The Newsletter of Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
www.iamchelmsford.org.uk Issue 100 June & July 2013 IAM Group 7223 Registered Charity No 1059372
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Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
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Forthcoming Group Meetings These are usually held on the 2nd Monday of each month at the Essex Police Sports and Social Club, Which is through the Police vehicle park at the very end of St. Margarets Road, Chelmsford. Group Meetings start promptly at 8pm, so please arrive at around 7.45pm.
CM2 6DS
http://www.essexexplorer.co.uk/cam.kmz
Associates, Full Members & Guests Welcome Date
Topic
Speaker
Monday July 8th
How the police identify body parts
Gary Silver
Monday August 12th
Up the Revs (Why a car purrs rather than roars)
Chris Christodolou
Make a note in your diary and please be there! Disclaimer—Please note that the views and opinions expressed in this Newsletter are those of the individual writers and they do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, nor those of the Chelmsford and District Group of Advanced Motorists. Their accuracy has not been verified. Notice—Data Protection Act: records are held of members personal details submitted on their application form. The information will be used solely for the Group’s administration purposes and will not be passed to any third party.
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to our new Associate and Full Members. We look forward to seeing and talking to them at our monthly Group nights Gordon Ross
Chelmsford
Anne Barber
Ongar
June Godfrey
Chelmsford
Matthew Young
Brentwood
We are a friendly bunch, so don’t be worried about coming to our Group nights if you are on your own. Make yourself known to John who will greet you at the desk, he will find one of us to come and talk to you. John will also try to get you to part with some money for the raffle. There will be Senior Observers, Observers and generally an Examiner at the evening and you will be able to get answers to any questions that you have. Please come along, we’ll even give you tea or coffee and there is a bar - for light refreshments obviously! Terry Joyce
Road Safety Observatory A new free online bank of key road safety facts and research was launched in March 2013. The Road Safety Observatory will provide easy access to independent road safety research for both road safety professionals and members of the public. It will cover a wide range of road safety topics, including fitness to drive, drink driving, seatbelts, driver telematics, child restraints in cars and many others. The research is presented in varying levels of detail (key facts, summary and a full review for each topic) so that the reader can choose how much detail suits their purpose, and is written in a non-academic style. The Observatory also provides links to the hundreds of research reports on which the reviews have been based for those who want to see the original evidence.
http://www.roadsafetyobservatory.com/ Page 4
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Congratulations to these latest Members of our Group who have Passed
‘The Test’. Roll No
Name
Test Date
Observer
988
Helen Gille
18th April
Scott Bannister
989
Chris Metcalf
20th April
Scott Bannister
990
Alistair Barnwell
2nd June
John Ockmore
To all those people who have passed their test: It would be appreciated if you could write a few words thanking your Observer and maybe something about the process and your test, to give those New Associates an insight into the process of learning Advanced Driving. Please remember: Do telephone both your Observer and Scott Bannister ( Associates Co-ordinator ) immediately after your test.
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Group contact information Our Group Enquiry number: - 07757 399897
Honorary Life Members
Mr Mike Corbett, Mr Glyn Jarrett, Mrs Ruth Jarrett, Mr Dave Travers
Committee Chairman Associates Co-ordinator & Chief Observer
Scott Bannister
Secretary
Colin Snow
Treasurer
John Johnston
Membership Secretary
Ken Carrington
Website Editor
Jon Ward
Newsletter Editor
Terry Joyce
Events Organiser
Ivor Date
Publicity
John Stone
Group Contact
Susan Sweetland
Committee Member
Dr Clifford Murira
Committee Member
Steve Wright
Committee Member
John Ockmore
External Events
Pat Clements
Committee Member
Anthony Marchant
Hon. Committee Member Ken Howard Observer Examiner
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Gaynor Manthorpe
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~~~~~~~~ Editorial ~~~~~~~~ Hello, Another year has passed and I’m still your editor but I must say that I am pleased with the number of articles and pictures you have sent me. It does help a bit. Please keep it up. As you will see from the accounts on page 11, the printed version of the newsletter is quite expensive. It would help greatly help if more of you would have the electronic version. On a more upbeat note this is edition 100 of our Newsletter. The cover partly signifies this and also my article on pages 14 and 15 Please check out page 22 for our group nights next year. Many Thanks to Sue Sweetland for her patient and educated assistance in producing this Newsletter.
