Autumn 2005
The official newsletter of the Dumfries Group of Advanced Motorists supporting drivers and riders throughout Dumfries & Galloway
STEERING A COURSE FOR SAFER DRIVING AND RIDING
Group Committee Members for 2005/06 Chair &
Alan Jones
Chief Obs cars
Vice chair, M/c coordn’tor Chief obs m/c
Graeme McColm
Secretary
Helen Cameron
Treasurer
Allan Graham
Publicity & Events
Scott Anderson
Minute Secretary
Anne Lind
Car Associate coordinator
Peter Dodds
Newsletter Distribution
Andrew Bird
Committee
Charlie Allman Ryan Fingland Andrew Hastings Russell Wears
This newsletter was published by the Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists & Motorcyclists. More details of our activities can be found on our web site at: www.iam.org.uk/groups/d umfries Contact the Group Secretary: dumfries@groups.iam.org.uk
Newsletter comments and contributions to:
To e-mail any member of the committee, please in the first instance, use the group contact e-mail address: dumfries@goups.org.uk
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter 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. .......Registered Charity No. SC 023511
What’s on? (check latest news at: www.iam.org.uk/groups/dumfries) Sunday 11 September*: Manoeuvrability Event to be held at Heathhall Industrial Estate (opposite the Aviation Museum) Commences at 2 pm. Monday 12 September: Prize Giving following the manoeuvrability event. Monday 10 October: The Dumfries Group’s own AA man. - Ian Cameron Wednesday 22 October*: 10 pin bowling v Carlisle Group at Carlisle Monday 14 November: The Safety Camera Partnership - Russell Wears Thursday 17 November: Observer Training (cars & bikes). All observers and potential observers welcome. Monday 12 December: Table Top Rally - courtesy of Jim Hunter. October/Novemeber*: Date to be set. 3 way quiz v Carlisle & Westmoreland Meetings start 7:30 pm at Dalston House Hotel, Dumfries - unless marked * 1
The Chairman’s comments - Alan Jones I hope the first thing you will notice about this edition of the Newsletter is the re-designed front cover and the full colour printing. Our Newsletter Editor, wanted to begin upgrading the Newsletter and Ryan Fingland has obliged by using his imagination to come up with a really good name for the Newsletter. By securing financial support through advertising from the Dumfries & Galloway Safety Camera Partnership and Deans it has meant that we can now afford the higher printing costs to publish the Newsletter in colour. We hope this new look Newsletter will be more appealing and to this end we plan to make it available more widely so that members of the public will have access to the Road Safety messages it contains. I am pleased to inform you that the result of the recent ballot was an overwhelming majority for a name change for the Group. You may recall that we held this ballot because we wanted the name of the Group to reflect the wider geographic area we are now drawing our Associates from and to recognise the growing number of motorcyclists who are Members and Associates. As the most popular name the ballot returned was the “Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists and Motorcyclists” your committee went along with this decision. We now hope that the IAM Council will support our request so that the next edition of the Newsletter can sport our new Group name. Your Group committee is active on a number of fronts. We have put together an expenditure proposal to cover all the purchases we wish to make in order to improve the effectiveness of Associate training. Our next action is to seek further sources of funding so that we can move ahead with our initiatives. To this end, and to begin this process, Scott Anderson and myself recently met with Stuart Hamilton, the Project Manager of the Dumfries & Galloway Safety Camera Partnership. It is early days yet but as this edition of the newsletter shows, we are beginning to see some positive signs of a mutually beneficial relationship. The IAM is planning a new Vision whereby the organisation will attract a greater number of road users to enrol as Associates and become more influential in influencing road safety matters. Your committee is currently working on plans whereby this Vision can be implemented at a local level. You should begin to read more about the IAM’s new strategy soon in forthcoming editions of the Advanced Driving magazine. Another initiative you will hear about shortly is the plan to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the IAM, in 2006. This is another item on the agenda for the Group committee, with much thought being given as to how we here can celebrate this important event. I hope to share more of the details of these 2
activities with you in the next edition of our Newsletter. In the meanwhile, if you have ideas for the 50th Anniversary then please pass on your ideas to a member of the committee. We are trying hard to provide an interesting set of activities and events for our Members and Associates, and we are also keen to try new ideas. I hope therefore, when you read the first 3 month’s syllabus later in this Newsletter, you will notice the Manoeuvrability Event we have planned for Sunday 11 September 2005. We hope this will give you a chance to show off your ability at low speed manoeuvring, something we don’t always get an opportunity to practise on the roads. We look forward to seeing many Members, Associates, friends and family at this event, so please give us your support. Before I bring this report to a close let me welcome our new Members, both motorists and motorcyclists, who have passed the IAM Test since the last Newsletter. Helen Cameron has mentioned these Members by name later in this Newsletter so all I will say here is, well done! We hope you will enjoy being a Member of the Group and perhaps in time you will consider training to become an Observer so that you can pass on your new found skills to others. I would like to thank your Observers, who put so much of their time into getting you to Test standard. Finally, let me say thanks to the organisations mentioned above for helping sponsor the cost of this Newsletter. This support is important to us and it does help to make a difference to the work we do in improving Road Safety throughout Dumfries & Galloway.
