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Dates For Your Diary
Sunday 7th September
8:00am - 4:00pm
Emergency Services Show
Please consider helping!
Monday 8th September
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Malcolm Palmer, a Road Safety Consultant to TRL, will be speaking on the subject of 'When Training Goes Bad'
Monday 13th October
7:15pm for 7:45
AGM
Monday 10th November
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Judith Billingham, Safety Manager for Wiltshire Council, will be our speaker.
Monday 8th December
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Stuart Bullock, RoADAR Regional Examiner will be speaking.
Monthly Ride-Outs
Remember that monthly Bike Ride-Outs take place on the 3rd Saturday of every month.
Monthly meetings are all held at Liddington Village Hall opposite the church.
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Do you have a topic you would like discussed, or know of an interesting speaker? Please contact Monica!
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Welcome to the following members who have all recently joined the group:
Tina Cole (Bike)
Roger Miles (Bike)
Richard Pearce (Bike)
David Blake (Bike)
Gene Webb (Car)
Robert Slack (Bike)
Ben Vallack (Car)
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Congratulations to the following people who have all passed their Advanced Tests recently:
Mel Jones - Gold (car); tutored by Monica Graham
Charles May - Silver (bike); tutored by Stephen Hyde.
Stephen Izatt - Gold (car); tutored by Nick Carrington
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Don’t forget that we have a range of clothing available to purchase. We also offer a range of books, such as Roadcraft, Motorcycle Roadcraft and the Highway Code, and these are available at discounted prices.
For more information visit the Merchandise page of our web site at www.wiltshireroadar.co.uk.
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We are always looking for more articles, ideas and news for the newsletter. Have you been somewhere interesting recently that would make a good story? If you attend any group events then take a camera and send us your pictures!
Please forward all contributions to newsletter@wiltshireroadar.co.uk |
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We're now on
Facebook
AND
Twitter!
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The AGM takes place on Monday 13th October at Liddington Village Hall. On this date membership renewals will become due for the majority of our members. We will soon be sending out annual renewal notices to all members who are due to renew, and these should arrive together with the notice of the AGM. Your membership renewal can be paid electronically by bank transfer or by cheque. You will also need to forward your completed renewal form to Monica, either by email, by bringing it with you to the AGM, or by sending it to her by post.
At the AGM we will be electing a new committee to help run the group for the next year. Most of the current members intend to stand for re-election for the next year but we are also looking for some new members. Please consider joining us! Joining the committee gives you a chance to influence the running of the group and inject some fresh ideas. We meet on the third Wednesday of each month at Liddington Village hall at 7.30pm.
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We still need more help to cover the day and help man our stand at Hullavington on the 7th September. This is always a very good day with much to see and do. Please let Monica know if you can be there.
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The Calne Bike Meet on Saturday 26th July 2014 was blessed with good weather. It was the largest ever, although the town footfall seemed less, and raised over £10,000 for charity.
We had a good double pitch this year on the lawn adjoining Marden House. We shared the lawn with a number of biker organisations including the "blood bikes" which proved beneficial for us as they passed on a number of people for their required training.
It was also a good spot as most of the classic bikes were parked adjoining us. They are always a joy to see, hear and smell. There was an immaculate but unrestored Vincent Black Shadow and my annual favourite at Calne, a highly tuned Triton.
There was a very happy atmosphere throughout the town with a light hearted policing. As usual, there was much showing off with hugely noisy pipes: wonderful! Probably, the various Harley's won.
We had a very good interest in our training and a number of informational leaflets passed out. It is difficult to estimate the conversion rate as there is often a 'slow burn'. We recently gained a member that had talked to us at last year's meet.
It was a worthwhile effort and many thanks to everyone who turned up to help setting up and manning the stand.
Stephen Izatt
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There have recently been some questions concerning the requirement to show your insurance documentation to your examiner when you arrive for your test.
Many insurance companies no longer send out paper copies of certificates, instead they often email out the documents or make them available from their web sites. RoADAR examiners will expect to see evidence of insurance.
We therefore recommend that you print out a copy of your insurance certificate and take this with you on the day of your test. We also advise our tutors to check your insurance documentation so please show it to them at the start of your first drive/ride.
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National RoADAR Membership Fees
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We sometimes receive queries from people who are confused about the difference between membership of Wiltshire RoADAR and membership of the national RoADAR organisation.
Most people initially join us (Wiltshire RoADAR) as an associate member, paying our membership subscription. Once they apply for their test, their test fee includes their first year's membership of the national RoADAR organisation. On the anniversary of their test, the renewal of their national RoADAR membership becomes due. This is currently £23.50 per year and includes the cost of the three yearly test.
Renewal of your Wiltshire RoADAR membership is completely independent to the national membership. Renewal of Wiltshire RoADAR's membership is currently £17 and this covers our costs in organising meetings, events, etc. as well as providing any additional training.
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A quick reminder that vehicle tax discs are to be abolished from 1st october 2014. After this date, no new discs will be issued. You will, however, still need to tax your vehicle! DVLA will send you a renewal reminder when your tax is due to expire and police cameras will automatically check a car's number plate to establish if it has been paid. If you have a tax disc with any months left to run after this date, then it can be removed from the vehicle windscreen and destroyed.
The changes being introduced also mean that, when you buy a used vehicle, the vehicle tax will no longer be transferred with the vehicle. You will need to get new vehicle tax before you can use the vehicle. When you sell a vehicle, you will automatically get a refund for any full calendar months left on the vehicle tax when you notify the DVLA. It will also now be possible to pay for your vehicle tax using direct debit.
For more information, see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/vehicle-tax-changes. |
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Beware Mobility Scooters!
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I recently have had two near incidents with mobility scooters which have concerned me.
The first was in Farringdon on a one way street where an elderly gentleman was coming along on the off side pavement at speed and failed to negotiate a dropped curve and tipped sideways onto the road. I was far away to observe what was happening and had time to stop my car at an angle with the hazard lights on to protect the gentleman and his scooter. Fortunately there was a group of people having a conversation nearby, who I asked for help to untangle the gentleman, his stick, shopping and right his scooter. Having done so he went on his way without a thank you to the young men who helped lift him and his scooter!
The second was going down Kingshill Road in Swindon. Just past the roundabout there is a pedestrian crossing. On the nearside pathway was a mobility scooter going quite quickly. The owner suddenly swung round to the crossing and pushed the button. The scooter did stop but ended up partly on the pavement and partly on the road! Certainly the car coming in the opposite direction would not have been able to stop had the mobility scooter continued to cross the road.
Monica Graham
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