I’m writing this article having just returned from the Bournemouth and Wessex Advanced Motorcyclists (BWAM) Observer Weekend in Devon. It’s the fourth time that I have been invited, along with Kevin our Chair, plus a few members of our Training Team, to attend the weekend. This is an opportunity to meet with a neighbouring group and really get to know their Observer Corps and how they deliver their training. I was lucky enough to spend the Saturday riding with their Chief Observer and, during the breaks from riding, be able to discuss anything that we may do slightly differently in our own groups. It’s a great way to share ideas and good practice in developing our membership.
This year, the main focus of discussion were the eight forms of signals that we use when riding. The eight are – indicators, brake light, headlight, hazard lights, horn, bike position, arm and courtesy. We were asked to think about when should we use each type and what were the benefits of doing so? We were also asked to think about when it is illegal to use certain types of signals. Think about the different types. Did they come to you straight away? Do you practice them?
We also had a couple of short classroom sessions that looked at communication and rotation. A couple of key points that stood out to me were the best time to look at training to become an Observer and rotation of post holders within the group.
Taking the first point, whilst there is not a specific time that a Full Member should start Observer training, it could be considered that the best time might be immediately after passing their IAM RoadSmart Advanced Test. This is because they have just been through the training and have had the latest knowledge of what it takes to pass.
The second point, rotation, suggested that changes in leadership roles is a good way of ensuring that ideas are kept fresh and teams within the group keep moving forward. TVAM have a rule that officers of the committee change every 5 years. We see that most team leaders change around 3-4 years and this keeps the team running well with new ideas.
All in all, a fantastic weekend and I was glad to have had the opportunity to attend.
he end of October marks the end of the TVAM financial year. The Committee, Social Team Leaders and various other volunteers are currently collating facts and figures and writing reports ready for the Annual Report to the Club membership. This is the start of probably the busiest period in the Club’s calendar for the Committee, as the Annual Report has to be prepared in November and sent out in December, ready for the AGM in January. The Club has had another good year and you’ll be able to read and hear about that in the next couple of months.
The AGM is an opportunity for change on the Committee. As mentioned above, an individual can only stay in the same ‘Officer’ post for a maximum of 5 consecutive years. After this, they are obliged to step down although they can stand for another Committee position if they wish. At the coming AGM Salli Griffith, our Slipstream Editor, Bjorg Arnadottir, our Treasurer, and Dave Simmons, our Membership Secretary, will all be standing down. I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all three personally for their hard work over many years for TVAM and to say that it has been a pleasure working with you over my four years on the Committee.
For those at St Crispin’s in October, you will have seen that we had a visit from Santa Claus himself. We of course know him as Steve Harris, who is the Chief Marshal of the Reading Toy Run. Steve and his team do an outstanding job of organising the official road closure and all of the marshals to enable the Toy Run to go ahead. As he said, TVAM provide the vast majority of the huge number of marshals that are needed and he’s once again looking for our assistance. The event this year is on Sunday 1st December and, regardless of your membership status in TVAM, you can sign up to be a marshal for the day. Please email toyrun@tvam.org if you can offer your time on that day to ensure that the Toy Run can go ahead and get the toys to those children.
Finally, this time of year can really throw up some challenging riding conditions. I’d like to refer you to my Nov ’21 article in Slipstream ‘From the Chair’, where I talk about riding in the trickier conditions that Autumn and Winter throw at us. You can find this by looking in groups.io under the files section on All Members. There you will find all the electronic copies of Slipstream, if your hard copy has long been passed on. It’s always worth a read and a reminder of things we need to consider at this time of year.
All that is left for me to do in this piece is to wish you all a Merry Christmas in December. Have fun, ride safe and I look forward to seeing you all in 2025.
Barrie Smith
TVAM Chief Observer
