December 2017
 
Dates For Your Diary
 
 
Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of every month at Liddington Village Hall, opposite the church
  
January 19th 2018
Annual Dinner
Brewer's Arms, Wanborough
 
 

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

January 19th At the Brewers Arms in Wanborough.
Menu will be circulated via e-mail. 
Please let Mary Southgate know if you are attending.
 
Congratulations!

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

Pete Kempshall Bike - Gold (retest)
Bill Reed Car - Gold (retest)
Gerry Tierney Car - Gold (retest)
 
Mark Sealey - RoSPA National Diploma in Advanced Motorcycle Instruction
 
New Associates:
Please welcome the following to the Group:

Kevin Smith (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
Happy New Year!
The past year has seen some changes in both the Wiltshire RoADAR group and with the National body too.  Some of this caused a lot of heated and passionate discussion within the committee, and beyond, but we are hopefully bringing things to a close over the next few months.

The committee has changed in terms of officers with many stepping down after several years of dedicated service.  Newer officers have spent the past couple of years on the committee so we know what is expected of us.
 
Change is always difficult as we all bring something unique to whatever role we play; this is true of the new committee officers. So, whilst we all fully embrace all that RoSPA and RoADAR stand for, we bring to it our own personalities, much like the previous incumbents.
 
These are very big shoes to fill and ones which we are looking forward to doing so.
 
Our sincere thanks and gratitude go to the following for making life within the Wiltshire RoADAR group fun and fulfilling:
  • Stephen Izatt – outgoing chair
  • Mary Southgate – outgoing Secretary
  • Michael Southgate – outgoing Treasurer
  • Monica Graham – outgoing speaker coordinator and membership secretary
Over the coming months, the new committee hope to make the group fun and fulfilling too!
 
Some old names in new roles:
Our success rate in attracting new members has seen numbers soar to a point where we are struggling to cope, if indeed we are coping. This is fantastic news but means we do need more tutors to help train for both car and bike sections. (That was a gentle hint!)
 
We are all volunteers with a common purpose and the committee do not have the monopoly on good ideas; here are some of the highlights the Committee see for 2018 
  • Monthly speakers.
  • Christmas meal in January!
  • Trip to Wales (May).
  • Monthly ride-outs.
  • Accreditation with RoADAR.
  • Maintaining and promoting the highest standards for driving and Riding and looking for opportunities to continuously imrpove the way we operate.
  • Skillshare event at two new locations in both north and south Wiltshire – new cake to try!
  • Attending events to attract new members.
  • Learning how to use Spell Check in Windows!
  • A new social media coordinator.
The Chairman and Committee wish all members a happy and safe new year and look forward to us all taking our Group into a successful 2018.
 
 
Communication from RoADAR Head Office
The below message was sent out to all RoADAR groups:
 
I want to take this moment to thank you, committee members and tutors throughout the network for all your dedication in helping individuals take and pass the RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders test in 2017.
 
2017 has been a year of great progress, together as a team we have implemented a final Group Accreditation Scheme that fits all. Throughout the consultation it was great to see so many individuals at RoSPA HQ and talk through plans, ideas and time frames to ensure an even better and more successful future for RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders.
 
Your hard work, dedication and passion is second to none, we are incredibly proud of the large network of volunteers who have made a difference to Road Safety and Advanced Driving and Riding this year and we look forward to continuing to make a difference with you in 2018.
 
I wish you all a safe and very happy Christmas.
 
Best Wishes
Amy
 
Amy Brant
RoSPA Advanced Driving and Riding Manager
 
 
Communication from new Coordinator - Richard Howse
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).  He/she 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; we have replied and asked him to come and see us at one of monthly meetings.  The aim is for Richard to develop a good relationship with the Chairman and Secretary of each of his Regions 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 be 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 complete 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
 
 
December meeting report
Both Sides of the Himalayas by Motorbike - Norman Parry
 
Due to the weather conditions this talk was cancelled and is currently being rescheduled for 2018.
 
Invitation from Gloucester RoADAR Group
An Introduction to Human Factors – Helping to understand ‘The Human Element’ and ‘Why Mistakes Happen’

Thu 18 January 2018 at 19:30
 
Gloucester South Fire Station Community Room SkillZONE Tuffley Lane Gloucester GL4 0AS

Ian Dewar – A Human Factors Facilitator for all personnel involved in Defence Aviation. Ian will facilitate a discussion on how Humans interact, why mistakes happen, how we can try and reduce errors in transportation and more generally in the workplace. Topics covered will include Communications, Situational Awareness, Stress and Fatigue. 
 
This event is free and open to anyone who is interested. There’s no need to book, just turn up on the evening.
 
 
Membership Renewals
Please note membership renewals are due for all members. Renewal notifications have been sent by email so please look out for it and ensure that your annual subscription is fully paid up. 
 
Communication 

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.
  

 
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. Better still, why not pop along to a committe meeting to see them developed first hand! 
 
Skillshare
Thank you to all who supported Skillshare this year.  We will start again in April 2018 at two new locations!

Skillshare runs from 10 am on the first Saturday of each month from April to October at a new location yet to be determined 
 
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)
Membership Secretary: Mr Gary Franks
Hon Secretary: Mr Peter Genet
secretary@wiltshireroadar.co.uk
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