Get a grip Shocking statistics from the AA Motoring Trust reveal that 17 per cent of main roads fail basic skid resistance tests. One in 10 cars are running on illegal tyres, around nine in 10 tyres are incorrectly inflated and up to half of the forecourt air pumps are inaccurate. They have found that in wet conditions grip is markedly reduced when tread depth is less than 3mm even though the legal minimum is 1.6mm (across the centre three quarters of the width, all the way around, and visible tread pattern outside these limits). At 1.6mm the risk of an acci- Don’t let it get this dent is three times greater than on dry surfaces - this bad - check them. increases seven-fold when the tread depth is less than 0.5mm! Although it is not a particularly difficult task it seems most motorists don’t check their tyres. The AA recommend and advise that: 3
- Tyres and air pressure are checked weekly but be aware that tyre pressure equipment may be faulty. - Monitor car tyres more closely once they have reached 3mm: replace them as soon as tread depth drops to 2mm. - Reduce speed when it is wet: even new tyres cannot corner as fast in the wet as in the dry, especially on sub-standard roads. - Different tread depths on front and rear tyres create handling problems. - Vehicle handling is affected when tread depth is substantially greater on the front tyres than on the rear tyres. - When replacing two tyres at the same time, fit them to the rear wheels. Although the report relates to car tyres similar concerns must apply to motorcycle tyres although, of course, the legal minimum is 1mm. Dunlop advise riders that wet This one will need performance deteriorates markedly when the tyre is changing soon!!!! more than 1/2 worn.
Signs of the times Trials are under way of ‘intelligent amber arrows’. These are used as part of the amber phase at complex signal controlled junctions to help prevent confusion where varying combinations of left, right and ahead movements are permitted at different times throughout the traffic signal sequence. Look out for them in Leicester, Bournemouth, Manchester and Nottingham.
ICE to the rescue East Anglian Ambulance Service have launched a national ''In case of Emergency (ICE)'' campaign. The idea is that you store the word '' ICE '' in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted ''In Case of Emergency''. In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. For more than one contact name simply use ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc.'' 4
Manoeuvrability Event Sunday 11 September 2005, Heathhall Industrial Estate, opposite the Aircraft Museum, starting at 2pm This is a great opportunity to test your manoeuvrability skills in a safe environment. Why not come along and bring your family and friends and have some fun as well. You can bring your barbeque if you want. There will be a full complement of manoeuvres to test your ability. Entrance will cost £1.00 per attempt at the course - you can have as many goes as you want. However, to ensure an element of fairness in the marking, only the first attempt will count towards the competition to find the best driver on the day. We plan to award a cup to the most skilful driver and this will be presented on Monday 12 September 2005 at a special award ceremony evening starting at 7.30pm in the Dalston House Hotel. Graham Watson will entertain us with his video footage of some of the manoeuvres. This is meant to be a fun day with family and friends so please turn out in strength and give us your support.
