forward_vision_109_december2014

The Newsletter of Chelmsford Advanced Motorists

www.iamchelmsford.org.uk

Issue 109 December 2014 & January 2015 IAM Group 7223 Registered Charity No 1059372

What’s behind this?

Chelmsford Advanced Motorists Issue 109

Congratulations

Here are some of our successful members receiving their certificate from our Chairman Scott Bannister

After a fall from a ladder caused catastrophic damage to my spinal cord. A period of rehab had me driving again, then a close friend, who had recently taken and passed the IAM test put me in touch with Scott. Concerns about my handicap were not an issue for him and he was brave enough to take me on for Observed Drives. My thanks to Scott and appreciation to all those who helped me, cannot ever be sufficient for such an unbelievable achievement. David Seaman

Here is Scott presenting Alex Leong with his certificate.


Associates, Full Members & Guests Welcome

Forthcoming Group Meetings These are usually held on the 2nd Monday of each month

at the Essex Police Sports and Social Club, Which is through the Police vehicle park at the very end of St. Margarets Road,

Chelmsford.

Group Meetings start promptly at 8pm, so please arrive at around 7.45pm.

Make a note in your diary and please be there!

http://www.essexexplorer.co.uk/cam.kmz

Disclaimer—Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this Newsletter are those of the individual writers and they do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, nor those of the Chelmsford and District Group of Advanced Motorists. Their accuracy has not been verified.

Notice—Data Protection Act: records are held of members personal details submitted on their appli-cation form. The information will be used solely for the Group’s administration purposes and will not be passed to any third party.

CM2 6DS

http://goo.gl/maps/VrEwi

Date Topic Speaker

Monday 12th January

History of Havering. This includes, Havering Museum, Romford Market, Hornchurch Airfield, Havering Palace, Upminster, Rainham and the Thames

Dennis Lynch

Monday 9th February

New drug drive offence, which drugs, what limits, the purpose of the new con-

Roger Agombar


to our new Associate and Full Members.

We look forward to seeing and talking to them at our monthly Group nights

We are a friendly bunch, so don’t be worried about coming to our Group nights if you are on your own.

Make yourself known to John who will greet you at the desk, he will find one of us to come and talk to you. John will also try to get you to part with some money for the raffle.

There will be Senior Observers, Observers and generally an Examiner at the evening and you will be able to get answers to any questions that you have.

Please come along, we’ll even give you tea or coffee and there is a bar - for light refreshments obviously!

Terry Joyce

John Newstead Chelmsford Matthew Spiller Brentwood

Michael Manning Braintree Joy Graham Hatfield Peverel

Richard Weldon Stock Freddy Whitten Chignal St James

Jo Ellis Billericay

This is a slightly different view of the front cover. As you can see there was a car hidden behind the A pillar. See page 12 for the article.


Please remember: Do telephone both your Observer and Scott Ban-nister ( Associates Co-ordinator ) immediately after your test.

Congratulations to these latest Members of our Group who

have Passed

‘The Test’.

To all those people who have passed their test: It would be appreciated if you could write a few words thanking your Observer and maybe something about the process and your test, to give those New Associates an insight into the process of learning Advanced Driving.

Test No Name Test Date Observer

1037 Peter Robinson 24th November Scott Bannister

See page 2 for photos of our members receiving their certificates.


From the Chairman Well, the festive period is nigh upon us and thoughts turn to HMRC. Perhaps yours

don’t but then I’ve always been a little bit weird and if I choose to think about the tax-

man that’s my problem. The reason for such weirdness? Well one of the reasons we

have been able to keep our local Group going on a shoestring budget is that every

year, the taxman makes a contribution called Gift Aid. Through this scheme, you give

us a tenner and the taxman chips in £2.50 – and you thought the government were

just a bunch of money-grabbing parasites – shame on you in this time of goodwill to

all men. Anyway, this system has worked well for us in the past but we recently found

on checking our records that we had very little in the way of records and we would

appear to have lost the gift aid forms that you all signed some time ago.

