Advance Autumn 2014 by D & G Grp of Adv Motorists & Motorcyclists

Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists and Motorcyclists

JOHN F. BLACK MOTOR ENGINEERS

~Air Con ~Diesel Tuning ~Servicing ~Repairs ~Diagnostics ~Exhausts ~Tyres ~Motorhomes ~MOT testing for classes 3,4,5 & 7

Tel: 01387 267473

6B Catherinefield Ind Estate, Heathhall, Dumfries DG1 3PQ

The weather is changing, are your skills up to the more challenging conditions that autumn and winter may bring?

See page 16 for tips on how to deal with wet conditions and also page 8 to find out how we may be able to help.

Group Committee Members for 2014/15 Chair, Chief Obs

Graeme McColm

01387 720425

Vice Chair

Jamie Wood

07759 260621

Secretary

Helen Cameron

07707 035518

Treasurer

Russell Wears

01387 263893

M/c Coordntr Andrew Bird

07919 128305

Car Coordntr Stewart Cameron 01387 264005 Committee

Andy Campbell Bob Sloan Neil Martyniuk Clint Smith Chris Wilson Karen Court

07717 798109 07764 349459 07725 941780 07952 751433 07935 381722 tba

To e-mail any member of the committee, please in the first instance, use the group contact e-mail address: dumfries@groups.iam.org.uk

This magazine was published by: Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists. For more details of our activities see our web site at: www.iamdumfries.org.uk Contact the Group Secretary: dumfries@groups.iam.org.uk

Facebook: Dumfries & Galloway IAM (Motorcycles) Group Magazine contributions to: editor@iamdumfries.f9.co.uk

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the Editor, Group or the Institute of Advanced Motorists, to which the Group is affiliated. Reg Charity No. SC 023511

Copy date: Latest article submission date for the Winter 14 issue: 06 November

What’s on?: check out events at www.iamdumfries.org.uk 8 September: Visit to the Inshore Lifeboat Station at Glencaple 6:30 pm. Venue for meetings: Aberdour Hotel, 16 Newall Terrace, Dumfries, DG11LW starting 7:30pm except where otherwise stated.

Advertise in ADVANCE ADVANCE is published three times per year. The cost of an advert per issue is £50 full page, £30 half page. Discount is available for annual adverts. Adverts will appear in both the print and online versions of the magazine. Advertisers can also have a thumbnail icon on the group web site www.iamdumfries.org.uk. Contact the Editor: editor@iamdumfries.f9.co.uk

For membership and all other enquiries call: 07707 035518 or e-mail: dumfries@groups.iam.org.uk Photography notice: Occasionally we may take photos during meetings, guidance sessions or at other events in order to promote the Group and its activities. Photos may be reproduced in our web sites, our magazine or through other promotions. If you wish to withhold your permission for your image to be used please contact the Group Secretary. © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

A message from the Chairman Welcome to the Autumn edition of our Advance magazine. This year the summer month’s weather has been great. The sun has been shining and the roads have been busy with both cars and bikes. On 9 June we held our group annual treasure hunt. Despite it being very wet most of the day, the sun came out and we had a lovely evening. This year took us out past Lincluden Abbey then on to Dunscore/Morrington before heading back towards Irongray and finishing back at The Five Arches. Many thanks to Russell Wears for organising the event again which was open to bikes and cars. It is a good way of finding out about the local area. For the second year in a row, Lesley and I won, and this year the prize was an overnight stay courtesy of the biker friendly website “MotoGoLoco”. Thank you to the committee for organising the prize, it was very much appreciated - more about this later in the magazine. The website has been set up by Clint Smith and James Miodonski who have personally viewed and endorsed all hotels and B&Bs on the website. Several committee members, observers and IAM members have visited accommodation listed on the site and can also recommend the listings. Check out www.motogoloco.com for further details. The Barony Open day was well attended. Thanks to all observers for manning the stand and everyone who helped out on the day. The Moffat Show is on 30 August and once again we are attending with the IAM stand. Please do come along and show your support. There has been a steady stream of drivers and riders taking part in the advanced training, congratulations to those who have already passed their advanced tests. Well done to all. If you know anybody who would benefit from a “Skill for Life“ course and help to make our roads safer then now would be a great time to put their names forward. Once again the syllabus has been developed and at the time of writing is shortly due to be issued. Please check the magazine and website for details. Thanks again to everyone who has helped. Hopefully we will still have a couple of months of sunshine left before winter sets in so lets get out and about and enjoy ourselves. Safe driving © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

