January 2018
 
Dates For Your Diary
 
 
Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of every month at Liddington Village Hall, opposite the church
  
February 12th 2018
 
Special General Meeting and Meet  Richard Howes the new Regional Coordinator
 
March 13th 2018
 
Both sides of the Himalayas by Motorbike - by Norman Parry
 

 
Monthly Ride-Outs
Remember that monthly Bike Ride-Outs take place on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Check the Forum for details
 
Do you have a topic you would like discussed, or know of an interesting speaker?  Please contact Monica!
 
 
Congratulations!

Congratulations to the following members who have passed their Advanced Tests recently:

Peter Genet  Bike Gold (retest)
 
New Associates:
Please welcome the following to the Group:
 
John Norris (Car)
Helen Jenkins (Car)
 
 
 
 
Merchandise
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.
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
 
 
We're now on
Facebook
AND
Twitter!
Find us on facebook
@wiltshireroadar
Accreditation - Special General Meeting 12 February 2018
 
The committee are preparing the necessary paperwork for the accreditation process with RoADAR Head Office as previously advertised.  Most of this refers to statistics and how we run the Group but we have had to re-write the Constitution.
 
The Constitution was the main sticking point for many Groups when this process started in early 2016.  As previously reported there has been a great deal of communication between the Groups and Head Office.  We have finally developed a Constitution with which the Committee is happy and will satisfy the requirements for accreditation.  This is an amalgam of our current constitution and the elements which improve it from the RoADAR suggested version.
 
To comply with the Constitution (new and old) The Chairman has called a Special General Meeting (SGM) so the Group can ratify the new Constitution prior to its submission to RoADAR.  The Draft Constitution was circulated to all members in early January.
 
The SGM will be held at the Monthly meeting on 12 February 2018 at Liddington - if you cannot make it please fo vote by proxy or send your comments to the Chairman or Secretary.
 
As an added bonus Richard Howes, the New Regional Coordinator, will attend the meeting so we can discuss with him how we can improve communication with Head Office and work together to develop our Group and  regional efforts.
 
Richard is making a special effort to be with us, and this is an indication of his commitment, as he was knocked off his motorcycle on 18 Jan and will still be recovering.  We look forward to seeing him and his letter of introcution remains on the newsletter below.
 
 
 
 
Communication from new Coordinator - Richard Howes
Head Office have moved away from GAP representatives to a new Regional coordinator role.  They wish to make better use of electronic media and the Regional coordinators will communicate mainly via email, help the Groups with any issues we may have and produce a monthly update (which will be passed on via our normal communications channels).  The Coordinator is paid for 10 hours work per month and he will be paid travel expenses for business travel.

Our coordinator is Richard Howse and you can see an introductory note from him below; He is attending our meeting on 12 Feb.  The aim is for Richard to develop a good relationship with the Chairman and Secretary of each of his Region,s groups; we hope as many of us as possible get to know him and we thus improve our communications with Head  Office.
 
The message below was sent to all RoADAR groups within Richard's area:
 
Firstly, thank you for your continued support of RoSPA and your efforts to improve road safety, and for bringing groups of like minded people together to share their knowledge and experience.  This is a short email to introduce myself fully as your new RoADAR Regional Coordinator, and to let you know that we're ready to support you and the group in the coming years to continue the successful work you have carried out so far.
 
2018 will pose many challenges for all of us in road safety, but I am confident that our groups will continue to thrive and bring advanced training and social events to even more people.  Having spent the largest part of my career in a similar industry, assisting people with recruiting and retaining recreational enthusiasts, I'm sure we can work together to improve further upon our successes.

My original background was with Computing, but this soon shifted to precision engineering in the late 90's, and then on to aerospace training in the early part of the century.

Since then I've worked within the recreational sports industry, all the time being a keen motorcyclist.  Covering nearly 50,000 miles a year for work taught me very quickly the importance of raising the skill and knowledge of the average driver, and in 2004 I qualified as a DVSA Motorcycle Instructor, and shortly afterwards completed the RoSPA Advanced Test and IAM Advanced Test. I'm now undertaking my RoSPA Driver training, with a view to completing the Diploma Course in 2018.

