MSA Newslink November 2021

For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com
Call for members to volunteer help
to the West Midlands committee
Terry Pearce
MSA GB West Midlands
The West Midlands Training event and
AGM will be held via Zoom at 7.30pm on
Wednesday, 10th November. It will be
hosted by National Chairman Peter
Harvey MBE and our key guest speaker
will be John Sheridan from the DVSA.
Please contact info@msagb.com to
reserve your link.
It will be followed by the area AGM and
it is expected that there will be some
changes to the committee.
The West Midlands Chairman Geoff
Little had previously intimated to the
committee that, after holding the position
for about 30 years, he would be standing
down this year. Unfortunately, Geoff has
been unwell recently, so it is doubtful that
he will attend the AGM while he takes a
well-earned rest as he recuperates.
Our Deputy Chairman and Secretary
Ralph Walton is also standing down this
year. It may be the only remaining
member on the committee will be myself
as Treasurer and Editor and that will only
be for one more year as I will retiring at
next year’s AGM.
Every year we ask for new committee
members and as you will understand from
the above, this year it is more crucial than
ever that we have volunteers step forward
if we are to keep the area committee
going. If you are interested and would like
more information, please contact me. My
details are at the end of the article.
Taking its toll...
A friend of mine has received a letter
from Midland Expressway Limited stating
that they were recorded travelling on the
M6 Toll Motorway without paying. They
could see an attempt was made to make
a payment, however, the driver of the
vehicle had left the toll lane when the
barrier raised but was still on a red traffic
light, before the fee was taken.
Midland Expressway Limited was not
imposing a fine; they only wanted the toll
fee to be paid, plus £2.50 DVLA costs
which were incurred in order to get the
contact details. Inclusive of administrative
fees it was £9.50.
The M6 Toll operates on a traffic light
and barrier system. You may only leave
the lane and access the road when the
light turns green and the barrier lifts.
When I read this letter, I considered
their action unreasonable. The barrier
should not be activated if the light
remained on red, though Midland
Expressway Limited covered this potential
outcome by stating that the barrier has a
safety function whereby if a person or
vehicle gets too close it will automatically
rise. As the incident happened two
months previous there would not be any
dashcam footage to show what
happened.
It sounds harsh to say my friend had
driven through a red light but you can
understand why they would think it was
safe to go once the barrier was raised.
Let’s consider a different scenario: waiting
at a railway level crossing. When the train
goes past, I guess most of us are ready to
go as soon as the barrier has raised. That
is the signal that it is safe for us to
proceed even though the red light would
still be flashing.
I rarely travel on the M6 Toll but I will
be interested to have a look at the set-up
and how visible the green light is next
time I use this road.
CONTACT
To comment on this article, or provide
updates from your area, contact
Terry at terry@terrypearce.co.uk
Everyone should have a 2nd Chance
Fiona accepting the
voucher from Kathy
As reported in the October issue of Newslink, the Montrose Driving
Instructors Association held its annual ‘Sit your driving test for
charity’ event in September. Before the day members went round
various local businesses asking if they would like to donate to our
chosen charities. When we approached Kathy at the 2nd Chance
Tearoom in Inverkielor she agreed to donate a £25 voucher to use at
the tearoom to the participant who scored the fewest faults on test.
In addition, she put her name down to try the test and got her
regular customers to sponsor her, but with a caveat that if she
received more than four driving faults she would wear L-plates on
her uniform in the tearoom for a week. Initially she said eight driving
faults but a prominent local ADI said that she would do a lot better
than that and should reduce it to four. On the day she scored 7...
She is pictured handing the voucher to Fiona Thomson who was
collecting it on behalf of her work colleague Mark Conner, who won
the voucher for accumulating the least number of driving faults.
Mark, a police sergeant, scored two, the same as Chris Kirkton, but
Mark won the voucher through a tie break question.
Many thanks for your support, Kathy.
NEWSLINK n NOVEMBER 2021
29