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Dates For Your Diary
Monday 12th May
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Julie Garbutt from the British Horse Society will be speaking.
Monday 9th June
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Stuart McMillan, RoADAR's Chief Examiner, will be attending.
Saturday 28th June
9:00am - 5:00pm
Strawberries and Steam Festival, Lotmead Farm, Wanborough, Swindon
Monday 14th July
7:15pm for 7:45
Meeting: Judith Billingham from Wiltshire Council's Road Safety Department will be our speaker.
Saturday 26th July
8:00am - 5:00pm
Calne Bike Meet
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 joined the group recently:
Jo Timms (Car)
Megan Boardman (Car)
Bob Pearce (Bike)
Peter Genet (Bike)
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Congratulations to Louise Hall who recently passed her car test with a silver grade. Her tutor was Les Brown.
Congratulations also to Paul Silverwood who recently passed his car re-test with a Gold grade.
Finally David Blackledge,
Tony King and John McKellar all recently qualified as approved bike tutors. Very well done to you all!
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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 are planning to attend several events this year to promote the group and hopefully attract some new members. However, we can only do this if we have enough support so please let Monica know if you can lend a hand to help man our stand at any of the following events:
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Saturday 28th June 9:00am-5:00pm - Strawberries and Steam Festival, Lotmead Farm, Wanborough, Swindon
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Saturday 26th July 8:00am-5:00pm - Calne Bike Meet
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Sunday 7th September 8:00am-4:00pm - Emergency Services Show, Hullavington Airfield
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Do you have a youngster in the family aged 11- 15? If so, then the Under 17 Car Club would like to invite you to their Open Day at Throckmorton Airfield, Worcestershire, WR10 2JH. To apply for a a place visit www.under17-carclub.co.uk.
The Under 17 Car Club have also annonced details of their Pathfinder scheme. This is open to 15 & 16 year olds. You will get 10% discount if you mention you are a member of Wiltshire RoADAR. For more information email admin@under17driver.co.uk.
Monica has leaflets giving further details of both of these. They are excellent schemes whereby youngsters can get driving skills before going on the road. |
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An Invitiation From Gloucester Group...
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Gloucester Group are running a slow riding event on 11 May 2014 at Berkeley Power Station and would like to invite riders from Wiltshire RoADAR to come along for free.
Timings: 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Venue: Lower Car Park, Berkeley Power Station, Berkeley, GL13 9PB (N51 41.406 W2 29.727)
The morning will be run by Tony Dix assisted by tutors from Gloucestershire RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders' group and will provide riders with a safe environment to explore the slow speed handling and braking performance of their bikes. Tutors will be on hand to offer instruction and encouragement throughout each of the exercises! We will be running a slow race, a variety of coned exercises, braking practise and, hopefully, a motogymkhana event.
Here is a taster video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLIHh56yX1Y
If you are planning to attend this fun and challenging event, please contact Stephen Wilkinson-Carr ( swcroadar@sky.com).
How to get there from the M5:
- Exit 14 M5 signed to Dursley from the south and Thornbury from the north.
Follow signs to Berkeley (A38).
- Turn right onto A38 to Gloucester.
- After 1.3 miles, as you exit the village of Stone, turn left toward Ham, Rockhampton, Hill.
- After 2.1 miles you will see a red telephone kiosk on the right. Turn next left onto Hamfield Lane (about 75 meters after the kiosk).
- After 1 mile turn left onto main route into the Power Station.
- At the first roundabout you come to take the first exit and follow this approach road (watching out for the pot holes) until you approach the Berkeley Centre gatehouse. Take the left turn through the upper car park and continue until you see the cones in the lower car park.
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If you have any burning issues that you'd like to raise concerning any of the group's activities then we would welcome your input! Please feel free to put them in writing and forward them to the Secretary, either by email or in the post. We would also like to remind members that our committee meetings are open to any member who wishes to raise anything. Issues can be discussed either as an agenda item to be notified to the Secretary prior to the meeting or under any other business.
The Committee
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We have had a few incidents recently where members have experienced lengthy delays between their test application being forwarded to Head Office and the member being contacted by the examiner. If you feel that your application is not being dealt with as quickly as you'd like, please contact Monica who will chase it up for you.
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Adapted from The Daily Telegraph.
This was published co-incidentally the week after the Group-sponsored First Aid course.
If you are first at the scene of a crash (rider or driver), should you stop to help, or ride/drive past and dial 999? Knowing the basics of scene protection and First Aid can make the difference. Driver First Assist (DFA) is being set up to help turn thousands of road users into trained front-line helpers. A day’s course is all it takes. A course like the one run by our Group.
If you have to stop, try and get the basics right for the Emergency Services. On a motorway, look for a marker post, a telephone or a sign, either a distance sign, or a junction. On other roads, look for distinguishing features, road name, junctions with other roads, house names by the side of the road. If you’re calling from a mobile, basic triangulation will help the call centre identify your position, but in rural areas the zone identified could be 10 miles across. If your smartphone has GPS, turn it on and use an app like Google maps to try and narrow down your location, or use the Sat Nav in your car. Even the latitude and longitude shown on the position screen can be used by the call taker to identify your position.
Protect and assess the scene. Park with your hazards on and headlights on dip, straight on so approaching traffic can see your lights. Work in the area shielded by your vehicle, not where traffic can go. Identify hazards in the scene, which can include other traffic, electrocution, fire, chemicals and debris. Keep yourself safe. Assess the severity of any injuries and call emergency services with basic, accurate information. Don’t be tempted to over-dramatise, as soon as trained personnel arrive they will call for backup if necessary.
First-aid training will allow you to act, as well as assess. Any casualty who is not breathing could be a life to be saved. Basic ABC (airway, breathing and circulation) assessment and knowing what to do could be vital.
The DFA course costs £95. You can get more information at driverfirstassist.org. Or next time the Group run a course, get your name down. Our courses are subsidised (when funds allow) and the last one cost only £35. The UK needs 60,000 trained first-aiders on the roads to make a significant impact on reducing fatalities. Please think about it.
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