Episode 4 Driving Academy

Four children fed up with their parents' driving.

Dad, you're driving too fast!

Four parents who have slipped into bad habits.

Darren knocked it down

and smashed it up!

Just six days left to change their ways

before facing the Ultimate Driving Test - and our examiner Sandra.

Last time, we saw some dodgy braking from Molly and Rhys...

Oh, we hit it!

..precision stopping from a confident Jono...

THEY APPLAUD

..and another disappointing result

for the team without a single pass so far.

Whoa! Aargh.

Whilst one team celebrates an unbeaten pass record,

another has to work hard to avoid another one of those nasty forfeits.

The pressure's on,

and the Driving Academy's about to get even tougher.

It's Day Four of Driving Academy.

First rule of driving - never forget to fill up with petrol.

Eh, Sandra?

Welcome to Driving Academy,

coming at you from the lovely St Athan in Wales.

I'm Joe, and this is Sandra.

We've got just six more days to get our parents

driving safe again, and get them back on track.

You comfortable in there, Sandra?

Yeah? Shall we go?

Coming up today...

Distractions.

Our Superskills Challenge

tests our teams to the limit...

I'm starting to get really annoyed!

-..and beyond.

-HE WHISTLES

Stop, or I'll ask you to leave the car.

But can they hold it together and pass?

Stay tuned to find out.

But now it's time for the Learner Lesson.

Each day at the Academy, we've taught our rookies

a different element of road safety to tell their parents,

and today it's all about paying attention to everything around you.

Though our rookies obviously can't drive on public roads,

here at the Academy's secret test centre, anything is possible.

In charge of our Learner Lessons is elite instructor Vicky Lovell.

With 24 years of instructing under her belt,

she knows every angle of road safety.

Vicky has a set of dual controls, so our rookies are always safe.

First to go is Rhys,

and let's hope he hasn't inherited his mum's

lack of attention behind the wheel.

I'm, like, always telling her off

when she's looking at herself in the mirror. I'll say,

"Can you put your eyes on the road and stop checking your make-up?"

With only one pass from the first three challenges,

-mum needs to start paying attention.

-Fail!

Today's lesson is about observation -

being aware of everything around you -

signs and potential hazards ahead.

What does that sign up there mean, Rhys?

-Steer on the right.

-Someone could be coming.

That's right, some dummy could pull out of that side road

-without even looking.

-Look out, Rhys!

What do you need to do? You need to...oh.

Rhys stops just before our crash test dummy,

but it took him a while to spot the danger.

So, can you see how important it is

-to think about the signs and what might happen?

-Yeah.

You never know when a crash test dummy

might come flying out of a side road!

Let's hope Rhys can pass this lesson on to his easily-distracted mum.

My mum would have been doing her make-up

and by the time she'd finished,

she'd looked and she'd have crashed into the side of the car.

Next to drive is Molly.

She's already been finding Driving Academy

a little bit nerve-racking.

Will you slow down?!

Oh, oh, oh...

Oh, my goodness. Whoa!

Overconfident dad Andy has already proved he doesn't pay

much attention, especially when Molly distracts him.

You're driving!

They've managed two passes so far,

but if they're going to pass today,

they'll need to start paying attention.

So, what sign can you see?

The junction sign.

What else can you see?

A person.

Ohhh, here comes our dummy!

MOLLY GASPS

That blooming scared me, then!

That's what happens suddenly.

Yeah, but it's not funny!

I'm happy I did it well. I'm really proud of myself.

I'm going to tell my dad

to stop going so fast,

cos you don't know what'll pop out.

Our third rookie is Jono,

our most consistent young driver,

who's helped the blues pass all three challenges so far,

despite nervy mum Michelle's driving style.

Hopefully, the Academy will boost her confidence again

so we don't have another crash in the future.

I've unfortunately had two accidents in the last two months.

I've had people come in at the back of me and the side,

so I'm always looking out for it to happen again.

