Monday 8th December
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Stuart Bullock, RoADAR Regional Examiner will be speaking.

Friday 30th January
7:30pm
Christmas/New Year Meal at The Village Inn, Liddington

Monday 9th February
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Gary Franks will be returning to give an update on his banger run across Europe in his 'Routemaster bus' Volvo.


Monthly Ride-Outs
Remember that monthly Bike Ride-Outs take place on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Unfortunately, the December ride-out has had to be cancelled. Ride-outs will resume in 2015.

Monthly meetings are all held at Liddington Village Hall opposite the church.

Congratulations to the following members who have all passed their tests recently:

Roger Miles (Bike - Silver). Tutored by Greg Scawen.
Peter Genet (Bike - Silver). Tutored by Mark Sealey.
Mike Newman (Car re-test - Gold)
Richard Hodge (Car re-test - Gold)
Bill Reed (Car re-test - Gold)
Roger Barnes (Car re-test - Silver)
John Reid (Bike re-test - Gold)

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

 

By now you should have received your invitation to take part in the Wiltshire RoADAR survey. Many thanks to those of you who have already taken part. We hope you will be able to spare a few minutes to answer the questionnaire as we can only run the group effectively if we understand what our member's want from their membership. 

Night Driving

Nick Carrington, our Car Training Officer, has recently produced a guide to Night Driving. This document is full of ideas and tips that may help to improve your driving in the dark. It is available from the Car Drivers page on our website at www.wiltshireroadar.co.uk/car-drivers.

Don't forget that we have arranged a visit to Allied Driving School at Netherhampton, near Salisbury on Saturday 20th June 2015 to give our members the opportunity to experience life behind the wheel of large vehicles. Instruction will be given in an articulated lorry, two 18 tonne box lorries and two cars with trailers.

The cost of this morning will be £26 including lunch. Expect our visit to last for approximately four hours. There are 15 places available and these are open to all our members and associates. Please contact Monica to reserve your place. Total payment will be required early next year.

Our traditional Christmas/New Year meal will be taking place on Friday 30th January 2015 at The Village Inn, Liddington, near Swindon. Tables have been booked at 7:30pm for 8:00pm. All members and their partners are welcome! The cost for a three course meal is £19.95 per person. To book your places please contact Monica as soon as possible, informing her of your menu choices from the following menu. Payment in full must be made by 1st January.

Starters

Soup of the day
Melon & prawn cocktail
Pate

Main courses

Roast Beef
With Horseradish sauce
Served with roast potatoes & vegetables

Homemade Steak & Ale Pie
Chunks of beef cooked with our local 3Bs
Served with roast potatoes & vegetables

Roast Chicken
Served with roast potatoes & vegetables.

Fresh Haddock
Served with new potatoes & vegetables

Angus Beef Lasagne
Served with a crisp salad garnish & garlic bread.

Vegetable & nut roast
With a cranberry sauce.
Served with roast potatoes & vegetables

Puddings

Fresh Fruit Salad
Homemade Apple Pie
Luscious Lemon Cheese Cake
Mile High Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ice Cream Sundae

Tea or Coffee

November Meeting Report: Judith Billingham, Wiltshire Council Road Safety Manager

We were delighted to welcome Judith Billingham to speak to us for this evening.

Judith has been working for seventeen years in Education and Safety and now has a team of two full time Road Safety Officers as well as a group of part timers who are called in when necessary.

We were told about the many initiatives currently being run in collaboration with Swindon Council, many of which are school based. Road safety training is very important as many children are taken to school by car and rarely get to learn about road safety, hopping from car to playground and back.

Schemes such as “Walk Safe”, where children are taught the Green Cross Code, "Scooter Skills" which teaches pavement courtesy, and cycle training “Bikeability”. This latter training is taught at three levels, level one in the playground for young children, level two for 10 – 11 year olds, on roads with highly qualified teachers, and level three for secondary school pupils at an advanced level, including road positioning.

"How Long is my Piece of String" is designed to teach children about stopping distances and distractions that could lengthen them.  They are always amazed at how wrong they can be, most greatly underestimate.

The Fire Service present a "Safe Drive, Stay Alive" roadshow in all secondary schools.

Four thousand children are trained in Road Safety skills each year (one thousand in Swindon) and the government give a grant of £130,000 which almost covers the costs. We have an instructor training centre in Wiltshire, one of only seventeen in the country, and have ten fully trained, highly qualified instructors on our books. There is also a Bikeability website.

The Council also train School Crossing Patrol staff - traffic outside schools continues to be a problem. There is a National Driver Awareness course for drivers who have been caught by the Police for speeding, SAGE which is a course to encourage older drivers when their confidence is lacking, taxi driver assessments and "Pass Plus" to encourage new drivers to learn more such as motorway and night driving.  I could go on about the many other schemes run by our Council, but it would cover many pages. Suffice it to say that we are well cared for by the Wiltshire Council Road Safety Team.

Thank you, Judith for a most enjoyable and informative evening.

Mary Southgate 

Emergency Contact Disc

Here's an idea for your redundant tax disc holder! West Mercia Police have come up with the idea of the Emergency Contact Disc, a disc that can be cut out and placed in your old tax disc holder, onto which you enter next of kin and medical alert information that will allow a first responder to obtain vital information in the event of a collision or medical emergency. Google 'Emergency Contact Disc' to find out more.

Thanks to Chris Gleed for this information.

Night Driving Glasses

Not many people know that you can get opticians to make up night driving glasses to your prescription. These reduce glare from oncoming headlights. Even if you do not normally wear glasses you can get them made up. Depending on your eyes' sensitivity to light there is a wide range of tints that can be used. My optician recommended them to me as my eyes are particularly light sensitive.

Monica Graham