IAM - Practical Skills Videos Have you watched any of the videos on the IAM’s YouTube channel? There are a series of ones showing IPSGA riding skills which may be of interest, as well as many others. You can find them here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Road SkillsUK. Extract from: IPSGA with the IAM - Position

IAM Treasurer’s Report 2013 – 2014 - Russell Wears Summary The starting balance was £13807 and the end balance was £13933 – a surplus of £126. The key aspects of the last year’s income are: ● £970 in membership fees ● £567 in newsletter advertising ● £208 from skill for life returns The key aspects of expenditure are: ● ● ● ● ● ●

£525 on newsletter printing meaning a profit of £42 was made £942 on stamps and stationary £240 on conference expenses £20 on mobile phone charges £111 on room rents and catering £95 contributions to the IAM stand at the Scottish bike Show.

The year past has been very quiet and although the accounts show a surplus it is because of the level of activity is very small and covered mainly by the membership fees and the skill for life returns. The balance at nearly £14000 arises from a combination of income from COPFS drive checks and fundraising during 08/09 and 09/10 added to the surpluses in the previous years. Since 2010 the annual surplus has been small or negative and so has risen from around £13,000 in 2010 to the present value. We should consider placing some of this capital in an interest bearing account. We are behind in HMRC gift aid reclaims due to changes in the way the claims are made and the lengthy process it involves. But we are well within the time limit for claims. © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

Enter SC No. below

Enter charity name below

SC023511

Dumfries and Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists and Motorcyclists

Receipts and payments accounts For the period from

Day

Period start date Month

April

Year

2013

Day

Period end date Month

Mar

Year 2014

Section A Statement of receipts and payments Unrestricted funds

Restricted funds

Expendable endowment funds

Permanent endowment funds

Total funds current period

Total funds last period

to nearest £

A1 Receipts Donations

970

Legacies

1,155

Grants

Receipts from fundraising activities Gross trading receipts Income from investments other than land and buildings Rents from land & buildings Gross receipts from other charitable activities

747

685

504

667

2,226

2,512

Proceeds from sale of fixed assets

Proceeds from sale of investments

A1 Sub total

A2 Receipts from asset & investment sales

A2 Sub total

Total receipts

2,226

2,512

A3 Payments Expenses for fundraising activities

Gross trading payments

Investment management costs Payments relating directly to charitable activities Grants and donations

1,648

387

2,035

1,909

Audit / independent examination

Preparation of annual accounts

Legal costs

Other

Governance costs:

A3 Sub total

1,713

387

2,100

2,039 error

A4 Payments relating to asset and investment movements Purchases of fixed assets

Purchase of investments

A4 Sub total

Total payments

1,713

387

2,100

2,085

Net receipts / (payments)

513

(387)

126

427

A5 Transfers to / (from) funds

Surplus / (deficit) for year 513

(387)

