The LINK May 2023

Contents

Welcome Readers

The Chairman’s Ramblings

Introduce a New Associate - £30 Reward

Full Course Refunds

Visit to Classic Motor Hub

Recent Test Passes

Success for South Glos Road Safety Team

Meeting Reports

Three-in-a-Car

Club Sunday

Monthly Meetings Reminder

Upcoming Meetings

Passing Time

Drive-It Day

Advanced Tips from the Chief Observer

Exhaust Pipe

Events Calendar

Who Does What in the Group

All content compiled by the Editor unless otherwise credited.

Memberswhoassistedwiththisissue:

Peter Davies, Pete Goodman, Geoff Bevan, Vee Boobyer, Richard Olpin, Brian Hartley

PhotosarefromGrouporIAMsources,unlessindividuallycreditedtosomeone,as havingtakenitand/orgivenpermissionforitsuse.

Circulation: Over 500 no: 319 MAY 2023

THE LINK

TheNewsletterof BristolAdvancedMotorists

The largest organisation dedicated to road safety in the Southwest

Affiliated to: IAMRoadSmart

Registered Charity No 289807 Run entirely by volunteers Group no: 1009

Welcome Readers

From the Editor...

Welcome to the early summer edition of TheLink. This one has plenty of pictures, so should engage the Chairman’s enthusiasm! What it doesn’thave is a lot of articles written by you, the members. Please remember that this newsletter is only as good as its contributors, and just for spite I have written a couple of items myself!

Shall we have another rant? Yes. One evening about a week before copy date I was crossing a major road at a PELICAN. Granted, the light was against me but I had a very clear line of sight to my right and there were no approaching vehicles. (I’m not one of those people who will press a button just for the joy of stopping a car a quarter of a mile away, oblivious to the fact that they have just tripled the amount of pollution thereabouts.) The only potential threat was a vehicle about to emerge from the junction almost opposite, but as it would have to make a prohibited right turn to get near me, I discounted it.

Well, that was a mistake, because as I crossed, make a prohibited right turn it did!

It’s not often you have a chance to remonstrate with a transgressor, so I stood my ground for a few seconds as the driver stopped a few feet away. Through the driver’s open window I conducted a short and one-sided discussion on his abilities, being careful to choose only words that would be used by an archbishop who had received a speeding fine. Sheepishly, the driver backed up and disappeared back along the road from whence he came.

And can you guess, dear reader, what this vehicle was? Do you need a clue? OK, four letters, beginning with “t” and ending with “i”. They continue to plague me whether I’m on foot or on wheel! My omission here was not taking the licence number and reporting it, though I’m not sure that would have made a difference.

Editor: Martin Baker

editor@iam-bristol.org.uk 0117 956 3664

37 Mendip Crescent Downend Bristol BS16 6UF

COPY DEADLINES for 2023 issues are:

2nd July

3rd September

5th November

- send copy as soon as you can!

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Views expressed in this Newsletter are those of the contributors.

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The Chairman’s Ramblings Pete Davies

From the time that taste forgot

In my last set of ramblings I recalled the time when you received “free” gifts whenever you filled up the car with fuel. These gifts often ranged from the interesting and useful, such as coins charting historical events and drinking glasses, to the totally bizarre such as imitation tiger tails. Thinking about it again, I remembered other “tasteful” objects that could be purchased from your local car accessory shop. Should you really want to, you could march into Halfords or similar such places and walk out proudly with a myriad of tasteless items such as leopard skin seat covers with steering wheel cover to match, fluffy dice to hang from your rear-view mirror or even an 8ft long fibreglass radio aerial. And for the privilege of supplying you with these “enhancing” items, the shopkeeper would happily extract many, many pounds from your wallet.

However, chatting at one of our recent meetings I was reminded about one of the most strange objects that passed for “car decoration” in those tasteless times. Fake bullet holes!

Yes, you read that correctly. Fake bullet holes.

They would come printed in a row on a self-adhesive backing which would then be attached to any part of the car that the proud owner thought would benefit most from this type of adornment. Personally I can’t actually think of anywhere that putting these bits of tat would actually benefit from except perhaps for the inside of dustbin but you have to quietly admire the manufacturers who managed to convince people that they couldn’t possibly live without adding this stuff to their cars. Confession time - I never did fall for the hype. The only additions I ever added to my

cars were petrol, oil and water which I suppose goes to prove that I really could give Victor Meldrew a good run in the miserable stakes.

When technology fights back

In preparation for our recent AGM I was looking back at all the required paperwork including the minutes of the previous AGM which of course would have to be approved on the night as being a true and accurate record. So I went to our website and downloaded the 2022 minutes before starting to go through them.

After the first read through it struck me that something was missing. No, I must be wrong. Such an omission couldn’t possibly have happened. So I read through again convinced that I must have skipped over the “missing” section. And then, still not finding it, I read it again. And again. And again.

