The Newsletter of Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Acceleration or Power? www.iamchelmsford.org.uk Issue 112 June and July 2015 IAM Group 7223 Registered Charity No 1059372
Congratulations Here are some of our successful members receiving their certificate from our Chairman Scott Bannister
I would like to thank Clifford for all his patience, guidance and time. I really enjoyed our drives, particularly getting the bends just so. The test was stress free but trying to maintain 100% concentration did tax the grey matter (and my vocal chords – commentary) somewhat. I’m glad to say that thanks to Clifford I passed.�
Ben Waterman
Debbie Lewis
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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.
http://goo.gl/maps/VrEwi
CM2 6DS
http://www.essexexplorer.co.uk/cam.kmz
Associates, Full Members & Guests Welcome Date
Topic
Speaker
Monday 13th July
AGM/IAM Chief Executive
Sarah Sillars
Monday 10th August
Subject to be advised nearer the time.
Clifford Murira
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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Welcome to our new Associate and Full Members. We look forward to seeing and talking to them at our monthly Group nights Julian Norfolk
Chelmsford
David Lee
Chelmsford
Steve Channa
Brentwood
Geoff Benn
Chelmsford
David Williams
Chelmsford
Oliver Streek
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
Electronic Newsletter & Emails Whilst new members have been getting their copy electronically for some time it would be helpful if more people joined in with the electronic age and did the same. We are not going to force anybody to move to electronic but we would appreciate it if you consider letting the newsletter editor know if you are willing to receive yours by email. In any event for the purpose of telling people about Group nights and the occasional event such as the skid pan it is useful to have as many e-mail addresses as possible so if you are not currently on our mailing list it would point to us not having your email address. Please let the newsletter editor know and he will pass it on.
Please let us know if you change your email address . Page 4
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Roll of Honour Congratulations to these latest Members of our Group who have Passed
‘The Test’. Test No
Name
Test Date
Observer
1048
Matthew Spiller
10th April
Graham Lowe
1049
David Appleford
12th April
Graham Lowe
1050
Joanna Ellis
15th April
John Ockmore
1051
John Newstead
30th April
Scott Bannister
1052
Adrian Emberson
6th May
Scott Bannister
1053
Philip James
7th May
Scott Bannister
1054
Jill Craymer
16th May
John Ockmore
See page 2 & 23 for photos of our members receiving their certificates. 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. Page 5
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From the Chairman You will read elsewhere in this fine publication about our planned July AGM. Now I know such things are not generally guaranteed to make for a fun-filled evening but this year we are sweetening the pill somewhat by getting the recently installed Chief Executive of the IAM along to tell you what is what going forward. I’m certainly looking forward to hearing what she has to say and to find out if the IAM is likely to undergo any substantial changes – it could certainly do with a bit of a re-think in my far from humble opinion. So do come along and ask questions. I promise the AGM bit will take no more than 10 minutes out of your life. I’ve got a good track record on this so it could be five minutes. Talking of the AGM, you will see my report elsewhere in the newsletter but I’m never one for missing an advertising opportunity – our Group depends very much on both the observers and the committee members. Without commitment by these people, the whole thing collapses. The idea is that people give what they can of their time and we try not to over-burden anybody…..well that’s the plan – hasn’t entirely worked in my case because I have far too much to do but that’s just me. We are always on the lookout for more bodies for committee so if you think you could spare the time for six meetings a year and are prepared to take the risk that you may be asked to volunteer for some kind of meaningful role at some point in the future please don’t be shy. Speak to me or any of the other committee members and you will be stunned by how fast your election to greatness is. Unlike the recent General Election you don’t have to worry about knocking on people’s doors and taking abuse. On to driving matters……….and an unusual round of applause for the local authority. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but in the last year or so they have been going overboard with their vertical threshing machines for making a complete mess of the roadside bushes. Looks dreadful when they do it but it certainly clears the view and the bushes seem to be growing back even stronger than before. Having neglected their duty on such matters it’s good to see them getting back on top of things. On the negative side, whilst the view is better than it might be it’s still not as good as the Winter view so all my routes have slowed down a bit. Still there’s more to driving than speed – isn’t there??? As they used to say on Hill Street Blues (remember that?) – “be careful out there”.