Missile in your car? Our courses concentrate on honing safe and responsible driving skills, but there is more to safe driving than the ability to safely control your vehicle. We all know that passengers should be restrained and as responsible drivers we don’t set off until all in the car are wearing their belts; but do we always consider what may happen to any other loose items in the car? Have you ever seen people There’s only one direction these items are driving with such items as hard heading .... and they’re going to hurt! hats, umbrellas or even steering wheels locks, on the back parcel shelf? All of these items could seriously injure or kill you and your passengers in the event that you have to brake heavily or are involved in a collision. Even light items like a box of tissues could cause injury, in the wrong circumstances, so best to stow items safely away. 5
Like father, like sons, says racing legend Nineteen years after scoring his first Formula One victory at Brands Hatch, racing legend Nigel Mansell has passed his Advanced Driving Test with the IAM - and for good measure, so have his two sons. Leo Mansell (20) was just a year old when dad Nigel first shot to fame - and Greg Mansell (17) wasn't even born. But all three of them showed IAM examiners that driving expertise isn't just for the race track when they passed their IAM car test using a route around the Woodbury Park Hotel and Golf Course near Exeter in Devon during July 2005. Ted Clements, IAM's Road Safety Adviser, had been encouraging Nigel to take the test for many years. "It was worth the wait - especially for the hat trick!" said Ted. "I knew that Nigel would pass with flying colours - but it was great that his two sons were able to take their advanced driving test as well at the same time. Young Greg only took his L-test last year, so he did very well indeed. It must run in the family!" said Ted. "My grandfather always told me that it is no good lying on a hospital bed saying I had the right of way. That's one of the reasons I was so pleased that the boys could do the IAM test as well," said Nigel. With 31 Grand Prix wins, Nigel has his place in the Formula One Hall of Fame. He joins John Surtees, the late Graham Hill and Sir Stirling Moss as racing drivers who have passed their IAM test and legendary motorcyclist Geoff Duke who took his IAM test in 1960. Pictured here from left to right, back row: Nigel Mansell, Stephen Mead (IAM Assistant Chief Examiner), Ted Clements (IAM Road Safety Adviser). Front row: Leo Mansell, Greg Mansell, and Ian Harris (IAM Examiner).
Secretary’s report - Helen Cameron As we approach our new season of group meetings, I would like to urge as many members and friends as possible to come along to enjoy the friendship of the group as well as to exchange stories / views and perhaps learn something new. I have gone along to some meetings thinking that I may not find it enjoyable but I can honestly say that I have been pleasantly surprised. One of the most interesting meetings featured a football referee, which is high praise coming from a female who doesn’t know much about football! 6
We won the 10 pin bowling challenge with Carlisle and we have to defend the trophy. Last year the Carlisle team had 10 and we could only muster 4 and we still won (pro rata of course). Hopefully we will be able to entice a few new faces this year, its a good night out and everyone is very friendly so if you are free on Wednesday 26 October then please tell me and I will let you know the final arrangements nearer the time. Carlisle won the 3 way quiz which we hosted last year so they will set the date for this year’s event. It should be held in October or November so again if you wish to participate or even just come along to support speak up now. We have had a very successful spring/summer season with the following Associates passing their tests; Douglas Young with Ryan Fingland observing, Gillian Ross and Kersley Kershaw-Dalby with John Dalrymple observing, Lisa Rowe with Stewart Cameron observing and Tom Little observed by Margaret Vaughan. There are another 3 or 4 about to sit tests soon. Congratulations to all new members and their Observers. Our motorcycle section continues to grow with 12 passes since our last newsletter. Congratulations to Archie Park, Jim English, Allan Smith, Gavin Talbot-Smith, Alan Dalrymple, Stuart Eckersley, Vernon Ballantine, Keith Redden, Brian McMeeken, Nicola Forsyth, and Robert Corder who have all passed their Advanced Motorcycle Test. Thanks go to the observers involved: Graeme McColm, Andrew Bird, Scott Anderson and Graham Abrines together with Trainee Observers John Muirhead and Alan Dalrymple. We also have 5 more Associates test ready. Peter Dodds will be taking over as car Associate / Observer Co-ordinator, a role which links Associates and Observers and aims to ensure a smooth and pleasant experience from enrolment to test and to support both.
Which do you prefer Coke or Pepsi?
