Recent Events
Annual General Meeting - 24 September 2011
The 36th Annual General Meeting of the Guildford and District Group was held at Ripley Village Hall on Saturday 24 September. AGM business was combined with an open meeting at which presentations were made by the Surrey Safety Camera Partnership and Institute of Advanced Motorists.
SSCP explained the road safety aspects or their work, demonstrating with examples of video footage and stills from safety cameras some of the lesser driving standards found on Surrey roads. Although some of the examples had a humorous side, many were very worrying and highlighted some of the thoughtless and sometimes dangerous manoeuvres undertaken by a handful of drivers. Pat Doughty updated members on the developments at IAM head Office and the new ideas being implemented for putting over the IAM message and also for helping Group’s with their own work. The Institute’s vision has been re-stated and the culture re-defined, based around customer satisfaction. Some of the Institute’s recent initiatives, such as the Momentum, the package for younger drivers, have been redesigned based on practical experience, to make them more appealing to their specific audience.
New admin systems are being developed to enable Groups to interact more easily with Head Office and to ensure that membership information is easily accessible to Group officers. Pat acknowledged the work undertaken by the volunteers within the Groups, without which the IAM would be unable to deliver its objectives. Amanda Smith gave a short presentation on Observer qualifications and how the IAM was trying to raise the overall standard of the product we offer out customers.The AGM accepted the Chairman’s report, presented for the last time by Paul Wallace-Stock who is standing down after 10 years as Chairman and more than 20 years as a Group officer. Paul noted that membership had fallen slightly and fewer Associates were being recruited; this had been anticipated in the current economic climate and the Guildford Group was still achieving above average results. The accounts were presented by Gerry Raleigh, as Group Hon Treasurer, and approved by the members. Stella Croom-Johnson made the Secretary’s report, highlighting the Group’s activities over the last 12 months. Committee and Officers were elected for the forthcoming year although a permanent replacement for Paul as Chairman has yet to be identified.
Geoff Pretty presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Paul Wallace-Stock on behalf of the Institute in recognition of his long service. A presentation was also made on behalf of the Guildford and District Group by Gerry Raleigh.
Police Better Driving Lectures held at Ripley Village Hall - 24 October 2011
Martin Fearon of the Metropolitan Police Road Death Investigation Unit gave on presentation on the work of the Unit. The unit, which is being re-organised as funding is reduced, is called to the scene of fatal accidents to assess the causes and to obtain any evidence necessary for subsequent actions. He made the point that the investigations are now headed by a CID officer to ensure the evidence is collected in a manner which will stand up in court if so required. There are a number of these units and on average each gets a callout per day. Not that the activity ends at the scene. Any vehicles involved are removed to a secure compound and the team will spend up to a day checking them to ensure that there are no defects which may have contributed to the accident.Martin detailed the organisation of the unit and explained the chain of command and the procedures leading to the unit’s attendance at the scene of an accident. Using case studies he then explained the painstaking work involved in collecting evidence and establishing the events, which led to the accident. Methods of estimating speed were shown ranging from the scientific to the practical, measuring the length of the skid marks and even dragging a motorcycle along the road to replicate accident conditions. Technical information was used in conjunction with witness statements to verify events whilst copious photographs were taken to assist in reconstructions. Most importantly, detailed measurements and positions of vehicles, structures and the road must be taken. Historically this has been done manually, with the inevitable closure of sections of road for lengthy periods whilst the work is completed without disturbance of the evidence. Recent technological developments mean that equipment is now available which can do much of this work automatically and subsequently create 3D models of the accident scene thereby reducing the length of time the road is closed by half. However the cost of such equipment is high at £125,000 and a case for additional resources relies on identifying the consequential costs of road closures as justification for the investment.
One of the accidents he covered was close to the heart of the group as we lost a Senior Observer, Nick Wright a few years ago in a similar situation when he was killed whilst riding a bicycle in London. Martin made the point that there are times when the layout of the road can create problems and increased risks.
Alan Bone of the Surrey Police Driving School gave a presentation entitled “The Police VIP Driver”. He started his talk with a clip of a car jacking from Patriot games and made the point that there are numerous examples of this happening throughout the world every year, so it is not just one for the movies. He made the point that whilst the movies portray the saviours as being the men with guns, in reality it is the drivers who invariably save the day by their fast reactions. He explained the selection of police drivers for training as VIP drivers and outlined the detailed and rigorous training they undertake. Recruits must already hold the highest standard of police driving before they enter a two-week course teaching them how to anticipate and handle any eventuality when driving royalty, politicians and any other VIP passengers. The training is not only about how to avoid or escape from dangerous situations but extends to the protocol necessary to treat such passengers in an appropriate manner. The first week of the training is held at Dunsfold air field and involved such things as the driver driving at speed, blindfolded and following the directions of his passenger - interesting. The second week covers royal protection, route planning, including diversions, problem solving, general security awareness and protocol when dealing with VIPs. The training is sponsored by Jaguar and Rover who provided appropriate vehicles. Alan’s talk was interspersed with (anonymous) anecdotes and examples of the whims and demands of such people and how officers must cope with such pressures. His talk closed with a video demonstrating how outriders combine with the drivers to provide a smooth and rapid passage for VIP convoys through the busy metropolitan area. During questions he was asked about women members of the team and he said that despite many iniatives to encourage women officers to attend the course none had ever done so.
At the end of the presentations Steve McCormick, on behalf of the Guildford Group, presented Alan with a donation for the Police Benevolent Fund.