We have partially retrieved the situation by getting them filled in by those attending

the monthly Group night. We need the rest. So, unless you have filled in one for us in

the last couple of months can you please assume we have lost it and fill in the form in

the centre of this newsletter and return it to our esteemed treasurer John Johnston.

Apart from being grateful for the forms, he doesn’t get much mail so if you send these

forms to him, he can pretend to himself that they are Xmas cards.

Apart from the simple details required on the form, we have also put a line in for e-

mail address. This is not for the tax man – it’s for our records. Many of you receive a

monthly reminder about the group night and I do an occasional e-mail advising of skid

-pan etc, so if you want to be on that mailing list, please let us know your e-mail

address. If you wish to remain dark and mysterious, that’s ok too, but please send the

form back.

In the meantime enjoy all that festive nonsense. Personally I shall be hiding under a

blanket until all the furore dies down in January.

Scott


Please contact me

by email at

[email protected]

~~~~~~~~ Editorial ~~~~~~~~

Terry Joyce

Hello,

The picture on the front cover relates to my article on page 12 about blind

spots caused by A pillars. There is actually a car behind the A pillar shown

on the cover.

John Stone gave me a newspaper article about a 100 year old man who is

still driving despite never having passed a driving test. Francis Morris start-

ed driving in 1933 two years before it became compulsory to take a driving

test. See pages 14 and 15 for more about older drivers.

Thank you to those of you that have contributed to this edition. Please

keep the letters and articles coming.

There are the dates for next year on Page 16.

Many Thanks to Sue Sweetland for her patient and educated assistance in

producing this Newsletter.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas


Our Group Enquiry number: - 07757 399897

Honorary Life Members Mr Mike Corbett, Mr Glyn Jarrett, Mrs Ruth Jarrett, Mr Dave Travers, Mr Colin Snow.

Group contact information

Chairman Associates Co-ordinator & Chief Observer

Scott Bannister

Secretary Steve Wright

Treasurer John Johnston

Membership Secretary Ken Carrington

Website Editor Jon Ward

Newsletter Editor Terry Joyce [email protected]

Events Organiser Sally Langley

Publicity John Stone

Group Contact Susan Sweetland

Committee Member Dr Clifford Murira

Committee Member John Ockmore

Committee Member Ken Howard

Committee Member Malcolm Kentish

Committee Member Selva Seeni

Committee Member Anthony Shilson

Committee

Observer Examiner Gaynor Manthorpe

External Events


Roadcraft

Chapter 3 covers Information, observation and anticipation. To be Advanced Drivers we need increase our ability to process information. The more we can observe hazards and in particular observe them early, the more we can do about them. Information is key to the ‘System’ as without it the planning it would not work. Roadcraft talks about scanning the environment and imagining your field of view as a picture. You see the whole picture but can only concentrate on one part of it at a time. Now the difficult part, scanning. Roadcraft states, continually scan different areas of the environment in turn so that you build up a whole picture. Routine scanning enables you to process information, spot hazards and monitor the situation as it changes. It goes on to say, learn to use your eyes in a scanning motion that sweeps the whole environment. When I was learning to fly I was taught that scanning is an important because outside of controlled airspace, aircraft of any type can fly in any direction and any altitude, there are no roads so they can come towards you from any direction and from above and below. This isn’t as bad as it sounds. Two things that you need to know before we go any further, when the eyes are not focused on an object , they naturally focus a few metres ahead and your eyes will only be able to detect a target (maybe a cyclist) when they are still. Having said the eyes need to be still to see a target, it is extremely important that we do not concentrate (stare) at one particular hazard for too long and by too long I’m guessing a second is probably too long. If you do concentrate on a hazard you will miss another hazard and this can be as big as a lorry. So how do you scan effectively? I can’t tell you that specifically as we are all different, you have to find out the best way for you. I can give you an idea how I scan. The bottom picture on page 53 of Roadcraft is a useful guide. My eyes are continually moving using very short glances, when I’ve checked the im-mediate environment around the car, I look as far as I can see, scanning across and up and down, check the mirrors, check the speedo, go back to the front and repeat. This gives you a whole series of pictures that the brain stitches together. This should make you aware of everything around your car as you move along the road, however we are human and make mistakes, so it is important that we are aware of that fact and keep checking.