Today is about looking out,

-so Michelle should be fine, but what about Jono?

-What does that mean?

Er...junction on the right. I'll have to stop, won't I?

-Wow, cool as a cucumber!

-Well done.

Finally, it's Manisha's turn.

She's here with her dad to see if we can

help him improve his terrifying driving habits.

-The worst bad habit I have is I'm impatient.

-Whoa, Dad!

You're driving too fast! Slow down!

What's the point of having rules

if no-one's going to obey them?

They're there for a reason. Everyone should

obey them, including my dad.

Since coming to the Academy, Cliff has slowed down.

But now he's really slow. A little bit too cautious!

The team has lost every challenge,

so Manisha needs to pay attention.

-What does that mean?

-Go straight,

but I've got to make sure nobody comes in my way still.

And there they come, Manisha!

You clever girl,

you stopped the car

completely on your own!

That was surprising!

I was a bit curious when I saw that sign.

I was like, "Something's going to happen."

But I didn't realise a car was going to come.

It was scary!

Our rookies are learning to watch out at all times on the road.

But can they keep their focus later on when some

very strange passengers

try everything they can to put them off?

Stop, or I'll ask you to leave the car.

Don't miss today's hilarious Superskills Challenge.

When it comes to paying attention, Mr Crash is useless.

This dummy just can't stop crashing

because when he's behind the wheel he always gets distracted.

The question is, though, what will distract him today?

He has left his box of tissues on the passenger seat,

there's a mobile phone, and down near the handbrake

there's some sunglasses.

Very cool, Mr C!

First, our teams get a quick look around and try and work out

which of today's potential distractions will cause Mr C

to crash. This isn't for points,

so why don't you play along, too?

Ah, a box of tissues.

Good spot, Andy.

Those tissues may seem harmless,

but anything laying around loose in a car

could be a hazard.

Phone?

Well pointed out, Rhys. A mobile phone could be fatal.

When you're driving, never be tempted to take a call

or write a text.

There must be something else.

You're right.

But I'm not sure anyone's spotted

our sunglasses that could fly anywhere.

OK, I'd better go and check and see if the road ahead is clear.

Oh, who's left all this out-of-date fruit and veg sitting here?

This...this could cause a crash.

Talking of crashes...where's Mr C?

HE GASPS

Well, it's a lovely little fruit stand.

I hope Mr C can keep his eyes on it, otherwise

this could be a fruit smoothie time! A small distraction

is all it takes with this dummy driving, and remember,

there are three in this car.

There's a box of tissues,

his mobile phone,

and, of course,

those snazzy sunglasses.

This is your last chance at home

to guess which one of these

will cause today's crash.

Off he goes.

He's getting up to quite a speed there, Mr C.

Hang on, what's he doing?

No, he's being a right old dummy

and he's taken a call on his mobile!

Watch out, Mr C!

Did you guess right at home?

Mr C was trying to use his phone.

Mr C, that's a real no-no.

You must never use a phone whilst driving.

Mr C is a fully trained stunt driver.

All these crashes were performed by experts. Don't be a dummy.

Don't try this at home!

Our dummies cause utter mayhem in our Superskills Challenge

in just a few minutes' time, but first,

before you can get near a car you need to learn the rules

of the road. They're called The Highway Code, and our teams

have studied for the next part of the show -

The Highway Quiz.

Right, today's Highway Quiz is called

Instruction Construction,

and it's about road signs you may see

while out on the road that tell you what you can and can't do.

I want you to construct me

five signs from the shapes and symbols in front of you.

You need to get three out of five right

to win this, the Highway Quiz badge.

ALL: Oooh!

"Oooh!", indeed.

The first sign I want you to construct is a no entry sign.

Away you go.

For the no entry sign,

our teams need a red background

with a white dash across the centre.

See this, and don't even think about

heading down that way.

It looks like most of our teams have this one in the bag.