126

427

The Secretary Reports - Helen Cameron I would like to welcome two new committee members, in post since the AGM in May: Christopher Wilson and Karen Court. I also thank the retiring members for their support over the last 3 years. The commitment for committee members is not onerous but it is needed to support the group and the club. The start of our new season is fast approaching and I look forward to a varied programme of monthly meetings. At the time of writing the committee is working hard to finalise the syllabus, but please keep checking the web site for up to date information. Your syllabus will be sent out with the renewal notices in September, which will give you key information on all events. The first meeting will be on 8 September at the the In-Shore Lifeboat Station Glencaple at 6:30pm. The committee works very hard on your behalf to bring interesting and varied subjects. We appreciate your support for these events - it can be embarrassing if we invite a speaker but only half a dozen people turn up. Thanks to all those who do attend, I hope like me you always have a good evening. Any suggestions for speakers are always welcome. Last winter we tried out curling in Dumfries for the first time and it was so successful we are planning another event later in the year. We will also be arranging a 10 pin bowling event in Carlisle at the beginning of 2015 so please let a committee member know if you are interested. We have had 3 motorcycle passes this summer. Congratulations to: Jack Edens, Giovanni Mezzullo and Alastair Kean. We have a few car tests pending. We have a slot at the Moffat Agricultural Show on Saturday 30 August to promote the IAM ‘Skill for Life’ package and the new modular assessments. If you can spare an hour to help out please let a committee member or me know. You can e-mail or use the group mobile, see page 1. Hope to see lots of you at the September meeting, do come along.

MotoGoLoco trip July 2014 -

Lesley & Graeme McColm

Firstly may I take this opportunity to thank D & G Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists for running the Treasure Hunt in June and James and Clint from MotoGoLoco for the prize of an overnight stay in one of the hotels. We travelled from Balmaha, where we had stayed the previous night to Inveraray for ice cream, fuel and whisky, (all the essentials). Continued to Lochgilphead then stopped for lunch at Crinan. The scenery was spectacular and the temperature was, at times, 30degC. After lunch we made the fatal mistake of not putting the GPS back on the bike. Saw the sign for Ardfern and turned left. After following the road for quite a few miles we stopped, I got off © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

and retrieved the GPS from top box. Once it was plugged in and destination set we realised we were on the wrong road so turned round and headed back. Ardfern was lovely if quiet. GPS told us to turn left just after Ardfern, unfortunately it was a B road which turned into a dirt track with passing places. Stopped to ask directions only to be told that yes we could get to Corrie House if we continued along the track for a couple of miles till we hit tarred road again, only 2 miles, he said. Luckily for me I had unplugged the intercom while asking for directions so thankfully was unable to hear Graeme moaning about the road. To say I felt like Ewen McGregor in the Long Way Down was an understatement. Clint and James you were not popular. Arrived at Corrie House only to be told that if we had continued on A816 we would have avoided the dirt road. The comment was “Toddlers could hide in the pot holes” GREAT! Corrie House 5*+ was fabulous, we had the Mull room which looked out over Loch Melfort. Julie, who was looking after B & B for Barry & Joan brought us a beer each and after changing into our cossies we headed down to hot tub to enjoy the sun and the views. Basil, Brock and Bonnie the resident dogs were very friendly and were only brought out after I said I loved dogs. Julie View from Corrie House deck told us about Barry’s boat on which we could take a trip and also the Cook school which is set in the grounds of Corrie House. We agreed to attend the Spanish Cookery on the Saturday and were also looking forward to going out on the boat on Saturday morning. Barry phoned the local pub for us and booked a table. This was just a short walk along the edge of the loch. As the weather was spectacular we sat outside to eat. The food was good and Barry also worked in the kitchen there so we guessed breakfast was going to be good. Eating our meal watching the boats in the marina and a seal playing in the harbour was very enjoyable. After eating we had a quick walk around Craobh Haven before heading back along the loch to B & B. The lounge had leather couches and recliner chairs so we sat there for a while reading and enjoying the peace and quiet. Our room was amazing with nothing spared to make our stay comfortable. Home made shortbread was hanging on Dinner with a view our door handle when we got upstairs. Yummy. Saturday dawned overcast with rain forecast. After a great night’s sleep in a king size bed we headed down for breakfast where we shared a table with © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

