Growing Banbury area driving instructors' group aims to make the area's roads safer

The Banbury Association of Driving Instructors (BADI) was formed in 1983 by six members in an era where the main form of communication was the landline.

The group came together once a month to share and improve teaching techniques and improve road safety.

Since then it has grown and expanded to include driving instructors from Bicester, Chipping Norton and the surrounding areas. It has more than 60 members including some of the best driving instructors in the county.

"Things have changed,” said member Mark Beynon. “We now have access to mobile phones, the internet, Facebook, Instagram and also communicate via WhatsApp.

“Banbury’s roads have changed so BADI had to evolve and change with the times too. What hasn’t changed is our goal - to improve road safety and the standard of driving in and around Banbury. We work closely with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), local councils and the general public to achieve our goal.

"We want to highlight the importance and safety of proper training with driving instructors. We see a lot of bad press for drivers and quite a lot of accidents, especially on the motorway. Our aim as a group is to promote safe driving for life.

"We meet up every few months and discuss important matters such as roads in Banbury and test waiting times and of course we all have our own ideas on improvements.

"We recently had Councillor Kieron Mallon attend a meeting to discuss the planned bus and cycle scheme near the town centre and train station which we are largely against.”

Chairman, Robert Wingrove, represents driving instructors at meetings with the DVSA and is also a member of the Banbury Traffic Advisory Committee.

"The commitment to improving Banbury's Road safety is our number one goal by providing the highest level of teaching. This in turn will hopefully keep the next generation safer on our roads. “Our current aim is to be more visible within the community, taking a more active approach on social media platforms and local news outlets - thus maintaining a close relationship with the DVSA, the council and local community.”