Extracts from Roadcraft comments by Terry Joyce


This is the time by which I should be calm and organised with parcels wrapped in glamorous paper and ribbons etc but oh help, it's three and a tiny bit weeks to Christmas and all I've done is buy the cards and order the turkey! So all I have to do is make and ice the cake, make sure we have enough sprouts....... I'm driving a different car today because ours is in for Servicing. The courtesy car is an MG Saloon with a very light, precise gearbox, a radio we have-n't managed to switch off, and absolutely everything else on the stalks. I'm not usual-ly fazed by icons and arrows but these are tiny and it's a bit like trying to follow a very small map without my glasses. I've more or less sorted out which bit does what but I felt a bit of a fool fiddling about on the garage forecourt with The Man Of The House standing in front of the car telling me when the lights came on and it took both of us several minutes to find the lever which opens the fuel cap! Not to worry, at least we can laugh at it all: Happy Christmas!

Susan Sweetland

Our Observers Ron Adams

Scott Bannister

Pat Clements

Philip Cooper

Paul Crosby

Jamie Drummond

Tony Hawes

Helen Jeffries

Terry Joyce

Rob Laird

George Locker

Graham Lowe

Gaynor Manthorpe

Dr Clifford Murira

John Ockmore

Graham Robson

Roger Spall

Lawrence Tattersall

John Tullett

Mark Warbey

Brian Williams

Rob Wise


Notification of Events

There has been a lot of positive feedback from events organised by the Group. If you would like to be kept informed of any up and coming events please make sure that l has your current email address.

Young Driver Scheme

Do you know of anyone who is not 17 years of age, but wants to learn how to drive?

Chelmsford IAM group supports this road safety scheme to give people the opportunity to learn basic car control skills in Driving School Dual Controlled cars on pri-vate land before they go on the public Highway.

getting behind the wheel (again, or for the first time).

Full details of the scheme, a letter from Essex Police and a map may be viewed, and the application Form can be downloaded, from

www.youngdriverscheme.org

Lessons, lasting for one hour, are run on the third Sunday of most months at Earls Colne (near Coggeshall). There is an initial Registration Fee of £30 which covers registration and the first one hour lesson. Subsequent lessons cost £25. Lessons must be booked in advance.

The scheme is intended primarily for 16 year-olds but, if vacancies permit, places may be offered to 15 year-olds or even to older people who are nervous about

Alternatively, forms may be obtained from the YDS Organiser.

Nicola Hyland, 67 Main Road,

St Lawrence Bay, Southminster,

CM0 7NA

Dedicated Mobile number

07847 645632 or

[email protected]


Blind Spots

I have covered this subject before but following an incident on an observed drive I thought it would be worth a revision and also because of this statistic from the Department of Transport: The leading cause of fatal, serious and slight crashes on UK roads is drivers 'failing to look properly’. On all cars there are a number of what are considered blind spots. The roof support on either side of a vehicle's windshield, otherwise known as the A pillar, is one of them. The A pillar is the engineering term for the area dividing the windscreen and the windows. In recent years the A pillars have become sturdier in a bid to improve the structure of the car as a whole. But because the A pillar has become thicker, it has created a blind spot which obstructs the vision of drivers. More than 90 per cent of the information from the car’s external environment is viewed by the driver through the windscreen and windows. So, you should be aware of the potential restriction the A pillar may cause in your ability to scan the road ahead. It is vital to check that nothing is hidden from view by the A pillar before making a manoeuvre. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists and even a car depending on your position are easy to “lose” in the space behind a pillar. Make sure you take time to look around the pillar, not just take a quick “snap-shot” look which could allow something to be hidden from view. The picture on the left is looking through the windscreen. The picture on the right has changed as I’ve moved my head a few inches to the left.

