Monday 14 February 2011

Google Earth used in anger!

On Saturday, one of my pupils failed his driving test.

In this instance, he needed to pass quickly because he works antisocial hours in a little village well off the public transport routes. He was not happy about it, and his anger has continued since. He felt the serious fault he was given was harsh, and wanted my advice about whether to appeal the decision.

But I wasn't sat in the back on the test, so it was hard for me to say whether his driving had been fairly marked or not.

So there I am on the phone, with the computer in front of me, while John, the guy wot failed was sat in front of another computer 10 miles away.

I found the junction and so did he, and we were able to work out precisely what had happened.


As you can see, it was a one way street. What John did was move over to the left. This turned the junction from a crossroads into a staggered junction, so he signalled right and then left when he should have positioned himself directly towards the road he wanted to go in to.

So the examiner was correct, and John now realises his mistake.

It was interesting to use the technology in this way, to clarify a situation without actually having to visit the scene.

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