Dates For Your Diary
Next meeting is on 27 July.
From 7.30pm for a 7.45pm start .
Do you have a topic you would like discussed, or know of an interesting speaker? Please contact speaker at speakers@wiltshireroadar.co.uk
SkillShare & Social
4 July 2026 meeting at the REME Museum 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 Sunday 19 July Details will be forthcoming via email to all bike members.
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Congratulations
Congratulations to the following members who have passed their Advanced Tests recently:
Michael Neave – Approved Group Tutor, Bike
Please welcome the following to the Group:
Gavin Cox – Bike
Gordon Kirkwood – Bike
Richard Sabin – Bike
Alexaner Jone - Car
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We are reviewing the process for purchase of branded clothing - please bear with us |
Newsletter Content
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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Thank you to all of you who attended, or sent apologies and Proxies for, the AGM. This is an important part of our Governance and sets the tone for us all to continue with our advanced driving and riding qualifications. There were no additionalsubjects discussed, and the AGM was swift and smooth – just how we like it. Sean Caine followed the meeting with a lively presentation (and discussion) on the use of AI tools. Extremely enlightening so thank you to Sean for dragging most of us into this century.
For those of you who want to see the minutes you will find them here
I know we do not need reminding of pre drive and ride checks but I was reminded on the 50 castles tour (more in later editions I suspect) of just how important they are. It is all too easy to expect our machines to be ok when all we have done is park them, in perfect working order, next to our tent and not used them in the night. Imagine my surprise when checking my tyre pressures revealed a puncture the rear tyre of my motorcycle. I managed to repair it but due to the angle the screw had entered the tyre I was not happy (and it had a slow leak as well. I took the decision to ride home carefully (checking the tyre pressure every 20 miles, rather than take on another 200 mile day. I missed the last 13 Castles sadly so failed to complete the challenge.
I hope you have been coping with the heat. This needs just as much preparation as driving and riding in winter conditions. A friend of mine was caught in a road closure on the A34 for 2 hours – thankfully he had some water with him – his aircon had stopped working! I am of an age where I remember doing long hot journeys in cars with no aircon and vinyl seats – not something I would have relished in the heat wave. Remember our IAMSAFE pre drive and ride checks apply to us in addition to the machine.
I know I am preaching to the converted, but I think it is always worth a reminder.
One final plea. You will note there are no test passes this month – this may not be true and congratulations if you have recently passed a test. Please do remember to let your tutor and the Membership Secretary know when you pass your test – it helps us enormously – thank you.
Stay safe
Bob
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I met recently, along with Hutch from Wiltshire Police BikeSafe, a group of bikers who have set up a new not-for-profit one stop site providing advice about rider safety, tips, organisations and personal stories.
Started by a group of four friends passionate about riding after hearing similar stories about riders being hurt and how it affected their families, Ben, Ady, J and Paul are keen to provide “A place where riders can share real experiences, talk honestly about risks, and help each other make better decisions on the road.” One Split Second was born.
Where this site takes them and in which direction is unknown as it’s still very early days (about a month old at the time of writing).
How can we, Wiltshire RoADAR, help? In partnership with Wiltshire Police BikeSafe, we offer unbiased advice that is based on Roadcraft and the Highway code. This is where we excel.
A couple of members of One Split Second will be joining us at our July SkillShare at Lyneham; pop along too and make them feel welcome.
Peter Genet
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New Group Meeting Location
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As a Wiltshire group, it was decided to move the location of the monthly Group Meeting to Nursteed Community Centre, 19:30 to 21:30 with the objective of being a more central location that it would attract members from around the county.
However, with this comes a change of day too; still a Monday, but now the fourth Monday of the month.
The Group AGM was successfully held on 22 June , there is plenty of parking space and probably easier to approach than Liddington!
The address is Nursteed Community Centre, Nursteed Rd, Devizes SN10 3AF
What3words ///boarding.imprinted.rebounds
Hope to see you there!
