Dates For Your Diary
Next meeting is on 8th December, From 7.30pm for a 7.45pm start .
Our very own Steve Tucker takes us through the development of Roadcraft; setting the scene for more to come next year.
SkillShare & Social
6 December 2025 meeting at the REME Cafe, Lyneham. 9.30 am for 10 am start. See main section for more details.
Bike Ride-Outs on the 3rd Saturday of every even numbered month and the 3rd Sunday of every odd numbered Month. Email will be sent out to Bikers and added to the Forum.
Next ride out Saturday 20 December Details will be forthcoming via email to all bike members.
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Do you have a topic you would like discussed, or know of an interesting speaker? Please contact speaker at speakers@wiltshireroadar.co.uk |
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following members who have passed their Advanced Tests recently:
Alan Johnson - Bike - Silver tutor Emma Hookham
Matt Kent - Bike - Gold tutor Steven Hyde
Steve Allsworth - Bike - Gold tutor Jan Taylor
Jacqueline Prictor - Bike - Gold tutor Phill Colbourne
Marcus Corcoran - Bike - Silver tutor Peter Genet
Please welcome the following to the Group:
Megan Boardman – Car
Neil Cubitt – Bike
Stephen Nichols – Car
Marcio Manuel - Car
Steve Thomas – Bike
Pete Kewish - Car
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Don’t forget that we have a range of clothing available to purchase. We also offer a range of books, such as Roadcraft, Motorcycle Roadcraft and the Highway Code, and these are available at discounted prices.
For more information visit the Merchandise page of our web site |
We are always looking for more articles, ideas and news for the newsletter. Have you been somewhere interesting recently that would make a good story? If you attend any group events then take a camera and send us your pictures!
Please forward all contributions to newsletter@wiltshireroadar.co.uk |
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I have been working away for 3 weeks in November and, due to the nature of the contract, I was driven to various locations by contracted drivers; sometimes for up to 5 hours a day. I am not a passenger very often and it was an interesting experience. There was a bit of gripping the side of the chair, pressing an imaginary brake pedal and at least 2 shouts of STOP!. The root cause of most of these reactions was lack of observation by the driver (not a “professional” driver but someone with a driving licence who is employed to drive) and particularly not looking far enough ahead and anticipating hazards.
I have often written here about how other road users do strange things and how we, as advanced drivers and riders, seem to be able to anticipate hazards due to analysing situations as they evolve in front (or behind) us. My experience with my drivers has evolved my thinking, rather depressingly, to survival on the road can be driven by luck and last-minute braking. This reinforces the need for advanced driving and riding training, even if it does not lead to a test; this neatly fits into the object of Wiltshire RoADAR “to improve road safety". I want to thank all of you who have taken the plunge to be trained and particularly the tutors who try to coach as many people as possible. I am not one to be evangelistic about what we so but I have a renewed enthusiasm and ask you all to spread the word in whichever way you deem appropriate.
As this is the last newsletter before Christmas I want to wish you all a very happy festive period and hope you have time to relax in the company of those you love.
Stay safe
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November's Group Meeting - A Trip to Nordcapp
Nordkapp is often inaccurately described as the northernmost point in Europe, a little like John o Groats. I’m not sure why these places have become focal points, but they are great destinations for motorcycle rides.
Ride to the North Cape or Nordkapp has been on my to do list for many years, partially as Mark Sealey rode there just after retiring. One of my closest friends James who has stage 4 cancer, announced it was on his list as well.
We considered options including Mark's route and methodology but in January when we learned Malle were arranging a ride to Nordkapp we quickly registered our interest. James had been on previous rallies with them so knew how they worked and said they run a great show. My brother-in-law, Ben Bowers works with them both as a marshal and MC at events. So, I’d be with one of my closest friends and brother-in-law for the whole adventure, fantastic. Just as well as it was eye wateringly expensive.
Malle London are essentially a luggage company who have branched out to adventure holidays, you can look them up, its nice clobber.
In February we paid our deposits and May the balances. Unusually James immediately booked our return flights from Alta, which was a surprise as he isn’t usually good at admin. I booked the outgoing flights to Copenhagen (CPH) and we arranged to stay at friends in Helsingborg, a 45-minute train ride from the airport.