another couple who had arrived after us the night before and were in the pub well after us, by the look of them anyway. As they were too hungover to do the boat trip Graeme and I agreed not to go as it wasn’t fair to expect Barry to take just us out. Good reason to return was my thinking. Joan and Barry served us a delicious breakfast with everything you could possibly ask for. Graeme had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon and I had a full Scottish. Nothing was too much trouble. Barry stayed to talk to us after breakfast and we learned about Corrie House and how it came to be. A very inCorrie House teresting couple and we were made very welcome. I felt like we had known them for years. As we were returning to the Cook School later on Joan offered to keep our gear and also said we could have a shower if we wanted. Reluctantly we left Corrie House. Arrived at Corrie Cook School to meet John the chef and his wife Jean who showed us how to make Gazpacho Soup, Paella and Catalan Custard with Plums. After cooking we all sat down with a glass of wine or two and ate our delicious meal. Thanks to Julie who organised everything, you can view the photo’s on her Facebook page: Corrie Cook School.

Chef John

Thanks again we had a blast.

The cookery school

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Bridge Veterinary Clinic 51 Glasgow Street, Dumfries, DG2 9AG 01387 259111 info@bridgevets.com www.bridgevets.com

DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY GROUP OF ADVANCED MOTORISTS & MOTORCYCLISTS Invite you to get a ‘Skill for Life’ and become an ADVANCED DRIVER /IAMDumfriesandGallowayCars

ADVANCED RIDER /groups/dgiam

We have helped hundreds of people hone their abilities to make their driving or riding more skillful, more enjoyable and safer. Our passion is to help you improve your driving and riding standards leaving you with the ability to make good progress whilst maintaining the highest standards of skill, safety and responsibility... it really is a ‘skill for life’. Interested in improving your skills? Get in touch, find out more. Visit our web site, e-mail or call us on 07707 035518 - see page 1 for our contact details. Registered Charity in Scotland No. SC 023511

B R A I D W O O D S SOLICITORS

Property and Estate Agency Wills and Estates Commercial Practice Family Law

www.braidwoods.com 1 Charlotte Street, Dumfries DG1 2AG Telephone: (01387) 257272 E-mail: info@braidwoods.com

We offer the following services for your motorcycle needs:

Fully trained mechanics

· MOT’s · Servicing · Repairs · Diagnostic testing · Van available for collection/delivery or recovery of your motorcycle

· Parts · Tyres · Accessories · Helmets · Clothing · MOT’s · Servicing · Repairs · Parts · Accessories · & More

Discounts available for IAM and Curvy Riders

We have an outdoor seated area and a relaxing indoor seated area with Sky TV

Refreshments available

A701

How to find us d TESCO nwal EXPRESS Ti ns Rd Dow

A7 01

Downsway Garage

75 A wn e To entr C

A75

From the Edinburgh Road roundabout /A75 Dumfries bypass take A701 north. After 0.5 miles take 2nd exit at the roundabout (by Esso/Tesco Express) onto Tinwald Downs Road. In 0.4 miles take left into Downsway Industrial Est. then first right behind Downsway Garage - we are at the end on the left.

www.dngmotorcycles.com Tel: 01387 320312 mucker5uk@yahoo.co.uk

Membership Renewal It’s that time of the year again when membership subscriptions are due. Again we have held the annual fee at £10 which is a small sum and good value for all the Group has to offer. Everyone needs to complete a Membership (Renewal) Form which will be sent out or can be downloaded from the group web site. Please complete this form even if you are paying by standing order as this ensures we have the latest details for you - often people change their phone number/address and/or e-mail address and this can make it difficult for us to keep track of members and ensure that we can communicate effectively. If you have already completed a standing order form in the past then your payment will occur automatically on 16 November - thank you. If not then please consider doing so this year, it greatly helps with the group accounting. Please check your bank statements if you are unsure whether or not you have created a standing order already to avoid paying twice! The standing order form (and membership renewal form) will be available to download from the group web site. If you prefer other methods of payment then please do so but avoid sending cash through the post. The Treasurer, Russell Wears attends most group meetings and usually has copies of the forms with him if you want to pay him directly. If you signed the Gift Aid declaration on the membership form last year you don’t need to do it again but if you signed it some time ago or now wish to Gift Aid membership then please sign the declaration so our records are up to date.

