Newsletter 16 - Apr 2023

The last time the UK crowned a monarch was 6 February 1952. I've only seen recordings of the event but it looked spectacular and I'm sure next month's will also be an impressive occasion. I'll be glued to the TV! If you want more details there's an article below.

Many congratulations to Brian Durie who has now qualified as a dual Car and Motorcycle Tutor, possibly the first ever in our group(?). Thank you Brian for all your hard work and commitment to road safety and Gloucestershire RoADAR.

Thank you also to all those who helped train Brian. An impressive achievement.

I delivered the SMIDSY Technical Talk on Mon 3 April to a very interested and engaged audience who participated fully while learning about how our brains and eyes tell us lies when driving or riding. Next Technical Talk is one I can't wait to attend - details below.

Stay safe all.

Stephen

King Charles III Coronation

Their majesties The King and The Queen Consort
(Photograph taken by Chris Jackson)
The coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 6 May 2023, at Westminster Abbey. Charles acceded to the throne on 8 September 2022, upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II. This is the first time a coronation ceremony will take place on a weekend since 1902 when Edward VII was crowned King.
  Here's What The King's Coronation Will Look Like
(Click image for video)

Outline of events:

Saturday 6th May

King Charles III and the Queen Consort will be crowned at Westminster Abbey

Sunday 7th May

Coronation Concert broadcast live from Windsor Castle

On Sunday 7th May a special Coronation Concert will take place at Windsor Castle. Produced, staged and broadcast live by the BBC and BBC Studios, the Coronation Concert will bring global music icons and contemporary stars together in celebration of the historic occasion.

The Coronation Big Lunch (click for pack)

Neighbours and communities across the United Kingdom are invited to share food and fun together at Coronation Big Lunches on Sunday 7th May 2023, in a nationwide act of celebration and friendship. From a cup of tea with a neighbour to a street party, a Coronation Big Lunch brings the celebrations to your neighbourhood and is a great way to get to know your community a little better.

Monday 8th May

The Big Help Out (click for information)

The Big Help Out will be held on Monday, 8th May 2023 and is being organised by The Together Coalition and a wide range of partners such as The Scouts, the Royal Voluntary Service and faith groups from across the United Kingdom. The Big Help Out will highlight the positive impact volunteering has on communities across the nation.

Is there a bank holiday for the King's Coronation?

Monday 8th May will be a bank holiday to allow the public to mark the historic event.

Full information about the coronation is on the Royal website here
(Click map for details - Including how to add your event to the map)

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Car & Motorcycle Tutor Training - 13 May 2023

If you're keen to become a Tutor, car or motorcycle, then you're invited to attend our Tutor training event on Saturday 13th May, 9:30am to 3:30pm, facilitated by Advanced Tutors Andy Cheetham and David Blackledge.

The day is intended for Car and Motorcycle Tutors and anyone else interested in finding out what Tutors do.

The event will be held at:

Witcombe and Bentham Village Hall, Pillcroft Rd,

Witcombe, Gloucester GL3 4TB N51 50.554 W02 8.416 https://w3w.co/passenger.apricot.lights

The day will include theory training, practical sessions and of course the much-loved Highway Code / Roadcraft / Motorcycle Roadcraft knowledge check!

(Click for details about free 2023 Highway Code App)

Lunch and hot / cold drinks will be provided on the day (we might even stretch to chocolate biscuits).

RoSPA's Group Tutors Training Guide includes this requirement:

The Group should provide regular tests of knowledge and ability, either by written test and/or tasking sessions, to maintain and refresh their Group Tutors' knowledge and skills.

To meet this requirement Glos RoADAR runs Tutor training / refresher events twice annually and they are a great opportunity to pick up some new perspectives and provide input / insight to your fellow tutors.

If you wish to remain a Group Tutor, you are expected to attend at least one such event each year.

Please confirm your attendance to us by Monday 17th April 2023 as we need to plan both catering and the practical sessions.

andycheetham@solcon.33mail.com

Looking forward to catching up with you all.

Kind regards

Andy Cheetham and David Blackledge

Gloucester Goes Retro

On Saturday 26th August 2023 over 500 classic vehicles of all types will fill Gloucester's historic Gate Streets and Gloucester Docks.

Interested?

Worth noting in your diary if you're in the Gloucester area that day.

Full details available here.

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Technical Talk - Graham Feest Mon 12th June 2023

Traffic, Transport, Roads and Safety

with

Graham Feest F Inst MTD, FARRM,

Road Safety Consultant.

Our next Technical talk will be on Monday 12th June 2023 at:

Norton Village Hall, Old Tewkesbury Road, Norton, Gloucester GL2 9LJ
N51 54.864 W02 12.640 / https://w3w.co/tins.hippy.built

Our presenter will be Graham Feest who will explore some of the current and future topics which are driving the traffic, transport, roads and safety agenda including any specific issues appertaining to driver training and testing. This is intended to be an interactive session and there will be time for open debate, questions and opinions.

In summary

Head of Road Safety – The Rich Works
Chairman of the National Road Safety Committee
Chairman of the Institute of Master Tutors of Driving (IMTD)
Road Safety Advisor to the ADI National Joint Council (ADINJC)

Graham is a UK-based Road Safety Consultant. He is an experienced Road Safety Practitioner starting his career with Worthing Borough Council in 1974. In 1984 he moved to West Sussex County Council where he became Senior Road Safety Officer with specific responsibilities for Education Development. He was appointed County Road Safety Officer for Northamptonshire in 1989, a post he held until May 2001 joining the Institute of Advanced Motorists as Head of Road Safety until the end of 2003. He is qualified to teach at both Further and Adult Education Centres.