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image from Aguri World
New research from Autotrader has found that almost one in ten UK motorists feel uncomfortable driving without satellite navigation, including on routes they already know, suggesting that many UK motorists are becoming increasingly reliant on sat nav technology.
Autotrader suggests complex road layouts, one-way systems, bus lanes, confusing roundabouts and traffic conditions may all contribute to greater reliance on navigation technology.
The research found that around 30 miles is as far as many drivers feel comfortable travelling without sat nav assistance with the most common limit being 26 to 30 miles, selected by 16% of drivers, while 15% said they would not travel further than five to 10 miles without sat nav support.
Edinburgh drivers were the most comfortable navigating without sat nav, with 92% saying
they were confident doing so. Cardiff and Newcastle followed on 87%, Manchester on 85%
and Plymouth on 83%. Edinburgh also had the highest proportion of drivers who said they never use sat nav at all, at 32%. Brighton topped the list for drivers who feel uncomfortable without sat nav, at 12.9%, followed by Sheffield and Birmingham, both on 12.5%. London and Nottingham followed on 10.3%.
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Electric Charging Infrastructure
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Electric car charging infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the number of EVs on the roads, according to experts at Hippo Leasing who have stressed that “the UK’s charging
infrastructure simply cannot keep up with EV growth” and represents a significant
setback to the country's electric transition.
According to the motoring specialists, public charging grew just 22.8% in the past 12 months, while the UK’s EV fleet grew 33%. The move has worsened the UK’s average ratio, jumping from 30.6 to 33.1 electric vehicles per public charger.
Tom Preston, CEO of Hippo Leasing, said: “Businesses across the UK are embracing
electric vehicles at a remarkable speed, and our own lease data shows nearly 20% growth
in EV business deals in a single year.
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Notices
Merchandise
The eagle eyed of you will have noticed the merchandise section of the newsletter has been removed. There is little demand for this and we do not really hold any stock (a poor use of our money). We are looking at a way of providing branded clothing to those who need it and will publish the results of our efforts as soon as we can – please bear with us.
Committee Members
A number of people have asked who is who in the zoo. The list of Officers for the Group is on the website here. Feel free to join us (I know the list of Committee members is a little out of date as Nick Carrington is a member, we have lost Steve Allsworth – thanks for your time and effort Steve, and have gained Scott Bonnell – thanks for your commitment Scott)
Calne Bike Meet - 25 July
We have booked a stand for the Calne Bike Meet this year. more details to follow but please do book some time in your diary to help on the stand if you can. We recruit a lot of members, mainly bikers, but we do get the message across to car drivers as well. Please come and support the group recruiting efforts - and have some fun into the bargain.
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Saturday Social
The venue for our monthly Saturday Social is 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.
You never know what/who may turn up!
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
LEJOG - Land's End - John O'Groats cycle ride
Something that many cyclists dream about completing is a LEJOG or JOGLE, also known as
End to End. The idea for this trip was neither of ours but we ended up as the last men
standing.
After quite a bit of internet research, including many hours of watching YouTube videos and
purchasing books a route was finally determined. We wanted a balanced ride, not the
shortest.
For Steve (me) a significant amount of training was required, much of which was strength and conditioning and I used a professional coach in addition to the PT I have been working with for some time. Bob went on the annual May Trippers.
One bonus was that we both had suitable bicycles and luggage, although very different. In
the weeks running up to the start mine had new brake pads, pedals and a service.
Along with our long-suffering wives (I was told that) the night before the Grand Départ we
met at the Lands End Hostel. When we agreed the ride dates, we didn’t know it was going to
be record temperatures for the first two days.
Our wives stayed with us for two nights, which meant we didn’t carry our luggage the first
day, which was helpful as it was the day with the 3rd highest amount of climbing.
Day 2 saw our only puncture, this turned out to be a bit of a test as two previously unused
tubes failed on inflation. The guy at Trail Munki Bodmin was a huge help even though he
was closed, he supplied new tubes, loaned a stand pump and gave us the magic news that it gets easier after Exeter.
