CADAM Newsletter issue 45 September 2016 by Davewilprint

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2016 Committee Gordon Burley Chairman & Senior Observer

01285 654315 gpburley@waitrose.com

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Frank Williams Vice-Chairman

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f.t.williams@btinternet.com

David Mellor �� 01285 643883

Secretary

davemelloriam@aol.com 3, Fraziers Folly, Siddington, Cirencester GL7 6HR

Robert Lang �� 01285 650735

Treasurer

robert@the3rs.demon.co.uk 11, The Maples, Cirencester GL7 1TQ

Gareth Zimmerman ��01453 750884 / 07711 702384

Membership Secretary

gareth.zimmerman@btinternet.com Safflower House, London Road, Stroud GL5 2AT

Frank Lucas �� 01666 824999

Associate Co-ordinator

colinflucas@googlemail.com

Rod Hodges �� 01666 822535

Committee Member Vince Harris �� 01285 652552 Webmaster vince@cirenit.co.uk Kate Tucker �� 01453 843735 kate1tucker@hotmail.com

Main Contact

September 2016 | 3

Contents Your Committee for 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Highway code - Pelican crossings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chairmans Report,

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

Meetings, Useful information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Treasurer’s report, Highway code - Road users requiring extra care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Speed Limits, Highway code - Lighting requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 Membership News, Europena observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 Hands-free phone use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Thinking ‘in’ the box !. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 I was looking for my keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Pelican crossings The Highway Code Rule 196 Pelican crossings. These are signal-controlled crossings where flashing amber follows the red ‘Stop’ light. You MUST stop when the red light shows. When the amber light is flashing, you MUST give way to any pedestrians on the crossing. If the amber light is flashing and there are no pedestrians on the crossing, you may proceed with caution.

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Chairmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Report I hope you are all enjoying the summer and putting your expertise to good use on the busy roads. I have seen some interesting driving on my travels and been in the inevitable hold ups caused by poor driving; usually lack of attention. Numbers have recovered during the year and we are pretty much back to our norm. We have taken on board the new logo and standardisation launched by the IAM and our observers have all been briefed on the new methods for what is now known as the Advanced Driving Course (ADC). RIP SfL. Our website is about to undergo the re-branding update so have a look in a couple of weeks to see what you think. Any suggestions for inclusions or additions are always welcome. We have had a trickle of young drivers under the PCC scheme but it is disappointing that a couple of our earlier applicants have dropped out. This is a great shame because it has wasted an opportunity and denied another young driver of the free membership. The individuals are obliged to refund the ÂŁ149 but this has been difficult to achieve. The summer holiday period is always difficult to maintain momentum with our associates but our observers do their best to keep the drives going and we have had more test successes. Looking forward to seeing as many as possible at our next meeting after the summer break.

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Safe motoring, Gordon Burley.

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Meetings

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.%+(2U1456 The group usually meet in Daglingworth Village Hall at 7.45pm &&(+17,)##0'U17 'U18%*"19:!(&&0$$316;;<=1<4><=? Wednesday of each month. The exceptions being December, when

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is held on the second Wednesday, and August, where there is no meeting. Notice will be given should any of these dates change. Refreshments of tea or coffee and biscuits are provided and family, friends and visitors are always welcome as guests. Map data ©2012 Google

Daglingworth Village hall is located in the !&(,;+)&%(+#1' centre of the village of Daglingworth, approximately 2.5 miles north west of Cirencester, off the A417, grid ref: SO993051 - postcode GL7 7AA. Forthcoming Meetings Wed 7th September Mobile Phone Forensics with Tony Sykes (Tony travels the world as an expert witness)

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Wed 5th October A woman in a man’s world with Lynn Hilditch (air traffic control) Wed 2nd November

Road Safety with Gordon Burley 7,%#1(.%(<'A Wed 14th December

7,B)#%&;$)& Xmas get together food, skittles, bar, etc.

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Useful Information This Newsletter is published by the Committee of the Cirencester and District Group of Advanced Motorists. The Group is an official provider for IAM RoadSmart.