Since then I've completed my RoSPA Motorcycle Diploma (2015) and now work full time as a Motorcycle Instructor in the Bristol area. With a varied background spanning many industries, I'm happy to turn my hand to almost any task, and would be ever keen to assist you.

Anyway, enough about me, I'd love to hear back from you about the plans your group has for 2018 and in any way I can help with these plans.  We're also looking for news to share amongst the groups, and we'll be more actively involved with session involving Examiners and Senior examiners.

Warmest regards


Richard Howes
RoSPA Regional Coordinator
 
 
RoADAR Head Office facebook Page
We received the following message from Head office - We will follow from the Group page but feel free to indulge yourselves:
 
I am delighted to confirm we have set up a nationwide RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders Facebook group, attached to the RoSPA Facebook page. It is open for all RoADAR members, and anyone interested in advanced driving or riding to share ideas, events, advice etc..
 
Here is the page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/161699161113584/ or type in RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders in to your facebook.
 
Please feel free to add yourself to the page and share with your group including any colleagues or contacts who are part of Road Safety, or may be interested in taking up Advanced Driving and Riding.  
 
I shall look forward to seeing you and others on the site.
 
Kind regards
Amy
 
 
January meeting report
There was no meeting this month but the Annual Meal was well attended and good fun was had by all.  Big thank you to Mary Southgate for organising the event.
 
Skillshare 2018 - New locations
Skillshare will run from 10 am on the first Saturday of each month from April to October.  The locations (to improve our coverage across the County) are as follows:
 
For April, June, August and October it will be at the Three Trees Farm Shop at Chiseldon
 
For May, July and September it will at the Haven Salisbury.
 
Skillshare is extended to car drivers as well as bike riders.
 
Drivers or riders can turn up and get a free assessment of their skills, with the opportunity to sign up for full membership if they want to take it further. If members get an opportunity to publicise Skillshare the website is a good starting point or please ask Mark Sealey for more information (skillshare@wiltshireroadar.co.uk)
 
Communication 

Committee Meetings
 
Members are welcome to attend Committee Meetings to see how we manage the Group and to contribute as they see fit.  These are held on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at the Village  Hall in Liddington at 7.30 pm.  Dates are :
 
Feb 21
Mar 21
Apr 18
May 16
Jun 20
Jul 18
Aug - no meeting
Sep 19
Oct 17
Nov21
Dec tbc
 
Committee minutes    These are available from the Group Secretary if any member wishes to see them. If you are interested in reading the minutes, then please send a mail to the Group Secretary whom will promptly forward them onto you.
 
Membership fees - confused? 
 
This was discussed recently and a clarification is needed. There are two fees to pay:

1. Wiltshire RoADAR (the Group) - an annual fee is paid to the Group in October. This pays for hall hire, speakers and promotional material. This fee does not cover test fees or RoADAR/RoSPA membership fees.

2. RoADAR (HQ) - a fee is only paid to RoADAR (HQ) in the first instance for the test fee. After that, it is up to the individual if they wish to pay an annual membership fee to RoADAR - this is in addition to paying an annual membership fee to Wiltshire RoADAR. If a member does pay an annual fee to RoADAR, then assuming one does so for three years continuously, there will not be a further test fee to be paid for the three yearly retest.  The fee to RoSPA is paid by the indiviudual at the time of booking their test. Annual renewal to RoADAR is around the time of your test. 
  
Forum
 
A reminder for all Members there is a Forum on the Website which can be used for any purpose but particularly coordinating events, hints, tips and general conversation.  It is easy to register on the website so please do log on and chat away.
 
Test results 
 
Reminder to let the Membership Secretary, and your tutor, know when you have taken your Advanced Driving/Riding Test and result. This is so our database is kept up to date; there is no need or pressure at all to have the result published on the website or in this newsletter if you wish to keep your result confidential.
  

 
 
 
 
Membership Secretary: Mr Gary Franks
Hon Secretary: Mr Peter Genet
secretary@wiltshireroadar.co.uk
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