But no, it wasn’t there. The missing section was the record of my having been elected as Chairman. Did that meant that my last year in post had been a fiction. Everything I had said during the previous 12 months would have to be discounted. (NotthatIhadsaidanythingofgreatimportanceanyway).My first year had been a complete sham.

What was I to do? Simply ignore it and hope that no one else had spotted it. I would hopefully be elected again at the 2023 AGM and nobody would be any the wiser. No, that wouldn’t be right. I’ll own up on the night, we’d make a correction and all would be well. So that is what I did. I mentioned it in front of all the assembled members and guests with all the associated laughter at my predicament. However during the break, Brenda, our conscientious and usually very accurate minutes secretary, came up to me and said “What are you on about? Here are the minutes that I made and there you are in them” Showing me a copy of the printed minutes that everyone had on the table in front of them, she was totally correct. I was duly recorded at last year’s meeting as having been elected to the post of Chairman.

My embarrassment was rising as I studied the print in front of me. I had announced to all assembled that my election had not been recorded whilst all the time they were able to read in front of them that I had. They must have thought that I had lost the plot and that perhaps I wasn’t the man for the job after all. My defence that the minutes on the website must have been different sounded extremely hollow, even to me. There wouldn’t be a difference between the printed copy and the uploaded one would there. Luckily Brenda rode to my defence and having checked the website, she confirmed that indeed there was a section of the minutes missing caused by goodness knows what type of internet devilry.

All of this reminded me of a story told to me by a friend who worked in one of Bristol’s biggest companies. It was some years ago at a time when photocopiers had become more readily available and were just being installed out in the offices rather than kept away in air-conditioned areas of the official print room. (Yes youngsters. That is the way it used to be!)

Anyway, my friend told me of a colleague who, shall we say, was very close to retirement, and didn’t really trust that these new-fangled machines would actually copy everything correctly. Such was his suspicion that having run the pages through the copier, he would then sit down and compare the copy with the original. Yes really! Now whenever I have related this story before, I have always laughed at his

actions as I am sure you are doing right now but my experience of the missing section of minutes has made me think again. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps the technology is throwing us the occasional curve ball just to keep us on our toes. Maybe, just maybe, we should be checking everything twice and not simply trusting that what we put in is the same as we get out. And perhaps, Artificial Intelligence has been around for much, much longer than we think and the machines really are slowly taking over by making us think we’re all going mad.

When television becomes reality

I’m sure that like me you sometimes watch one of the many television programmes showing some of the crazy things that our fellow drivers get up to on our roads and like me, are grateful that that we don’t come across that sort of thing when we are out and about.

We’ve all experienced the lower levels of stupid behaviour but perhaps have been lucky enough not to have witnessed some of the most dangerous actions of the cranially challenged. We have probably all seen the driver who has decided at the last minute that the motorway exit he is quickly approaching in lane 3 is the one he needs, careering across all lanes to just about make it onto the slip road even though it’s probably been left a bit late.

A few weeks ago I was heading south down the M40 on one of those nice bright sunny spring days feeling quite pleased with myself that I had successfully managed to negotiate my way around the section of M6 toll road thus avoiding a fairly hefty toll. The traffic was fairly heavy but moving along quite nicely and everyone seemed to be behaving themselves and driving with due consideration for those around them. I was in lane one travelling at around 65mph with a van slightly ahead in lane two travelling at about the same speed and a car overtaking us both in lane 3 going quite a bit quicker. We were approaching an exit and I suppose I was probably 25m from the start of a fairly long hatched area located between the motorway and the slipway when the car in the outside lane suddenly realised that this was his junction.

Now I hope that most of us in that exact position would have cursed our lack of forward planning and would have travelled on to the next junction before turning around to get us back to where we wanted to be. But no. Our fellow driver in the car decided that this was the junction he wanted and this was the junction he was taking so he turned left in front of the van in lane 2, in front of me in lane 1 and just about made it into the hatched area before it finished on a steep grassy bank. He then had to stop, parked at 90 degrees to the traffic, for someone on the busy slip road to let him out.

I don’t think that anyone whilst observing the scene prior to this happening would reasonably anticipated that another driver would have thought that such a manoeuvre was the right thing to do. Unfortunately I wasn’t in my own car and didn’t have a dash-cam fitted otherwise there would have been some video uploaded to the local police force when I got home that night or even to one of these television production companies that are always on the lookout for such material. So, for those of you that might have seen this sort of madness on the television but not in real life, I can assure you that that is the best way for it to be, not actually happening in front of you.

Do we really need all those rules?

