Wirral Advanced Motorists
Summer Newsletter; Issue Number 420
Diary of Events
• Tuesday 30 July- 8.00pm
(Held at Wirral Rugby Club. Thornton Common Rd, Birkenhead, Wirral CH63 0LT) David Hearn - Battle of the Atlantic.
• Sunday 11 August- 12.00pm
The Cheshire Classic Car show will be held at Claremount Farm (Old Clatterbridge Road, Bebington CH63 4JB). We will be promoting Wirral Advanced Motorists. We are always looking for people to help on the day, even for a few hours, this would be really appreciated.
CONTACT US
Email:
info@wirraliam.co.uk
Chair: Tony Stopforth
Vice-Chair: Guy Lightfoot
Secretary: Jo Bolland
Treasurer: Yvonne Charlett
Chief Observer: Simon Richards
Membership secretary: Tony Stopforth (07921 663220)
Associate Coordinator: Liz Scarff
Area Associate Organiser: Guy Lightfoot
Newsletter Editor: Vacant
Other Committee: Derek Jeffries
Chairman Rambling, and why we should always learn from our mistakes!
Welcome to the summer edition of the Wirral Advanced Newsletter
Guy and I have taken on new roles within the Committee, with Guy now serving as Vice Chairman and Area Associate Organiser, and myself stepping into the Chairman position. This change allows me to focus more on matters closer to home.
Recently, I was reminded of the importance of learning from our mistakes. I encountered a situation where I was in the outside lane, preparing to turn right at the next junction, with a car following too closely. The speed limit decreased, and as I slowed down, the car undertook me and moved back into the outside lane, again too close for comfort. In frustration, I sounded my horn (mistake 1).
Reflecting on this incident, I realised I could have handled it differently. I should have considered moving into the inside lane earlier to let the car pass and signal my intention to turn right sooner. Hindsight is always 20/20, isn’t it? Luckily, I had dash cam footage to review and learn from. Even though I wasn’t legally at fault, I saw what I could have done to prevent further escalation. As Advanced Motorists, we should always look for ways to improve our driving and prevent hazards. I felt disappointed in myself for not handling the situation better. Oscar Wilde once said, “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes,” which resonates with my experience.
As I write this, the sun is shining, though it's been a mostly gloomy June. The IAM has published an article about hay fever season, with useful tips that I've included in this Newsletter. As an Observer, one of the POWDERY checks is Y - yourself. Are you fit to drive, or are you tired from taking hay fever medication for example? It's essential to consider this every time you get behind the wheel.
Our next event is at Wirral Rugby Club (details on page 2). We received excellent feedback from previous meetings at this venue. We are excited to welcome David Hearn on July 30. He is a favorite among our members and always provides a fun and informative evening. Please join us; we guarantee a warm welcome!
We will also be at the Cheshire Classic Car Show on Sunday, August 11, at Claremount Farm (Old Clatterbridge Road, Bebington CH63 4JB). We’ll be promoting Wirral Advanced Motorists and are looking for volunteers to help, even for just a few hours.
Lastly, I’d like to welcome our new Associates: Miss Kim Wilson, Miss Emy Cosgrove, Mr Simon Bold, David Wilson, Mr Neil Brisco, Mr Roy Thiis, Mr Howie Trantom and Ms Eileen Ellen,
Wishing all our readers a wonderful summer. Enjoy the pleasant weather and make the most of it!
Tony Stopforth Chair, Membership Secretary, National Observer
and Masters Distinction
Associate Report Summer 2024
Congratulations and welcome to Full Membership of WAM and the IAM.
Mr Neil Wilton Observed by Guy Lightfoot
Mr Ollie Thompson Observed by Roger Roberts
Mr Ian McLean Observed by Malcolm Studholme
Mr Ian Boult Observed by Simon Richards
New Associate Members
Miss Kim Wilson from West Kirby.
Miss Emy Cosgrove from Liverpool.
Mr Simon Bold from Great Sutton.
Mr David Wilson from Prenton.
Mr Neil Brisco from Hoylake.
Mr Roy Thiis from Meols.
Mr Howie Trantom from Bromborough.
Ms Eileen Ellen from Greasby.
A warm welcome to you all.
We offer congratulations to our newly successful full Members who have recently passed their Advanced Driving tests and offer a warm welcome to all our new Associate members.
Liz Scarff.