The views and opinions expressed in this Newsletter are those of the Individual ',.1;,+1'$).1%&

contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the Group Committee or the IAM. Please note: Articles submitted for publication may be edited for content or length.

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Please send any contributions for publication, articles, letters or pictures to the Chairman, Gordon Burley via email at: gpburley@waitrose.com.

-$).",/#00$1+(2,/#$1%+"3,/#00$1+(2,4#$'&3,56,/#""&7&,!)&&13,!"#$%&'(&),!85,98: Copy date for the Winter issue is 14th November 2016 )&;,%*.)+(2,<1$0=&),5>6?9@9A,.1;,.,8+0+(&;,/#0B.12,<1$0=&),C5@5D66AE

of 1st December 2016

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6 | Volume 45

with an anticipated delivery date

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Treasurer’s Report At the time of writing (5th August), the balances of the group’s deposit and current accounts amount to £3,159. Cheque Payments - Please make any cheques for the group payable to: CADAM Robert Lang, Treasurer

Road users requiring extra care The Highway Code Rule 206 Drive carefully and slowly • in crowded shopping streets, Home Zones and Quiet Lanes (see Rule 218) or residential areas • driving past bus and tram stops; pedestrians may emerge suddenly into the road • passing parked vehicles, especially ice cream vans; children are more interested in ice cream than traffic and may run into the road unexpectedly • needing to cross a pavement or cycle track; for example, to reach or leave a driveway. Give way to pedestrians and cyclists on the pavement • reversing into a side road; look all around the vehicle and give way to any pedestrians who may be crossing the road • turning at road junctions; give way to pedestrians who are already crossing the road into which you are turning • the pavement is closed due to street repairs and pedestrians are directed to use the road • approaching pedestrians on narrow rural roads without a footway or footpath. Always slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary, giving them plenty of room as you drive past.

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Speed Limits You must not drive faster than the speed limit for the type of road and your type of vehicle. The speed limit is the absolute maximum - it doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive at this speed in all conditions.

Speed limits

Type of vehicle

You must not drive faster than the speed limit for the type of road and your type of vehicle. The speed limit is the absolute maximum it doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive at this speed in all conditions.

Built-up areas mph(km/h)

Single carriageways Dual carriageways mph (km/h) mph (km/h)

Motorways mph(km/h)

Cars, motorcycles, car-derived vans and dual-purpose vehicles

30 (48)

60 (96)

70 (112)

Cars, motorcycles, car-derived vans and dual-purpose vehicles when towing caravans or trailers

30 (48)

50 (80)

60 (96)

Motorhomes or motor caravans (not more than 3.05 tonnes maximum unladen weight)

30 (48)

60 (96)

70 (112)

Motorhomes or motor caravans (more than 3.05 tonnes maximum unladen weight)

30 (48)

50 (80)

60 (96)

70 (112)

Buses, coaches and minibuses (not more than 12 metres overall length)

30 (48)

50 (80)

60 (96)

70 (112)

Buses, coaches and minibuses (more than 12 metres overall length)

30 (48)

50 (80)

60 (96)

Goods vehicles (not more than 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight)

30 (48)

50 (80)

60 (96)

70 (112) 60 (96) if articulated or towing a trailor

Goods vehicles (more than 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight) in England and Wales

30 (48)

50 (80)

60 (96)

Goods vehicles (more than 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight) in Scotland

30 (48)

40 (64)

50 (80)

60 (96)