Couple of local delivery vehicles pictured here from Mexico, both designed to deal with narrow streets. The Coca Cola one is based on a quad bike. 7
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Data collection on our roads There you are enjoying the freedom of the nation’s roads, and apart from the odd Traffic Master camera monitoring your progress, together with maybe a few speed cameras, you may think that providing you keep to the speed limit, you are driving free from the authorities’ watchful eye. You may be wrong because large amounts of data, related to traffic, is being collected constantly, in a variety of ways. However most of the data is not specific to you or your vehicle. We are all familiar with the humble temporary traffic counter nailed to the road surface and with the detector strips at traffic signals; but especially on the more important arterial roads, a great deal of time and effort is spent collecting data about road, traffic and weather conditions. The collected data is often used to trigger measures, sometimes automatically, to manage traffic or deploy safety measures. Traffic on key routes may be monitored for signs of incidents using such systems as MIDAS (Motorway Incident Detection And Signalling) or IDRIS (Incident Detection for Road Informatics and Safety). These can take the form of detector loops in the surface or microwave based detection systems above ground, or infra-red, acoustic and video based systems. CCTV Surveillance Systems at critical locations facilitate early detection and resolution of traffic problems Emergency roadside telephones on motorways allow motorists to report incidents to the emergency services. In some cases as soon as an SOS telephone receiver is lifted off the hook the nearest camera goes to a preset shot of the telephone site to collect additional data and help with personnel safety. At tunnels and bridges traffic flows are monitored constantly and automatic reactive signing can be triggered in the event of a problem. 9
The environment also needs to be monitored, for instance in tunnels where changes in the atmosphere can trigger automatic adjustments to the ventilation system. Typically this might happen if the traffic becomes congested and exhaust emissions start to build up. The amount of light outside tunnels is also monitored constantly and the lighting within the tunnel adjusted accordingly to ensure drivers don’t suddenly pass from a bright area to a dark one or vice versa with the attendant dangers of reduced vision. A vehicle could potentially travel quite a distance before a driver’s eyes adjusted to the change in light intensity. Roadside weather stations monitor temperature, among other things, and this information is used to identify requirements for gritting or even may automatically activate the heaters in the road surface found on some critical road sections such as bridge decks. Wind speed data helps assess the safety of exposed sections of road in adverse conditions and can be used to trigger reduced speed limit signs. More specific to individual drivers are ANPR cameras (automatic number plate readers) which are increasingly being used to identify individual cars on the road. These same systems are also used at some road works sites to monitor traffic flows and identify associated problems. Infra-red detectors can be found at over bridges used to monitor the height of approaching traffic and warn the driver of an over height vehicle of the low bridge. These can set off flashing lights, warning displays or even audible warnings. In addition to all the above there are numerous other locations where vehicles on the public highway are monitored. If you want confirmation, next time you join the M74 southbound at Gretna, take a look at the banks of cameras and detectors mounted on the first bridge you pass under.
Poor driving standards hinder safety targets Improvements in vehicle safety are failing to bring about a reduction in deaths because there has been a concurrent decline in driving standards, according to research for the DfT. Based on analysis of accident data, and the contributory factors to accidents reported by the police, TRL states: ''The proportion of fatal and serious accidents that involve 'loss of control' and 'careless /thoughtless /reckless and aggressive driving' has increased since 1999. The study suggests that, 'at a time when improving car technology had been expected to reduce the number of car occupant fatalities, this trend had been offset by a decline in the driving standards of some car drivers'. 10
The quiet and unassuming Man - Mr David Davidson, first Advanced Motorcycle Observer in the region ... Graeme McColm writes. David passed his Advanced test in December 1987 on a Honda CX500 Twin. Previously he had achieved his Gold Star certificate. David received no help with his advanced test; he was a Star Rider Gold pupil and read the Manual for Roadcraft, before one assessment with the police prior to sitting his Advanced Test. Since passing his Advanced Test David also took part in a Honda Mac 3 day training course. Once he became an Advanced Motorcyclist David became a great help to other bikers, he gave a great deal of his time to assisting others to pass their test, his calm influence, and quiet manner put people at ease. David always took time to explain manoeuvres and had an easygoing manner. Nowadays with the aid of radios there is no need to continually stop and confer but back then he had to stop often to give hints and tips. He was always patient and understanding of fellow bikers. As he put in a lot of effort himself he expected you to do the same and required you to practise between lessons. David traded his Honda in for a Kawasaki GPZ 600 and the world was his oyster, he toured locally and further a field including the South of France. Then came a VFR750 FN and his touring went even further to include Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Ireland to name but a few. David only ever biked during the summer months and was well known for putting his bike into “hibernation” over the winter as soon as the first salt was on the highways. David stopped attending our Group in 1998 due to personal commitments. David is a keen Scottish Country Dancer and is very involved with all that entails. He married Margaret, a fellow dancer, in 2001. Margaret enjoys pillion life and they have had many sightseeing tours together over the years. The Dumfries & Galloway Group of Advanced Motorists would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr David Davidson for his major contribution to motorcycling over several years and wish him all the best for the future.