25th July we dropped our motorcycles off at WMB logistics in Gloucester leaving as much gear as possible attached to the bikes. The person receiving the bikes told us to take our keys.
Thursday 7th August, I reminded James to take his key, he replied, but I’ve left it on the bike.
Friday 8th August, we travelled to Copenhagen and spent a wonderful evening with our friends in Helsingborg. The next morning our friend drove us to the Classic Car Museum where registration and the start point were located. We quickly met up with Ben & James spotted our bikes, this when James discovered his key wasn’t on his bike! This wasn’t the last time chemo brain challenged the trip. The short version is a taxi drove the key from Salisbury to LHR, James flew back and collected the key before catching the next flight back to CPH. He missed the pre-ride dinner and meeting the two strangers in our rally group. We named our rally group “And in last place”, we thought it was funny. We were given our first days route card.
The next morning, we caught the bus to the start point and after much faffing about were waved off headed for Lund in Sweden, we used the Oresund crossing and almost immediately lost James ! My fault for not being clearer about setting off, we found him waiting with Ben at the first check point
Everyday there were four checkpoints, where each team presented each riders logbook usually at a place of interest or a café, 11-12 hours of riding and at the final checkpoint the campsite was already setup. The team who arrived at the time closest to the organisers perfect time were the winners, we never won but were 3rd on one occasion.
On the third day Chemo brain kicked James in the proverbials once more when his small bag containing his passport, drivers' licence, credit cards and cash was “mislaid”
Jon our friend from Helsingborg and Malle were great and kept the show on the road, when James was all for going home. Between them they helped get an appointment at the British consulate in Oslo, a lift, train and overnight accommodation. The emergency travel document was ready for collection at the stated time. It was then a flight to Bodø and a coach journey to a place that was relatively close to that night's campsite.
The weather was at times challenging especially when I “mislaid” my waterproof trousers, luckily, I was able to buy a waterproof all in one, which was too short and funnelled the rain into my boots.
After riding for nearly 2,500 miles we arrived at the destination, we managed to miss the final group photo with everyone else on the plinth with the Nordkapp globe statue.
The last campsite was not far away but we rode some distance to refuel ready for the 145 miles back to Alta airport. In the evening there was a prize giving ceremony where we received an honourable mention for coming third. The return journey was pleasingly uneventful.
We kept up with our bikes return journey through my tracker and collected them from WMB 29th August.
The big win for me was spending time away from work and with friends old and new.
There is much talk in the media about mens health, but James was asymptomatic so for the men who are reading this please go to prostatecanceruk.org and answer the three questions. Insist on a PSA blood test at your surgery. One last thing, with cancer the mental aspect is just as important, check in with your friends and family.
Steven Hyde
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Taking both Car and Bike tests?
We have a handful of people who have passed both their car and bike tests. If you wish to do the same it can be confusing as we include the training in your memebrship of Wiltshire RoADAR but your membership of RoSPA only covers one free retest. My thanks to Ryan Jones who calrified the situation with RoSPA.
If you are a bike member,
you can just pay for an interim car test @ £55. My main membership would
be bike (first one to pass) so "free" retest would be bike. Car retest
would be same interim @ £55.
One hopes (by extrapolation) it is the same if your intial membership is for a car - please let us know if you find any difference. (Although we know the Bike test is more expensive than the car test.)
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Saturday Social
Due to popular demand, we’ve decided to change venue for our monthly Saturday Social. We are now meeting at the REME Museum Café in Lyneham.
Bring a friend and join us on the first Saturday of the month at the Wiltshire RoADAR Saturday Social.
Come and meet your fellow members; exchange notes with other associates; meet some of our tutors and pick their brains.
We usually stay chatting eating cake and drinking tea until 11 ish.
The first Saturday of the month - 09:30 - REME Museum, Calne Rd, Lyneham, Chippenham SN15 4XX
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Have you been up to anything to do with Riding or Driving lately? If so, then please let us know as we would love to include it here; photos would be great too!