We are in need of a Secretary & Events organiser Can YOU help or can you suggest speakers or relevant subjects for our group nights.
Terry Joyce Please contact me by email at terry.joyce@iamchelmsford.org.uk Page 7
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Annual Reports to the AGM Chairman and Chief Observer OK, so it’s time for the Chairman’s report on the past year. Time to tell you that everything in the garden is rosy in the time-honoured tradition of annual reports. Well, not quite rosy, but not too bad. We still live and prosper in spite of the best efforts of the recession to scupper us. Certainly the number of new recruits remains low, but enough to keep our happy band of observers active, if not over-worked. We continue to run the ‘extra’ events – skid-pan, Dunton etc, but not as often as we used to. Pat Clements has taken up the reins in respect of making appearances at local shows in order to raise our profile and hopefully encourage more people to join. I too have been active on the public speaking front, having talked to six different groups over the last year. Mostly of the more mature variety but that has generated a bit of business for us. Sadly, our esteemed secretary and general dogsbody.-.Colin Snow.-.has decided to step down from committee at the AGM. He has done a superb job over a number of years and has stepped in on a number of occasions, becoming Membership Secretary for a while and Treasurer for a spell too. He will be greatly missed from the committee and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his help. Whilst I have browbeaten another committee member to take on the Secretary’s role for now, we could do with some fresh blood on the committee so if anybody is willing to spend a little time on six meetings a year, please let me know. The way we split the jobs on the committee, each of the tasks is not that demanding so it’s not a huge commitment to get involved, so please think about putting something back into the group. It is only through the operation of the committee that we are able to survive. Scott Bannister
Group Secretary’s Report Since writing this report last year I was very relieved when Ken Carrington offered to take the role of Membership Secretary off my hands - so many thanks Ken. Most folk maintain that they haven’t got time to serve on the committee but Ken, in addition to having a full time job, is also the Chairman of the Alfa Romeo Owners Club with thousands of members so it’s a mystery to me how he fits it all in. The IAM have introduced a new computer system which we, rather I, have had to get to grips with but they have a very helpful young woman in charge of this who has an unpronounceable name so calls herself Jags. She spent an hour on the phone with me “walking me” through the system so I’m able to do what I have to. Amusingly some IAM groups are still stuck in the stone age & about 25% of them will have nothing to do with it. However it saves me having to post letters to Chiswick informing them of every new Associate member that joins us. The system also alerts Susan, our hard working Group Contact, of new members to contact. Continued on Page 9
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Group Secretary’s Report continued
I attended the IAM AGM at Chiswick in November along with Pat Clements but I don’t think I shall go to any more. It is the one opportunity to ask questions – they can run but they can’t hide - but on the other hand you see it all going in one ear & out the other. Afterwards the wife of a former group chairman came up to me and thanked me for livening up an otherwise dull & boring meeting!! Steve represented us at the annual conference in October. I won’t go to these since it means riding my motorcycle in the dark both going & coming back & I have serious eyesight issues with these really bright – xenon?? - headlights. If it’s raining as well I may as well give up. I took over as Secretary from Tony Little in November 2006 and have decided I’ve had enough & I want a break from it so I will stand down at the AGM. However I won’t be at the AGM since I booked a week’s holiday last year in the Orkneys & have to be in Inverness at 8.30am the following morning. I didn’t discover it clashed with the AGM till a few months ago. Hopefully someone will come forward & take over. Please!!! Colin Snow
Membership Secretary’s Report As with many clubs, we are finding that membership levels are remaining fairly static in recent years. The current position according to the database is: Associates (Current) Full Members Social Members Total
43 306 9 358
