Issue 24

April 2015

www.rospa-southeastessex.org.uk

The ‘System’ of car control

For more information see Roadcraft and our website.

The Newsletter of South East Essex Advanced Drivers

Say What You See

Chairman Scott Mildren

Deputy Chairman

Secretary & Training Officer Merv Whitney

Treasurer Alison Morris

Publicity Officer

Newsletter Editor Terry Joyce

Editorial Hello, I hope you have been enjoying your driving now the weather has improved.

There are a number of changes to driving law that have taken place already and there are a few more planned. You No Longer Need a Tax Disc this came into effect in October. Drink Drive Laws have changed in Scotland, at the end of 2014 the legal Limit has changed from 80mg in every 100ml of blood to 50mg. Paper counterpart Driving License no longer valid, From 8 June 2015, the photocard licence counterpart will no longer be issued by the DVLA. Obviously penalty points and the status of your driving licence won’t change, but will be record-ed on the DVLA’s central driver database instead. However the DVLA advise that pa-per licences issued before 1998 will remain valid, and should not be destroyed. Smoking in Cars will Become Illegal. From 1 October 2015 smoking in cars carrying children will become illegal. The new law will make it an offence for parents, carers or other adults in a car carrying anyone under the age of 18 to light up and the punishment is expected to carry a £60 fine or points on a motorist’s licence, rising to as much as £10,000 for drivers who fail to stop passengers smoking in a vehicle car-rying a child. New Drug-Driving Laws In March 2015 a new law on driving under the influence of certain drugs came into effect. More about this on Page 6

Please let me know if you change your email address.

Can you have look at our Facebook page please and like the page. https://www.facebook.com/SouthEastEssexAdvancedDrivers

For our Group Night dates for 2015 See the back page. Please make a note in your diary.

http://www.rospa-southeastessex.org.uk/

Terry Joyce terry@rospa-southeastessex.org.uk

Our Committee

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to our members who have taken a test.

To our new members

Reece Porter, Colin Byford, Alan Killick, Afolabi Okunola and Emilio Kyprianou.

Name Grade Tutor

Nick Wright Gold Clive Smitth

Keith Gutteridge Silver Scott Mildren

Robin Bradley Gold John Ockmore

Annette Walker Silver Merv Whitney

Maria Grew Silver Lee Walker

Malcolm Worman Silver Terry Joyce

This Newsletter will be sent to all members that have an email address.

Please let me know if you change it.

Welcome

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Roadcraft

Observation Links

Part of Chapter 4 covers observation links. Roadcraft states that observation links are clues to physical features and likely behaviour of other road users. Aim to build up your own stock of observation links. These will help you to anticipate situations that might develop.

As advanced drivers we need to build up a list of scenarios that could possibly hap-pen. The question we should ask ourselves is ‘what if’….? If we come up with lots of these scenarios we are pre-programming our brains so that if something happens, our brain will grab the right one and we will be able to predict or respond to whatever is happening much quicker.

This picture demonstrates an observa-tion link or two. Firstly is the pile of Horse Pooh or Equine Defecation, try saying that in a commentary. This should conjure up a picture of a horse just around the left hand bend. So at this point we need to know what is behind us so that if we do come across that horse we can deal with it easier. If there is a vehicle behind you, depending on your speed it may be worth giving them information by using light braking to warn them you are slowing, so that if you do meet the

horse or horses you have already started to prepare yourself and the vehicle behind and to seal the deal there is the Accompanied Horses warning sign. Usually there will be an entrance within 100 yards that horses may come out of.

This picture has got some obvious clues for you, bins, recycling and dustbins. From this you should en-visage that you could possibly meet a dustcart but the other thing that you could look at is that the recycling bins are upside down, so the it may be more likely that the dustcart will be ahead on your side of the road. You could also imagine that you could meet dustcarts on both sides of the road, unlikely but possible.

Continued on Page 5

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Roadcraft/Observation Links continued

What is our observation link in this picture?

I think that the white line finishing should flag a warning to you that the road is nar-rowing. You should be able to assess that by looking at the bend as you approach but the line or lack of line gives you plenty of warning. You should expect any vehicles coming around the corner to be partly on our side of the road.

If you were driving towards this sign it would start to be readable from around 150 yards and at that distance when I ask an Associate to tell me what the sign is, 99% of them say roundabout. I have taken this close up to highlight the use of these signs as an observation link. Like most pictures it tells a story. Firstly you have a T junction before the roundabout. Then it shows each exit on the roundabout and gives an indica-tion of the width of the road. For instance exit one is smaller than the other exits.

In this picture you can see that the verges have been chewed up, probably by heavy vehicles. It is therefore possibly we are going to meet one as we go around that right hand bend. There are no white lines, so it is likely that the vehicle may be coming around the bend partly on our side of the road. Thinking about this will help you to assess the speed that you want to go into the corner at, so you will be prepared.

There are lots of other observation links. Here are a few more of them.

A motorway off ramp. Expect an on ramp in approximately ¼ mile.

A line of lamp posts in the distance or a group of houses. Expect a reduction of speed limit. A river running beside the road. Expect Bridges over the river and sharp bends.