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Car-derived vans are the only goods vehicles which are subject to the same speed limits as a car. Car-derived vans Car-derived vans are designed to weigh no more than 2 tonnes when loaded and are based on car designs (eg Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa), or the vehicle is built from a platform which has been designed to be built as a car or a van. As a general rule, from the outside, these vehicles will look like the size of a car, but on the inside the vehicle will look like and function as a van, because there will be: • no rear seats, rear seat belts or mountings • a payload area with floor panel in the rear of the vehicle • no side windows in the rear of the vehicle or if present, side windows will be opaque and fixed (with no means of opening or closing) If you want to find out more information about the design of your vehicle and whether your van is car-derived, you can check your log book and the description in the field ‘body type’. This will tell you how the vehicle has been classified by the manufacturer. If you believe your new vehicle is a car-derived van, but has not been registered as one, you should contact your dealer. If you have bought a second-hand vehicle you believe is car-derived, but has not been registered as one, you should contact the manufacturer. Dual purpose vehicles A dual purpose vehicle is a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage both of passengers and of goods and designed to weigh no more than 2,040 kg when unladen, and is either: constructed or adapted so that the driving power of the engine is, or can be selected to be, transmitted to all wheels of the vehicle or permanently fitted with a rigid roof, at least one row of transverse passenger seats to the rear of the driver’s seat and will have side and rear windows - there must also be a minimum ratio between the size of passenger and stowage areas

Lighting requirements The Highway Code Rule 116 Hazard warning lights. These may be used when your vehicle is stationary, to warn that it is temporarily obstructing traffic. Never use them as an excuse for dangerous or illegal parking. You MUST NOT use hazard warning lights while driving or being towed unless you are on a motorway or unrestricted dual carriageway and you need to warn drivers behind you of a hazard or obstruction ahead. Only use them for long enough to ensure that your warning has been observed. September 2016 | 9

Membership News Congratulations and welcome to full membership to Simon Hatcher, observed by Jeff Barry. Our number of full members is now 72, with 9 associates under training and 4 waiting for allocation to an observer, 11 group associates under training, 9 friends of the group and 1 honorary member, making a grand total of 105. Regrettably we still lose full members who do not renew membership after their initial year, but at least they have the benefit and satisfaction of passing a test to make them safer on our roads. Gareth Zimmerman, Membership Secretary

Some personal observations on a recent tour across the channel July saw Ella and me heading towards her childhood home in Limburg, southern Netherlands. We had decided to add on a trip into parts of Germany we hadn’t previously visited and southern Denmark. With the referendum a few days before our trip, we chose to purchase several hundred euros beforehand – a wise decision as it turned out! The drive to Dover was uneventful until we tried to enter the town, which was gridlocked, suggesting a road traffic incident. Our ferry departure was on the far side, so some concern ensued. The holdup turned out to be caused by the French immigration checking passports thoroughly – not because of Brexit, as we thought, but because of the fear of terrorists entering France. It’s not funny sitting in one of 9 queues with only one moving at a time, and it was only through the good nature of an official who opened a building for me so I could use the toilet that desperation was alleviated. We were among the lucky ones, as we saw what happened at the start of the school holidays! We missed our ferry, so had to wait for next one, 2 hours later. Equipment required in cars when driving in different European countries is quite extensive (and expensive if not bought beforehand!). France requires that breathalysers be carried – for DIY drink-drive tests; most countries require an emergency triangle, 1 or 2 hi-vis jackets and a set of replacement light bulbs – although replacing them ourselves in modern cars is a job most of us would struggle with! The drive from Dunquerque (Dunkirk) involves only a short part of France before the motorway enters Belgium, en route to the dreaded Brussels ring road, nearly always congested, and not helped by the number of young males driving Belgian-registered cars that one sees in one’s rear-view mirror flashing headlights from about a car’s 10 | Volume 45