OK, let's see how we all got on.

This is what a no entry sign should look like.

CHILDREN: Yes! Well done.

Molly and Andy, what happened?

Red on red, when are you going to see that?

Catch up next time. Are you ready for the next one?

I'd like you to construct me a no overtaking sign.

No overtaking sign.

What we're looking for is a red car next to a black car

in a white circle.

See this and don't think about overtaking -

it's too dangerous.

Looks like Sarah can't make up her mind,

but Michelle and Cliff both seem pretty chuffed with theirs.

This is what it should have looked like.

CHEERS AND GROANS

Oh, some cheers, some groans. Have a little look.

Jono and Michelle, very, very close,

you just got the wrong background, unfortunately.

Manisha and Cliff, the cars are just the wrong way round.

Molly and Andy...I'm not even going to go there.

Rhys and Sarah...get in there! You've got it right.

Congratulations.

It's the kids up next.

I'd like you to construct me a sign that says school crossing patrol.

A school crossing patrol sign.

We've all seen this one. It's the sign you see

a lollipop lady or gent holding outside the school.

will our teams get the important

symbols and colours in the right place?

The teams need to get

three out of five correct,

so these next two questions are going to be critical

if anyone is going to pass.

This is what it should have looked like.

GROANS

MANISHA GASPS

So close! I told you...

So, Molly, Michelle...

totally wrong. Manisha and Cliff...

I can't give it to you. I'm really, really sorry.

Molly and Andy, and Sarah and Rhys, you've both done the same thing.

It was wrong. So unfortunately, you all failed.

Now, I want you to construct me a sign

that says no stopping.

The sign for no stopping is often seen on major roads.

It's a big red cross with a red circle and most importantly,

a blue background.

Do you think you've done well?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

No, you didn't.

No, you didn't. You were so close.

The cross theme was there. Again, it's just the background.

You got the background wrong. So, ready, kids?

The next sign I want you to construct for me is

a no motor vehicles sign.

Away you go.

This is the final sign.

They need three out of five to pass. For this one,

we're looking for a car

and a motorbike symbol in a white circle.

Right, this is what the sign should have looked like.

-Yes!

-And so Jono and Michelle,

wrong background, and you've stuck a lorry in, unfortunately.

That's one out of five for the blues.

Manisha and Cliff, spot on. Well done.

That's right, Manisha and Cliff, but only two out of five overall.

Molly and Andy...

MOLLY LAUGHS

I'm just going to move on(!)

Wrong. Oranges score zero.

The Greens need this to be the only team to pass.

Sarah and Rhys, unfortunately, wrong. Very close.

So that's disappointing. Two out of five for Rhys and Sarah.

No-one's passed for two days running!

So tonight I need you to keep your noses in them books

and start revising, yeah? Taxi!

The moment has finally arrived.

It's time for our super-size Superskills Challenge,

Taxi Driver, where our teams have to show they can think straight

whilst avoiding distraction when on the road.

This is a test of the parents' and kids' observation skills.

The teams will be driving a taxi around

this tricky course, while trying to spot

as many of the 25 signs as possible.

At the end of the course, they have to repeat the signs to Sandra -

they'll need to remember at least seven to pass.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Well, there's a twist.

They'll have to pay attention, because some of the signs

are not real, and they'll have to drive

around obstacles and pick up

three of the most distracting Dummies at the Academy.

Our teams will have to stay cool

and remember the signs if they want to impress

the lady that counts - the examiner.

The Driving Academy's Chief Examiner's word is final.

If Sandra says foul, there's no arguing.

What she doesn't know about road safety

isn't worth knowing.

Driving with distraction is dangerous,

so as a passenger, be responsible.

Don't distract the driver.

The teams better beware.

It's the parents to start us off.

OK, teams. Go and pick my passengers up,

and look after them.

The first passenger is Freddie the football fan.

This guy can get very distracting.

I'm not sure our teams are ready.

