I saw this news story on a US web site today and had to post it.

A man from the US has been charged with driving an unregistered couch to an American Football match on the 23rd of Nov.

Its been report that the man and a couple of his buddies converted a riding lawn mower into a mobile couch in 2005 because he “was wasting time walking around when I could be sitting here eating hot dogs and drinking beer.”

There are some photos and videos of said couch on the web and here they are: click here to see the photos

And here is the video

I noticed a blog post from a driving school offering a Free Driving Lesson.

The Blue School of Motoring are offering new students their first Hour Driving Lesson Free.

You can contact them on the following:

website: www.blueschoolofmotoring.com

Email: info@blueschoolofmotoring.com

Text : 07754841464

Phone : 0800 234 6823

They are also offering students a Free Theory DVD on First Lesson

Info about the offer can be found here : http://blueschoolofmotoring.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/free-driving-lesson-offer/

According to a recent news article driving instructors across Calderdale are having to take part-time jobs in order to survive as the credit crunch takes a-hold.

Its believed that fewer people are taking lessons at the moment when compared with the last 20 years according to the Halifax Driving Instructors Association.

Three driving instructors based in Calderdale have quit in the last few months,  while other instructors have had to take on part time work.

Keith Donkersley, secretary of the  Halifax Driving Instructors Association, said:  “People are struggling with the credit crunch and the first things to go are the non-essentials and, unfortunately, driving lessons are considered non-essential.”

“Many instructors have gone from being jam-packed in the summer, doing 50 hour weeks, to struggling to get even 20.

So if you thinking of taking lessons then now might be a good time to try and negotiate a good deal, just remember not to take advantage of struggling instructors (everyone has to make a living).  That being said there are deals to be had on most services and goods (not just driving lessons).

Pubs & clubs in Angus are being urged to offer free or reduced priced soft drinks in order to try and help prevent drink driving.

All venues which participate in the scheme will offer cheap or free juices to anyone who is driving 2 or more people home.

During last years Christmas crackdown by the Police saw 64 motorists arrested for drink-driving in Tayside.

Wanda Gove, from Tayside Police, said: ”I would encourage licensed premises to join the scheme and take a proactive approach to reducing the opportunities for drink-driving and help us to enhance road safety and in so doing make the community a safer place for visitors and residents alike.”

With Winter time being the most common season for motoring accidents , the Driving Standards Agency has advised motorists passing their test at this time of the year to take a course aimed at making motorists become safer drivers.  The DSA hopes that this will help reduce road deaths and injuries in the process.

Winter is a notorious time of the year for driving fatalities. In 2007 the worst 3 months for car users being killed due in road accidents was:

1. November  (142)
2. January (134)
3. December (133)

DSA has several initiatives to help boost road safety standards, including the Pass Plus scheme mentioned above.

The Pass Plus course is a training course made up of 6 modules, in which the candidate is expected to drive proficiently during all weathers on a mixture of most road types including dual carriageways, rural roads and motorways.

Though anyone with a car driving licence holder can take the Pass Plus course, the DSA says that its mostly beneficial to drivers who have very recently passed their driving test.

Rosemary Thew, Chief Executive of the Driving Standards Agency said: “One in five deaths on British roads involves newly-qualified drivers and this is unacceptable. Such a grim statistic gains much of its volume during this time of year due to the dark, cold and wet conditions that accompany winter“.

A company has now released a new accessory for the ipod call “The iBreath Breathalyser”, which is now on sale in the UK for £55.

The iBreath said to work with ipods and iphones allows the user to take their own alcohol breath test to make sure they aren’t “over the limit”.

However there are warnings about a product such as the iBreath giving people false confidence, after all the iBreath is just telling you how much alcohol is on your breath, not how much you are impaired by the amount of alcohol you have consumed.

The iBreath also acts as a radio transmitter, which will allow you to play music from your iPod / iPhone via your car radio.

A Berkshire driving instructor was sentenced at Reading Crown Court yesterday after he continued to give driving lessons despiter being struck off.

The driving instrcutor struck off the Approved Driving Instructors’ register in 2003, after he was convictied of indecently assaulting a learner driver.

The instrcutor in question carried on giving lessons and as a result was given:

• a 9 month prison sentence (suspended for 2 years)

• disqualified from driving for 12 months

• given a 3 month curfew between the hours of 10pm and 7am.

• ordered to pay £200 compensation to one pupil and £1,400 court costs.

Michelle Moston, the deputy head ofDSAs “Fraud and integrity team” said: “This case clearly demonstrates the reason why anyone who is paying for driving tuition must ensure that their instructor is an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI)“

The Broadstairs Test Centre, which is located in Piermont Park, will be closed down for good next Friday after the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) decided to relocate the test centre it to Herne Bay.

The council suggesting alternative spots on the isle in a bid to get the (DSA) to change its mind, but the DSA refused.

The Broadstairs test centre last year achieved a 47% pass rate for car drivers and a 68% pass rate for bikes.

Local residents are said to be furious at the closure of the test centre.

Do you live in Broadstairs?  What do you think of the closure?  Let us know in the comments box below!

Actress Heather Locklear has been charged with driving under the influence of a prescription medication.

The star of Dynasty, Melrose Place and more recently Spin City, was said to be showing signs of “obvious impairment” when she was arrested in September 2008 says the California Highway Patrol.

After she was arrested, the police officers took her to the station, where she was given drug and alcohol tests, after which she was released from custody.

Heather Locklear was pulled over after reports that she was “driving erratically” Ms Locklear is scheduled to appear in court on 26 January 2009.

The online booking system people use to book their theory driving test will be unavailable on Sunday 23rd November, between the time of 8am and 10am.

The short downtime is to allow DSA to carry out essential maintenance to the system, and apologise to all users for any inconvenience caused (although 2 hours on a Sunday morning seems OK to me).