Winter tyres – the motor insurance commitment Those of you who fit winter tyres or who may be thinking of doing so in the future might like to know that the Association of British Insurers have sought to clarify the situation with regard to insurance. They say in the past there has been some uncertainty for insured customers about the insurance premium implications of fitting winter tyres to their cars. To assist in reducing this potential uncertainty, the ABI has produced a ‘Commitment’ which names insurers who do not require the payment of any additional premium if customers decide to fit winter tyres to their cars, provided that the tyres meet, and are fitted in accordance with, the relevant vehicle manufacturers’ specifications and are in a roadworthy condition whilst in use. You can view the ‘Commitment’ by going to: https://www.abi.org.uk/ and searching for winter tyres. The list covers the period Sep to Sep so is due to be re-issued this September. © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

Observation is the key to safety It’s a good discipline to ensure your observation skills are up to standard, quite simply they can get you out of trouble in many circumstances. Even if you can’t extend your vision up and out to any extent you could do no better than to remember to take into account ‘what you can see, what you can’t see and what you may reasonably expect to happen’, add this to ensuring you can stop, safely and comfortably on your side of the road in the distance you can see to be clear (half the distance for narrow roads) then you are in with a fighting chance of avoiding getting into too many sticky situations. Circumstances where active observation and planning is certainly beneficial are corners. Quite when something falls under the definition of ‘what you may reasonably expect to happen’ may be open for debate, although should you not anticipate that any ‘oncomer’ could be poorly positioned on a bend?

This should be readily anticipated

Could you anticipate this scenario?

Don’t forget to observe your mirrors too, close follower? Maybe anticipate their overtake, drop back to give them room to pull in before the junction - or not? © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

How things have changed The Dumfries group was set up in 1976. Here’s a few milestones reached in the history of road use since then up to the modern day. 1976: 6570 road deaths recorded. Full driving licences valid until 70yrs. First Golf GTi introduced. Petrol price equivalent today £0.89/Ltr 1977: Speed limit on single carriageway roads reduced to 60mph. Marc Bolan killed in car crash. 1978: Motability scheme introduced. Mercedes Benz first car with ABS. 1979: Rolls Royce celebrates 75yrs 1980: Audi Quattro introduce first car with permanent 4-wheel drive. 1981: Max size of learner m/c now 125ccc. Motorcycle test now two part. Highway Code is 50 years old. Production of DeLorean cars starts. Speed bumps first introduced, 1982: Provisional driving licence extended until age of 70. British Leyland became Austin Rover, Triumph and Morris names dropped. 1983: Use of front seat belts mandatory. Top selling cars: Escort, Sierra, Metro Petrol: £0.37/Ltr (=£1.11/Ltr today). 1984: Jaguar floated on Stock Market. 1985: 50 years of driving tests. Sinclair C5 introduced. 1986: 5382 road deaths recorded. Unleaded petrol introduced. 1987: Rear seat belts in all new cars became compulsory. 1988: All new petrol cars required to run on unleaded petrol. PanAm flight 103 crashes in Lockerbie. 1989: Rear seat belts compulsory for children under 14. New accompanied motorcycle ‘pursuit test’ test introduced. Ford buys Jaguar.