This highlights what it is possible to miss if you do not look around the pillar. As you are driving in a straight line on an approach to a junction, look further ahead, and scan to the left and right on your approach. That way you will see things through the windscreen before they become “lost” behind the pillars. Remember, good all - round vision is vital. It is our responsibility as drivers to see what is there and plan how to deal with it.

Terry Joyce


THE CHELMSFORD AND DISTRICT GROUP OF ADVANCED MOTORISTS

….…….Memb No Gift Aid Donation

To: The Membership Secretary, for the time being, of the Chelmsford and District Group of Advanced Motorists:

Please treat my annual subscriptions, until further notice from me, as Gift Aid dona-tions to the Chelmsford and District Group of Advanced Motorists, registered Chari-ty number 1059372, and reclaim tax. I understand that I should inform the membership secretary if at any time I should cease to pay an annual amount of income tax or capital gains tax at least equal to the amount of the subscription.

Signed: ……………...……………….

Date:……………………..…………...

SURNAME: ......................................

FORENAMES:.................................................................

ADDRESS:......................................................................

........................................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

POSTCODE:.............................

E-MAIL:.................................................................................................................

Explanatory Notes

The new Gift Aid scheme came into operation on 6th April 2000, replacing the Deeds of Covenant by which tax-refundable donations were previously made to Charity. The new scheme is much simpler to operate.

The £10 which you pay as the annual subscription to the Chelmsford Group counts as a Charitable payment.

Provided that you pay an annual amount in income tax or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax we reclaim on your donation and you give your permission, the Group can claim an additional amount (currently £2.50) from the Inland Revenue for each £10 you pay. No personal details are required by the Revenue beyond your name and address.

Permission need be given only once; the Group can then make claims for all subse-quent payments. Claims can be made for all payments made since 6th April 2000. You need only sign a form giving permission for the claim to be made. Such permis-sion will be kept on file by the Group for possible audit of the Group’s accounts by the Revenue.

Should your circumstances change, for example, should you cease to be a tax payer, you should tell the Group that you wish to cancel the agreement. The IAM is also asking for permission to reclaim tax on the annual payments for membership of the Institute.

Registered Charity No. 1059372


Older Drivers

The number of older drivers on the roads has been increasing steadily and this is expected to continue . By 2030 more than 90% of men over 70 will be behind the wheel, which hopefully will include me.

Ageing Everyone ages differently. There is no safe or unsafe age for a driver.

Frailty Older people are more frail and more likely to suffer serious injury in accidents. It is likely that casualty figures are higher because of this frailty rather than because they are worse drivers.

Fatigue Older people are more susceptible to fatigue. Long journeys are best avoided, espe-cially after meals or alcohol.

Fitness to drive It's your responsibility to ensure fitness to drive. You must inform the DVLA of any medical conditions that will affect your driving. Your GP may say when you need to do this, but it is a good idea to ask "will this affect my driving?" whenever a new condition is diagnosed, or treatment given. Dementia poses particular problems. You must also make sure you meet the eyesight requirement. Regular eye tests will help.

Reapplying for your licence Once over 70 you will have to reapply for your licence every three years. There is no test or medical, but you do have to make a medical declaration that may lead to DVLA making further investigations.

Restricting driving Many older drivers restrict how and where they drive. You might choose to avoid driving in the dark, driving on fast roads or in busy town centres, driving in bad weather or driving long distances. If you have particular problems with some manoeuvres – such as turning right at junctions – it may be possible to plan routes to avoid these. Self restriction is a sign of responsibility and can increase safety, comfort and confidence.

The right car The right car can help a lot. Larger mirrors and bigger windows help all-round vision while bigger doors and higher seats can all help getting in and out.

Keep driving If you've got a licence and are fit to drive, keep driving. Try not to become over dependent on your partner's driving because as traffic conditions change it can be very hard to take up driving again after several years off. Try to stay in practice on the roads you frequently use.