MUSIC: "Match of the Day" Theme

FREDDIE WHISTLES AND RATTLES

WHISTLING DROWNS SPEECH

Could you put your belt on, please? Thank you very much.

Cliff has actually insisted he puts his seatbelt on first thing.

-We might be getting through to him after all!

-I hope so.

Interesting, Cliff's taking no nonsense today.

While our Dummy makes a right nuisance of himself

in the back, our parents must reverse

out of the starting bay

and pass a table of drinks,

but they should be paying attention

to the first road signs.

This is a challenge to test their observation skills,

so they'll need to pay attention.

Dad, don't get distracted.

-I'm not.

-You are.

This is interesting,

because Andy's concentration and reversing is usually OK.

What do we think is putting him off?

Molly(!) Oh, I mean, the football supporter.

In the Superskills, distraction has been

a big problem for the Orange team.

If they're not careful

with their behaviour, they could easily fail this academy.

Andy makes it, but have they spotted the no buses sign?

FAN WHISTLES

WHISTLING DROWNS SPEECH

Can you please stop?

Can you please stop? Not disturb me. I'm reversing.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

He's managed to silence that football supporter.

Well done, Cliff.

Passengers are your responsibility

when they're in the car.

Now you have to concentrate on the signs

and get past the drinks table.

FAN WHISTLES

Do not distract me.

You've got to stop!

Please stop, or I'll ask you to leave the car.

Oh, good on you, Cliff.

FAN RATTLES

Right. Out you get. Out you get.

Get out the car.

Oh, fantastic.

Well done, Cliff.

He's definitely upset

my crash test dummy, hasn't he?

The purple team means business today.

They have failed all three Superskills so far,

and it looks like they might have had enough.

We hope to pass this time...

-No, we will pass today, won't we?

-Yeah.

We will pass today, and win.

Should be much easier concentrating

without that dummy.

Will timid driver Michelle also take control?

FAN WHISTLES AND RATTLES

Ooh! There goes the tray of drinks.

Are we surprised?

She doesn't like reversing at the best of times,

and she's got the worst of times going on in that car.

That shows how difficult it is to concentrate with all that

racket in the back. The challenge is about awareness

of what's going on around you.

There are signs everywhere,

so our teams have to stay calm

and try to remember them. Easier said than done!

Sarah and Rhys are starting to pick out a few signs.

-What's that one?

-Danger - tractors...

Er...no overtaking.

It's mayhem in the car, but they're keeping it together.

I take it back.

Sarah's slipping into her bad habits again,

checking her hair in the mirror, and Rhys is in stitches.

Concentrate, guys!

How are Andy and Molly doing?

-So this one, you've got no overtaking.

-So I've got...

You've got parking.

Picking out a few signs, but they need seven to pass.

Blue team now. I don't even think they're looking at the signs.

Michelle's like a rabbit in the headlights!

This is total chaos!

Oh, it's very pleasant in the Purple car.

Much better without those dummies distracting him.

Priority for vehicles...

And loads of time to spot those signs.

-No stopping...

-Clearway, no stopping.

A give way sign...

Cliff and Manisha are doing great so far, but it's only half way.

That's the end of the parents' run and it's swap time.

A chance for the kids to find out how distracting

a bad passenger can be.

It's a clown!

I'm a bit scared of clowns. If one jumped in my car,

I would jump out.

CLOWN SQUEAKS CHICKEN

Will you put your seatbelt on?

Do you want to get out this car?

Good stuff, Rhys!

The rookies have to steer through barrels

with melons balanced on top.

This is a test of observation,

so they must pay attention to the road signs.

And remember, they need at least seven to pass.

Here's Molly. It will be interesting

to see how she deals with the clown,

as usually it's her that's doing the distracting.

I said, "Go there, there, there," but you wouldn't have it!

This could be a real learning curve for her.

Molly, ignore the clown, darling.