At our recent AGM Richard Gladman, IAM RoadSmart’s Chief Examiner, recalled the many changes he had seen over the years he had served in the police and particularly with regards to the vehicles he had driven as well as the technology and the rules and regulations related to driving. One of the things he commented on was how the Highway Code has changed and expanded since it was first published reaching some 140 pages and 300 rules nowadays. I do have a theory that as with everything in life, even when we have all the rules and laws that we need to help us live in a civilised way, then the rule makers will continue to introduce them regardless of need as they don’t want to put themselves out of work much in the same way as turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

Anyway, Richard related a saying of his mother’s from his childhood that I think could be used to reduce all those pages in the Highway Code down to one single page. On that page would be two simple words, “Share Nicely.” Perhaps we should all write to the Ministry of Transport and suggest that they do this with the next edition. Then again, that would put most of them out of work and that would never do would it.

New road. New rules ?

One of the many phrases used throughout advanced driving is “New road, New rules” which makes total sense and which actually makes us think carefully about possible changes on the road we have just joined. But what if you went to somewhere such as Keynsham, and the saying was changed to “New road, Different rules”.

Try to imagine driving from north Bristol around the ring road and at every roundabout you do exactly the same as you would do throughout the whole of the country which is to give way to traffic already on the roundabout. (Ifonlywecould forgetaboutthoseubiquitoustrafficlightsbutthat’sanotherstory). Anyway, you drive to the end of the ring road and head into Keynsham but now at every roundabout the people already on it have to stop and give way to you as you join it. It doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country, just Keynsham. You are now probably thinking that such a thing would never happen. Ever. Anywhere.

Well, that is exactly what used to be the case until relatively recently in the district of Blangnac which is on the outskirts of Toulouse in southern France. The roundabout rules in France are the same as here as indeed I imagine they are throughout Europe and further afield and apply throughout the whole of the country. But not in Blangnac! Now this is all very well when you are a local and used to this very odd and ancient difference in the rules but when you are visiting for the first time and having just flown in, you jump into the hire car, first familiarising yourself with the vehicle of course, and then head off to your destination. At that time when departing from the airport, there were just a couple of quick turns and then you found yourself joining a multi lane highway which very quickly led to the motorway. I knew that the site I wanted was located in Blangnac so I was rapidly scanning the signs to get me headed in the right direction. However in those pre-SatNav days, finding myself in the wrong lane and even in those days not wanting to do a last minute change, I found myself heading north on a toll road. “Oh dear me”, I said to myself, “What a silly person”. (Well,probablysomethinglikethat!).

Eventually I managed to find an exit where I managed to turn around and head back but not before forking out many Francs for the toll which really did rub salt into the wound. Eventually I found myself entering the district of Blangnac and was heading

towards my first roundabout. Not a problem I thought. We have these at home as I slowed to give way to the cars already on the roundabout. To my surprise, they saw me and promptly stopped. And so with everyone at a halt and with much gesticulating coming from the car behind me in a way that only the French have perfected and some slightly gentler waving from the stationary vehicle on the roundabout, I gingerly moved forward and carefully went on my way. Luckily for me, at the next couple of roundabouts there was no other traffic so I could carry on straight through without incident and eventually found my way to my destination. Mentioning what had happened to me on the way, one of my French colleagues said that in that part of France, motorists joining a roundabout have the right of way over those already on it. But only in that one small area of the whole country. So there you have it. The French equivalent of Keynsham having different rules to the rest of the UK. New Road. Different rules!

What would you do?

In the last edition of The Link, I gave you details of something that had happened to me whilst out driving and asked the question “What would you do?”. I asked for your comments and said that I would also ask Geoff, our Chief Observer, for his viewpoint.

Here is a recap of what happened.

The following happened to me whilst driving back down the M4 a few weeks ago. We had left central London at about 11:00 pm, the weather conditions were cold and dry and the traffic heading out of London was relatively light (For London anyway!!!). At around 11:30 we had just left the illuminated section of the motorway in lane 1 of a 4-lane section of carriageway. A few hundred meters ahead there was a lone car in lane 2. A few hundred meters ahead of this car I could just about make out something else on the road that was moving so wasn’t an obstruction but also wasn’t illuminated as you would expect another vehicle to be. Moving out to overtake the car in lane 2, I could just about make out that the object in lane 3 was actually another car but apparently with no lights on.

What would you do now ?

Thank you to those who responded to me and here is Geoff’s answer.

Firstly,Idon'tthinkIwouldhaveacteddifferentlyfromyouraction.

Secondly,youaskwhatwouldIdo?

"IfIhadapassengerwithme,bearinginmindthepotentialfordisastersomewhere aheadontheM4,Iwouldaskthemtonotethenext500mdistanceboardandthe vehicleregistrationandcall101toinformthepolicecontrolroom.Iwouldnothave attempted to alert the driver by flashing my lights, sounding the horn or using indicators/hazardlightsasallthesethingscanbeinterpretedinmanydifferentways (lookatthe'AssociatesGuide'onthewebsitetoseeover30reasonsdriversflash theirheadlights!).