From Roadcraft and Terry Joyce

The Official Highway Code

The Official Highway Code new edition 2015 is due on 1st June.

This 2015 edition includes the new drug-driving laws, HGV speed limit changes on single and dual carriageways in England and Wales and updated drink-driving lim-its in Scotland and general rule changes.

Rule 96 has been updated. You MUST NOT drive under the influence of drugs or medicine. For medicines, check with your doctor or pharmacist and do not drive if you are advised that you may be impaired.

You MUST NOT drive if you have illegal drugs or certain medicines in your blood above specified limits.

It is highly dangerous so never take illegal drugs if you intend to drive; the effects are unpredictable, but can be even more severe than alcohol and result in fatal or serious road crashes.

Illegal drugs have been specified at very low levels so even small amounts of use could be above the specified limits.

The limits for certain medicines have been specified at higher levels, above the levels generally found in the blood of patients who have taken normal thera-peutic doses.

If you are found to have a concentration of a drug above its specified limit in your blood because you have been prescribed or legitimately supplied a particularly high

dose of medicine, then you can raise a statutory medical defence, provided your driving was not impaired by the medicine you are taking.

Laws RTA 1988 sect 4 & Law RTA 1988 sect 5A

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Changes in The Official Highway Code (Revised 2007) © Crown copyright 2007

Motorways

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069858

Link below to online Highway Code

275 Additional rules for the motorway

If your vehicle develops a problem, leave the motorway at the next exit or pull into a service area. If you cannot do so, you should pull on to the hard shoulder and stop as far to the left as possible,

with your wheels turned to the left.

try to stop near an emergency telephone (situated at approximate-ly one-mile intervals along the hard shoulder)

leave the vehicle by the left-hand door and ensure your passen-gers do the same. You MUST leave any animals in the vehicle or, in an emergency, keep them under proper control on the verge. Never attempt to place a warning triangle on a motorway

do not put yourself in danger by attempting even simple repairs

ensure that passengers keep away from the carriageway and hard shoulder, and that children are kept under control

walk to an emergency telephone on your side of the carriageway (follow the arrows on the posts at the back of the hard shoulder) – the telephone is free of charge and connects directly to the High-ways Agency or the police. Use these in preference to a mobile phone (see Rule 283). Always face the traffic when you speak on the phone

give full details to the Highways Agency or the police; also inform them if you are a vulnerable motorist such as disabled, older or travelling alone

return and wait near your vehicle (well away from the carriageway and hard shoulder)

if you feel at risk from another person, return to your vehicle by a left-hand door and lock all doors. Leave your vehicle again as soon as you feel this danger has passed

[Laws MT(E&W)R reg 14 & MT(S)R reg 12]

Never attempt to place a warning triangle on a Motorway, has been added to rule 275.

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New Tyres in 2015 Michelin has launched a new tyre, which it claims offers the braking performance of a conventional summer tyre despite being certified for winter use.

Traditional winter tyres don’t perform well on hot asphalt. Meanwhile summer tyres offer limited grip on snow and ice, and conventional all-season tyres fail to provide optimum grip in any condi-tions.

However, the new Michelin CrossClimate is said to feature a new tread pattern and compound that solve these problems, potentially bringing an end to the hassle of switching tyres for the colder months of the year.

Thanks to its official certification, the CrossClimate could even be used all year round in countries such as Germany where winter tyres are a legal requirement.

However, Michelin believes the new tyre is especially relevant to drivers in the UK where winters are generally mild with a few days a year of snow thrown into the mix.

A 2014 study found that 65 per cent of European motorists use summer tyres all year round, jeopardising their safety in treacherous conditions. And another found that 4 in 10 European motorists view the seasonal tyre swap as a constraint and leave it until the very last minute to change. There are a number other manufactures that produce ‘all season’ tyres such as Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons, Vredestein Quatrac, Bridgestone A001 and Pirelli’s new P3000 Cinturato M+S. Do you know of any others? Using this type of tyre saves changing tyres every October and March and having to have and store a spare set of tyres or wheels when they’re not in use. These Michelin tyres should be available from May 2015 More technical information here http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/miscellaneous/2015-02/michelin-crossclimate-tyres/

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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.

Internet Links

Highway Code online

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

Winter Driving Tips

http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/adviceandinformation/driving/winter-driving-tips.aspx

Our Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/SouthEastEssexAdvancedDrivers

Here is a part of the A130 in the Hanningfield area.

See our website for links to Google Earth and Streetmap.

Bedloes Corner is the junction on the A1245 with Rawreth Lane and Church Road. It is controlled by traffic lights.

From the North: You cannot turn right. See the arrows on the diagram. You turn left just before the lights and then turn right. You can then enter Church Road by going straight on at the lights.

From the south: A1245 turn left at traffic lights

For anyone approaching from the Wickford/Shotgate direction the hall can be reached via the A129, turn left into the old London road, passing The Chichester. There is a width restriction when you enter Church Road.

Our Group meetings are held in the Village Hall at Rawreth Located in Church Road, the post code is SS11 8SH.

Group Nights 2015

Wednesday 29th July ~Wednesday 28th October

Our Group Nights start at 8pm. Make a note in your diary!

www.rospa-southeastessex.org.uk