[ad_1]
Locals living near Britain’s most hated roundabout have revealed it even has its own nickname.
this The dreaded “magic roundabout” The town has the lowest driving test pass rate in the UK and is known for causing chaos.
1
Motorists in Swindon are finding this bizarre road system – named after the hit BBC children’s TV show which aired between 1965 and 1977 – a nightmare.
Built in 1972, it consists of five small roundabouts arranged in a circle, which can be a challenge for experienced drivers.
Pupils in Swindon are the least likely to pass their exams on their first try, new figures show.
Local chiropractor Sally Hobbs (51) admitted that although she roundaboutwhich does make driving more difficult.
She told The Sun Online: “People take risks with their arms all the time. I was in a car accident myself and it was someone who didn’t know how to use their arms.
“It’s a test of people’s driving ability.
“It’s hard for a lot of people to adjust to giving way on a central roundabout. People are resentful of it and don’t like it at all.”
Just 21% of pupils in the town passed their exams on their first try – one of the lowest pass rates in the UK.
This means that 79% of candidates have to retake the exam after making more than the 15 minor errors or 1 major error allowed on the exam.
Swindon driving instructor Mark Mascarenhas, 33, of Mark’s Driving School, said the “magic roundabout” made life difficult for learners preparing for their driving tests.
He said: “I think we have as many roundabouts as Milton Keynes, including the magic roundabout, which is really challenging for learners because there’s always so much going on there.
“I think the difficulties and the large number of detours that exist in the town are holding back our learners, making them more anxious and contributing to a higher failure rate in the town.”
Karen Evans, 21, a student from Swindon, said: “I haven’t failed an exam yet as I’ve only just started but I’ve been warned about roundabouts and I went round a magic roundabout while my dad was driving and it was really scary.”
“Roundabouts are everywhere and they do make you more nervous when you’re learning because no sooner do you get through one than another appears.”
Pupils from Speke in Liverpool, Doncaster in South Yorkshire and Erith in south-east London had the second-lowest pass rates, with just 32 per cent passing the first time.
Belvedere, also in southeast London, has the third-lowest pass rate at 33%.
Wolverhampton in the West Midlands had the fourth-lowest pass rate at 35%, while Featherstone in West Yorkshire and Rochdale in Greater Manchester were tied for fifth-lowest at 37%.
In contrast, England The test was carried out by drivers from Kendal, Cumbria, with 66% of drivers passing the test on their first try.
Researchers at Howden Insurance analysed Home Office test centre data from 380 test centres run by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency between 2020 and 2023.
A spokesman said: “It is interesting to see such large differences in success rates between different exam centres across the UK.”
Overall, Scottish drivers performed better than their English counterparts, with Angus Montrose having the highest learner pass rate in the UK, with 75% passing their test on the first try.
History of the Magic Roundabout
Swindon’s Magic Carousel was designed by Frank Blackmore OBE, the inventor of the mini carousel.
He was commissioned by Ray Harper, the local council’s chief traffic engineer, to help design an experimental new junction near the town.
They first tested the five-ring intersection idea, using a bus and a bunch of tires to mark where the roundabouts would be and having people drive through them.
In 2014, Ray told the BBC: “We tarmacked the whole area.
“Once we had the road all paved, left the old roundabout in place and put the tyres on, we were ready to start the experiment… This was September 1971.
“At the old roundabout, the saturation or the maximum traffic through the roundabout was 5,100 vehicles per hour.
“Using the five-ring intersection principle, plus the five small roundabouts we have now, the capacity can be up to 6,200. So that’s the approach we’ve adopted.
Pass rates were significantly higher north of the border, with between 74 per cent and 68 per cent of drivers passing their test first time at DVLA driving test centres in Peebles, Hawick, Forfar, Lerwick, Gilwen, Kelso, Stranraer and Fraserburgh.
After Kendal, Alnwick in Northumberland had the second highest first-time pass rate in England at 65%, while Chichester in West Sussex was third at 64%.
Dorchester in Dorset and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria were tied for fourth place with 63 per cent, while Malton in North Yorkshire, Lyon Solent in Hampshire and Yeovil in Somerset were tied for fifth place with 62 per cent.
As we said Pay scammers up to £3,000 Step in and do the road test on their behalf.
Figures obtained by The Sun on Sunday show that since 2021, 3,679 people have been caught trying to commit scams.
Scammers are still using a large number of profiles on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to offer a full UK driving licence “without a test”.
For those who want to become drivers, it costs up to £1,500 to sit a theory test, while the theory test costs £23.
Read more in The Scottish Sun
The practical driving test costs twice as much at £62, but involves a highly capable stand-in driver who looks exactly like the designated driver sitting behind the wheel.
After responding to an advert on TikTok, our team was hired as a lackey for £600 without reservation.
First time driving test pass rates in England
Swindon – 21%
Liverpool (Speke) – 32%
Doncaster – 32%
London (Eris) – 32%
London (Belvedere) – 33%
Wolverhampton – 35%
Featherstone – 37%
Rochdale – 37%
Top five places for first-time driving test pass rates in England
Kendall – 66%
Alnwick – 65%
Chichester – 64%
Dorchester – 63%
Barrow-in-Furness – 63%
Lee-on-Solent – 62%
Yeovil – 62%
[ad_2]
Source link