He is Chairman of the UK National Road Safety Committee, Chairman of the Institute of Master Tutors of Driving and the Road Safety Advisor to the ADI National Joint Council. He is also a member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety and serves on their Road User Behaviour Working Group.

Graham at the AIRSO Blue Light Conference in 2015

In addition he is an Honorary Life Member of the Association of Road Risk Management, Honorary Member of the Institute of Large Goods Vehicle Driving Instructors, and a Fellow of the Institute of Master Tutors of Driving. He has been Vice Chairman of the Local Authority Road Safety Officers Association (now Road Safety GB), a past Secretary and founder member of the Association of National Driver Improvement Scheme Providers and a former member of the Prince Michael Road Safety Awards Advisory Panel. He was a member of the Steering Committee set up to develop the Driving for Better Business Programme.

He was honoured by RoSPA in 2004 with an Award for Distinguished Service in recognition of his outstanding contribution to road safety.

Graham's talks receive excellent reviews. This is one not to miss folks.

See you there I hope.

Motorcycle Safety Airbag

(Click image for video)

A revolutionary motorcycle safety system. This motorcycle airbag concept is designed to protect the rider in various types of crashes.

How does the motorcycle airbag work?

The video above is a digital animation of a patent-pending motorcycle safety device, that can revolutionize motorcycle riding safety, saving millions from serious accidents and death, and allowing millions of new riders previously hesitant to sit on a motorcycle because of safety, to enjoy motorcycling.

The airbag system is ejected with the rider in a serious crash. The airbag deploys only if the motorcycle is traveling at a certain speed and various motion sensors, gyroscopes detect a sudden deceleration, acceleration (if hit from behind) or loss of balance that would not be correctable by a human.

The belt system secures the ejecting seat to the rider and also secures the airbags wrapped around the rider. It automatically unfastens in a crash that is not severe enough to warrant a system deployment (to allow the rider to jump off the bike) or if the rider tries to stand up from the bike while it is stopped.

I wonder how far they've got with trials and if / when it will be on sale?

RoSPA's New Advice Hub for Novice Riders

For full details click here and here.

Number Plate Rules

At the end of a recent group motorcycle ride one of the group realised he had lost his rear number plate. Oooops! It was attached with rubber grommets, by the dealer, which failed.

It got me wondering about what the requirements are for number plates nowadays.

I found this informative article that originally appeared on the Gloucestershire Live website on 25th February 2023.

For vehicles made after January 1, 1973, the front number plate must have a white background, while the rear number plate at the rear must have a yellow background. Numbers and letters must be exactly 79 millimetres high and there must be a space between the numbers that mark the year and the three random letters.

Example Car number plate

All registration plates must be in a specific “Charles Wright” font which has been in use
since 2001. Characters must be 50mm wide (except the number 1 or letter I) and the thickness of the character stroke must be 14mm.

The space between characters must be 11mm and the space between the age identifier and the random letters must be 33mm. More recent number plates also need to be “BS AU 145e” standard plates, which meet the new British Standard for Retroreflective Number Plates.

The plates are made from a tougher material that makes them more resistant to abrasion and other damage. This change was made to make it easier for Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to read the plate.

Example Motorcycle number plate (different rules)

The new number plates will also have to include the supplier’s business name and postcode, along with the name of the number plate manufacturer and the new standard.

Number plates can now only display solid black lettering, as two-tone plates that used different shades to create a 3D or 4D effect have been banned.

The lettering can still be Perspex or acrylic lettering, provided it meets all other requirements. At the end of 2020 new number plates were introduced to denote which vehicles were electric. The green stripe on the left-hand side of the plate indicates the car’s zero tailpipe emissions credentials.

Example electric vehicle number plates

Motorists are also being warned not to change or purposefully obscure their registration plate, as this could lead to a £1,000 fine.

Rezvani Vengeance

Sometimes I come across something that's almost unbelievable.

The Rezvani Vengeance qualifies I think.

Rezvani Vengeance

The video below shows an American 'soccer mom' extolling the virtues of the school-run version of the Rezvani Tank!

(Click on picture for video review of vehicle)

When she wore the gas mask that's when I made my mind up that emigrating to the USA may not be for me...

Just in case you're yearning for more information, it's here.

Did You Know?

A 16-year old who has passed Compulsory Basic Training, theory and practical on a powered two-wheeler, is legally allowed to drive a light quadricycle in the UK (weighing under 350 kg, top speed 45 km/h).

Aixam 400

The French-made Aixam Crossover has a 400cc diesel engine. In Britain they are classified as a category L7e quadricycle (quad bike) because of their weight and power output. This requires a category B1 licence to legally drive them. In January 2013, the law changed so that special, restricted, low-power versions of the car (Aixam 400) can now be driven by full AM licence holders in the UK. More information here.

Click here for licence categories.

Renault Twizy 45

The Renault Twizy 45 never went on sale in the UK, but European 16-year-olds could drive one on UK roads. It has a motor power of 4 kW (5 hp), a maximum speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) and can thus be driven in most European countries by drivers from 14 years old with a special driving licence (France, Italy, Spain) or with a moped licence (Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Slovenia). More information here.

Who knew?