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Bolton and District Advanced Motorists Events and Courses

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Higher education begins as you leave: tips from IAM RoadSmart

This week’s tips give advice to students packing their bags for the big drive or ride to university. For many this trip will be the furthest they have driven, and in an area they are not yet familiar with. 

Back to school: tips from IAM RoadSmart

The summer holidays have come to a close and for some parents not a moment too soon.  Order and normality will resume along with the dreaded school run which starts again for another year. This week’s tips offers advice to drivers and riders on how to survive the term time road rush from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

The swings and roundabouts of life: driving advice from IAM RoadSmart

Roundabouts sometimes send even the most experienced drivers into a panic. But never fear: IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving standards Richard Gladman is here to help you out.

 

Riding in the right gear: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Many riders take to roads without realising they are putting themselves in danger, wearing the incorrect clothing. This week’s tips offers advice on clothing to all riders from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Leave sooner, drive slower and live longer: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Many new drivers will take to the road this summer after successfully passing their driving tests. You may have some hiccups along the way and not know how best to cope. Statistics show that the first six months of solo driving are when you are most at risk. This week’s tips give advice to new drivers from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Leave a positive vision behind: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Over time our eyesight deteriorates and previously strong vision can become poor. If eyesight problems are left unaddressed they can often lead to poor reaction times to unexpected hazards or the behaviour of other road users. This week’s tips give advice on eyesight. When riding and driving from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Buying a used car: tips from IAM RoadSmart

You may be a first time car buyer or just in the need for a new ride. This week’s tips offer advice on buying a used car from IAM RoadSmart’s head of technical policy and advice, Tim Shallcross.

Where kids are number one: tips from IAM RoadSmart

The summer holidays are here and many families will be packing for success as they set off to enjoy and travel. This week’s tips give advice on driving with children from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Keep calm while driving and riding: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Summer is here in all its glory and with its arrival also comes the arrival of pressure cooker driving conditions. Many drivers will be taking to the road stressed by holiday deadlines, long traffic queues, overheated cars and hot tempered drivers. This week’s tips give advice on dealing with road rage for riders and drivers from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Half the wheels, twice the fun: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Summer is here and many of us will be taking to the streets and country roads with our bicycles to make the most of the sunshine. This week’s tips give advice on sharing the road with cyclists from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Is parking the bigger picture? Tips from IAM RoadSmart

Many of us can find parking and looking for the right spot quite challenging but sometimes we also forget about checking our surroundings when we leave the car.  A few simple checks can avoid costly and irritating car park mistakes and make your trip a lot less stressful. This week’s tips give advice on parking from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Drive out and rave on: tips from IAM RoadSmart

It’s that time of the year to bring out your wellies, rain capes and lose yourself in the music because the summer festival season is here. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving to and from festivals from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

If you don’t ride you don’t know: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Finding the time to take a trip abroad can be a challenge but many of us look forward to it. It can be a huge task for especially for motorcycle users abroad. This week’s tips give advice on riding abroad from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

For the journey - tips from IAM RoadSmart

Going away during the summer is something that many look forward to. Prevention is better than cure and if you are taking your own vehicle abroad it is a great idea to be prepared for the unexpected events that can occur when on the road. This week’s tips give advice on driving abroad from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Hold your horses: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Horses are powerful animals and have extremely heightened senses. They are ‘flight’ animals, so many revert to their natural instincts at any time. The outcome of this can be extremely challenging for the rider and other road users. There have been 2,570 road incidents reported to the British Horse Society in the last six years. Some 38 riders have been killed and 222 horses have died as a result of their injuries. Of these incidents 80% are because vehicle passed too fast or too close to the horse. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving around horses from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

Above the influence: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Illegal substances can affect drivers in several ways, making them unfit for the road. But it is not only illegal drugs that we should be wary of. Prescribed or over the counter drugs can have similar negative affect’s on motorists too and driving while impaired by medication could see you banned from using the road. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving with prescribed medication, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

You booze, you cruise, you lose: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Drunk motorists cause thousands of accidents on UK roads every year. Some 1,380 people were killed or seriously injured when at least one driver was over the limit. This represents a statistically significant rise from 1,310 in 2014. A lot of people may be surprised to learn that accidents occur the most over the summer period. This week’s tips give advice on drink driving, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

Using a Sat Nav: tips from IAM RoadSmart

Satellite navigation systems (sat navs) are a must have these days but many road users fail to use this travel companion in the correct or safe manner. In a recent simulator study looking at a variety of distractions, programming a sat nav had the biggest negative impact on driving standards. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving with a sat navs, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

Driving with hay fever: tips from IAM RoadSmart

A sneeze or sniffle has a way of creeping up on you, especially when you least expect it.  Hay fever seems to affect many of us. This week’s tips give advice on riding and driving with hay fever, from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards Richard Gladman.

The new breed of speed cameras have arrived in Bolton!! UPDATE

Posted on 27/01/21 |
UPDATE

As a follow-up to this article in the last newsletter (October), I received an interesting email from member Simon Newby. 

He commented that these cameras have enhanced capabilities such as seat belt and mobile phone use detection, these however are not being used at the moment in the Greater Manchester area.

The ANPR is not currently being used to find road tax and insurance offences.   

The usual approach would be to utilise the ANPR capability, however as it's an automatic system it is designed to only flag information to the appropriate department for action.

He also outlined the relationship with Jenoptik who designed the new equipment.  With the upgrade, Greater Manchester creates a network of modern spot speed cameras and makes use of the latest technology to enforce speed infringements.

Jenoptik, a leading manufacturer of smart mobility solutions, has signed a contract with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to upgrade 90 spot speed cameras and a five-year maintenance agreement.  By using the latest technology, TfGM aims to create a sophisticated network of modern safety cameras to encourage better driver behaviour.

More details can be found at;

https://lcrig.org.uk/news/jenoptik-upgrades-greater-manchesters-spot-speed-cameras

Ed; Thank you Simon for your interesting contribution.

END UPDATE



If you read the September newsletter you will remember the article reporting on the new breed of speed cameras which were very successfully trialled in several locations in Devon and Cornwall (shown on the right below).

Looks like they are already here in Bolton, replacing the old style boxes, and seen below on Wigan Road (and Crompton Way to my knowledge), though you may be aware of others.

Just a reminder that the new cameras are able to catch speeding drivers on both sides of the road, rather than the old system which could only capture motorists in the left-hand lane.

They do so by having a single camera facing each direction to capture vehicles in two lanes when travelling in opposite directions, though the Wigan Road version on the left seems to have both cameras facing in the same direction, presumably still covering both lanes. The new ultra-speed cameras do not require painted lines on the road, as many of the older legacy cameras do. 

They also have infrared, low light technology, meaning there will no longer be a flash at speeding drivers.  These new speeding detectors do not look like the typical yellow box cameras that drivers are used to seeing up and down UK roads.

Ed; There are also cameras under trial which will detect drivers who brake harshly to avoid being caught by speed cameras.  Technology will also be able to determine if a motorist then speeds up seconds after passing detectors.

The system will use laser technology in a mobile radar device located just in front of fixed speed cameras.  A second device is also fitted around a kilometre from a fixed camera to detect motorists who put their foot down moments later

 

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