Policing on Dumfries & Galloway roads 2004/2005 Dumfries and Galloway police tell us that during the reporting year 04/05 on our roads there were 123 KSI (killed and seriously injured) casualties (11 fatal and 112 serious injury) up on the previous year’s figure of 10 fatal and 111 serious injury. 11
There were no child fatalities in the period although there were 12 seriously injured down from the previous year’s figure of 20 seriously injured children. In the same period 535 people were slightly injured, an increase of 59 on the previous year. 491 people were reported for dangerous or careless driving (up 8.6%). 19,184 people were reported for speeding, an increase of 43.1%. 238 people were reported for drink/drugs driving offences (down10.5%). 417 people were reported for not wearing a seat belt (up 6.2%). 271 people were reported during the year for driving whilst using their mobile phone. 1,444 intelligence submissions were received regarding irresponsible driver behaviour. As part of the police initiative to target and disrupt the movement of criminals on our roads in conjunction with 13 intelligence packages (AIMS) created to address criminal behaviour on the road, there were 11 arrests using new technology such as automatic number plate recognition.
Fancy a groovy windscreen? Available shortly in this country is a Finnish system to improve your forward vision. It uses the simple technology of cutting a 3.5mm wide, 0.3mm deep groove, in the windscreen, just above the parked position of your wipers. Member Nev Parker has had the system applied to his windscreen and is very happy with the result which gives a dramatic improvement in vision especially on those dirty, wet winter days that are just around the corner. See www.farseertrading.com for details and in case you are wondering, no it does not affect your MOT, the rules allow for grooved windscreens.
Cutting the grooves
Finished grooves (arrowed) 12
Groove in action
STEERING A COURSE FOR SAFER DRIVING AND RIDING
Dumfries Group of Advanced Motorists can help you be safer on the road, in all situations - find out more here.
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Membership renewal It’s time to renew your membership for the forthcoming year, included with this newsletter is the renewal form. If you’ve not already completed a Gift Aid Declaration please do so as it provides a significant benefit to the Group. Please note that if you have completed the declaration in the past it is still valid so there is no need to complete that section again. The Inland Revenue remind those who have completed a gift aid declaration that they must continue to pay income tax or CGT each year in excess of the value of the gift aid benefit for it to remain valid - otherwise let our Treasurer know.
Finally it seems a few people have slipped through the net and forgotten to pay last year’s subscription whilst continuing to enjoy the benefits of group meetings and newsletters, it is not too late to pay but please do so now. You can download a membership renewal / application form and gift aid form by clicking on the relevant link.
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OBSERVERS CORNER
This section is intended to help when considering the best course of action. It is up to every driver to actively assess each scenario.