Continued on Page 15


Older Drivers continued

Plan for the future There will eventually come a day when you do have to give up driving. Decisions made at the time of retirement like choosing to live in the country can have a big effect if driving has to stop.

Second opinion If it's a friend or relative you're worried about, get a second opinion. Check with their neighbours or friends – do they feel safe if they have a lift? Would they take a lift? Does the driver seem in control when reversing or manoeuvring? In some areas there are local authority schemes that use driving instructors to assess older drivers, but make sure this is in the sorts of conditions and on the sorts of roads they normally use. Mobility Centres can also help.

Facts about older drivers

In 1971 13% of the population was over 65 and 7% of those were over 85. By 2009 17% were over 65 and 12% of these over 85, and the population had grown. The proportion of older people with driving licences has risen from 15 to 57% in the same period.

One in 56 casualties among pedestrians in their 20s is fatal. This rises to one in 13 among the over 80s. The same applies to drivers rising from 1 in 141 to 1 in 38.

Drivers over 80 are two and a half times as likely to be killed in a collision as drivers in their forties but are less likely to be seriously injured.

Older driver deaths and serious injuries are falling – but not as much as all casualties. This is probably because the number of older drivers is increasing steadily as the population ages.

Drivers over 70 are as safe as drivers of 25. Drivers over 80 are less safe, but still safer than drivers in their teens.

More than 50% of drivers over 75 say they leave longer following distances, are more cautious, and avoid heavy traffic and long trips compared with when they were 50. Many also avoid night driving, motorways and drive more slowly.

Older pedestrians face the same problems as older drivers. In 2009 155 pedestrians over 70 were killed crossing the road, compared with 37 child pedestrians. Getting older drivers out of cars does not ensure their safety on the road.

Older drivers are involved in very few drink-drive or single vehicle accidents which are much more likely among younger people.

From the AA See http://www.theaa.com/public_affairs/reports/older-drivers.html

http://www.mobility-centres.org.uk/


Monday 12th January

History of Havering. This includes, Havering Museum, Romford Market, Hornchurch Airfield, Havering Palace, Upminster, Rainham and the Thames

Dennis Lynch

Monday 9th February

New drug drive offence, which drugs, what limits, the purpose of the new con-

trols and how that effects medication. Roger Agombar

Monday 9th March

Talks about Jack The Ripper, her research in Egyptology or working behind the scenes on the TV show Inspector Morse.

Lindsay Siviter

Monday 13th April

Driver First Assist programme Rachel Hewings

Monday 11th May

Essex Crimestoppers Presentation Stuart Walins

Monday 8th June

Hospital Radio Chelmsford Graham Medhurst

Monday 13th July

Monday 10th August

Monday 14th September

Monday 12th October

Monday 9th November

Monday 14th December

These speakers have all been booked by Sally Langley. If you know of someone you think the group might like to hear, then please contact Sally on 07905 445249 or

email her at [email protected].

Dates for 2015

Please add them to your diary

mailto:[email protected]


Changes in the New Highway Code (2007)

© Crown copyright 2007

Highway Code

The other bits

Annexes

First Aid on the road

4. Provide emergency care

Remember the letters D R A B C: D Danger Check that you are not in danger.

R Response Try to get a response by asking questions and gently shaking their shoulders.

A Airway If the person is not talking and the airway may be blocked, then place one hand under the chin and lift the chin up and forward. If they are still having difficulty with breathing then gently tilt the head back.

B Breathing Normal breathing should be established. Once the airway is open check breathing for up to 10 seconds.

C Compressions If they have no signs of life and there is no pulse, then chest compressions should be administered. Place 2 hands in the centre of the chest and press down hard and fast – around 5–6 centimetres and about twice a second. You may only need 1 hand for a child and shouldn’t press down as far. For infants, use 2 fingers in the middle of the chest when delivering compressions and don’t press down too far.