Associate Coordinator
Electric cars more likely to hit pedestrians than petrol vehicles, study finds
Electric and hybrid vehicles are quieter than cars with combustion engines, making them harder to hear, especially in urban areas
Hybrid and electric cars are more likely to strike pedestrians than petrol or diesel vehicles, particularly in towns and cities, according to an analysis of British road traffic accidents.
Data from 32bn miles of battery-powered car travel and 3tn miles of petrol and diesel car trips showed that mile-for-mile electric and hybrid cars were twice as likely to hit pedestrians than fossil fuel-powered cars, and three times more likely to do so in urban areas.
Why eco-friendly cars are more hazardous is unclear, but researchers suspect several factors are to blame. Drivers of electric cars tend to be younger and less experienced, and the vehicles are much quieter than cars with combustion engines, making them harder to hear, especially in towns and cities.
“Electric cars are a hazard to pedestrians because they are less likely to be heard than petrol or diesel cars,” said Phil Edwards, first author on the study and professor of epidemiology and statistics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “The government needs to mitigate these risks if they are going to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars.”
“If you’re moving to an electric car, remember it’s a new kind of vehicle,” Edwards added. “They are much quieter than the old-fashioned cars, and pedestrians have learned to navigate roads by listening for traffic. Drivers of these vehicles need to be extra cautious.”
Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among children and young adults in the UK, with pedestrians making up a quarter of all deaths on the roads.
In 2017, a US Department of Transportation report found that electric and hybrid cars posed a 20% higher risk to pedestrians than petrol and diesel cars, and a 50% higher risk during low-speed moves, such as turning, reversing, starting into traffic and pulling to a stop.
Edwards and his colleagues studied UK travel and road accident data from 2013 to 2017. Because of an archiving problem, data from 2018 onwards is not available. Their analysis included 916,713 casualties of which 120,197 were pedestrians. More than 96,000 had been hit by a car or taxi.
Most vehicles on the road are petrol or diesel and these were involved in three-quarters of pedestrian collisions. But for the same distance travelled, battery-powered cars were more dangerous. The average annual pedestrian casualty rate per 100m miles travelled was 5.16 for electric and hybrid cars compared with 2.4 for petrol and diesel cars, according to the study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
In rural settings, battery-powered cars were no more dangerous than petrol or diesel, but in towns and cities they were three times more likely to collide with pedestrians, the researchers found.
Since July 2019, all new hybrid and electric vehicles sold in Europe have been required to have an acoustic vehicle alerting system that emits sound when the car is travelling slowly, but there are hundreds of thousands of electric cars on the road without the devices. “If government made sure these systems were installed in all electric vehicles and retrofitted them to older electric cars, that would be a good start,” Edwards said, adding that the Green Cross Code also “probably needs updating”.
Nicola Christie, professor in transport safety at UCL, said people relied on sound to judge the presence, speed and location of vehicles. “When these cues are missing this could be very problematic for people in busy urban areas. The problem could be exacerbated for people with poor visual acuity or for children who find it hard to judge the speed and distance of vehicles,” she said.
But a difficulty in hearing electric cars is not the only problem. Electric cars tend to have swift acceleration and are usually much heavier, making stopping distances longer. “If the government is planning to promote a transition to electric cars, then that will bring some risk to pedestrians unless we take care of this,” said Edwards.
Special thanks to the Guardian, a link is provided below for the article.
Guardian Article
Devices to stop drivers speeding ‘could be fitted to all new cars’
Speed limiters are set to be fitted to all new cars under government plans to fall in line with new EU regulations, according to a report.
A consultation will be announced by ministers imminently on a number of vehicle safety measures that will set off an alarm or reduce engine power if drivers go above a certain speed limit, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The technology, known as “intelligent speed assistance”, is dependent upon GPS tracking and cameras on the vehicle and was previously described as a “big leap forward” in road safety by EU officials.
Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, who is the chairman of the Fair Fuel UK Motorists and Hauliers all-party parliamentary group, said the proposals sound “very unconservative”.
He said: “This will completely destroy the luxury car market, and I think there are so many aspects of the anti-driver campaign now that are coming to the fore.
“This is just more Big Brother in your cockpit. We’ll see more of this if we go up the route of road pricing. I don’t think people have thought of the freedom aspects of all of this. It just sounds very unconservative.”
The choice of alert given to drivers who break the speed limit would be up to vehicle manufacturers and could range from reducing the engine power or a push back on the pedal.
Drivers would be able to override the technology, but it would reset after each time a motorist restarts the vehicle. Some manufactures such as Ford and Citroen have already started using the speed limiting technology in their vehicles.