Scott Bannister
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~~~~~~~~ Editorial ~~~~~~~~ Hello, For information about the picture on the front cover see Page 13. Please have a look at our accounts. John our Treasurer reports: “Whilst the cost of producing the magazine in 2014/2015 is in line with the previous year, the cost of postage relating to sending out to those who do not attend Group meetings is significant.”
The cost of producing and posting this newsletter to you is around £9.50 per annum, your subscription to the group is £10. It is the groups’ largest expenditure and we cannot continue to spend this amount indefinitely. It would be difficult for us to raise your subscription, so it is likely that we may have to reduce the amount of editions each year. Even though this would reduce my workload I am against this idea. I think that communicating with and informing members is an important part of what our group should be doing. Thank you to those of you that have contributed to this edition. Please keep the letters and articles coming. There are our group night dates on Page 21 Many Thanks to Sue Sweetland for her patient and educated assistance in producing this Newsletter.
Terry Joyce Please contact me by email at terry.joyce@iamchelmsford.org.uk
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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, Mr Colin Snow.
Committee Chairman Associates Co-ordinator & Chief Observer Secretary
Scott Bannister
Treasurer
John Johnston
Membership Secretary
Ken Carrington
Website Editor
Jon Ward
Newsletter Editor
Terry Joyce
Events Organiser
Sally Langley
Publicity
John Stone
Group Contact
Susan Sweetland
Committee Member
Dr Clifford Murira
Committee Member
John Ockmore
Committee Member
Ken Howard
Committee Member
Malcolm Kentish
Committee Member
Selva Seeni
Committee Member
Anthony Shilson
Committee Member
Norman Smith
Observer Examiner
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scott.bannister@iamchelmsford.org.uk
Steve Wright
ken.car@blueyonder.co.uk
terry.joyce@iamchelmsford.org.uk
Gaynor Manthorpe
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Annual Reports to the AGM 2015 Chairman’s Report Well that’s the end of my three years as chairman. For most of this period it’s been a case of keeping the ship afloat during the lean times of the recession. We seem to be coming out of the worst of it and numbers have started to pick up a little. We hear that other Groups around the country have fared far worse than us and some are amalgamating or stagnating – at least we continue to reasonably thrive. We continue to offer the external driving events and participation in these is strong. Also, membership of the local Group has held up well, and our pass rate remains very high so we must be doing something right. The last year has been characterised by a bit of a running battle between me and the folk in Head Office in Chiswick. I think it’s safe to say that I am not on their Xmas card list. Those of you that know me will appreciate how little enthusiasm I have for being told what to do by people for whom box ticking is the main purpose of life and are prepared to bully anybody who points out any shortcomings in their approach. It would be so much easier to just roll over and take it – but unfortunately I believe that when I think something is wrong it is my duty to make that point. Anyway we retain a strained but working relationship. It remains to be seen how much they will try to push us down their path. Bearing in mind we are all volunteers I have my doubts as to how much people will take before they start voting with their feet. For my part, although stepping down from the Chairman’s role and coming off the committee this does not mean you have seen the last of me. I intend to keep on with the observing and as Associates Coordinator. We have a strong committee and it has been a pleasure working with them for my three years as Chairman and for the years before that as an ordinary committee member. Scott Bannister
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Group Secretary’s Report Over the last year we have had a wide and varied program of events, most enjoying fantastic attendances. The subjects have included interesting speakers covering both car related and social topics. This is a new format and seems to have been well received. If anyone has ideas of subject matter for future meetings please forward to any member of the committee. IAM head office is trying to increase its influence over the group by introducing a new testing regime and amalgamating some of the groups into 'super groups'. Chelmsford is a strong group and I would like to assure members we are here to stay but there will be increasing pressures to accept others into our membership. I am sure if and when this happens you will all welcome these new members. In last years report I invited members to contact the committee to outline their concerns/support of amalgamating groups. Continued on Page 10
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Annual Reports to the AGM 2015 continued
To date I have not receive any comments regarding this issue so I am assuming folk have either not read the piece (likely) or are happy with the concept. I intend to stand down at the AGM and would like to thank the committee for its support. Steve Wright