Since taking on the role of Membership Secretary in August last year, we have attracted 7 new members between August and December 2012 and 22 to the end of May this year. While that is encouraging, we still need to keep the numbers coming in. It is up to all of us to keep ‘spreading the word’. The database is currently under review to make it a bit more ‘user-friendly’ - most important to a simple soul like me! There are certain functions which depend upon automatic or imported input which are not working well, so hopefully the revisions will create a simpler but more efficient system. It is pleasing to find that more members are taking up the standing order option which is appreciated as it helps to ease administration as well as saving £5 per year subscription cost for members. Please remember to advise of any change of address, email or phone numbers - especially e-mail, the easiest and cheapest form of communication. Stay safe and enjoy your Advanced Motoring Ken Carrington Page 9
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Treasurer’s Report The Group’s accounts for the year ended the 31 March 2013 have been audited and they are set out below. For the year the Group had a deficit in income of £1,218.55. This deficit was due to a number of factors. First of all is the extra cost of postage following the increase in the price of stamps during the year. In addition, with Forward Vision now being partially in colour, the cost of printing this magazine has increased. Other expenditure has also increased and a significant part of this relates to the cost to the Group of subsidising the membership joining costs of the IAM for 6 nurses who drive on a day to day basis in the local community. The level of income is in line with the previous year which is very pleasing in the current economic climate. £604.72 relates to Gift Aid reclaim repayments from HMRC and I would like to thank our membership secretary Ken Carrington on the efforts he is putting in to ensure that as many of the Group have completed the Gift Aid forms. If you are a tax payer and have not already completed this form please contact either Ken or myself and we will supply you with the paperwork. A Gift Aid form can be withdrawn by you should your circumstances change and for every £10 donation made the Group can reclaim £2.50 from HMRC. Despite the deficit for the year, the financial position of the Group is still strong and we have assets in the charity account of £11,234. In respect of the Social Account, there was a small surplus last year and the balance is £3,914. John Johnston, Honorary Treasurer.
Cycle Path? Sent in by Richard Gawler taken by John Hanson. Cycle path leaving the Poole to Weymouth Road near Bovington Camp, Dorset.
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Chelmsford & District Group of Advanced Motorists Income & Expenditure account for the year to 31 March 2013 ye 31/3/2012
Income Gift Aid
£604.72
£681.04
Full Member Renewals
£2,987.50
£2,957.50
Associate member joining fees
£1,294.00
£1,493.00
4x4 days
£240.00
£210.00
Skid pan
£360.00
£420.00
Newsletter
£100.00
£115.00
£0.00
£20.00
Book Sales Donations
£128.06
£5,714.28
£0.00
£5,896.54
Expenditure Other
£1,312.39
£371.00
Books
£221.66
£93.80
General admin & room hire
£306.60
£257.50
£1,077.58
£422.99
Printing & Stationary
£700.40
£788.56
Travel
£514.60
£586.46
4x4 Days
£0.00
£250.00
Skid Pan
£432.00
£744.00
Telephone & Postage
Newsletter
£2,367.60
£6,932.83
Shortfall for Year
-£1,218.55
Gen Fund Bal bf
£1,961.97
11/12 cqs outstanding
£1,860.53
£5,374.84 £521.70
-£10.00
Deficit for year on activities
-£1,218.55
12/13 cqs outstanding
£357.15
Movement Capital Assets
£2,643.80
Gen Fund Bal cf
£3,734.37
Capital Assets Movement proceeds of Mat NSC's Virgin Money Deposit
£10,143.80 £7,500.00 £2,643.80
Social Fund bf
£3,872.43
12/13 cqs outstanding
£21.98
Surplus
£20.42
Social Fund cf
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£3,914.83
Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
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Highway Code Changes in the New Highway Code (2007) © Crown copyright 2007