Bleeding First, check for anything that may be in the wound, such as glass. Taking care not to press on the object, build up padding on either side of the object. If there’s nothing embedded, apply firm pressure over the wound to stem the flow of blood. As soon as practical, fasten a pad to the wound with a bandage or length of cloth. Use the clean-est material available. If a limb is bleeding but not broken, raise it above the level of the heart to reduce the flow of blood. Any restriction of blood circulation for more than a short time could cause long-term injuries.

Burns Check the casualty for shock, and if possible, try to cool the burn for at least 10 minutes with plenty of clean, cold water or other non-toxic liquid. Don’t try to remove anything that’s sticking to the burn.

Page 132 This has been significantly modified and expanded


Life Saver?

Thatcham say that Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) is without doubt the most important active safety technology that they have seen in recent years.

Thatcham Research is the motor insurers’ automotive research centre. Established by the motor insurance industry in 1969, the centre’s main aim is to contain or reduce the cost of motor insurance claims whilst maintaining safety standards.

Thatcham claim that Autonomous Emergency Braking systems could reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the road by 17,000 over ten years, assuming it is fitted to every new vehicle from 2015.

The impact of such technology could, therefore, be comparable to the benefits felt in the eighties when legislation first required motorists to wear seatbelts. There was then a 50% reduction in casualties in a short period.

AEB comes in various forms and each manufacture has its unique twist on the recipe. In general terms it works by monitoring the road ahead via laser/radar then calculates the stopping distance to the nearest hazard. If the distance becomes too small the system typically warns via a beeping tone and warning light. If the driver fails to react, it can override the driver and perform a full-power emergency stop. This has one of two effects, either the vehicle misses the hazard completely or the severi-ty of the impact is reduced. The latter at the very least minimises personal injury and the cost of repair to cars, obviously only if the car behind has the same system fitted.

90% OF CRASHES ARE DUE TO HUMAN ERROR AND DISTRACTION, SO IT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND HOW DRIVER INTEVENTION SYSTEMS LIKE THIS CAN HELP TO SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A CRASH.

Such is the benefit from AEB systems that through the vehicle Group Rating process, UK insurers have already adjusted the insurance rating on cars fitted with the system. The aim is to encourage wider awareness and demand for AEB and since 2012 vehicles with standard fit AEB systems and which have passed a few basic operational criteria, have seen a reduction in their vehicle grouping, translating into potential savings of around 10% on consumers insurance premiums. 10% doesn’t seem much of a saving if this system can potentially save a fatal crash.

There is a concern that this system although as a last resort will avoid or reduce collisions, there may be a relaxation by drivers with the thought “it doesn’t matter if I do not pay attention, the car will stop itself”! Could those drivers be using their phones or other in car technology?

AEB is just the beginning of the revolution in crash avoidance. Advanced Driver As-sistance Systems (ADAS), such as AEB, designed to prevent or mitigate different crash types are entering the market every year. The future will bring autonomous steering to prevent head-on collisions and ‘run off road’ crashes which are often very serious, or even fatal.

Information from http://www.thatcham.org/aeb edited by Terry Joyce


Chelmsford Advanced Motorists

Library List

DVDs

Drive Smarter, Essential know-how for your driving career (2 copies) By Gem Motoring Assist

Roadcraft, The Police Driver’s Course on Advanced Driving By The Police Foundation

PC CD-ROMs

The Interactive Highway Code HMSO/ Interactive Driving Systems

Hazard Perception Test HMSO/Oasis

BOOKS

Roadcraft TSO Human Aspects of Police Driving Scottish Police College The Tyre Digest (2 copies) Michelin

Driving Abroad Robert Davies

The Official Highway Code Rev. 2007 Edition HMSO

The Official Guide to Accompanying L-Drivers DSA

Sideways to Victory Roger Clark

The Myway Code Ian Vince/Dan Kieran

Paul Ripley’s Expert Driving Daily Telegraph

The Inner Game of Tennis W Timothy Gallwey

Mind Driving Stephen Haley

Older Drivers – Safe or Unsafe? IAM Traffic– Why we drive the way we do Tom Vanderbilt Boreham, A History of the Racing Circuit Bryan Jones & John Frankland

CDs

Awake, Driver Reviver THINK

Advanced Road Craft Bespoke Driving Training

The Driving Test – Your Licence to Drive IAM/Safety on the Move

If you have any books etc from the Library can you please contact Scott Bannister


