The New Committee
As suggested by Frank Ferguson (vice chair and secretary) below is the new committee, as selected by the attendees of the AGM in November.
“I thought you would like to know who our committee members are, so they are listed below with their responsibilities. If you regularly attend our group nights you may well have met some of us.
We would like to make it clear that there is room for more members, and anyone who feels they can offer ideas for the smooth running of the group is welcome to apply. We meet at the same location as on group nights and only once every two months, so it is not onerous.
Des Shillingford - Chair
Frank Ferguson - Vice Chair and Secretary
John Johnston - Treasurer
Graham Lowe - Chief Observer
Pat Clements - Observer Training
Terry Joyce - Group Contact and Website
Mick Gilbert - Membership Secretary
Alfie Hawes - Forward Vision Editor
Terry Highland - Young Drivers
John Ockmore – Member
If you would like to offer your services, please contact me as below:
Frank Ferguson
Secretary, Chelmsford Branch IAM RoadSmart
Personal tel; 01268 542555
Mobile; 07966 763042
Email = frank@quidni.co.uk ”
The Des Diaries
Welcome to The Des Diaries, where new group Chairman Des Shillingford brings you his thoughts and information about the club for the months gone and to come. This is Des’ first address to the club in the newsletter since becoming our Chairman, hopefully with many more to come.
Hello Chelmsford IAM ,
Congratulations and thanks to Rak Rehal for a long and successful innings as Chair of the IAM Chelmsford Branch. Rak had the odious responsibility with committee members of keeping things going during Covid – using Innovations like Zoom to keep everybody involved and engaged.
Thank you for placing your trust in me as your new Chair. I am keenly aware that our group has a long history promoting road safety and fun at the same time, but this can only happen if we draw on the skill and knowledge of
our members to keep ideas fresh and flowing.
To this end I will be looking for members to suggest and drive the direction of the Group over the next term in whatever direction they wish. Please support our Group nights and if you have an idea for a theme or know of an appropriate guest speaker let any committee member know.
-Des Shillingford, ChairmanForward Vision December 2022
Members profile – Des Shillingford
This is a new segment, with the aim of introducing the members to eachother, even if it is only through a few questions in a newsletter. This news letter’s member also happens to be our newly appointed chair, Des.
If you would like to be involved/featured in the members profile segment, email Alfie at alfie.hawes@gmail.com , and you will receive the questions to answer.
Have you got any pet peeves on the road?
I try not to have any, otherwise I might overreact to situations, but I must admit I dont appreciate tailgaters.
What have you learned most from the IAM that you think has been most helpful for you?
Planning, Looking ahead, Sticking to Speed limit, but mostly planning
Why did you join the IAM?
Becoming a member of the IAM and passing my Advanced Driving Test was something on my radar for many years but I never got around to doing anything about it. After about 30 years of driving a few things came together at one time. A.I started to lose my boy racer timing at junctions and began to hesitate. B. I was fearful that I if I didn’t observe speed limits by routine, that I may start to tot up points and put my driving freedom at risk. C. I saw a YouTube explanation of the IAM Advanced Driver Course by “Petrol Ped”. In short, I recognised that it was time for some additional driving training beyond my initial driving test, to help me progress into the next phase of my driving journey. To be honest there was a D as well. When I saw what good value IAM membership was, it was a no brainer.
Some experimentation across the pond…
Australia’s government has been experimenting with glow-in-the-dark road paint, in an effort to increase visibility at night, after giving the travel department a multi-million dollar grant to improve road safety over the next three years.
The paint (manufactured by an Aussie company) has been applied to a onekilometre stretch of road, in a trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the new application of old technology.
The paint uses photo-luminescent pigment (the same as those found in glow-in-the-dark children’s toys, which absorb energy from the sun during the day, and light up at night. This is a first, and has a promising future ahead of it, but of course, there are always some concerns.
Some people are speculating that, at least for a while, people in cars will be turning their lights off, in order to witness this curious road decoration. It seems, however, that the benefits surely outweigh the risk of an incident occurring in this situation, and the government in Australia seem quite impressed with their choice so far.
“This treatment will make it easier for drivers to see the linemarkings or signage and provide stronger definition coming up to intersections and curves, giving drivers more time to react and preventing them from veering from their lane. This will be particularly beneficial for people who are not familiar with driving through the area.” so far.
The post on Facebook by Grippsland’s (the manufacturer of the road paint) has reached over 100,000 shares, and received overwhelming support.