AsIcamenearerIwouldhavemadeabriefobservationofthevehicle'sdemeanour andthusthedriver'sbeforeplanningtoeitherholdbackorovertake.Myguessis thattheChairmandidexactlythat.

IwouldhavementallyrepeatedPaulHodge'smantra;"...useroadsense,common senseandasenseofsurvival..."andmadesurethatwhatevertranspiresIcould stopsafelyandwithoutdrama.

Note:Itisanoffencetodriveatnightwithoutrearlightsworkingandtodosoisa criminaloffence.Rule113inTheHighwayCodecouldn'tbeclearer:

YouMUST

●ensureallsidelightsandrearregistrationplatelightsarelitbetweensunsetand sunrise.

ForthebenefitofournewerintakeofAssociatemembers,anycontraventionofa Highway Code rule containing the words MUST and MUST NOT in red bold is a criminaloffence.Nightisdefinedastheperiodbetweenhalfanhouraftersunsetand halfanhourbeforesunrise – whatweusedtocall'lighting-uptime'.Ifyou'renot surewhenthatis,lighting-uptimesareintheweatherapponyouriPhoneandother devices."

OfcoursePete,it'spossiblethatthecameraswillhavealertedthecontrolroom- and lookingatourwebsite's'TrafficJamCameras'linkIthinkthereareatleast7cameras fromChiswicktoMaidenhead–sosomeonewillhavespottedit!

So there you have it. If you have experienced something out there on the road that you would like to share and get some feedback on, then please get in touch with Martin, our editor, who would be pleased to include it in a future issue of the link.

With the better weather and longer days, enjoy your driving trips and don’t forget, Share Nicely!

Introduce a new Associate: receive a £30 reward!

For current Bristol Group Members and Associates: Refer a relative, friend or colleague, and when they pay and enrol on the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver Course with Bristol Advanced Motorists - you get a £30 bonus!

And you can do that as many times as you like!

For further information, call: 0117 256 5555

Terms and Conditions:

The referrer must be a current Bristol Group Member or Associate.

The referrer must notify the Group Associates Administrator with details of the person they will be referring before that person enters into the Advanced Driver agreement with IAM RoadSmart. Retrospective referrals cannot be accepted.

Offer applies to referrals who enrol on (and pay for) the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver Course exclusively with Bristol Advanced Motorists.

Bristol Advanced Motorists reserves the right to amend or withdraw the offer at any time. Neither IAM RoadSmart nor any other local IAM Group is subscribing to or taking part in this offer.

Full Course Refunds available for New Associates

Bristol Advanced Motorists holds two funds which allow us to refund an Associate’s course fee upon passing their Advanced Driver Test to those who fulfil the following criteria:-

South Gloucestershire Road Safety

The Associate must live, work or be in full-time education within South Gloucestershire, pass their Advanced Driver Test and be under 30.

Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner’s Community Fund

The Associate must live, work or be in full-time education within the Avon & Somerset police area , pass their Advanced Driver Test and be under 25 or over 60.

Please contact Vee Boobyer – associates@iam-bristol.org.uk prior to the start of the course, as retrospective claims cannot be accepted.

Visit to the Classic Motor Hub

Pete Goodman is organising a visit to the Classic Motor Hub, Bibury (just beyond Cirencester) on Thursday 27th July. The start point will be the Cross Hands, Old Sodbury for a 10.30 departure. While the run is intended for classic or “interesting” cars, anything with wheels is welcome. It is possible that we will go (or come back) the pretty way in a similar manner to the recent Drive-It Day (see page 19) For further details or to register an interest, contact meetings@iam-bristol.org.uk

Recent Test Passes with Bristol Advanced Motorists

Congratulations to the following Bristol Group Associates who have recently been successful in the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver Test.

Thanks also to their respective Observers for helping, guiding and assisting them to achieve the Advanced Driver standard.

We hope that all Associates who have become Full Members over the last year will renew membership, both with the national Institute and with the local Bristol Group, to continue your commitment to Advanced Driving and to support your local Group as we continue to guide more Associates.

SUCCESSFUL ASSOCIATE OBSERVER

19/04/2023 Tom Sadd Marcus Venn F1RST

25/04/2023 Brendan Molony Malcolm Coles F1RST

Success for South Glos Road Safety Team

Martina Byrne-Obee, Lead Road Safety Officer at South Gloucestershire Council, encouraged her team to join the Advanced Driver Course in June 2022. Two of the team, Tracey Lush and Lottie Willmott, successfully completed the course by passing the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Test late in 2022. Martina previously passed the Advanced Test in 2006.