The other bits Just to clarify ‘The other bits’; what I mean is that I have covered all the rules that have been enhanced or were new when ‘The Official Highway Code’ was issued in 2007. There is more in the book than just the rules, so I’m going to look at those sections to highlight what has been enhanced or introduced. I started to review the new Highway Code in edition 66 and have just finished covering the major changes in edition 99, so there were quite a few alterations. It is worth opening it up or looking online from time to time to just make sure that you are aware of the correct version. The paragraph below just gives you a quick glimpse into the changes. 29 more rules than before. There is a new section on rules for users of powered wheelchairs and powered scooters. A Safety Code for New Drivers, giving advice to help newly qualified drivers get through the first twelve months after passing the driving test, when they are most vulnerable, as safely as possible. New legislation has been introduced on subjects such as vehicle emissions and smoking in vehicles which are workplaces. New stopping/directing powers have been given to VOSA Officers and Highways Agency Traffic Officers. New road initiatives of which people might not be aware (High occupancy vehicle lanes, Home Zones and Quiet Lanes, Active Traffic Management Schemes). More emphasis has been placed throughout the Code with regard to courtesy, attitude, awareness, and consideration of other road users, particularly those more vulnerable. Elsewhere in the code, existing advice has been increased, rewritten or enhanced to make things much clearer for all road users on how they should act or react in a variety of situations.
The other bits On page 2 it states that the book is printed on 75% recycled paper. Why not 100%? On the introduction page the following paragraph is new. The most vulnerable road users are pedestrians, particularly children, older or disabled people, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders. It is important that all road users are aware of The Highway Code and are considerate towards each other. This applies to pedestrians as much as to drivers and riders. Terry Joyce Page 12
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Mrs Gaynor Manthorpe Chelmsford Group of Advanced Motorists Dear Mrs Manthorpe, Thank You! We were delighted to receive your kind donation of £170 raised by those taking part in your Driver Experience Day at Ford’s Dunton. On behalf of all the people who we have assisted, we would like to say a big and heartfelt thank your- your support is very much appreciated. The Essex Air Ambulance is a vital life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service for the County. It costs in the region of £250,000 per month to cover all charitable costs and aircraft operations. In this current economic climate when fundraising contributions have declined, it makes it even more difficult for us to reach this essential monthly figure. Every day, volunteers, the public and local businesses work tirelessly to help raise the required amount to keep your lifesaving helicopter flying seven days a week. The introduction of Doctors on board means that we can now provide enhanced critical care at the scene, The doctors work alongside the Paramedics bringing two sets of skills to the benefit of patients, enabling lifesaving procedures to be carried out which would not otherwise be possible so early in the treatment process. For all our latest news, please visit www.essexAirAmbulance.uk.com - it’s a great way to keep in touch and to find out about our new and exciting plans for the future. If you would like to receive our twice yearly newsletter or would welcome news of events via text or email, please check our website. Once again, on behalf of us all, a very sincere thank you. We hope you will continue to support us. Yours sincerely Helena Morgan Trust Fundraising Manager On behalf of the Aircrew and Fundraising Team. Page 13
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Being at the correct speed, in the right gear can save you from having a collision as I found out recently. I was approaching the mini roundabout pictured below. It is located in Rayleigh High Street and the road on the left is the Eastwood Road. Often you get cars turning right from the Eastwood Road into the High Street pulling out in front of you. This is because as they are approaching the roundabout they have a view of the High Street but not enough because of the shop on the corner. See the picture opposite. As you can see from the picture below; on my approach onto the roundabout there are thick give way lines. The thick give way lines are described in The Official Highway Code like this: Give way to traffic from the right at a mini roundabout. Cars approaching the junction from the Eastwood Road also have the thick give way lines and just to complete the picture, cars approaching the roundabout from the opposite direction to me have
Restricted view
My line of travel
standard double give way lines. These give way lines are described in The Official Highway Code like this: Give way to traffic on a major road (can also be used at a mini roundabout). Back to the story. As I approached the roundabout I was reducing the speed by lifting off the throttle, looking all the time for cars approaching from ahead and from the left. There was a car behind me but not very close. Continued on page 15