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Membership Secretary’s Report We have a total of 385 members on our database, just three more than at the same time last year, so at least we are not going backwards. New associates so far in 2015 number 24. One area that is not clear to some is that our Group membership is entirely different, and additional to the main IAM membership. When joining the group, the first year is covered by a payment from Chiswick. Thereafter, renewal reminders are sent out by me inviting you to renew at a small cost of £10 when paid by standing order, or £15 if paid by any other means. Once again this year it is pleasing that more people are choosing to pay by standing order, which, once in place, makes the membership administration much more straight forward, and also cuts cost in postages etc. As I mentioned in my report last year, we are always seeking new associates, so keep ‘ spreading the word’. Stay safe and enjoy your Advanced Motoring Ken Carrington – Membership Secretary
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Treasurer’s Report The Group’s accounts for the year ended the 31 March 2015 have been examined and they are set out together with the figures for 2013/2014. Following the surplus of the previous year, for 2014/2015 expenditure exceeded income by £953.20. This main reason for this is the outgoings related to the Groups bi monthly magazine Forward Vision. Whilst the cost of producing the magazine in 2014/2015 is in line with the previous year, the cost of postage relating to sending out to those who do not attend Group meetings is significant. The income for the year is down from the previous year as your committee decided that we would defer claiming Gift Aid until the records we hold relating to this claim are correct. You will be aware that there have been a number of requests to you all to complete Gift Aid forms (if you are able to) and if you have not done so can I ask that return them as soon as possible. The importance of Gift Aid to the Group is that for your modest annual donation of £10 the Group can claim back from HMRC £2.50 and in 2013/2014 this contributed £510.65 to Group funds. It is pleasing to note that the level of income received from renewals remains at a high level. The financial position of the Group is still strong and it has assets in the Charity account of £10,472.12. In view of this, at the moment it is not considered a need for those that are making the £10 per annum donation to the Group by standing order to be asked to increase this figure. It is the wish of the Charity Commission that we do not retain a high level of assets as they should be used by the Charity. To comply with this requirement the committee of the Group is continually looking at further ways of using the funds we have to promote our objectives. In respect of the Social Account, there was a small deficit last year and the balance to be carried forward is £3,852.26. The main reason for this deficit is the cost of paying for the wide variety and interesting speakers that we have on Group nights. I am pleased to advise you that the Group’s accounts for the year ended 31 March 2015 have been reviewed by an Independent Examiner and they have received a Clean Bill of Health. John Johnston Treasurer
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Chelmsford & District Group Institute of Advanced Motorists Income & Expenditure account for the year to 31 March 2015 Income
ye 31/03/2015
ye 31/3/2014
Gift Aid
£510.65
Full Member Renewals
£3,025.00
£3,065.00
Associate member joining fees
£1,218.00
£1,358.00
4x4 days Skid pan
£240.00 £540.00
£480.00
Newsletter
£0.00
Book Sales
£0.00
Donations
£4,783.00
£58.56
£5,712.21
Expenditure Other
£163.25
£1,017.28
Books
£94.76
£6.51
£813.53
£304.25
Telephone & Postage
£1,368.94
£638.00
Printing & Stationary
£226.43
£110.60
Travel
£288.49
£288.38
General admin & room hire
4x4 Days Skid Pan Newsletter
£250.00 £600.00 £2,180.80
£550.00 £5,736.20
Surplus for Year
-£953.20
Gen Fund Bal bf
£3,667.95
Deficit for year on activities
£2,290.00
£5,455.02 £257.19
-£953.20
Gen Fund Bal cf
£2,714.75
Capital Assets Virgin Deposit cf
Int 2014/2015 Total Assets Social Fund bf
£7,630.19
£127.18
£7,757.37 £10,472.12 £4,143.26
cq 13/14
-£168.00
Income
£688.24
Expenditure Bal cf
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-£811.24 £3,852.26
Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 112
Roadcraft Chapter 5 covers Acceleration, using gears, braking and steering. You need to know how acceleration, braking and steering affect tyre grip and vehicle balance. There is an interesting diagram on page 87 of Roadcraft demonstrating the tyre grip trade off. Obviously there are a number of factors involved but let’s talk about tyres first. The type and condition of your tyres is very important. When the tread on your tyres gets below 3mm (The legal limit for minimum depth of the tread on your tyres is 1.6 millimetres, across the central ¾ of the tread around the complete circumference of the tyre) braking distances increase dramatically particularly in wet and icy conditions. For instance with 1.6mm of tread the braking distance from 50mph on wet roads can be as much as 40% longer than with 3mm tread. This is equivalent to 2-3 car lengths. See http://bit.ly/1F73MsA Tyres are now rated for economy, wet braking and noise. (EU labelling system). If you buy a tyre rated A for economy how will that affect its braking ability? I suspect that it will not be quite as good, so check the labels before you buy new tyres.