Letters & emails On all matters relating to motoring and the Chelmsford Group, this newsletter or your experiences in preparing for or taking your test are most welcome.

Hi Terry, Here is my reply to your request for comments from recently passed members.

I Never expected that a lifelong ambition would ever come true. As with many others, family, work and life in general seemed to conspire to deny me. Even more so after a fall from a ladder caused catastrophic damage to my spinal cord.

A period of rehab had me driving again, then a close friend, who had recently taken and passed the IAM test put me in touch with Scott. Concerns about my handicap were not an issue for him and he was brave enough to take me on for Observed Drives. Initially I thought I had made a mistake but with Scott always remaining positive, with the assurance of an experienced coach, we continued. I would also like to thank Pat Clements for her honest and specific judgements, which spurred me on to make extra efforts to hone my few skills even further. With Scott's persistence and cajoling, he gradually persuaded me it might be possible after all. The thought of putting myself forward for the test saw many sleepless nights. I could not have wished for a better examiner; Paula's soothing voice, calm manner and relaxed approach meant that as soon as we started the drive all my nerves, fears and worries just melted away. I actually enjoyed it! My thanks and appreciation to all those who helped me, cannot ever be sufficient for such an unbelievable achievement. David Seaman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello Terry There have been various articles in the press, and including Forward Vision, about the changes to the way we licence our vehicles. This has mainly centred on the aboli-tion of the tax disc.

However, there are two points I have not seen mentioned.

First, it now appears that a SORN declaration has no time limit. Until now SORN has had to be renewed each year that the vehicle remains off the road but I have just de-clared SORN on the bike and the confirmation I have received from the DVLA states “The SORN will be valid until you tax, sell, permanently export or scrap the vehicle.”

Continued on Page 21


Letters & emails continued

Since some classics are taken off the road for years at a time for restoration this is a definite saving of time and hassle for everyone concerned. Also, the DVLA no longer send written confirmation. Second, it appears that those of us who only tax a vehicle for six months a year are being penalised in that the direct debit for six months is cheaper than the standard debit card payment. I’m sure there is a catch somewhere but it is not clear from the V11 renewal form. It would, of course, mean setting up the direct debit every spring and cancelling it in the autumn, which is a lot of fuss to save £2.

Kind regards Chris Gardiner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Terry I was pleased to see that the IAM has finally put an end to the idea that brake lights should never be shown when slowing for a reduced speed limit (Common Confusions paragraph 18).

Many years ago, when vehicle brakes were not very efficient, most of the speed reduction was achieved by changing down through the gears and thus brake lights were not shown. This may have been the beginning of the concept that the brake lights should not be shown when slowing down.

The other driving skill that was taught was to anticipate a reduction in speed limit by the presence of houses further along the road. This worked well when limits were applied at the entrance to villages but recently two factors have made this no longer viable. First is the habit of authorities to apply speed limits far beyond the ends of habitations, Suffolk is particularly bad in this respect and, second, to allow the vegeta-tion to grow over the road signs so that they cannot be seen, if at all, until the driver is right upon them. In these circumstances there is no option but to brake, often quite hard. The alternative is to enter the limit with excess speed. This is usually quite safe as the sign is placed so far away from habitation or other hazards but not, of course, acceptable to the law or IAM examiners.

There is yet another problem with slowing down and that is the increased use of automatic gear boxes in the UK. The old style torque converter boxes did not apply much engine braking but the modern dual clutch boxes seem to have almost none, seemingly hardly more retardation than that from wind resistance and tyre rolling resistance. I have not found a suitable length of flat road to undertake a full test but from much shorter tests I guess that it will take at least half a mile for the car to slow from 60 mph to 30 mph. When we are on our own and not inconveniencing following traffic I am happy to slow this gently (and my wife appreciates the smoothness!) but on a test this would probably be marked down for not making adequate progress. It would, of course, be possible to control the speed better by driving in manual mode but I wonder what would be the IAM’s reaction to taking the majority of a test in manual.