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Roadcraft the Police Driver’s Handbook continued
I was almost at the thick give way line with no cars approaching for me to give way to and because I had reduced the speed for the approach I needed a lower gear, one last check, all seemed ok. There were cars approaching from the Eastwood Road but they were not close to the roundabout, so they should give way( obviously never assume that they will). I was at about 10mph at this point and changed down into 2nd gear as the car crossed over the thick give way lines. I continued to look for information and at this point the front of the car was just reaching the round blob of paint at the centre of the roundabout. The car approaching the roundabout from the Eastwood Road didn’t appear to be slowing so I used my horn as he hadn’t appeared to have seen me. As I pressed the horn, I also pressed the throttle pedal firmly down. As I had slowed on the approach to the roundabout there was a gap in front of me which I filled
Eastwood Road
Restricted view
rapidly. I waited for the bang and quickly glanced in the mirror - he missed me by about a foot. I looked back again and his car was stuck across the middle of the roundabout, bouncing backwards and forwards: he had stalled. Being at the correct speed, in the right gear for a hazard gives you more options and a chance of avoiding a collision, thank goodness for advanced driving. Have you got any stories from mini roundabouts? Terry Joyce Page 15
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Triumph Spitfire Restoration - part 2 The story so far, in late October 2012, my 1965 Triumph Spitfire Mark 2 went off to a local repair shop for major amounts of welding, new body panels and a re-spray. Read on following the technical bit. For the tech bods, The Triumph Spitfire is a small English two-seater sports car, introduced at the London Motor Show in 1962. The vehicle was based on a design produced for Standard Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti. The platform for the car was largely based upon the chassis, engine and running gear of the Triumph Herald saloon, and was manufactured at the Standard Triumph works at Canley, Coventry. As was typical for cars of this era, the bodywork was fitted onto a separate structural chassis but for the Spitfire, being designed as an open top or convertible sports car from the outset, the ladder chassis was reinforced for additional rigidity by the use of structural components within the bodywork. The Spitfire was provided with a manual hood for weather protection, the design improving to a folding hood for later models. Factory manufactured hard-tops were also available. In March 1965 the Spitfire Mark II was launched. It was very similar to the Mark I but featured a more highly tuned engine, through a revised camshaft design, a watercooled intake manifold and tubular exhaust manifold, increasing the power to 67 bhp (50 kW) at 6000 rpm. The coil-spring design clutch of the Mark I was replaced with a Borg and Beck diaphragm spring clutch. The exterior trim was modified with a new grille and badges and the interior trim was improved with redesigned seats and by covering most of the exposed surfaces with rubber cloth. The original rubber floor coverings were replaced with carpets. It was introduced at a base price of £550, compared to the Sprite's £505 and the Midget's £515. Top speed was claimed to be 96mph (154 km/h) and its 0–60 mph time of 15.5 seconds was considered "lively". The factory claimed that at highway speeds (70 mph (110 km/h)) the car achieved 38.1 miles per gallon. Continued on page 17
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Triumph Spitfire Restoration - part 2 continued
Back to the story so far. The whole of the preparation, welding and re-spray was due to take about 6 – 10 weeks which should have meant that I got it back just before Christmas ready for the mechanical work and refitting of the interior. I visited the work shop most weekends to take photographs and to check on progress: all seemed well but a lot slower than agreed. In some ways I was happy about the delay as I was not looking forward to undertaking the remaining elements during the winter months. In January I visited the workshop only to find out that the engineer had left the country without paying for the welding, completing the preparation or undertaking the re-spray, the story-line of nightmares. Taking a positive view at least the car