Recognising that the majority of collisions are caused by driver error, the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver course and test was introduced to significantly improve driving standards using the principles of advanced driving pioneered and applied with unparalleled success by the Metropolitan Police. The test is conducted by a serving or retired Police Class 1 Qualified Examiner independent of the Bristol group.

Brenda Eckersley is presented with her certificate by observer Mary Hart

For drivers under the age of 30 who live, work, or are undertaking full-time education in the local area, South Gloucestershire Council's Road Safety Team provide funding for Bristol Advanced Motorists to give a full refund of the course fee when they pass the test.

Group Monthly Meetings March/April

In March a good turnout of members welcomed as guest speaker Paul Hodge, at one time Chief Observer for Bristol Advanced Motorists but now retired to London. Paul regaled us with his stories of driving from age 17 to 75, many of which years were spent behind the wheel of police cars, initially joining Bristol Constabulary in 1966. He claims his first (of only two!) accident involved him driving a Morris Minor panda into a wheelbarrow!

Among his other achievements were being educated at Pen Park Girl’s School (yes, really), being at school with England rugby union international Andy Ripley (but not simultaneously), helping to instigate 20 mph speed limits (about which he is now “not so sure”) and becoming an IAM examiner and working at the Central Police Driving School. He was also an Accident Prevention Sergeant and had to investigate transgressions by his fellow officers.

Tracey (left), Martina (centre) and Lottie (right) at the South Glos Council offices, Yate (TheaboveistakenfromapressreleasebyPublicityOfficerBrianHartley).

We also learnt that Paul has a connection to the Los Angeles Police Department, is very much anti-smart motorway, (which probably puts him in the majority), and that he recently lost an appeal against a penalty for incorrectly entering a box junction. We were shown the CCTV evidence – the jury is still out! And “drive safely now”!

Geoff Bevan and Paul Hodge get to grips with technology

The April meeting was of course our AGM, and, there being no postal votes or dissent from the attendees, the formal business of the meeting was concluded quite swiftly. The only change of note was the resignation of Tony Gilbert from the Executive Committee. Tony will, however, continue to organise events for the Group. His role as Membership Development Officer will be covered, at least in the short term, by the Chief Observer and the Training Officer.

There was a short awards ceremony, during which the Group Cup was presented to Geoff Bevan for his work as both Chief Observer and Website Administrator, the Chairman’s Award went to Vee Boobyer for her continuing success in the sometimes difficult role of Associates Administrator, and the Chief Observers Award ended up jointly with Marlene Baker and Mark Gollop for their outstanding work in organising the PAD days.

After the buffet break (said by some to be the only reason Andy Poulton attends) we were entertained by Richard Gladman, Chief Examiner IAM RoadSmart.

Richard began his presentation with an overview of the parent organisation. He said that IAM RoadSmart membership was falling, a trend we have also seen at BAM, although we remain one of the largest and most influential groups.

He then gave an account of his career with the police, mainly concerned with response driving before becoming an instructor with the Metropolitan Police Driving School at Hendon. His first patrol car was a Rover SD1, his favourite was the BMW 530d. He also specialised in accident investigation and road safety.

After retiring in 2011 after 31 years service and with the rank of sergeant, Richard was recruited by the IAM, becoming Head of Driving and Riding Standards.

Richard Gladman in full flow at the AGM

Three-in-a-Car – 2023

These are informal, social driving events, to help Members maintain the high standard they achieved on their original Advanced Driver test – and also to offer Associates some extra guidance input before their tests. Final dates and venues for 2023 are –

Wednesday 21 June 7.00pm Thornbury Leisure Centre

Sunday 03 September 10.00am Ashton Way car park, Keynsham

Saturday 30 September 10.00am Easter Compton Farm Shop

Sunday 19 November 10.00am Wishing Well, Codrington

Top to bottom – Geoff, Vee, Marlene and Mark receive their awards at the AGM

Club Sundays – 2023

These informal events run from about 10:00am to whenever you want to go home (usually about 1:00 or 2:00pm). A fun driving event, all members, associates and guests are most welcome. Any car is suitable, especially old, classic or interesting! Dates for 2023 (October venue TBC) –

Sunday 23 July Hilliers Garden Centre, Cheddar, BS27 3RU

Sunday 29 October

Contact Pete Goodman: meetings@iam-bristol.org.uk for updates.

Bristol Advanced Motorists Meetings Venue

Our Meetings, Associate courses and some other activities are held at the BAWA Club, 589, Southmead Road, Filton. It is one of the Bristol region’s venues of choice for conferences and events. It is easily accessible by car with ample car parking adjacent to the buildings. The venue offers a modern, pleasant environment with reception/security, staff on duty and wheelchair access.

The next monthly meeting will be on 23rd May – see next page for more details.

Arrivalat7:15forapromptstartat7:30pm.