Can I Block change up? This is a question quite often asked and like all aspects of advanced driving there is no hard and fast rule about this activity, instead the questions to be asked relate to whether you are driving in an advanced manner or not. Take the situation where a fairly powerful car is about to join fast moving traffic on a motorway via a relatively short slip road. The driver accelerates briskly up to the speed of the traffic (say 70mph) in 2nd gear and next block changes up to top gear, then having identified a suitable gap in the traffic joins lane one. Is this contrary to the principles of advanced driving and if the driver was undertaking an Advanced Test at the time would the Examiner consider the course of action to be acceptable? The exact circumstances of road layout, vehicle type and position of other traffic etc would have to be taken into account of course, selecting top gear may or may not be the best choice depending on the situation. It all depends on the circumstances but any doubts about any particular manoeuvre or technique can be addressed by answering the following questions: · Was it safe? ·
· Was it in compliance with 'The System'? ·
· Was it smooth? (and sympathetic to the vehicle) ·
· Was speed used correctly? (i.e. was safe, legal progress made?) ·
· Was the manoeuvre legal? ·
· Did the manoeuvre contribute to sparkle in the drive? (i.e. always in the right place, at right speed, in correct gear for the speed and able to stop in the distance seen to be clear) 15
Examiners should have no problems with block changing up, if it is appropriate to the situation and when carried out the answers to the above questions are positive. The bottom line is that the driver ultimately must make the decision as to the appropriateness of any particular manoeuvre or technique. In an effort to clarify the acceptability or not of block ‘up changes’ an example of a situation where this technique would not be appropriate is set out below. Leaving a 30 limit and entering a national speed limit section (60 mph) where the road is free of traffic and with few hazards, a driver maintains 3rd gear and accelerates up to 45 mph, block changes to 5th gear, continues to accelerate up to and then cruises near the speed limit (60 mph). In this latter situation, dependant on the capabilities of an individual car, it would be better to take 4th gear at 45 mph and continue to accelerate until cruising speed is reached when 5th (top gear) can be taken, if appropriate. Alternatively dependant on the vehicle and other conditions it would be acceptable to accelerate up to the cruising speed in 3rd gear then use a block change up to 5th (top gear).
Overtaking - think about it!
Here’s a situation you might want to consider from the perspective of the drivers of both red vehicles in this photograph. The lorry was travelling at around 45mph, there had been a long straight section free of oncoming traffic. The camera car was following the MPV, both travelling at around 55 mph, the MPV made no attempt to view the road ahead and look for an overtake but braked late and took up a position close to the lorry. It had maintained this position for a few hundred yards when the photo was taken. Two vehicles had been gaining from behind, for some time, remaining in the opposing lane, whilst overtaking for the previous ¼ mile or so. Was the driver of the red MPV compromising his/her safety? How could the drivers of the van and following ‘overtaker’ maximise the safety? 16
Clearly the driver of the red MPV could have improved his/her safety and that of other road users by not driving so close to the lorry; this position cut off forward vision and reduced the following distance inadvisably. Given that this driver did not wish to overtake it would perhaps have been better to keep well back from the lorry and allow space in front for any overtaking vehicle to pull in if required. Simple observation in the offside mirror would have alerted the driver to the fact that vehicles had been overtaking and moving up from behind for some distance. It may have been the best scenario for the red MPV to have overtaken the lorry so preventing it from becoming involved in this situation. This could have been achieved easily and well before the two ‘overtakers’ got close. From the perspective of a potential ‘overtaker’ what action could you take to maximise safety? Obviously your concern is on several fronts, firstly has the driver of the red MPV seen you? Is he/she paying attention? Possibly not - the evidence being that the late braking and poor positioning could indicate a lack of attention or perhaps a foreigner in a hire car? What is the body language of the driver, is he/she in an animated conversation, on the telephone, looking at the scenery etc? Does the driver of the red MPV know something you don’t? You’ll obviously also be concerned about what is happening behind you and in front of the lorry, is the road ahead clear, are there any junctions, will the lorry be looking to turn off etc? The list of checks is endless and depends on the situation. You should be looking for confirmation that the drivers of the red MPV and lorry have seen you. Maybe a headlamp flash or possibly a toot on the horn (maybe not so useful at this speed) may help. You should only proceed with the overtake if you are sure that it can be carried out safely, you can always take the safe option by showing restraint even if you lose a few minutes. In the event the red MPV made no attempt to overtake the lorry and remained closely positioned behind it for several miles. The camera car overtook shortly after the two cars in the second photograph had completed their manoeuvres. 17
Police launch Operation Juggernaut July saw Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary start Operation Juggernaut. The initiative follows a doubling of traffic collisions involving heavy goods vehicles on the A75, up from 14 to 28 in the period January to May 2004/2005. Operation Juggernaut will concentrate on the enforcement of such problems as lorries speeding, careless driving, use of mobile phones, failure to wear seat belts, together with driving hours and vehicle defect offences. The police will also be using education as a tool and will distribute safety leaflets to drivers, contractors and ferry operators. The initiative runs through until December.