I can't ignore the blooming clown!

Jono's concentrating on driving,

but I'm not sure he's looking out for those signs at all.

Rhys doesn't seem to be concentrating on anything.

He won't fail for those knock downs

but he will if he doesn't pay attention to those signs.

The Purples seem to be doing OK.

Hang on, what's that clown doing?

Stop it, please?

No, don't, don't burst the balloon. Be a good clown.

I might ask you to leave the car.

Manisha and Cliff aren't taking any messing today and let's hope

that gives them more time to concentrate.

They're just driving past the elderly people crossing sign.

Let's hope they spotted it.

Next, our teams have to drive around the barriers.

Two more signs, but hopefully they will know they're not real.

Dolphins and pelicans?!

And my dummy is not giving them any chance to concentrate.

Aaargh! Do you think it's blooming funny?

Cos I certainly don't.

-Molly, ignore the clown.

-He's put it in my face!

I know, but just ignore the clown.

Ignore the clown? Good advice, Andy.

It's definitely better than what Sarah's suggesting.

Ignore the signs. Just totally ignore the signs.

Ignore the signs?!

Sarah's bad habits getting the better of her there.

Cliff has some better advice for Manisha.

Stop the car and ask him to leave.

You have to be quiet now.

Do you want to come out the car?

Yeah, but I don't want to see your chicken.

The Purples are really showing improvement in this challenge.

But over in the Blue car, Jono is struggling.

The Blues have passed all three Superskills so far,

with Jono carrying his nervy mum for most of them.

Technically, he's the strongest rookie,

but today's test is about observation

and distraction, and Jono's having a real problem, for the first time.

It's time for the final pick-up.

The teams get rid of the clown but are joined by our rebellious rocker.

They've had the football fan,

they've had the clown, now it's the rock star.

The rock star is probably the noisiest of the lot.

HEAVY ROCK MUSIC PLAYS

-And hair.

-And hair!

First, our teams have to reverse out of the pick-up bay

and avoid the drinks table.

Rhys just manages to keep his cool with his reversing,

but I don't know how, with all that racket.

Has he seen that parking sign?

Now Molly. Oh, dear. That's an angry face.

I'm starting to get really annoyed.

Watch that road rage, Molls!

Manisha now. She hates reversing,

but she seems to be keeping her cool.

That noise is so distracting!

Stop it!

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

Wow, Manisha! Great stuff.

So far the Purples are the only team to have managed

to control my dummy's distractions.

But to win their first pass,

they'll need to remember seven signs and they've just passed two.

Here's Jono, and for the first time we've seen him drive

more like his mum, as he nervously reverses out.

That's it, steer round.

That loud distraction is really affecting him.

That's it, manoeuvre it.

Well done.

Passing the Parking sign... has he seen it?

So, Sandra.

Does having your radio on full blast have the same effect?

It does indeed. You can't lose concentration.

If you lose concentration for one moment, it can end

in absolute tragedy.

It's the final stretch for the teams

and this one has been really tough, but have any of them made it?

No motorcycles.

That's the course completed. It's time for Sandra to test our teams.

They need to remember

seven real road signs to pass.

There were a few cheeky fakes along the way that won't score points.

So, how many did they spot?

Give way, parking...

Elderly people, no stopping...

No overtaking.

No buses.

One-way traffic only.

Er, left turn?

No stopping.

No overtaking.

-Ice.

-Yeah, ice.

SOS phone.

No motorbike, one way...

Erm, ice, stop...

Give way to oncoming traffic.

Ice warning. Er, there was an attention warning.

Ducks crossing.

They seem to have remembered a lot,

but did they remember at least seven to pass?

It's time for Sandra's verdict.

OK, Sandra, how did they get on?

-Congratulations, you got nine without the non-stopping, well done.

-Yes!

So, that's a nine.

The Oranges overcome their frustration to score two more

than the pass mark.

How did it feel with all that noise and distraction going on?