Group Monthly Meeting

at BAWA Southmead Road Filton

Tuesday 23 May 2023

Meet 7.15pm for 7:30pm

Tony Coverdale - Saltford Brass Mill Project

Members of the public and Group Members are invited to the May 2023 meeting of Bristol Advanced Motorists when Tony Coverdale, Chair of the Saltford Brass Mill Project, will give a talk to the Group.

Tony spoke to the Bristol Group in September 2022 about the early history of the industry. This evening he continues the story.

By the mid-18th century, a sophisticated copper and brass industry had been established in the Avon Valley producing pans and kettles, collectively known as

Saltford Brass Mill

hollowware, for overseas markets.

Technological advances continued to be made, including, the manufacture of brass wire using water-powered rolling, slitting and drawing apparatus, carried out at the Avon Mill at Keynsham, and the use of water-powered rolls to produce sheet copper and brass, carried out at Saltford Brass Mill.

Further developments included the distillation of zinc from calamine ore, enabling advances in the production of brass.

A key person in the industry at this time was Nehemiah Champion, who established a new company based at Warmley, which took advantage of improved brass making and manufacturing techniques.

By the end of the century, however, market forces had caused the copper smelting industry to move to Swansea, where more plentiful coal was available, the centre of the brass industry to move to Birmingham as the industrial revolution took hold and Liverpool to usurp Bristol as Britain’s second port.

It sounds like another very interesting evening so we hope you can come along (bring a friend) to hear Tony. As always, entrance is free, raffle tickets will be on sale and there will be coffee available at £1 a cup. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Meetings June/July/August

In June we commence our summer program of social events at our favoured venue of The Wishing Well, Codrington. Come along for a drive, a chat, a meal or a (soft) drink in pleasant surroundings in possibly pleasant company. The June meeting is on Tuesday 27th with the usual 7.30pm start. See you there!

Passing Time Martin Baker

If you read your copy of TheLinksequentially you will already know that, although he has stepped down from the Executive Committee, Tony Gilbert will continue to organise events for the Group. One of those events is an exercise based around the concept of putting the car in front behind you. Allow me to share with you some realworld experiences of this, bearing in mind that all of the following occurred within about five miles and not that many more minutes…

I was out for a drive in the Rover one bright Sunday morning, trundling along the A420 between the Cold Ashton roundabout and Marshfield at a rate my speedometer claims is the national limit. Ahead is a Land Rover Discovery doing not much more than 40 mph. At this point the road kinks slightly to the right, and with perfect forward vision I was able to complete a textbook “off the bend” overtake without reducing speed. So far so good.

Next up is a Little Old Lady (no stereotype intended) in a VW Polo, again travelling at around 40 – 45 mph. In this case, however, my view of the road ahead is compromised, so let’s go for the tried and tested triangle method as advocated by IAM RoadSmart. Contact position – fine, mirror check and pull out for a look – fine, shall I commit? No, there’s glimpse of oncoming traffic in the distance so back off and live to fight another day.

The problem with a big lazy V8 coupled to a slush box is that it can take a moment or two for “accelerator sense” to be effective (the Ibiza in two-cylinder mode is also a bit like that), so as I drop back to “contact position plus a couple of tenths” I’m covering the brake… Which was a good idea as L.O.L. in the target car probably sees me for the first time at this point and responds in the only way a non-advanced driver thinks is appropriate - she hits herbrakes! I praised Rover for the foresight to install discs all round, and myself for taking the car for an optional MOT so I know they’re in good condition. A few hundred yards later I was able to complete the manoeuvre successfully, restricting myself to a shake of the head as I went by, but what I learnt is to start a bit further back than is advocated by Tony!

A bit further on I turned onto the Tormarton road, the one that no longer has the offset cat’s eyes on the climb up from Broadmead Brook. Again, this is national limit until you reach the M4 bridge where it drops to 40 mph. Knowing that, I was off the power in plenty of time to hit that speed without braking, and kept a soft foot as the limit drops to 30 mph shortly after as you enter the village. Both my pre-speed change mirror checks revealed a small Fiesta type van closing fairly quickly…

Those who know the road will recall that there are five hazards in close proximity – a junction with a minor road on the left, a playground on a sharp, blind left-hand bend with a downhill approach, and always a row of parked vehicles on the nearside necessitating the use of “Position 5” on the carriageway. So, we’ll prepare for that one nice and early, a good look down the road to see what’s going on, no oncoming or anything else to worry about, get ready to take some more speed off, mirror check – what’s happened to the van?

It’s sailing past me, and towards the aforementioned hazards, at about 50 mph. Classy! Or just plain bonkers. An informative few minutes if nothing else…

Drive-It Day 23rd April Martin Baker

Drive-It Day does exactly what it says on the tin… If you have a classic or historic vehicle, then you drive it! Parented by the Federation of Historic Vehicle Clubs, it is left to individuals or groups, organised or not, to plan interesting routes to give their cars or bikes a bit of a run and to show them off to the public.