1990: Compulsory Basic Training for motorcyclists introduced. Driving Standards Agency formed. New law; must be 21+ to accompany a learner plus held licence for 3 years. World Wide Web invented. 1991: Rear seat belts, if fitted now compulsory for all. White chevrons painted on m/ways to help motorists to keep their distance. MOT test revised to include petrol emissions and anti-lock brakes. 1992: Minimum tyre depth requirement of 1.6mm introduced. First fixed speed camera set up at Twickenham Bridge in Surrey. First text message on a mobile phone. 1993: Fitting of catalytic converters on all new cars compulsory. Top selling cars: Escort, Fiesta, Cavalier. Petrol: £0.46/Ltr. (= £0.82/Ltr today). 1994: Rover Group sold to BMW. Aston Martin bought by Ford. Channel Tunnel opens. First draw of the National Lottery 1995: PassPlus introduced. Variable motorway speed limits start. Road safety charity “Brake” founded. 1996: 3598 road deaths recorded Theory test introduced. 1997: Driving licence categories changed and new driver 6 points and licence lost introduced. Motorcycle Direct Access Scheme starts 1998: Road deaths on Britain's roads between 1945-1998 total 311,000 1999: Photocard driving licence introduced, replaces paper licence.

Vehicle registration plate numbers now change twice yearly. Local authorities given power to introduce 20mph speed limits. 2000: Touch screen theory test. BMW sell Rover Cars to Alchemy Concorde crashes in Paris. Fuel cost protests (reaches £0.80/Ltr). 2001: Theory test can now be booked on internet. Foot and mouth outbreak costs £8bn 2002: Hazard perception test introduced. Ford, Dagenham - vehicle assembly ends after 71 years, Vauxhall, Luton car production ends after 97 years. AA decommission its roadside phones due to use of mobile phones. 2003: ‘Show me tell me’ introduced to driving test. Practical test can now be booked on internet. London; congestion charges introduced Use of hand-held mobile phones made an offence. Top selling cars: Focus, Corsa, Astra. Petrol: £0.78/Ltr (=£1.07/Ltr today) 2004: Car production at Jaguar, Coventry ends after 70 years and moves to Castle Bromwich. 2005: Road speed limiter became compulsory on all new buses and 3.5+ tonne goods vehicles. MG Rover liquidated and sold to Nanjing Automobiles, China. Bugatti Veyron became the World’s fastest production car at 253.8mph. 2006: Road Safety Act 2006 - points (or disqualification) for use of mobile phones. New offence of death by careless, or inconsiderate, driving. Enhanced rider scheme introduced. IAM Motoring Trust set up.

2007: More questions in theory test, raised from 35 to 50. Ford sell off 90% of their stake in Aston Martin. 2008: Eco driving assessment added to driving test. Ford sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors, India 2009: Driving test pass rate now 45% 2-part modular motorcycle test introduced 2010: ‘Independent driving’ becomes part of the practical driving test. Driving test candidates encouraged to take their instructor with them on their test. The British driving test reaches 75 year milestone 2011: All registered keepers of vehicles to keep them insured unless declared off the road (SORN). All new car models are required to be fitted with Electronic Stability Control as part of EU safety regulations. Top selling cars: Fiesta, Focus, Corsa. Average price of petrol: £1.30 a litre. 2012: 1754 road deaths recorded. Ford announced plans to cease vehicle production in UK. The EU Gender Directive meant that insurance companies can no longer use a driver’s gender as a factor when calculating their annual premium. 2013: New rules for m/cyclists including changes to motorcycles you can ride and the age you have to be to ride. 100th anniversary of Aston Martin. 2014: Around 28 million cars on our roads, 34+ million vehicles total. DSA and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) merged to create the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)

Group Members and Associates can get a free basic car wash, or two jet wash tokens when you fill up. Just show your membership card, or for Associates your IAM confirmation letter. Let the staff know you would like the free bike/car wash before you pay for your fuel. This offer may be withdrawn at any time.