length behind when overtaking in the 3rd lane at the speed limit. No wonder the crash we saw going in the opposite direction was a rearender involving 3 cars! After “rerouting due to traffic” the built-in satnav took us to our destination in Heerlen, where we spent a few days with a friend – and managed to get discounted tickets on line for the “sold-out” Andre Rieu show in Maastricht, on our return! The Dutch are generally law-abiding and tolerant., so our travels around Limburg and up to other friends in the northeast were pleasant. Plenty of bicycles, though, and in the Netherlands they generally have priority, so one has to watch those blind spots! From Groningen we crossed into Germany with its autobahns devoid of speed limits, but travelling at 160-170 km/h soon became too stressful – and it must be said, boring - so we stayed at around 120 in lanes 1 and 2 to save fuel and reduce the stopping distance should something go wrong! Interestingly, the German drivers are happy to reduce speed to allow one to overtake, so it was a simple matter to signal when a car was next to us and see the one behind it noticeably slow to let one in – no flashing headlights, horns or the like before they accelerated past again. A day trip into Denmark was interesting, as their motorways have speed limits with which most drivers complied, the aforementioned Belgians being the odd exception. A beautiful day changed to a torrential rainstorm - potentially daunting on the motorway, as visibility was severely reduced. However, everyone reduced speed and we all made good progress with no problems, except a warning came up on my dashboard to check tyre pressures. A stop at the services in pouring rain revealed nothing was wrong, so I can only assume the water on the road surface affected the sensors. Consulting the handbook on our return to our guesthouse in Germany enabled me to switch off the warning message. While staying at hotels and guesthouses near cities in Germany, we made use of the public transport to get around – clean, frequent, punctual, friendly, and cheap. What a pleasure! In some towns the parking is free if you have a cardboard timer to say when you arrived, like a few places we’ve seen in the UK. Back to Limburg and a drive to the outskirts of Maastricht to park free before walking to a most memorable performance by Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. The seats were pretty good and the evening an absolute pleasure. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get back to Dunkirk, which was just as well because an approach lane to a roundabout had been closed off outside to the town, resulting in a long delay. However, once we approached the roundabout, we could see no reason for its closure, and diverted traffic was able to get back onto it! It’s always good to get back home but we really enjoyed the break and experiencing the different driving customs of our European neighbours. Gareth Zimmerman September 2016 | 11

Hands-free phone use by drivers ‘equally distracting’ Drivers using a hands-free phone get just as distracted as those holding it in their hand, researchers have found. Scientists at the University of Sussex found conversations can cause the driver to visually imagine what they are talking about. This uses a part of the brain normally used to watch the road, the University of Sussex study shows. The findings made the case for all phones to be banned from cars, according to the lead researcher. The study involved 20 male and 40 female volunteers who took part in video tests while sitting in a car seat behind a steering wheel. One group of volunteers were allowed to “drive” undistracted while another wto heard a male voice from a loudspeaker 3ft (0.9m) away. Blue file Those who were distracted by the voice engaging them in conversation took just under a second longer to respond to events, such as a pedestrian stepping off the pavement, an oncoming car on the wrong side of the road or an unexpected vehicle parked at a junction. The study showed that asking a simple question - such as “Where did you leave the blue file?” - during phone conversations could mean a driver concentrates on an area four times smaller than normal, because their brain is imagining the room where they left the file, instead of checking for hazards in front of them. Dr Graham Hole, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Sussex, said the research laid bare the “popular misconception that using a mobile phone while driving is safe as long as the driver uses a hands-free phone”. “The problem is enforceability - it’s very difficult for the police to tell if someone’s using a hands-free phone,” he said. “But on balance, I think the law should be changed to get the right message across and make it absolutely clear that any use of a mobile phone while driving is hazardous.” Other studies have suggested that phone conversations in a car are more off-putting than listening to the radio or talking to a passenger, Dr Hole added. A passenger chatting in a car is less distracting, the researchers argue, because both stop talking when the driver needs to concentrate. 12 | Volume 45

Thinking in the Box at Tescoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s!

September 2016 | 13

I was looking for my keys They were not in my pockets. A quick search in the meeting room revealed nothing. Suddenly I realised I must have left them in the car. Frantically, I headed for the car park. My husband has scolded me many times for leaving the keys in the ignition. My theory is the ignition is the best place not to lose them. His theory is that the car will be stolen. As I scanned the car park I came to a terrifying conclusion! His theory was right. The car park was empty. I immediately called the police. I gave them my location, confessed that I had left my keys in the car, and that it had been stolen. Then I made the most difficult call of all. “Hello my love”, I stammered; I always call him “My Love” in times like these. “I left my keys in the car, and it has been stolen.” There was a period of silence. I thought the call had disconnected, but then I heard his voice. He barked, “I dropped you off!” Now it was my time to be silent. Embarrassed, I said, “Well, come and get me.” He retorted, “I will... as soon as I convince this policeman I haven’t stolen your car!” This is what they call, “the Golden Years”!

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