This was my first event of this type, I wasn’t really aware of it last year so didn’t participate. This year, through the kind co-operation of Pete Goodman and Alex Gleed I joined in with the Bristol Midget and Sprite Club on a route planned by Pete, and largely led by him except for a tricky part to avoid some roadworks. I ran at the back of about a dozen Spridgets a) because I was a bit of an interloper and b) because the Rover is big enough to be seen in the leader’s mirrors from half-a-mile up the road, thus proving the convoy is complete! (Well, that was the theory…)

We gathered early-ish at The Cross Hands, Old Sodbury, where there was at least one other large group congregated for a day out of their own. A bit later than scheduled we set off on our run which took us up the A46, across to Wotton-UnderEdge, Cam, (where about five of us back markers got separated and took an unplanned detour via Dursley) then down the A38 to Aust Services via Alveston.

Here we re-grouped before heading across the Severn Bridge to Chepstow, then through the Forest of Dean and Coleford to our coffee stop at Hopewell Colliery, where some most agreeable refreshments were taken in the shadow of one of the biggest lumps of coal any of us had ever seen.

Emerging from the forest we picked up the A48 at Westbury-on-Severn and continued to, and through the middle of, Gloucester, this being the roadworks avoidance diversion mentioned above. We re-grouped again in an ASDA car park(!) before heading to our slightly late but extremely good lunch stop at The Stables, Saul Junction on the Sharpness & Gloucester Canal. This was the only point in the journey when it rained – or, to be more accurate, hailed.

After a short walk along the towpath the group split and went its respective ways, in my case back down the A38. A great way to spend a day and clock up 130 enjoyable miles! The photo below was taken at Hopewell.

Advanced tips from the Chief Observer Geoff Bevan

The latest in the series of advanced tips taken from the Chief Observer’s publication

‘An Associates Guide’ which he has made freely available on the Group’s website. In this issue he deals with –

Braking: Feel - Firm - Feather (or Tapered Braking)

A driver’s skill can often be judged by the frequency with which they need to use their brakes.

‘Brake on the straights’ and ‘steer on the bends’ and ‘brake once for each hazard’! These are mantras which we learn about early on in the advanced driver course. However, a reminder is never a bad thing so here’s a quick memory jogger.

If you find yourself braking twice for the same hazard it means that the first set of braking was inadequate and misjudged. If you find yourself braking on a bend it means you misread the limit point back in the planning stage before you invoked the system.

If braking is required then really excellent braking requires the driver to plan (before steering into a turn or bend) where they’re going to come off the brakes even before they’re applied - otherwise there can be no ‘feathering off’ resulting in the bonnet lurching upward (along with the passengers) and overlapping of the brakes and gears stage of the system.

Use of the brake pedal should incorporate 3 separate phases which by careful planning and application meld into a single smooth action. This maintains stability by redistributing the vehicle weight gradually. Advanced drivers know these phases as Feel – Firm – Feather.

1. Feel in. At the beginning of braking apply the brake pedal just enough to take up the ‘slack’ and get the brake pads into contact with the discs.

2. Firm on. Use this middle stage to brush off all the unwanted speed. It doesn’t matter how firmly of softly you apply the brake pressure in this second phase as long as you get the vehicle down to the required speed to negotiate the hazard before you move into the third phase. However, consideration should be given to the type of road surface, the prevailing weather conditions and where you plan to finish braking when judging how much pressure to apply in this second phase.

3. Feather off. Once you have brushed off the excess speed ease your foot back from the brake pedal in a similar but opposite way to phase 1 so that at the point where you stop or change to a lower gear there is little or no ‘dipping’ of the bonnet. If you’re going to stop - this stage requires much practice!

One way to get these phases incorporated within the System of Car Control before a turn (and before you reach for the gear lever) is to imagine your turning or bend is 5m or so before your actual target. By adopting the "...5 metres before target" principle you are giving yourself more time to ‘feather off’ the brakes and to select the appropriate gear following the braking stage.

If you find yourself using the brakes whilst negotiating bendy sections of road or you end up braking on a bend or you have to brake twice for the same hazard you are probably at the wrong speed and in the wrong gear! If you find yourself still braking whilst you are also changing gear (known as 'overlapping') then you have left the

speed stage too late in the approach to the hazard and need to try again! However, if brake/gear overlap is used it must be part of a planned approach that is the most appropriate for the circumstances, e.g. a left turn down a hill.

Braking, accelerating and steering all invoke strong dynamic forces within the vehicle so by applying this progressive use of brake pressure (F.F.F.) you smooth out the weight transferences thereby managing the dynamics more efficiently, you increase the overall stability of your vehicle and at the same time you will have improved your overall control.

