Bill Plant driving school

[Peowpeowpeowlasers]

I had a very close encounter a few days back with one of their instructors, on the A56 south of Manchester, just north of the M60.


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPz8DpTYBCA


It seems I'm not the only one. Look at this close pass on what is possibly the widest road in Manchester, near the McVities factory near Stockport, on the A6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IM7mGQlmZ8

Bill Plant's response today has been somewhat underwhelming. They claim that I noted the registration number incorrectly, which given the circumstances (cold, raining, night time) is very likely true, but they seem unwilling to go beyond that and make a partial registration search. They have hundreds of vehicles in the UK but I bet only a dozen or so in Manchester.

Also, look at their response on the second video above - excusing a learner driver under instruction. Just what is the instructor, and his set of pedals, there for exactly, if not to tell the learner to BLOODY WELL STEER RIGHT OR BRAKE?

I'm not at all impressed. Their attitude seems to be "computer says no".

 

[Hacienda71]

There are some shocking learner driver incidents.
I was once followed out of Macc by an AA SOM learner. I was at circa 26mph in a 30 zone, they were within a foot of my rear wheel at times and at one point decided to hold their hand on the horn. It was a dark wet evening and I couldn't tell if it was a learner or the instructor driving but if it was the learner then the instructor should have got them to drop back and if it was the instructor they should not be allowed to teach. I should have reported it tbh.

 

[Strick]

Punishment pass in my opinion, as you were in "his" lane, not "your" lane.
And these muppets are teaching the next lot to drive! Oh dear........
NU60BOK doesnt come up on our VRM search at work, and I cant make it out from the vid clip.
Due to the amount of mis-reads we encounter daily I have learnt what letters look similar. Was it a Black Toyota Yaris by chance? If so, it could well be NU60BDX.

 

[Peowpeowpeowlasers]

I'm pretty sure it's a Hyundai of some description, as seen on their Flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/billplantdrivingschool/6172319998/

They've replied again. They're not going to take the matter further. As far as they're concerned, I wasn't hit so they don't care.

I do not believe that they cannot perform a partial registration search. I'd take the matter to the police but I've had previous experience of GMP's front desk attitude toward cyclists, it's a waste of time.

 

[Kestevan]

Personally I've found that as soon as I see a car with "BILL PLANT" on the roof I start looking for an escape route. The instructor/s in Huddersfield appear to be blind, psychotic cock-wombles who actively seek to encourage their charges to pass as close as possible to cyclists.

If theres even a case where a Bill Plant instructor is dragged through their own windscreen and impaled on a bollard, then I'm proably going to be chief suspect.

 

[Peowpeowpeowlasers]

Well well, I did a few variations on the Askmid website, and guess what comes up as "Hyundai i30"?

NU60 VOK. Not BOK as I originally state in the video description. So I seems I noted the plate correctly, but the poor audio quality of the gopro let me down. I shall in future make two notes of offending plates.

Let's see what they do now. And they have the cheek to tell me that they can't do what I just did, even though they have a full list of all their cars.

 

[Schneil]

It was me riding the bike in the second video (A6, McVities). I remember giving the Bill Plant car "the stare" as it approached me, however it did not stop the close overtake. I found the comment from BPshine quite interesting

"All road users are expected to follow the Highway Code with regard to ALL road users, this includes cyclists.
We'd like to thank the uploader for bringing this to our attention (a written letter would be more than ample - video works too) so that we may tackle any issues with the Driving Instructor in question.
In the meantime, please follow the Highway Code with regard to learner drivers, allowing room for error at any point during the drivers journey."

I agree that we do need to be patient with learners, however I feel the instructor should have stepped in to stop the poor overtake.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Well well, I did a few variations on the Askmid website, and guess what comes up as "Hyundai i30"?

NU60 VOK. Not BOK as I originally state in the video description. So I seems I noted the plate correctly, but the poor audio quality of the gopro let me down. I shall in future make two notes of offending plates.

Let's see what they do now. And they have the cheek to tell me that they can't do what I just did, even though they have a full list of all their cars.

I've suggested this to Gaz in the past, but your best bet is to learn the Phonetic alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta... etc.) and use that when reciting the plates for the camera - it was designed for just such a situation when audio can cause problems making out letters, with the words sufficiently different from one another to be unconfuseable (?).Sorted.

 

[fossyant]

How the feck do you 'allow room for error' when they are passing you ?

On both of them there was no need for the close pass - both roads are very wide at that point. On the A6 one I though't you'd have trouble at the lights, not near McVities - ride that route fairly regular.

 

[Jezston]

If they are unwilling to take it further, is there a driving instruction regulator or something you could report it to?

 

[Brandane]

If they are unwilling to take it further, is there a driving instruction regulator or something you could report it to?

The Driving Standards Agency (DSA). http://www.dft.gov.uk/dsa

As an ex trainee instructor, I can tell you that they enjoy making instructors lifes as miserable as possible, so would probably welcome any complaints!

 

[Strick]

I've suggested this to Gaz in the past, but your best bet is to learn the Phonetic alphabet (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta... etc.) and use that when reciting the plates for the camera - it was designed for just such a situation when audio can cause problems making out letters, with the words sufficiently different from one another to be unconfuseable (?).Sorted.

+1

 

[Bigsharn]

I lost all respect for Bill Plant when one of their instructors told me I'd left too much room to pass a cyclist.

Luckily it was still in the 5 lessons for £60 stage of my lessons, so not a great deal wasted.

 

[Peowpeowpeowlasers]

I've reported it to the police now.

 

[Number14]

Perhaps bphine is new to Bill Plant. On the OP's youtube channel they go on about standards, putting complaint in writing, etc... Pity they didn't respond to my written complaint about poor supervision and instruction from one of their franchisees in Nov last year.