Kind regards Chris Gardiner


Book Review #

I thought it was time we raised the tone of this newsletter by including a posh bit. Well, only the poshest of publications has a book review !! It won’t be a regular feature because there aren’t a lot of books on the subject of driving and I don’t want to go undermining my posh credentials by telling you what I thought about 50 Shades of Grey.

So the book under review is the latest version of Roadcraft – the police driver’s hand-book. I first read this book about 15 years ago so was looking forward to seeing what had been changed. Unfortunately with such a big time gap, I had forgotten what my reading of the 1990s version was like so after reading the new one I then had to read the old one. In the midst of all this reading I received from Richard Gawler, one of our fine members, a copy of the 1960 version.

So, three versions of the same book. Which one is worth reading? All will be revealed shortly.

All cover the same ground but the 1960’s one is a bit dated and written in the language of the day i.e. a bit stilted. Also it makes you appreciate how much things have changed. One little gem I spotted was the advice to remove the windscreen if fog is making things tough. I don’t think I’ll try that one in a modern car. Anyway that was just a bit of a historical diversion.

The real contest is between 1990 and 2014. The 2014 version is precisely 50% bigger than the 1990 version, and as we all know, more = better. Actually it doesn’t but that is the perceived wisdom whether it applies to how many gears your car has or how many blades are on your disposable razor. Complete nonsense of course, but that is what we are supposed to swallow. So has the extra 50% been an improve-ment? In a word – NO. It lacks the focus of earlier version. By the time you get to the end of the paragraph you have forgotten what the main point is. They say that a camel is a horse designed by committee, well this latest edition is a camel with 3 humps. Such a shame that such a fine publication should be ruined by too many people being involved in the re-write. I get the feeling that in order to keep everybody happy they have incorporated several versions of the same thing. The end result is that it just dances around and the main message gets lost.

To be fair, advanced driving is not something that is easy to write about. I’ve tried my-self on a number of occasions – and failed, so perhaps I should cut its seventeen au-thors a bit of slack. Bottom line though is that you shouldn’t waste your money buying one. If you want to read it just so you can disagree with me, we have several copies in our library for you to borrow.

It does leave me in a somewhat awkward place though. I have in the past given out copies to all our observers since I considered Roadcraft essential reading for them. So, unless I can source some older versions it’s going to have to be done on a borrowing basis. If you have an old copy, whatever you do, don’t bin it !!

By Scott Bannister


Roughly translated this means applies throughout the Svelbard. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean Thank you to Tori Andrews for letting me use this picture. Tori told me, not only would you be breaking the law to go beyond this sign without a gun, you'd also be very silly. Polar Bears wander pretty close to people sometimes. Beyond this point, she had a guide, with a gun!

Below is a different view of the Rayleigh Weir Roundabout.

http://toriandrewsphotography.co.uk/

The links below are to websites that you may have an interest in. Please let me know if any of them are not working. Email me if you think of any websites that may be of interest.

IAM DrivingAdvice & Tips

http://www.iam.org.uk/media-and-research/media-centre/driving-and-riding-tips

Online Highway Code

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/index.htm

Know your traffic signs

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_191955.pdf

Tyresafe

http://www.tyresafe.org

Drive Alive

http://www.drive-alive.co.uk

Heritage Motor Centre http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/

London Cyclist http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/

www.iamchelmsford.org.uk

This junction has some interesting slip roads. A127/A176 at Basildon

Internet Links

forward_vision_109_december2014

Documents

iam group

monthly group nights

successful members

new associate

havering palace

roger agombar page

havering museum

members personal details