Another important factor, is your car front wheel, rear wheel or four wheel drive? If for instance you have a front wheel drive and I believe most new cars are, it is possible that you will be using the front tyres for accelerating and steering at the same time, which will reduce the amount of tyre grip that you have. This also applies to steering and braking however ABS and other electronic aids will reduce the loss of tyre grip. From this you can see it is important to know the characteristics of the car you are driving. Roadcraft states that a moving vehicle is most stable when its weight is evenly distributed, its engine is just pulling without increasing road speed and it is travelling in a straight line. So as soon as you start to turn the steering wheel the car will start to slow down unless you add a little bit of power by gently depressing the Accelerator. The aim is not to accelerate but to maintain the speed that you were already travelling at.
Acceleration as part of ‘The system’:- Apply the correct degree of acceleration to negotiate the hazard Safely. Obviously this is dependant on getting the previous part of the system right (selecting the correct gear). If you have selected the right gear, depressing the accelerator will give you the response needed to negotiate the hazard. If you have chosen the right gear when you lift your foot from the accelerator the vehicle should give you a deceleration response, should you need it, giving flexibility when negotiating hazards. This doesn’t work particularly well if you drive an automatic car. More on this chapter in the next edition. From Roadcraft with comments by Terry Joyce
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A Bird’s Eye View Quite often, when I start to think about this piece for Forward Vision, a subject pops into my mind and I start typing there and then. This time – zilch, nada, nothing, an empty space; and before you start gentlemen, usually I have plenty going on between my ears! So, in desperation I turned to my Big Birthday at the end of April. Now usually, I treat birthdays as fairly ordinary days with possibly a Chinese takeaway provided by one of my sons – I’m very easily pleased. Not this time. I had totally underestimated my siblings and my friends and neighbours. From the moment I finished my breakfast the phone was ringing off the hook, and the doorbell was really earning its living. By lunchtime, said phone had calmed down a touch so I felt able to grab a sandwich and a cup of tea (interrupted by another call) and there were flowers lined up in the kitchen, waiting to be put in vases. There are some very good things about Big Birthdays…….. Susan Sweetland
Our Observers Ron Adams
Graham Lowe
Scott Bannister
Gaynor Manthorpe
Pat Clements
Dr Clifford Murira
Philip Cooper
John Ockmore
Paul Crosby
Graham Robson
Jamie Drummond
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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Young Driver Scheme Do you know of anyone who is not 17 years of age, but wants to learn how to drive? Chelmsford IAM group supports this road safety scheme to give people the opportunity to learn basic car control skills in Driving School Dual Controlled cars on 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 ÂŁ40 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 have your current email address.
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Driver Experience Day Sunday 24th May 2015
The Ford Motor Company allow us to use their test track so that we can offer a unique experience for you, to explore the capabilities of yourself and your car in a safer than usual environment, doing things that you can’t or shouldn’t try on the road. The test track (not race track) has some interesting design features. It is also a lot of fun. These days are a great opportunity to complement the knowledge you have gained through advanced driving already. You will be guided by our experienced Observers through a variety of manoeuvres designed to give you a thrilling but safe experience. The Essex Air Ambulance benefits from a donation each participant is asked to donate. They will get £325 from this day. I arrived a little early to help marshal for the day only to find I was beaten there by some keen participants. Scott and Graham were already checking out the newly resurfaced track. Nice shiny tarmac with lots of white lines. We were under strict instructions not to leave any marks on it, so we set up the braking tests on a run off section because even cars with ABS will leave skid marks particularly on newly surfaced tarmac. There was quite a selection of cars brought by the participants. Jaguars, BMW’s, a Mitsubushi Evo, Fords, Vauxhalls including a Monaro and a MR2 in very nice condition but a VW performed the best in the last braking test. It was going to be interesting to see how well they and their drivers coped with the planned manoeuvres, not that they would be difficult but things you would not do on your day to day drives. The participants went onto the track to complete a few laps to familiarize themselves with the track layout and to get a feel for the corners which are banked at 40 degrees in places. It was quite an eye opener for some of the participants, especially as the banked part of the track has a concrete surface. A sign advises you of a ‘neutral’ speed of 47mph whereby you shouldn’t need to steer to get around the bend thanks to the banking. Scott demonstrated this by taking his hands off of the steering wheel. Adjusting the throttle controls your position on the bank. Continued on Page17
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Driver Experience Day Continued