Motorcycle Chief Observer’s Diary - Graeme McColm Well summer has been in full swing and I am pleased to say that the weather has been fantastic. Fingers crossed that the sun keeps shining throughout August/September and further into Autumn. On 7-8 June a small group of bikers went away overnight to North Yorkshire. The weekend was a total success, the weather was good and the company was great. See our Facebook pages for the photo’s. On Saturday 5 July we ran a charity event on behalf of Nith Inshore Lifeboat and Canine Defence. This event was well attended with over 80 bikes taking part. Two groups from Moffat and Thornhill made their way along the Dalveen Pass before congregating at the Old Tesco Car Park. From there the bikes headed into Dumfries Town centre to promote both charities and the IAM. From the town centre some of the bikes continued to the Nith Inshore Lifeboat to hand over the raised funds and stayed for a BBQ and a chat. Andrew Bird handed over more then £250 to each charity. Well done to Andrew for organising the event and to all who attended on the day. A new initiative in the region is being launched very soon. “Blood Bikes Cumbria & South West Scotland” this involves taking blood from hospital to hospital. The group is looking for keen, safe and reliable riders to help run this worthwhile service. If you are interested please contact them direct through Facebook. It was agreed at the last committee meeting we would give them a donation to help with start up costs. Throughout the last few months we have had a steady stream of riders taking advanced training. Congratulations to all who have passed their tests. Every club has a need for new members and we are no different. In order to keep the club running in years to come we need people joining all the time so if you know anybody who would benefit from a “Skill for Life” course now is the time to put their names forward. If every member signed up just one person we could double the club and make the roads of Dumfries & Galloway safer. Lets all be careful out there and stay safe. © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists 15

Take a rain check: The IAM’s Chief Examiner, Peter Rodger advises The IAM offers motoring tips from Britain’s top advanced driver, Peter Rodger. Here, he advises on preparing yourself and your car for the rain. · Before you set off, set your heater controls – rain can make the windows mist up in seconds. You don’t want to be fiddling with controls when you should be concentrating on the road. · See and be seen. Put your lights on – as a rule of thumb, whenever you need to use your wipers you should also turn your dipped headlights on, before overtaking put your wipers on their fastest setting. · Keep your eyes on the road ahead and plan your driving so that you can brake, accelerate and steer smoothly – harsh manoeuvres will unbalance the car. · Slow down. In the rain stopping distance is at least doubled. Giving yourself more space also helps to avoid spray, especially when following a large vehicle. · If you have cruise control, avoid using it on wet roads – you need to pay more attention to the road surface conditions and alter your speed gently. · Strong winds can also unsettle your car and even change your direction of travel. Grip your steering wheel firmly and also be ready for the effects of the wind on other road users, particularly motorcyclists and flat-sided vehicles like lorries. A very wet road surface increases the chances of slipping when braking or steering, which is a problem not just for motorists, but for the cyclists and motorcyclists in among them too.

In wet conditions remember that stopping distances will increase and visibility will be reduced so drop your speed - and give yourself more time to slow down.

Not an advanced biker or driver? Try polishing up your skills with a ‘Skill for Life’ course. See the centre-fold (page 8), for details of how we can help. © Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists

St. Michael’s Services St. Michael’s Street Dumfries, DG1 2QD Tel: 01387 254304 ~ BP ultimate fuels & BP Autogas ~ Car wash ~ Jet wash ~ MACE convenience store ~ Nectar Points ~ Special offers for Dumfries Group Members

mor e pe r f or ma nc e , le s s pollut ion

Wigtown Road Services Wigtown Road Newton Stewart, DG8 6JZ Tel: 01671 403157 ~ BP ultimate fuels & BP Autogas ~ Jet wash ~ Snack bar/ coffee machine ~ Large Mace convenience shop ~ Air/Screenwash/Vacuum/fragrance machine ~ Nectar Points ~ Special offers for Dumfries Group Members

Benmar Garage Station Road Moffat, DG10 9EL Tel: 01683 220010 ~ Esso Energy and Energy Supreme Fuels ~ Jet wash ~ Mace convenience shop ~ Air/Screenwash/Vacuum ~ Cash point ~ Special offers for Dumfries Group Members

Crossflags At Crossflags we strive to create the best customer experience in the area. Please come and see us when you are considering your next vehicle purchase. York House, Annan Road, Dumfries DG1 3AW 01387 253473 Fax: 01387 253472 www.crossflags.co.uk