Two other bike shops were extremely helpful, Leadout Cycles nr Northwich and Pedal Power at West Calder.
We made a short deviation to meet Kaitlin my daughter at Exeter with emergency gels and
possibly the best coffee of the trip at the Lilac café. Later in the ride we met friends for
dinner at Shifnal and Penrith, both lovely evenings.
According to my Garmin 18 days, 49,459 ft and 1,005 miles we made it to John O Groats.
The journey home took us over to Orkney then an overnight ferry to Aberdeen followed by
trains to Edinburgh, Birmingham, Basingstoke and finally Salisbury where we were met by ourwives and my other daughter Flora who saved us the pain of cycling home, it was midnight !
We didn’t do it for charity, but for the personal challenge and great fun it was too. I don’t
think there were many low points, we met lots of people along the way and were shown
much kindness. We only had one instance of driver road rage, which was ironically outside
the Culloden visitor centre near the Battlefield.
In the next few months we will give a presentation with many more details and photos.
How it finished - 1000+ miles later
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Driver Fatigue
image from road safety education NZ
Driver fatigue continues to pose one of the most underestimated dangers on Britain’s roads and Road safety organisation GEM Motoring Assist has renewed calls for drivers to take fatigue more seriously, describing tiredness at the wheel as a significant but often overlooked factor in serious and fatal collisions.
According to government estimates, fatigue contributes to up to 20% of collisions on major roads and motorways, although road safety experts believe the true figure may be significantly higher, as tiredness is difficult to identify after a crash and research by the
Department for Transport has consistently shown that fatigue-related collisions are more likely to result in death or serious injury than many other types of road traffic incidents.
The risk is particularly acute between 2am and 6am, and again during the mid-afternoon between 2pm and 4pm, when the body’s natural alertness dips. The issue is especially relevant for shift workers, professional drivers, commuters and parents balancing busy family schedules. However, experts stress that anyone can be affected by fatigue, particularly during long journeys or periods of hot weather.
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Reducing Speed limits on Rural Roads
Image from PACTS
Calls are growing for a rethink of a 60mph limit in force on roads around the UK. A big change could be on the way as the Department for Transport is considering reclassifying roads across the UK – and giving local councils the power to change the speed limits.
Latest figures reveal motorists are six times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on rural roads compared to motorways. The standard speed limit stands at 60mph, often on extremely narrow and twisting roads, which has sparked safety concerns for horse riders as well as motorists and cyclists.
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Promotional activities
SkillShare - 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.
Successfully supported by Wiltshire RoADAR motorcycle tutors and WABAM Observers. Dates for 2026 are below:
All are on a Sunday at Devizes Police Station unless otherwise stated:
July
5th
12th
September
13th
October
4th
Calne Bike Meet
We are returning to the Calne Bike Meet - 25 July 2026
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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Tip Top motorcycle touring adventure!
After planning, organising and enjoying several motorcycle trips to places such as the Alps, Dolomites, Pyrenees and Ireland, amongst others, Peter Genet has, along with a couple of advanced riding, albeit IAM, friends set-up www.tiptoptours.co.uk These tours are encouraging riders to explore and enjoy more their riding amongst like-minded riders. After all, “I ride not to go anywhere, but to ride. I ride for riding’s sake. The great adventure is to ride!”
The Austrian Alps is full!! Bookings still being taken for the Dolomites and Scottish Borders. We are also putting together 2027's schedule including an early spring dash to Spain!
Look forward to seeing you soon!
Peter Genet |
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 membership of Wiltshire RoADAR but your membership of RoSPA only covers free retests for one vehicle type. My thanks to Ryan Jones who clarified the situation with RoSPA.
If you are already a bike member, you can just pay for an interim car test @ £55. Your main membership would be bike (first one to pass) so "free" retests would be for bike. Each car retest would be same interim @ £55. Bike interim tests are £60.
The interim test is accessed from the RoSPA member area here:
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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 (3 months after the subscriptions are due - 1 Oct). 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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