Edmund King, the president of the AA, said that speed limits on roads would need to be very accurate on the digital system to ensure there were no problems.
He said: “The speed limits have to be totally accurate because the car is reacting to the speed limit. If you’ve got the wrong speed limit in the digital system, it might slow you to the wrong speed or allow you to speed to the wrong speed.”
The Department for Transport (DfT) said no decisions had been made on which safety regulations the UK would follow.
A spokesperson added: “The UK’s departure from the EU provides us with the platform to capitalise on our regulatory freedoms.
“We’re currently considering the vehicle safety provisions included in the EU’s General Safety Regulation and will implement requirements that are appropriate for Great Britain and improve road safety.”
Special thanks to the Independent, a link is provided below for the article.
Independent Article
Happy Birthday to those celebrating in June, July and August.
June’s Birthdays:
Ms Yvonne Charlett, Miss Jane Esplen, Mr Peter Folwell, Mr Richard Gillmore, Mr Roy Hardwick Miss Brenda Jones, Mr Roger Thomas Kimpton, Mr David Mackinnon, Mr Ian Mathison, Mr Mark Shields, Mr Jonathan Shone, Mr Ronald Shrimpton, Mr Barry Steadman, Mr John Stevenson Mr David Trott, Mr David Vestergaard and Mr Stephen Yandell.
July’s Birthdays:
Mr Steve Clarke, Mr Anthony Criddle. Mr Michael Ellis, Mr Simon Eshelby, Mrs. Heather Folwell, Mrs. Janice Forfar, Mr David Hamilton, Mr Colin Hawksford, Mr Colin Heydon, Mr John Laidlaw, Dr Guy Lightfoot, Mr Anthony Quaile, Mrs. Anne Smale and Mr Christopher Stratton.
August’s Birthdays:
Mrs. Rosamund Cormack, Mrs. Julie Dala, Miss Susan Dodsworth, Mr Mark Dunn, Mr Andrew Gepp, Mr Donald Greig, Mr Peter Higgins, Miss Rebecca Nixon, Mr Philip Plumb, Mrs. Beverley Price, Mr John Sanderson, Mr Michael Savins, Mrs. Jane Sterling and Mr Stephen Whittaker. Latest IAM News articles can be found here; IAM RoadSmart Media & Research | The Institute of Advanced Motorists Daily Telegraph car news section; Cars: News, reviews & advice - The Telegraph Auto express magazine; Car News | Auto Express
Gear Up and Go: Festival Bound with Good Vibes and Great Driving.
The summer is jam-packed with music and dance events, from Glastonbury to the Isle of Wight to Reading, signaling the official start of festival season. IAM RoadSmart has compiled some driving advice to help you enjoy your weekend to the fullest. Here are some pointers to make the most out of your journey.
Before you set off
Fill up your car with fuel before you go and again when the tank is around half full. Many festivals are held in remote areas, so you don’t want to be caught short. Check that your oil, coolant, and screen wash are all topped up. Ensure your tyre pressure is at the recommended level. You can find the required pressure in your car’s handbook or check here.
Keep it tidy
You don’t often realise how much you need to take to a festival until you try to pack the car up with luggage. Make sure you give the interior of your vehicle a clean-up. Get rid of old water bottles, gym bags, and rubbish to maximise space.
A safe load
If you intend to drive your friends to the event, think about how much luggage they will bring and whether the car can accommodate it all without becoming overloaded. An overweight car will make it more difficult for the suspension and brakes to operate correctly. Large or difficult objects can be easily transported using roof racks and boxes, but you must not exceed the roof's weight limit.
When you park the car, make sure your lights are off. The last thing you want when you try to go home is a dead battery. Make sure you close the sunroof and all the windows in case it rains; wet seats will make for an uncomfortable ride home. Make sure you secure your car and take out all your valuables, or at least put them in the boot out of sight. Take meticulous note of your parking location; are there any landmarks that can help, or maybe a flag or window cover will help.
When you leave
Know your limits; make sure you’re fit to drive. Even if it’s the morning after, are you over the drink drive limit? Remember the only cure is time. Alcohol will take hours to leave your system so after a late night or an “all nighter” you may not be fit to drive at all. You are also unlikely to have slept much during the weekend, so, if possible, avoid driving between the two peak times for sleepiness. These are between 3am and 5am and 2pm and 4pm. Take exceptional care on the way home and try to share the driving with others if possible. Just remember to check that they’re covered to drive your car.
