background information
Name: Anne Elaine
Ravenhill (nee Hammond).
Born: South Ealing, London. August
12th,1947.
Residence: Burnley, Lancashire.
Education: O & A Level GCE in
Business Accounting.
Marital Status: Married Raymond
Brian Ravenhill, June 1st,1968.
Children: Victoria, Brian, Dianne.
Grandchildren: Paul David (b.1994),
Emily Rose (b.1999).
Occupation: Driver/Escort for
Lancashire County Council Social Services.
Hobbies: Knitting, Reading, Swimming
and Singing in the local church choir.
Other interests: Member of the local
church council, local deanery synod and Society of Our Lady of
Walsingham, Secretary of the local branch of the Mother's Union and MU
deanery, Member of Burnley Council Accident Prevention Committee.
How It All Began
After passing my driving test in 1991, I undertook
motorway tuition. I knew that I would have to drive on these "Special
Roads" (to give them their correct title) in order to see my own family
and my in-laws, who live in Wales and London respectively, and felt
happier driving on these roads knowing that I had received training to
do so.
Many people would comment to me about their first experience of driving
on the motorway, some of which sounded more like horror stories. Some
even told me that although they had been driving for many years, they
had never driven on motorways simply because they are scared to do so.
One Saturday morning I mentioned this to my MP, Peter Pike, and asked
for his comments. He agreed it was worth looking into.
Since Learn-2-Live started on June 15th 1991, I have tried to make the whole subject of motorway tuition a public issue. Although the campaign has had the support of the driver training profession as a whole, many would say that these professionals only support this because they are the ones who would eventually benefit. I, on the other hand, am not a driving instructor and the campaign has evolved because I believe that this training is crucial. Let me state categorically that I do not advocate allowing "L" drivers on motorways.
The campaign has gained support from the following organizations...
-
Burnley Accident Prevention Committee - late 1993
-
Lancashire & Cumbria Accident Prevention Federation - October 1994. (Although the committee agreed in principle, they could not agree to it being made compulsory on the grounds that not everyone lives near a motorway).
-
GMB (the 3rd largest trade union in the UK) - 1997.
-
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) - Traffic Committee - 1999.
-
Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) - 2000.
On January 15th 1998,
Peter Pike MP raised
Early Day Motion No.651,
on behalf of myself. It read as follows:
"That this House believes that the Department of the Environment, Transport
and Regions should undertake an urgent review of the standard of
motorway driving with particular view to the need for all newly
qualified drivers to undertake some form of motorway tuition, and that
urgent action should be taken to address the problems that exist, and to
secure a higher standard of proficiency of motorway driving and to help
reduce the present motorway accident level."
At the end of the 1998 Parliamentary session the EDM closed
with 108 signatures, 2 amendments wanting it to go further, and many
more MP's supporting the campaign but unable to sign.
Please have no doubt; I intend to continue this fight until such time as the law is changed.
Founder and Co-ordinator
Patron
The
Bishop of Blackburn:
Rt Rev Nicholas Reade
At Learn-2-Live, we are very proud to have a patron for the first time in 13 years. I recently approached the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade and spoke to him about Learn-2-Live and it's aim. The Bishop mentioned that he has been a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists for many years and is 100% behind the aims of this campaign.