Oh, it was hard work, that, yeah.

Well, you've done really well. Congratulations.

And maybe Molly will never be so distracting again for you, Andy!

Hopefully. Bit of luck.

Well done, Orange team - your second pass out of four.

Real winner her is,

Molly learnt the fact that distractions in the back

do cause Dad to drive really bad.

It just shows you what you do

can easily distract what the driver's doing.

Well, let's count them up -

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,

-11.

-Woo!

-Well, congratulations.

Greens score 11.

Not bad, considering Sarah told Rhys to ignore the signs.

What about the distractions?

Annoying!

Rhys did fantastic.

Well, I was so impressed

with your concentration levels

and the way you managed that. So, as far as I'm concerned,

well done, the pair of you.

-Well done, you're getting better.

-Thank you.

It's another pass for the Greens, but what have they learnt?

I'm quite surprised we passed,

because Mum's not really good with signs.

I think the challenge has made me more aware

what a large distraction other people can be in the car.

Can the Blues keep up their perfect pass record?

I was a little bit concerned.

We didn't hear you talking about the signs, so I don't know

if you was paying as much attention as you should've been.

The passengers were there to distract you, to take you away

from looking at the signs. Unfortunately,

-Sandra?

-I'm afraid -

I'm sorry to say you haven't passed, it's a failure.

-Ohhh.

-You've only identified

four of the real road signs.

Blues with a miserable four.

You might have lost your unbeaten record,

but keep your chins up. There's a lot to play for still. Well done.

-Well done, Jono.

-Thank you.

A first failure for a very distracted team!

Bit upset because we've just ruined our 100% passes, but...

It was just disastrous. It was a horrible feeling,

to feel up one minute and then completely down the next,

and it's been quite hard to recover.

Basically, this is life. You can't pass everything,

so, you know, we've got to look up and pass the next one.

The Purple team are desperate for their first pass,

but have they done enough?

They need at least seven.

OK, so, how did they do?

13 traffic signs.

-Yes!

-We've done it! Yeah!

Congratulations, guys.

You know what? That is amazing.

Yeah! The purples smashed it, with 13.

You've done everything perfectly.

You asked the dummy to leave

when he was rowdy in the back.

-Sandra, could you ask for anything more?

-Fantastic.

You weren't going to take the distraction, from him or anybody.

You even kept the rock drummer fairly quiet, and the clown.

And you noticed the seatbelts. I was really impressed.

That was a stunning round.

-Thank you.

-A purple patch for the Purple team.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

First pass and almost a perfect run. They must be feeling good.

-Yeah, we did it!

-I feel so...

-Come on. Come on!

-Yay!

Shall we get down to business and hand out awards?

OK, first, I'd like to give Molly and Andy their award for today.

Well done, guys.

Then I'd like to give Rhys and Sarah their awards for today.

Well done to you guys, too.

Now over to you lot. It gives me great pleasure

to get your ball moving. Here's your award. Congratulations.

Let's give them a round of applause!

As you know, with every winner, there's a loser,

and with every loser there's a forfeit.

And with every forfeit,

there's a dirty car to tidy up. So, here are your Toothbrushes of Doom.

Go and tidy up the car.

Ohhh!

While they clear out that mucky straw from my motor,

here's what's coming up on our speedy show next time.

It's pedal to the metal, as our rookies experience

how dangerous speed can be.

Mr C rolls into action as he gets snared

by another dangerous distraction.

Our teams better beware of those speed checkers

in a fast and furious Superskills Challenge.

Don't you dare miss it!

It looks like our teams have a lot of hard work to do

before they face the Ultimate Driving Test

at the end of the series. Can they do it?

Find out next time on Driving Academy. Until then, stay safe!

Right, come on,

let's get the car clean, then.

Shouldn't take too long

at the speed we do things!

DUMMY RATTLES

Shush with the rattle!

I'm starting to get really annoyed!