Exhaust Pipe

Some photos of the joint Club Sunday/Bristol Pegasus MC Breakfast Meet held on 30th April at the Dean Forest Railway. Top picture is Vee Boobyer’s study of (L to R) Geoff Bevan, Paul Kelly-Fursdon, somebody reaching pension age and Alex Gleed.

Events Calendar

May 2023

• Wednesday 17 May 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Further Advanced Driving: 2023 - Course 1:

CANCELLED :: Courses

• Tuesday 23 May 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Group Monthly Meeting :: Meetings Group

• Wednesday 24 May 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Further Advanced Driving: 2023 - Course 1:

CANCELLED :: Courses

June 2023

• Wednesday 07 June 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Advanced Driver Course 2/3 :: Courses

• Tuesday 13 June 2023 07:30pm - 10:30pm

Executive Committee Meeting :: Executive

• Wednesday 21 June 2023 07:00pm - 10:00pm

3-in-a-Car: Thornbury Leisure Centre (7pm start) :: Three in a Car

• Tuesday 27 June 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Group Monthly Meeting :: Meetings Group

July 2023

• Tuesday 11 July 2023 07:30pm - 10:30pm

Executive Committee Meeting :: Executive

• Wednesday 12 July 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

ADVANCED DRIVER COURSE 3/1 :: Courses

• Wednesday 19 July 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

ADVANCED DRIVER COURSE 3/2 :: Courses

• Sunday 23 July 2023 10:00am - 02:00pm

Club Sunday :: Events Social

• Tuesday 25 July 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Group Monthly Meeting :: Meetings Group

August 2023

• Tuesday 08 August 2023 07:30pm - 10:30pm

Executive Committee Meeting :: Executive

• Tuesday 22 August 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Group Monthly Meeting :: Meetings Group

• Wednesday 23 August 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Further Advanced Driving: 2023 Course 1 Written Test :: Courses

• Wednesday 30 August 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Advanced Driver Course 3/3 :: Courses

• Thursday 31 August 2023 07:15pm - 10:00pm

Observer Introduction Seminar :: Courses

Who does what in Bristol Advanced Motorists Executive Committee (Trustees)

Chairman Peter Davies chairman@iam-bristol.org.uk

Vice Chairman Steve Carlin vice-chairman@iam-ristol.org.uk

Secretary Martin Evans 0117 979 8061 secretary@iam-bristol.org.uk

Treasurer Marcus Venn treasurer@iam-bristol.org.uk

Database Manager Andy Cole database@iam-bristol.org.uk

Newsletter Editor Martin Baker 0117 956 3664 editor@iam-bristol.org.uk

Associates Administrator Vee Boobyer associates@iam-bristol.org.uk

Chief Observer

Web Administrator

Geoff Bevan 01453 860365 chiefobserver@iam-bristol.org.uk

Publicity Officer Brian Hartley publicity@iam-bristol.org.uk

Membership Development Vacant development@iam-bristol.org.uk

Training Officer Richard Olpin training@iam-bristol.org.uk

Younger Driver Ambassador Hugh Raynor youngdrivers@iam-bristol.org.uk

Monthly Meeting Organiser & Social Organiser

Pete Goodman 0117 960 5367 meetings@iam-bristol.org.uk

Other (non-Trustee) Post Holders

Committee Minute Taker

Brenda Smyth minutes@iam-bristol.org.uk

Field Events Manager Vacant events@iam-bristol.org.uk

Social Content Manager Richard Olpin iam-bristol@olpin.net (sic)

Group Display Boards & LINK Mailing Organiser

Andrew Nicholls 01749 860321

The Cover of the hard copy version

The LINK is primarily distributed as a hard-copy A5-size paper version.

The current cover continues the tradition first started in about 1971 of having an image of Bristol’s iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge. The back has a brief text about the Group, for the benefit of non-Members, and a QR code which directs to our website.

Observer Training

Members, new and experienced: could you be an Observer?

We are always looking to further increase our team of 40 Observers to help guide and assist our Associates to Advanced Driver standard.

The first step is to complete the Further Advanced Driving course which costs £49.

If you achieved a F1RST on your advanced test - get in touch!

For more information contact: training@iam-bristol.org.uk

Associates Required!

Since the re-commencement of activities we have guided many Associates through the Advanced Driver Course to become Full Members of IAM RoadSmart (almost half of whom achieved F1RST status) – but we have capacity for more!

Members – you can act as recruiting salesmen for the Bristol Group, our Advanced Driver Courses and our three Driver Refund Schemes.

For information about the IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver Course Contact: associates@iam-bristol.org.uk 0117 969 1746 or 0117 256 555.

Printed and collated by: Parish Magazine Printing, Devon communitymagazineprinting.co.uk

Cover photo by photographer: TonyGilbert.co.uk