The first set of manoeuvres were slaloms around 2 sets of six cones followed by a figure of 8. The first slalom was achieved using pull-push steering. The second set of cones were closer together to allow the participants to try rotational steering. These tests just push the driver to practice steering in a more dramatic fashion than normal to make them more aware what they might need to do in an emergency situation and finally the figure of eight section, to reinforce what they had already done and make it a little harder. The next manoeuvres that the participants took part in were braking tests at various speeds from 30 mph to 70 mph. Some of the participants found it difficult initially to either get the speed right or start braking at the right point. During the higher speed breaking tests there was quite a difference on where each the cars stopped. Some of this down to the performance of the cars, some to the tread, condition and type of tyres, some of it down to the performance of the driver. These definitely open your eyes to how much gap you leave between you and the cars around you on a dual carriageway or motorway. When I write about this it seems a bit boring but I can assure you our Driver Experience Days are great fun, ask someone who has been. Here are the participants and Marshals By Terry Joyce
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The Institute of Advanced Motorists has discovered that more than 40% of all motorway and major A road lane closures in England in 2014 were caused by vehicle breakdowns and 122 unsupervised children caused them to be shut too. This came from a Freedom of Information request, which asked for the number of incidences of lane closures on roads managed by Highways England’s in 2014. In total there were 443,590 lane closures on motorways and primary A roads in England last year for 44 defined reasons by Highways England. Some of the major findings of the report were as follows: 12,759 pedestrians walking on a motorway live lane or active A road caused lane closures in addition to the 122 unsupervised children. There were also 7,446 cases of a ‘non-legal’ use of the hard shoulder Other causes listed were 3,990 animals loose on the network; 2,598 abandoned vehicles and 6,742 shed tyres 6,288 injury collisions and 29,656 non-injury collisions also caused lane closures 856 suicides or attempted suicides caused roads to be shut on main routes. There were also 152 cases of objects being thrown onto the roads and 567 cases of a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road causing roads to be closed. The other top five reasons for road closures, apart from breakdowns were planned roadworks, assorted obstructions, non-injury accidents and administration. The numbers of incidents are as follows: 1. Breakdown 185,457 41% 2. Planned road works (definition 1 below) 61,587 14% 3. Obstruction – other 36,042 8% 4. Road traffic collision – no injury 29,656 7% 5. Administration 23,705 5% Of the 185,457 breakdowns; 40,192 were in a ‘live lane’ i.e. a lane with other moving traffic around it. Almost half a million incidents took place in 2014 that led to a lane closure costing the economy an estimated £1 billion a year.in terms of lost man hours on motorways alone. Sarah Sillars, IAM chief executive officer, said: “There are many worrying things that emerge from this information. Firstly, people are putting their own lives at risk and those of others by not maintaining their vehicles properly to the point they break down on our busiest roads. “While we appreciate that a few breakdowns are unavoidable, such as a tyre blow out, the vast majority can be avoided or dealt with before taking a vehicle onto a key route. “It also shows people do not treat our key economic arteries with the respect they deserve. Pedestrians, unsupervised children and objects thrown on the road should never be happening. It is clear an education and awareness campaign starting at school age is badly needed.” She added: “Investment in our roads would also play a big part in reducing some of those sorry statistics - having more than 5,700 pothole incidences causing road closures is not something England can be proud of.” See http://bit.ly/1eqGjNl
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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 Boreham, A History of the Racing Circuit
IAM Tom Vanderbilt Bryan Jones & John Frankland
CDs Awake, Driver Reviver
THINK
Advanced Road Craft
Bespoke Driving Training
The Driving Test – Your Licence to Drive
IAM/Safety on the Move
If you have any books etc from the Library can you please contact Scott Bannister
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Letters & emails On all matters relating to motoring and the Chelmsford Group, this newsletter or your experiences in preparing for or taking your test are most welcome. I thoroughly enjoyed the training I received from Graham and the mock test with Scott. Having previously passed my "Green Badge" for motorcycling I am delighted to be able to add the "Red Badge" to that achievement. It certainly added to my abilities as I learnt extra road craft that had not been so readily covered during the motorcycling, due to having the same personal instructor Graham - who is also a motorcyclist - sitting alongside me giving instantaneous instructions and advice whilst driving. The additional car training helped in improving my cornering skills and braking techniques, in particular, for both driving and riding. Scott - also a motorcyclist- suggested at the outset that it may have been better to have taken advanced driving training for cars prior to taking the advanced motorcycling instruction. I can now see the logic of that, as having a trainer alongside would cover much of the general knowledge of the highway code, IPSGA TUG etc that are applicable to both activities. Taking the riding course afterwards would then allow one to concentrate on the more specialised handling skills essential on two wheels. I would therefore thoroughly recommend the driving course to also be taken by motorcyclists - possibly in the order that Scot suggested. I still regularly attend motorcycle evening classroom training sessions and am able to positively contribute some of the other skills I learnt on the driver training. By the way I think the monthly evening classroom training could be an activity that would enhance the driving training too, as you get to meet other associates and members to exchange ideas and concerns with. Warm regards David Appleford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Dates for 2015 Monday 13th July
AGM/IAM Chief Executive
Sarah Sillars
Monday 10th August
Subject to be advised nearer the time.