Group rideout
Wiltshire RoADAR ride out Sunday the 16th of November was attended by 13 riders, we met at 09.00 and after a few introductions we had the briefing and were on the road for 09.30. We left Devizes Market Place and headed to the Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop. The route itself was via Alton Priors, Pewsey, B3087 to "Choppers Roundabout. We went straight over that then after a couple of miles we took a right to Oxenwood. This is where we encountered most of the gravel, leaves and mud that vehicles had squished of the verges, but after Fridays rain very little standing water. We then passed through Weyhill, under the A303, and being a farmer I had to traverse down Cattle Lane and Duck Street. Finally right onto the A343 and a couple of miles to the Army Flying Museum.
It was a great day with some great people doing what we do riding safely and enjoying ourselves.
The December rideout leader is Bob Fram who will be leading a rideout to the Quickshifter Coffee shop in Wells; further details will be provided soon.
If you would like to lead a ride, please contact me rideouts@wiltshireroadar.co.uk
Steven Hyde
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Roadcraft updates
October 2025 sees introductions of new versions of Roadcraft.
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Note From RoADAR HQ
I am sure you will have been made aware by some of your club members that there have been delays at HQ in answering emails to furtherinfo@roadar.org, and telephone calls are not being answered or returned!
You will be aware that through no fault of ours the whole of RoADAR is run by just 3 members of RoSPA. Becki full time, Elaine full time, and myself 2 days per week. We are overseen by Tracey Rudge the Operations Director.
Unfortunately for the last 5 weeks Elaine has been off work, and we do not know when Elaine will return, leaving just Becki to try and cope with everything from testing new systems that are being introduced to membership, direct debits, test allocation etc,etc. I am trying to help where possible but we can only do so much. There is a member of staff from a different department of RoSPA who is being trained by Becki when she has chance to assist us for 2 hours each day. He started 2 days ago, and it is hoped he will be up to speed in the near future!
I would be obliged if you could ask your members not to call the office but rather send an email to furtherinfo@roadar.org which I am checking daily. Anyone of your members that has been trying to arrange their re test or membership that has expired recently, or nearly up for renewal, please advise them not to worry or be concerned. If the delay is due to working constraints being experienced at HQ then they will not be penalised, and we will resolve all issues as soon as we can, it may just take some time to get through and respond.
I must apologise for any inconvenience that has/may be caused, and thank you for your patience and support.
Kind regards,
Andy Nixon
RoADAR Manager
M:+44 (0)7880 785 056
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ROAD CASUALTIES GREAT BRITAIN 2024
There were 1,602 road fatalities in 2024, a decline of 1% compared to 2023.
The number of KSI casualties also fell by 1% to 29,467 in 2024, while there was a 4% drop in thenumber of total casualties – down to 128,272.
There were 4.7 road fatalities per billion vehicle miles travelled in 2024, down 3% compared to 2023
The group with the most fatalities was car occupants with 692 fatalities. This is down 5% from the 725 reported in 2023.
There were also a fall in the number of cyclists killed – down 6% to 82.
However, there was an 8% increase in the number of motorcyclists killed (340) and a 1% rise in thenumber of pedestrian fatalities (409).
76% of fatalities and 61% of casualties of all severities were male.
GEM Motoring Assist is calling for renewed focus and shared responsibility among all road users, after the figures reveal an 8% rise in motorcycle fatalities on Britain’s roads in 2024. While it is encouraging to note small decreases in car occupant and cyclist deaths, GEM says these gains are overshadowed by the increase in lives lost among motorcyclists and says that current efforts in road safety are not sufficient and that the comprehensive national strategy is now urgently required. Motorcyclists remain among the most at-risk groups on the road, facing disproportionately high risks compared with other modes of transport and the rise in deaths highlights the pressing need for better awareness among car drivers, improved training both for riders and motorists, and robust action to help everyone make better decisions on journeys.
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IRRITATING DRIVER BEHAVIOURS
A poll of 12,014 drivers, carried out by the AA, found that a fifth (19%) of drivers are hacked off by middle lane hoggers, while one in six (16%) get annoyed at drivers picking up and using a mobile phone when they are behind the wheel.
However more than a quarter (27%) of drivers say that tailgating is the most irritating behaviour carried out by other drivers. The survey also highlights dangerous behaviours such as not wearing a seatbelt, speeding and undertaking. Drivers also get irked by drivers being distracted with things in their car such as a mobile phone docked in a cradle and playing with the car’s infotainment system.
