Issue 17

July 2013

www.rospa-southeastessex.org.uk

The ‘System’ of car control

For more information see Roadcraft and our website.

The Newsletter of RoADA South East Essex Group

How many seconds?

Chairman Scott Mildren

Secretary Mervyn Whitney

Treasurer Alison Morris

Publicity Officer

Newsletter Editor Terry Joyce

Deputy Chairman Steve Andrews

Editorial Hello, In the last edition I talked about the temperature being above 7°c, well that’s risen significantly, so now I can talk about the temperature being over 30°c.

It’s nice to be able to drive with the roof down but I have to wear a cap to cover the thinning hair in the bright sunshine.

The sun brings its own hazards to driving. I tend to drive a lot on country lanes, plenty of trees, so you get a strobing effect that can make it difficult to focus properly. It is wise to slow down a little in this situation until you are happy with the vision (information) that you are getting. Sunglasses can help although not always but a clean windscreen is essential.

The next question if you have the luxury is, windows down or air conditioning. There is a debate on the cost implications of each of these. It is thought that at low speeds it is more efficient to open the windows and use air conditioning at higher speeds. Also with the window down, the noise can be distracting at higher speeds. Can you give me any other examples of hazards created by the hot weather? At our November meeting we are getting a visit from Glen Mures from the Group Advisory Panel( GAP). He is our regional rep for the east side of the M11 corridor. Cover photo by Robin Webster. Location M11.

Terry Joyce terry@rospa-southeastessex.org.uk

to our members who have taken a test.

To our new members: Karl Bates, Jo Bowman,

Jayne Reynolds, Kim Gandy, Alistair Barnwell,

Mark Robertson, Tom Rogers, Dave Naulls, Courtney

Rogers, Rob Moore, Louise Brown and Philip Hyne.

Name Tutor Grade

John Palmer Terry Joyce Silver

Make a difference

As many of you know I am the Chairman of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research in Southend. We organise a number of events during the year to raise money for our charity. The largest and most profitable of these is the Southend Bikeathon.

To be able to run this ride we need a large number of Marshals. It’s not a hard job. You need to stand or sit at a junction on the route and check that the riders are heading in the right direction and should there be an incident, make a phone call.

You get to wear a fashionable High Visibility Tabard and If you feel light hearted we can give you a bright pink foam hand to direct the riders. You’ll look a picture.

If you want to be helpful you can take pictures of the riders to help with our future publicity. The maximum time for this is around five hours on Sunday September 1st and if we get enough volunteers, this can be reduced. If you fancy spending a few hours to help beat blood cancer give me a ring or send an email. See page 2 for details.

Terry Joyce

John Ockmore one of our Tutors organised a visit to the Metropolitan Police base at Lippitts Hill, home to their three helicopters. You should have come it was brilliant. After we arrived Matt one of the Pilots greeted us in the car park. He explained the Ricc who was supposed to meet us and guide us for the tour was in the air. Matt took us to one of the huts on the site. During World War 2 the site was used for anti aircraft guns because the German aircraft used the reservoirs, which are west of the site as a navigation aid to get to London. On moonlit nights the reservoirs reflected the moonlight leading the bomb-ers into London.

Shortly after we had settled in, the helicopter landed and Ricc joined us. He showed us an entertaining video of the helicopter in action and followed this with a slide-show. It was very interesting and Ricc was very informa-tive and entertaining. Then the main event, we went to see one of the helicopters. Hugh another member of the crew joined us and gave us a comprehensive run down of the capabilities of the helicopter. Ricc and Hugh answered our many questions. The camera with three lenses was amazing. After quite some time looking around the helicopter we got to explore a hangar in which another helicopter was being main-tained, more questions and then we went to see the control room. When we were in the control room the Essex Police Helicopter radioed to say that were operating in the area. The controller explained that we were there and arranged for the helicopter to give us a demonstration of its capabilities. What a bonus.

There was not one call while we were there. Ricc escorted us towards the car park and as we walked, we were thrilled with what we had seen but a little disappointed that we hadn't seen a helicopter take off. Then the siren went off, Ricc started sprint-ing towards the helicopter. We headed back towards the take off area. In a very short time the helicopter and Ricc were in the air. Another Bonus. Well done John, thanks for a brilliant evening out.

More photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/boxster986/sets/72157634726028828/with/9362956586/

Terry Joyce

Tailgating or driving extremely close to the vehicle in front has become an everyday experience for a high percentage of drivers.

For me it is disturbing as it is one situation where I have least control when I am driving. I look at it as a risk assessment. When carrying out a risk assessment the first task is to ask-can I eliminate the hazard? Then after that the question is what can I do to mitigate the hazard?

There are a number of strategies that allow you to deal with a tailgater. Firstly do not allow them pressurise you to speed up as this will only aggravate the situation and should a collision occur the outcome will be worse. Going back to the risk assessment, you could try slowing down to encourage them to pass or even pull over at a suitable place. This will put you in control of the situation. On a dual carriageway or motorway moving out of their way is a lot easier. Always increase the gap in front of you to allow for their braking as well as your own and start braking lightly earlier if you do have to slow down.