Clifford Murira
Sunday 23rd August
Driver Experience Day
Monday 14th September
Director of EMG Driver Training High Performance Course UK Ltd An Advanced Car Instructor & Trainer (Grade A), talks to us about his role.
Eunan MacGuinness
Monday 12th October
Collision investigation & the litigation process and Wills.
Tony Carter & Andy Grant
Monday 9th November
Liaison officer between the Department for Transport and the Association of Chief Police Officers
Jeremy Moore OBE
Monday 14th December
Annual Christmas buffet & quiz night
These speakers have all been booked by Sally Langley. If you know of someone you think the group might like to hear, then please contact Sally on 07905 445249 or email her at sally147@catlover.com.
Helicopter Visit A fair number of us have already visited the Metropolitan Police helicopter base at Lipitts Hill (Epping forest direction) and it was well worth the visit in my far from humble opinion. Anyway, Pat Clements who organised the previous visits has volunteered to run another one if there are still people interested. The date has not been fixed, but somewhere in the general vicinity of September is what Pat is looking at. Any interested parties should contact Pat direct by email pat.clements24@gmail.com See http://bit.ly/1HGVcHK page 17 Page 21
Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 112
Other Events Hi there, Just to let you know – we have a busy Spring lined up so if you fancy any of the undermentioned, just let me know and I’ll put your name on the list. June 20th – 4x4 off-road course – I can’t pretend this one is terribly educational. If you find yourself off road then probably something pretty bad has happened and the ability to continue to drive in the countryside is probably not your main priority!! All I can say is, I’ve done it three times myself – have really enjoyed it. Find out how to have fun in a car at 2 mph – again, their cars, not yours. Can get a bit muddy, so old clothes required. Cost of this one £50. Just for your info, I’m also thinking of organising a skid-pan part 2 course and a 4x4 part 2 course for people who have already done the ‘normal’ one. If that might interest you, once again let me know. Scott
August 23rd - Driver Experience Day
At Ford’s test track at Dunton (off the A127). Note it’s a test track, not a race track !! It’s about finding out how your car behaves when you push it slightly outside it’s normal boundaries in a completely safe environment. We do braking and steering exercises. Yes, I know that doesn’t sound very exciting but, as mentioned above, a smile is guaranteed. It’s an interesting track to drive round. Cost for this one is a minimum £15 – all of which goes to Essex Air Ambulance. Ford’s give us the use of the track for free and observers’ time is free so really it costs nothing…..but we might as well take the opportunity to make you make a charitable gesture !! The main IAM run track days along similar lines – they will cost you around £125, so ours is a bargain.
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Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 112
Congratulations Here are some of our successful members receiving their certificate from our Chairman Scott Bannister I thoroughly enjoyed the training I received from Graham and the mock test with Scott. Having previously passed my "Green Badge" for motorcycling I am delighted to be able to add the "Red Badge" to that achievement. It certainly added to my abilities as I learnt extra road craft that had not been so readily covered during the motorcycling, due to having the same personal instructor Graham who is also a motorcyclist - sitting alongside me giving instantaneous instructions and advice whilst driving. David Appleford
Jo Ellis
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Chelmsford Advanced Motorists
Issue 112
Internet Links 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://bit.ly/1zoPhxJ Online Highway Code http://bit.ly/1J2qgAv Know your traffic signs http://bit.ly/1HIJUjn 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/
Scott the Swan Whisperer at the Young Driver Scheme
www.iamchelmsford.org.uk