Looming problems Those of you who are familiar with the Roadcraft video (available from the Group Secretary) will have noted that the Police instructor refers to drivers making statements such as “ suddenly this car appeared out of nowhere”. He puts it to the class that very few things happen suddenly; but maybe scientific evidence has now shown that events can happen suddenly and that vehicles can appear out of nowhere, from the perspective of another road user. We’re referring to ‘motion camouflage’ and the ‘looming effect’, a scientific phenomenon proven to exist and used by certain of nature’s predators - a technique also being employed by the designers of military hardware! Scientists at Queen Mary College have demonstrated that motion camouflage is used by hoverflies to help them to approach their prey unseen. Effectively they use the principle to hide the fact that they are moving towards their prey. The pursuing insect approaches along a particular trajectory which allows it to appear to remain stationary from the point of view of the target. The pursuer can use this "motion camouflage" to rush right up to the target before it is perceived as a threat. As the predator makes it’s final approach the prey suddenly spots the attacker but freezes for a moment whilst it decides what to do about the threat, by then of course it is too late! It has been suggested that the same principle could be behind the ‘sorry mate I didn’t see you’ syndrome where a vehicle pulls out directly in front of another vehicle, usually a bike, with disastrous effects. Although it is most likely to be applied to incidents where motorists pull out in front of motorcycles the principle could apply to any combination of vehicles and indeed could also 18
explain why pedestrians may step into the path of traffic even though they appear to have looked first. For this reason it is important for all road users to be aware of the existence of the phenomena. When you look out of a car window, objects close to you, like signs and hedges, pass you very quickly but things further away like hills in the distance hardly seem to move at all. The angle between you and a near object changes rapidly whilst far away objects are effectively positioned at infinity and therefore do not seem to move - the angle between you and that object nearly remains constant. Stationary objects in the mid ground appear to move only slowly because the angle between you and the object changes slowly and smoothly. Objects in the mid ground can effectively become lost in the scenery because the eye has difficulty in detecting any movement. 'Motion camouflage’ confuses the part of the eye that detects the edges of objects which alerts us to the presence of movement. If no edge movement is detected, then no alert is triggered.
The deer in front of the tree can be ‘hidden’ from the observer by the background. If the observer moves the deer can remain ‘hidden’ if it too moves a little, at the same time, to maintain its relative position between the tree and observer. Provided the relative angles remain the same the deer could even move closer to the observer unobserved.
When a motorcyclist is riding towards a junction he can effectively be riding straight towards any waiting road user; if the scene behind the motorcyclist conforms to certain parameters the rider is effectively camouflaged against the background because the viewer’s eye does not detect any movement to the ‘edges’ of the rider. This camouflage effect can apply whether the rider is masked by a rural or urban background or even by following traffic This is because the rider’s 'edges’ are effectively staying constant in relation to the background. At a certain point the effect is lost as the rider gets close to a waiting motorist whose eyes then become able to detect edge movement and suddenly the approaching rider appears a lot larger. This is called the 'Looming Effect'. 19
This looming effect may not occur until the motorcyclist is very close and indeed the motorist may have already commenced to move out. At the point the edge movement is detected the motorbike ‘suddenly’ appears. It is thought that the motorist’s brain may react by freezing momentarily whilst it decides whether to ‘fight or flight’. A rider approaching this situation may believe they have eye contact with the waiting driver but in reality although the driver may be looking straight towards the rider they may, in fact, just be looking The driver is looking but can he see me? straight through him or her. If the failures to spot approaching motorcyclists are caused by motion camouflage what can you do about it? Whether you are a rider or a driver the first thing of course is to recognise such a phenomenon can exist and that it relates to a failure to identify the edge movement of the approaching bike and rider. When a rider is moving almost in a straight line directly towards the waiting car this will do little to ‘break’ the motorcycle free from the background and the possibility exists that the rider will not become noticed until he or she is almost upon the waiting vehicle. Deviating your course away from this line may help to break the pattern and help your ‘edges’ to be This driver has seen the lorry but has he detected so triggering an alert to the seen the bike in front? waiting driver. The advice given in the Spring 2005 issue, for dealing with ‘A’ pillar blind spots (available on line from our web site) may also help in this type of situation. Easing back and moving away from the danger, e.g. towards the centre-line for a junction on the nearside, should help to make your moving outline more likely to be detected. Finally if you are not sure you have been seen (and how can you be?) consider slowing down even more as you approach the danger. In addition use of your headlight together with high visibility clothing are both going to help make you more conspicuous to other road users. For drivers, using a full active scanning method may also help (see Spring 2005 issue). This involves not just using your eyes but turning your head and indeed moving your head sideways and/or back and forwards a little. 20
Summary of IAM Fact Sheets.