was still there. After payment for the welding I arranged for it to be returned to my drive, leaving the question of what to do next. Following many phone calls I managed to obtain alternative prices for the preparation and re-spray. However the difficulties of not using a specialist restoration firm had resulted in a number of problems. For example the rear valance and boot lid had been replaced but the position of lights and lettering had not been marked and such information is not readily available. This is where contacts through ‘Club Triumph’, visits to workshops and restoration workshops become invaluable. I planned to take some annual leave to check that all the specialist work was correct before handing the car over once more for the final preparation and re-spray. What I discovered may be subject to a further article… Melvin Dawson Page 17
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Young Driver Scheme Do you know of anyone who is not 17 years of age, but wants to learn how to drive? Chelmsford IAM group supports a road safety scheme to give people the opportunity to learn basic car control skills in Driving School Dual Controlled cars on private land before they go on the public Highway. Lessons, lasting for one hour, are run on the third Sunday of most months at Earls Colne (near Coggeshall). There is an initial Registration Fee of ÂŁ30 which covers registration and the first one hour lesson. Subsequent lessons cost ÂŁ25. Lessons must be booked in advance. The scheme is intended primarily for 16 year-olds but, if vacancies permit, places may be offered to 15 year-olds or even to older people who are nervous about
getting behind the wheel (again, or for the first time). Full details of the scheme, a letter from Essex Police and a map may be viewed, and the application Form can be downloaded, from www.youngdriverscheme.org Alternatively, forms may be obtained from the YDS Organiser. Nicola Hyland, 67 Main Road, St Lawrence Bay, Southminster, CM0 7NA Dedicated Mobile number 07847 645632 or yds@iamchelmsford.org.uk
Notification of Events There has been a lot of positive feedback from events organised by the Group. If you would like to be kept informed of any up and coming events please make sure that l has your current email address.
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Ten minutes ago, I had no idea what to write and I had a vision of a blank space with my name on it. I thought a bit more (no, Susan, you can't moan about the weather again) and realised that the sun is trying to shine - hooray! So, a few observations - in no particular order and mostly unrelated: - there's a blackbird singing in the garden - one of the oldest buses in First Bus' fleet has just rumbled past and hasn't broken down (sorry, that's a Chelmsford joke) - my lovely cat is snoring gently in the corner of the sofa - there are still too many drivers who should have their licences taken away - must be careful if I stop to let a bus pass a parked car after two incidents when the driver behind has overtaken me as I was waiting (!!) - it's really nice when another driver acknowledges the fact that you've given way. Enjoy summer when it arrives.
Susan Sweetland
JACKSON ENGINEERING STATION GARAGE HIGH STREET. ONGAR. CM5 9HH
Telephone: 01277 363707 SERVICING & REPAIRS EXHAUSTS MoT TESTING OF PETROL & DIESEL VEHICLES WE NOW TEST MOTORCYCLES AND 3 WHEELERS JAPANESE 4 WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES SERVICED AND REPAIRED FREE COLLECTION AND DELIVERY
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Motoring Milestones 1939 The Blackout The Wartime regulation, which required motorists to fit headlamp masks and streetlamps to be turned off, had such an adverse effect on road safety that, during the first six months of the regulation being in force, more British people were killed in road accidents than were killed as a direct result of the conflict.
1946 Triumph introduces the 1800. Available as a roadster or saloon it is the first British car with column gear change.
1948 Morris launches the Minor designed by Alec Issigonis. It is destined to become a best seller and would remain in production until 1971. Price new in 1948 is £358 (over £8,000 at 2009 prices).
1952 Arch-rivals the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation (including Morris, MG, Riley, Wolseley) complete a merger to form the British Motor Corporation (BMC). At the time it is Britain’s largest motor manufacturer.
1953 Two major steps in the development of car tyres took place in the same year when Michelin produced the first successful radial tyre and tubeless tyres were introduced into Britain by Dunlop.