Part of rule 126 in the highway code states: allow at least a two second gap between you and the vehicle in front. I would suggest you make this at least 3 seconds. Just imagine that you have checked all three mirrors and your speedo or someone has asked you a question, which breaks your concentration for a second. I could go on, but the point I'm trying to make is our eyes are not always looking for-ward 100% of the time. It could happen that just as one of these situations occurs, the driver in front starts to brake. In slow moving traffic I always have my hand near the horn and have used it effectively to warn the car behind that they are too close and not concentrating.

Ensure your head restraint is set correctly to minimise the likelihood of injury should someone hit you from behind. Raise the head restraint so that the top is level or above the top of the person’s head such that the head restraint centre is at least slightly above the top of the ear. Adjust the seat back angle into a relatively upright position. This allows the head restraint to be positioned closer to the back of the head. Position the head restraint as close as possible horizontally to the back of the head with the occupant seated. This should place the head restraint less than 5 cm (2″) from the back of the head.

A head restraint is less effective if there is a large gap between the head and the head restraint. This gap means the head can move and the neck can extend during a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Have you had any experience of people driving too close? Please let me know.

Terry Joyce

Crash Cushion

I spotted a photo of the M25 at North Ockendon on Flickr and was intrigued by this crash barrier. I asked Dave who took the picture if I could use it and he supplied it and Steven commented on the picture with the information that he found, making my job a lot easier. Keep an eye out for it but don’t run into it. The cushions are to help reduce the severity of injuries where vehicles impact fixed obstructions on the highway. A number of systems are now available that are designed to cope with a range of impact speeds. Crash cushions are designed to absorb the energy of a vehicle which would otherwise impact an obstruction head-on. Some systems also redirect severe angle impacts away from the obstruction in a similar manner to safety fences and barriers. Crash cushions have been designed to cope with a range of impact speeds from 30mph up to 70 mph. Designs vary from plastic and steel cylinders some of which are sand filled to more complicated honeycomb structures. With the plastic and steel cylinder types damaged cylinders can be replaced after a collision, whereas other types may have to be totally replaced. This is the TAU Crash Cushion Systems, they are being installed on road networks throughout the UK. They are saving lives and preventing costly damage to roadside installations. They are particularly resistant to side impacts and the modular construc-tion reduces costly repairs after head on impacts. An impacted system can be back in service in two to three hours. The TAU ‘family system’ of static roadside crash cush-ions are fully tested to BS EN 1317-3 and approved by the Highways Agency for use on the UK trunk road network. TAU crash cushions are redirective & bi-directional with a Redirection Zone, providing high performance, high re-usability and speedy repair after impact. Modular construction minimises costs and decreases installation and repair times and hence exposure of operatives. TAU Crash CushionTAU systems are particularly resistant to side redirective impact damage. See here: www.highwaycare.co.uk/product_info/40/tau-crash-cushion

Photo by David Storey, information supplied by Steven Brandist, edited by Terry Joyce

Changes in The Official Highway Code (Revised 2007) © Crown copyright 2007

218

Road users requiring extra care

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069858

Link below to online Highway Code

219

Home Zones and Quiet Lanes. These are places where people could be using the whole of the road for a range of activities such as children playing or for a community event. You should drive slowly and carefully and be prepared to stop to allow people extra time to make space for you to pass them in safety.

Emergency and Incident Support vehicles. You should look and listen for ambulances, fire engines, police, doctors or other emergency vehicles using flashing blue, red or green lights and sirens or flashing headlights, or Highways Agency Traffic Officer and Incident Support vehicles using flashing amber lights. When one approaches do not panic. Consider the route of such a vehicle and take appropriate action to let it pass, while complying with all traffic signs. If necessary, pull to the side of the road and stop, but try to avoid stopping before the brow of a hill, a bend or narrow section of road. Do not endanger yourself, other road users or pedestrians and avoid mounting the kerb. Do not brake harshly on approach to a junction or roundabout, as a following vehicle may not have the same view as you.

A new rule

The wording has been increased and modified

The links below are to websites that you may have an interest in. Please

let me know if any of them are not working. Email me if you think of any

websites that may be of interest.

Internet Links

Highway Code online

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/index.htm

Know your traffic signs http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_191955.pdf

Tyresafe

http://www.tyresafe.org

Drive Alive

http://www.drive-alive.co.uk

This is one of the Engines on the Metropolitan Police Helicopter. It is Eurocopter EC145.

See our website for links to Google Earth and Streetmap.

Bedloes Corner is the junction on the A1245 with Rawreth Lane and Church Road. It is controlled by traffic lights.

From the North: You cannot turn right. See the arrows on the diagram. You turn left just before the lights and then turn right. You can then enter Church Road by going straight on at the lights.

From the south: A1245 turn left at traffic lights

For anyone approaching from the Wickford/Shotgate direction the hall can be reached via the A129, turn left into the old London road, passing The Chichester. There is a width restriction when you enter Church Road.

Our Group meetings are held in the Village Hall at Rawreth Located in Church Road, the post code is SS11 8SH.

Group Nights 2013

Wednesday 31st July, Wednesday 30th October

Make a note in your diary!

www.rospa-southeastessex.org.uk