The AA’s most irritating driver behaviours 2025:
• Tailgating – 27%
• Middle lane hogging – 19%
• Using a hand-held mobile phone – 16%
• Swooping (cutting across lanes) – 8%
• Speeding – 8%
• Littering – 6%
• Driving slowly – 5%
• Undertaking – 5%
• Drivers playing with a phone docked in a cradle – 3%
• Drivers playing with the car infotainment system – 2%
• People not wearing a seatbelt – 1%
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NEW VISION TESTS FOR DRIVERS
The government has given an update on calls to introduce new vision tests for drivers and if the suggestion were adopted all drivers applying for a driving licence renewal at 70 would have to get a recent eye test and submit it with their application.
Opticians have called for the over-70s to get tested after a study showed that a startling proportion had found six in 10 of its members have seen a patient who is driving illegally within the past month.
It estimates a tenth of the more than 30 million British motorists may have sub-standard vision. Vikki Slade MP submitted a written Parliamentary question on the issue asking the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of:
(a) requiring all drivers to submit a recent eye test result when applying for a driving license renewal and
(b) broadening the required eye tests to include an assessment of:
(i) vision in reduced lighting,
(ii) reaction times, and
(iii) peripheral vision.”
The Association of Optometrists last year called for the law to be changed so that all drivers have their vision checked when they first apply for a driving license, when renewing it, and every three years for those over seventy.
The Government is considering the current process of self-declaration and the challenges posed by an ageing population where certain conditions, including vision conditions, may become more prevalent. In the meantime, the current renewal at age 70 process remains as is, and drivers must legally declare any vision or medical conditions that may affect their ability to drive.
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Promotional activities
SkillShare - returns in the new year but if you know someone who wants to learn about the Group bring them to the Saturday Social on the first Saturday of the Month at Crown's Cafe at the REME Museum in Lyneham.
Wiltshire Police BikeSafe
Successfully supported by Wiltshire RoADAR motorcycle tutors and WABAM Observers. Dates for 2025 are as follows:
All done for this year. Thanks for all the tutors that supported this.
If you have any ideas for events, then please get in touch with the committee using the committee email address :
Look forward to hearing and discussing your ideas.
Presentation material
A generic set of slides has been created for use if you are asked about Wiltshire RoADAR and have the opportunity to present. This could be at a local club, workplace etc. Please send a mail to committee@wiltshireroadar.co.uk and the slides will be sent over to you.
We also have flyers and business cards so ask for these via the same means.
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Booking a Retest
Please be aware you need to book your 3 yearly retest directly with RoSPA via their website. Sadly we cannot book it for you as it is all done electronically. You may also need to check when your re-test is due if you have not been paying your subscriptions to RoADAR as they will not remind you.
Tutors will be happy to conduct a refresh should you wish one prior to a re test.
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Membership and GDPR
Due to GDPR we are required to remove an individual's details from our Group database when they are no longer required by us. We remove a lapsed member's details if they have not paid a subscription by the 31 Dec following the AGM (3 months after the subscriptions are due). If a member has forgotten to pay their subs and pays after 31 Dec we will require a joining form to be completed so we can replace them on the database.
It all seems a bit strange, but we do not want to get on the wrong side of the Government's Information Commissioner. We understand if members forget or are late with their subscriptions, but please help us to keep our database accurate and compliant.
This is, of course, separate to those of you who maintain a membership with RoADAR HQ.
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Committee minutes
These are available from the Group Secretary if any member wishes to see them. If you are interested in reading the minutes, then please send a mail to the Group Secretary whom will promptly forward them onto you.
Test results
Reminder to let the Membership Secretary and your tutor know when you have taken your Advanced Driving/Riding Test and result. This is so our database is kept up to date; there is no need or pressure at all to have the result published on the website or in this newsletter if you wish to keep your result confidential.
If you have read this far, thanks! If you have any feedback or suggestions about content for your newsletter, then drop us a line at newsletter@wiltshireroadar.co.uk If you can't leave constructive feedback though, then we don't want to hear from you!
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