Selected by Terry Joyce, Courtesy of Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon and internet sources. .
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Group Nights & Events 2013 Please make a note in your diary Monday June 10th
Manoeuvring test
Scott Bannister + others
Monday July 8th
How the police identify body parts
Gary Silver
Monday August 12th
Up the Revs (Why a car purrs rather than roars)
Chris Christodolou
Monday September 9th
Stow Maries WW1 Aerodrome
Roger
Monday October 14th
Medical things
Dr Clifford Murira
Monday November 11th
TBA
Monday December 9th
Christmas Quiz Night & Buffet
Make a difference As many of you know I am the Chairman of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research in Southend. We organise a number of events during the year to raise money for our charity. The largest and most profitable of these is the Southend Bikeathon. To be able to run this ride we need a large number of Marshals. It’s not a hard job. You need to stand or sit at a junction on the route and check that the riders are heading in the right direction and should there be an incident, make a phone call. You get to wear a fashionable High Visibility Tabard and If you feel light hearted we can give you a bright pink foam hand to direct the riders. You’ll look a picture. If you want to be helpful you can take pictures of the riders to help with our future publicity. The maximum time for this is around five hours on Sunday September 1st and if we get enough volunteers, this can be reduced. If you fancy spending a few hours to help beat blood cancer give me a ring or send an email. See page 7 for details. Terry Joyce www.southendbikeathon.co.uk Page 22
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CHELMSFORD ADVANCED MOTORISTS LIBRARY LIST DVDs Drive Smarter, Essential know-how for your driving career (2 copies) By Gem Motoring Assist Roadcraft, The Police Driver’s Course on Advanced Driving By The Police Foundation
PC CD-ROMs The Interactive Highway Code HMSO/ Interactive Driving Systems Hazard Perception Test
HMSO/Oasis
BOOKS Roadcraft Human Aspects of Police Driving The Tyre Digest (2 copies)
TSO Scottish Police College Michelin
Driving Abroad
Robert Davies
The Official Highway Code Rev. 2007 Edition
HMSO
The Official Guide to Accompanying L-Drivers
DSA
Sideways to Victory
Roger Clark
The Myway Code
Ian Vince/Dan Kieran
Paul Ripley’s Expert Driving
Daily Telegraph
The Inner Game of Tennis
W Timothy Gallwey
Mind Driving
Stephen Haley
Older Drivers – Safe or Unsafe? Traffic– Why we drive the way we do
IAM Tom Vanderbilt
CDs Awake, Driver Reviver
THINK
Advanced Road Craft
Bespoke Driving Training
The Driving Test – Your Licence to Drive
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IAM/Safety on the Move
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Subsidised Events We are wondering whether to organise more skidpan and 4x4 events this year. If you are interested in either please let us know. Contact Scott. His contact information is on Page 8.