Scotland's drivers close up
These are aimed at helping you be- More than a quarter of motorists in come a safer driver/rider and enjoy Scotland are 'an accident waiting to happen' - because they drive too close your time on the road more. to the car in front. So said the RAC You can download them from Foundation when Strathclyde Police www.iam.org.uk or speak to Helen. launched their ‘RU 2 Close?’ campaign earlier in the year. No. Subject The figures come from a traffic survey conducted by the RAC Foundation on 20/001 Successful Towing Tech- the M8. The results showed that more niques than 60% of drivers in vehicle clusters were travelling too close each other 19/001 Driving Attitudes (and ignoring the Highway Code!). 18/001 Emergency Vehicles 21/001 Safety Cameras
17/001 Sharing the Road with Cyclists 16/001 Use of Gears & Adv Driving
7/001
The results have prompted the Foundation to call for more chevDriver Fatigue ron markings designed to encourage drivers to keep their distance. Driving in Wet Weather The tailgating survey was also carried The 'School Run' out at a location where such chevrons Scooter Riders should be were in use and appeared to show that they do help to reduce tailgating. stylish but SAFE The results show that on the stretch of Personal Safety on the road before the chevrons, tailgating Road was at around 60%. But in the middle of the chevron patch, it appeared to drop Membership Information off significantly. It did pick up again after Winter Driving the chevrons, not to the extent that it was at beforehand - suggesting chevHoliday Driving in the UK rons could have a role to play in changDriving at Night ing driver behaviour.
6/001
Mobile Phones
5/001
"Greener" Driving
4/001
Motorway Driving
3/001
The "Older" driver
1/001
Driving Abroad
15/001 14/001 13/001 12/001 11/001 10/001 9/001 8/001
A previous TRL study showed a 56% accident reduction at chevrons sites, compared to the same stretch of road before the chevrons were installed. Remember the minimum two second rule in good conditions as per the Highway Code. 21
‘Skill for Life’ course can make you safer on the road Maybe you know little about advanced driving or riding and would like to find out more? Would you like to improve your driving or riding skills? Would you like to be safer and more confident on the road? Would you like to reduce your chances of having an accident? Would you like your driving/riding to be more relaxed and enjoyable? Dumfries Group of Advanced Motorists exists to promote road safety and the improvement of driving & riding standards to all motorists and motorcyclists through the provision of driving and riding courses. So whether you are a newly qualified driver or rider, or have had many years of experience on the road, why not find out more? Contact the Secretary, Helen Cameron (see page 1), to find out how we can help you to help yourself - it’s a ‘skill for life’.
Recent IAM News Releases These are available from the IAM’s web site go to: www.iam.org.uk 13/05
Like father, like sons says racing legend Mansell (see p6)
Aug 05
12/05
Drivers demand more warnings about Speed Cameras
July 05
11/05
Tailgaters and Phone users revealed as Britain's most May 05 dangerous drivers.
10/05 9/05
'In-Cab Camera' wins IAM backing
May 05
"Two Wheels Good" as IAM Bikers grow - Four new IAM April 05 Motorcycle groups join the pack 22