As Chief Observer, I get the pleasure of reading the Social Run Reports that are submitted for each social ride that the Club runs. This could be a run that is advertised in Slipstream or Groups.io and it could also be a ride from St. Crispin’s or within the various social teams that make up TVAM. I have to say that the vast majority of these rides are a great success, and riders gain a huge amount from them.
On occasion we get complaints, and these usually relate to the perceived riding standard being below that which another rider considers acceptable. It’s important at this point to remind everyone that there is no such thing as a perfect ride, and we all make mistakes. I have personally felt the need to apologise to another rider where I mis-timed an overtake or failed to see something and had to react late to it.
One of the biggest issues, and the cause of the majority of bad feeling, is a rider failing to acknowledge they may have done something that is considered below standard and the manner in which a discussion has taken place. None of us likes to be told that we have been seen making a poorly-timed overtake, or that we may have been carrying a little more speed than we perhaps should have in a given situation. It’s important, therefore, to have discussions in a non-confrontational manner, and quietly away from the main group. I would also suggest that our following position may also affect our view of a particular situation, and we must always consider that when having a discussion. I recommend that any discussion takes place with the run leader and/or the back marker present.
One of the best things about TVAM is the fact that our members generally police rides extremely well, and the vast majority of riders ride to IAM RoadSmart and TVAM standards. We must never forget that we owe a duty of care to our fellow riders, and all other road users, when we are on a social ride. Please be considerate and enjoy the ride that the run leader has worked hard to prepare for the enjoyment of everyone in the group.
This brings me nicely onto the information that we have available to all members to assist you in organising a ride. You can find the ‘IAM RoadSmart Group Organised Rides’ document in the files section in the ‘All Members’ area of Groups.io or at this link if reading the online version of Slipstream (https://tinyurl.com/bdf4u35e). You can also find the ‘TVAM Social Run Pack’ in the same location (https://tinyurl.com/2da6d3dr). We regularly run an excellent Run Leader/Back Marker course, and you can find the contact email under Club Contacts in the back of Slipstream.
We want to encourage all members to take part in social rides. They are a great way of developing your skills as an Associate and maintaining them as a Full
Member. Associates, please do speak to your Observer about a particular ride to decide if it’s the right one for you. Remember that we do not grade rides anymore, with the exception of Training Rides, and that is because we want run leaders to give people a little bit of information about rides and make them inclusive.
We encourage all run organisers to complete the Social Run Report at the end of a run and to be honest about anything that may not have quite gone to plan. We use this information to spot trends and to see if there is anything more we can do as a Club to improve our training. The link to the form can be found on the TVAM website under ‘Forms’ or in the Groups.io ‘All Members’ Wiki (https://www.tvam.org/forms). Please send a copy to your team leader for their information. An incident form can also be found in the same location. Incident forms remain confidential.
I’d just like to talk briefly about Observer status and the need for TVAM to maintain an accurate record of which Observers are ‘active’, ‘inactive’ or ‘retired’. To
understand the activity levels of Observers we will continue to regularly review them using the information recorded on the club database, and contact any Observers that have not recorded any observed rides within the previous 12-month period. No activity means that an Observer status will be changed to ‘inactive’ on the database and they will no longer be able to carry out observed rides for TVAM. If an Observer is inactive for a further year then they will be recorded as ‘retired’. There are pathways for Observers to return to active observing from inactive and retired status.
We fully appreciate that life often gets in the way of riding a motorcycle for fun and it may simply be that an Observer has been unable to get along to St. Crispin’s to deposit their run report forms. Please do make sure that you either get these to St. Crispin’s yourself or contact someone in your social team and ask if they can deposit them for you.
TVAM has an outstanding Observer corps, who do a huge amount of coaching in order to deliver our aims and objectives as a road safety charity. We very much appreciate the efforts that Observers make to ensure that TVAM remains an outstanding Club.
Whatever you’re doing this month, have fun and stay safe everyone.
Barrie Smith
TVAM Chief Observer