Richard Gladman, IAM RoadSmart Chief Examiner, said: “When the party is over, make sure you’re fit to drive. Even if it’s the morning after, you could still be over the limit after a heavy drinking session the night before. Plan and get public transport or choose a designated driver that knows their limits. Remember that a mate doesn’t let a mate drink and drive; if you’re worried, call it out. Driving under the influence is never worth the risk.”
Many thanks to the
Banish the pollen blues with these top tips from IAM RoadSmart.
Hay fever season is in full swing, and there is nothing worse than battling through the day constantly sneezing with a runny nose, headache, and itchy eyes, especially when driving. According to the Met Office, one in five people is affected by hay fever. So, what can you do if you are affected during the high pollen season?
Be a dust-buster.
Keep your car clear of pollen and dust by vacuuming the carpets and seats. If you have air conditioning in your vehicle, check to see if there is a pollen filter available. If you already have one installed, does it need replacing? If you regularly drive in very polluted cities or rural areas with lots of pollen or park your car near a lot of trees, you may need to change yours more often.
Shut the windows.
This may sound obvious, but closing your windows and setting your air conditioning to recycle will reduce pollen in your car. Don’t forget to give your vents a good blow to clear out any dust that’s stored inside, but don’t do it for too long as it can make the car very stuffy and cause condensation.
Take non-drowsy medication.
Taking the right medicine is vital. It is a criminal offence to drive while unfit due to drugs; this includes both illegal and legally prescribed over-the-counter medication. If you have bought over-the-counter hay fever medication, check the information leaflet that comes with it to ensure you are safe to drive.
Get shady.
Wearing sunglasses can help. A pair of shades will stop pollen particles from getting near your eyes and causing irritation. You can also put a dab of Vaseline around your nostrils to trap pollen.
Check the pollen forecast.
Plan by checking the pollen count, particularly during the warmer months. You can find the latest on the Met Office website. Of course, if hay fever grips you so badly that you can barely function, it’s best to leave your car keys at home and try to get around by alternative modes of transport or by getting lifts from other kind people. For more information on hay fever symptoms, check out the NHS website.
Richard Gladman, IAM RoadSmart's Chief Examiner, says, “Before setting off on your journey, you should check that you are fit to drive or ride. Although hay fever does not need to be reported to the DVLA, it is your responsibility to check if you are fit to drive if you are experiencing symptoms; failure to do so can result in prosecution. If you cause an accident due to sneezing or other hay fever symptoms such as drowsiness, you can be fined and receive penalty points for careless driving. If the accident is serious the consequences could be even worse."
Many thanks to the
Experience Advanced Driving for free.
Would our readers take note that we offer free taster sessions for anyone wanting to sample the course and to see if this would be something that would interest them.
Our members tell us time and again that the best introduction to developing advanced skills is to experience it for yourself. Driving with one of our qualified Observers will enable you to fully appreciate the skills and knowledge that you’ll acquire on the full course. We’d like to invite you to come and take a short drive with one of our Observers for free.
During your free taster session, one of our friendly Observers will show you some of the skills and techniques that it takes to pass the Advanced Test. They’ll also be pleased to answer any questions you may have about the full course. Everyone is welcome, all you need is a full licence and your own car.
What is a free taster?
Our free taster sessions are your chance to experience our Advanced Driving courses. They are not an independent assessment of your driving or riding, rather an introduction to the full course which should help you decide whether it is right for you.
Please note, you must hold a full licence and your vehicle must be taxed and insured with a valid MOT if required.
How does it work?
The free taster session lasts around an hour, usually arranged at a time and location convenient to you
There are no special requirements, and the offer is open to everyone, providing you have a full licence and your own vehicle. You'll gain some new ideas and skills, plus get a feel for whether the full course is right for you.
Wirral Advanced Motorists Group was formed in 1980 having previously been part of the Merseyside Group. A Registered Charity run entirely by unpaid volunteers, our main function is to improve driving standards and to advance the cause of Road Safety. Affiliated to the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), also a Registered Charity we are completely self-funding.
Wirral Group works hard to inform local people of the advantages to be gained by becoming an Advanced Motorist. We arrange open days regularly throughout Wirral to promote Advanced Driving.
How can the Group help me?
We provide advice on improving your driving and preparation for the IAM Test. This guidance is given by Observers (an Advanced driver who has received training and has passed a nationally recognised (IMI) Observer assessment).
If you would require any further information, then please contact any member of the Committee, or email us at:
info@wirraliam.co.uk