government has announced £1.6bn funding for national road repairs and the Department for Transport (DFT) has warned English councils they will be ranked according to their process in fixing potholes.A Nottinghamshire County Council highways manager said: "We actively monitor the condition of all roads in Nottinghamshire through routine inspections and reports of defects we receive from residents and road users. "We're pleased to say that 40 sites in the district are due to benefit from road/footway resurfacing or surface treatments."Where residents notice potholes, we ask that they continue to report them to us either through our website or the MyNOTTS App."