Our Observers Ron Adams
Graham Lowe
Scott Bannister
Gaynor Manthorpe
Pat Clements Philip Cooper
Janet Miller
Paul Crosby
Dr Clifford Murira
Jamie Drummond
John Ockmore
Max Ford
Roger Spall
Tony Hawes
Lawrence Tattersall
Helen Jeffries
John Tullett
Terry Joyce
Mark Warbey
Rob Laird
Brian Williams
George Locker
Rob Wise
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Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 100
Helicopter Antics On Saturday April 13th 2013 eleven of us were lucky enough to experience a fascinating guided tour of the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit at Lippits Hill, Loughton. The unit, located 300 feet above sea level and housed in various grade II listed buildings is situated within the Lea Valley. It used to be an old gun fort & the aircraft guns would be trained on German aircraft. Making the low level run at night along the valley the reflection of the lights from the surface of the giant reservoirs would aid them to drop their bombs on London. When the reservoirs were behind them, they knew they were over the East End and had reached their target. After the war was over, the site was quickly converted into a prisoner of war camp. Many of the Italian prisoners stayed and set up small holdings in the area, some of which still exist to this day. After congregating in the car Pat Alexander park we were led off to enjoy a quick cuppa before settling down in a "classroom" to watch slides and various video footage explaining the work that is undertaken and the equipment that is used. On our way, we poignantly passed a stone statue which had been carved by a prisoner of war who, up until sadly he passed away a few years ago, had regularly come back to tend to it. About an hour into our "lesson" we were invited to go outside to witness two of their £5.5m, (£4m to purchase + £1.5m to be kitted out for police use), Eurocopter EC145 helicopters take off. One was on a training exercise and one which was off to a job (more of that in a moment). This was an ideal photo opportunity despite the fact it was quite breezy in the open air, somewhat aided by the blades rotating! We were then led into the garage where we could look up close but not touch (!) their 3rd helicopter which was in for general maintenance. Amongst many other things, Ricc Tartaglia showed us that the engine is housed on the roof of the hull and we could clearly see how adaptable the inside was should they need to adapt it for use to transport dogs, equipment or add in additional seating for extra staff. Of particular interest was a moveable ball camera turret, fitted with a television broadcast quality 3chip daylight video camera with the facility to zoom from x10 to x200 magnification, and an additional lens set at x1000 zoom, known as a 'spotter scope'. Continued on Page 26
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Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
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Helicopter Antics continued
Fitted next to the video camera is a thermal image sensor which operates by determining the temperature of objects, which it scans to an accuracy of 0.1 of a degree and converts the information into a visible picture. The picture is displayed in black and white on the monitor; it can show black or white as hot depending on the observers' preference. The image produced on the thermal image sensor is identical during daylight or darkness. After a good look round we were taken to another building where Ricc's colleague was located in a control room filled with television screens, computers, phones and other technical gizmos. Here he explained the work that he did and we could witness first hand what the helicopter we had seen take off earlier was doing. A protest in London against the legacy of Margaret Thatcher and the coalition government's benefit cuts was due to take place that day and the idea was that the flying eye could transmit images back to the control room & just be in situ should the need arise. At one point we watched as the camera zoomed in on a congregation of cyclists who, on closer inspection, appeared to all be dressed up in period clothing and didn't seem involved in any kind of demonstration (phew!).
Ken Carrington
It should be noted that in addition to London, the unit now covers the whole of Bedfordshire too. After an interesting reccie we went back to classroom to learn yet more. We were given the opportunity to try and identify where a criminal was hiding using thermal imaging and asked to try to say what clues there were in another scene that meant it was night time. At the very end we watched a video of various clips of crashes filmed from a helicopter and as is the case when you watch similar things on television, it's amazing to see just what other people get up to! All in all a superb visit kindly organised by Pat, rounded off, for some of us, by a drink and sandwich lunch at the nearby Owl pub before we carefully made our way back home. Just remember, you never know who might be watching you from up above! Sally Langley
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Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 100
Helicopter Antics
Pat Alexander
Ken Carrington Page 27
Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 100
Congratulations Here are some of our successful members receiving their certificate from our Chairman Scott Bannister Helen Gille
Your pictures No Stopping Sent in by Richard Gawler, taken by John Hanson, at Manston Airport.
Risk of falling rocks Sent in by Tony Groves. Seen in Sorrento, Italy. Not only a warning of the hazard, but also of the consequences! One of the few cases where defacing a sign (literally!) has improved it.
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Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 100
The links below are to websites that you may have an interest in. Please let me know if any of them are not working. Email me if you think of any websites that may be of interest.
IAM DrivingAdvice & Tips http://www.iam.org.uk/media-and-research/media-centre/driving-and-riding-tips
Online Highway Code http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/index.htm
Know your traffic signs http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_191955.pdf
Tyresafe http://www.tyresafe.org
Drive Alive http://www.drive-alive.co.uk
Heritage Motor Centre http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/
London Cyclist http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/
www.iamchelmsford.org.uk