Volunteerting for Blood Bikes and ROSPA

[Jeremy]

Morning All

As part of my retirement planning, I'm considering volunteering for the Blood Bikes in Devon. I have an initial riding assessment on Sunday with the Devon and Somerset Advanced Riders group to understand what training I'll need to get to the charity's required ROSPA standard.

I'd value any advice about ROSPA standards and any experience of volunteering for the Blood Bikes.

Cheers

Jeremy

 

[casbar]

Morning All

As part of my retirement planning, I'm considering volunteering for the Blood Bikes in Devon. I have an initial riding assessment on Sunday with the Devon and Somerset Advanced Riders group to understand what training I'll need to get to the charity's required ROSPA standard.

I'd value any advice about ROSPA standards and any experience of volunteering for the Blood Bikes.

Cheers

Jeremy

There are two groups in Devon, Devon Freewheelers, who currently are not part of NABB (Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes) and South West Blood Bikes, which operate in the Plymouth area and North, they are part of NABB. It probably would be best to decide which group you wish to join and then use their websites or facebook pages to contact them.

There are around 32 groups in the UK, all have different operating hours and although all called blood bikes, all offer different services.

 

[jefformston]

Morning All

As part of my retirement planning, I'm considering volunteering for the Blood Bikes in Devon. I have an initial riding assessment on Sunday with the Devon and Somerset Advanced Riders group to understand what training I'll need to get to the charity's required ROSPA standard.

I'd value any advice about ROSPA standards and any experience of volunteering for the Blood Bikes.

Cheers

Jeremy

If it’s the same as Northumbria Blood Bikes, then the standard is to be qualified as an Advanced Rider with either ROSPA or IAM ( or be qualified via various professional standards, Paramedic, Police Advanced driver etc). Once qualified then in Northumberland you’d need to then pass an internal assessment, which is also carried out annually.

Blood bikes Devon probably have what’s required published on their website.

 

[GSian]

It's not just ROSPA, You could do IAM RoadSmart. Somerset Advanced riders will also tell you this as they are affiliated to IAM. They will help you through to the required standard to pass the test. There are benefits to both - With ROSPA you will need to take your test every 3 years, but is less costly. IAM Roadsmart test is for life after you've passed, but is more costly. IAM has further training, like Masters, that needs refreshing every 5 years, but the original pass is still there if you don't. I'm not sure about ROSPA grade needed for blood Bikes but I know IAM is a pass.

 

[Flappytabs]

If it’s the same as Northumbria Blood Bikes, then the standard is to be qualified as an Advanced Rider with either ROSPA or IAM ( or be qualified via various professional standards, Paramedic, Police Advanced driver etc). Once qualified then in Northumberland you’d need to then pass an internal assessment, which is also carried out annually.

Blood bikes Devon probably have what’s required published on their website.

This is the same for Derbyshire Blood Bikes

 

[casbar]

It's not just ROSPA, You could do IAM RoadSmart. Somerset Advanced riders will also tell you this as they are affiliated to IAM. They will help you through to the required standard to pass the test. There are benefits to both - With ROSPA you will need to take your test every 3 years, but is less costly. IAM Roadsmart test is for life after you've passed, but is more costly. IAM has further training, like Masters, that needs refreshing every 5 years, but the original pass is still there if you don't. I'm not sure about ROSPA grade needed for blood Bikes but I know IAM is a pass.

In our group, IAM pass, then internal assessment every 3 years, unless you are an IAM Fellow which is also a 3 yearly re-test. RoSPA, pass Silver or Gold and then re-test every 3 years. Some groups also accept other advanced such as ERS, and there are some that still do not insist on an advanced ticket.

 

[g00ner]

Message @fatnfast (Phil) on here…he’s the riding assessor for Kent blood bikers and a mine of information. He gifted me a riding assessment and I got a gold, only cost me a Kit Kat and a coffee to buy a good review. Easily bought is Phil

 

[yoyo]

South Wales Blood Bikes started off with riders needing RoSPA Gold, but it has dropped to DVSA ERS with all green followed by an in house riding assessment.
Other groups might be different but there's a strong focus on slow speed riding and general bike control. I'm assuming they've had issues with dropped bikes due to issues in these areas.

Well done on wanting to give something back.

Sent from my SM-S921B using Tapatalk

 

[casbar]

If you pm me and let me know which group you want to join, I can give you a contact for that group, although as I said, check out their websites. I am Chair of a group

 

[GSian]

In our group, IAM pass, then internal assessment every 3 years, unless you are an IAM Fellow which is also a 3 yearly re-test. RoSPA, pass Silver or Gold and then re-test every 3 years. Some groups also accept other advanced such as ERS, and there are some that still do not insist on an advanced ticket.

Are you saying that your blood biker group will accept a fellow IAM member without going through the group internal assessment process. But if you let that lapse back to an IAM pass you would need to take a 3 year re-assessment?

 

[jefformston]

Are you saying that your blood biker group will accept a fellow IAM member without going through the group internal assessment process. But if you let that lapse back to an IAM pass you would need to take a 3 year re-assessment?

In Northumberland you need to take an initial & annual review, after passing the advanced test with either ROSPA or IAM, what ever the ‘standard’ (F1rst, Masters, Fellow, Gold, Silver etc) of pass.

If you want to also drive a Blood Car then a separate IAM/ROSPA etc qualification is needed. Also then subject to the same annual review.

I have two annual reviews a year, one for bikes & one for cars.

It’s a Review not a Test, so ensure everyone is riding to the required standard. My understanding is that it’s a requirement of the Insurance on the bikes (or cars).

 

[casbar]

Are you saying that your blood biker group will accept a fellow IAM member without going through the group internal assessment process. But if you let that lapse back to an IAM pass you would need to take a 3 year re-assessment?

Our criteria is, anyone must hold an advanced rider or driver qualification passed within the last 3 years and must be a current member of an advanced organisation. If the qualification is older than 3 years, you need to have a formal assessment or another test prior to joining.

Everyone who rides or drives with us must either have a 3 yearly test (Fellow and RoSPA) or if an IAM member pass, they will have to do a formal internal assessment (which is basically run to a test standard). If a Fellow is no longer a Fellow and having their tests externally, they will transfer to our internal assessment at the 3 yearly point they would have had their test.

We have volunteers who are both IAM and RoSPA, so if a RoSPA member decided to leave RoSPA they would revert to the IAM internal assessment route if they were still a member of the IAM

We as a group mostly use our own bikes, we only have a small fleet of marked bikes and cars, which are subject to further familiarisation and assessments to use.

 

[GSian]

Our criteria is, anyone must hold an advanced rider or driver qualification passed within the last 3 years and must be a current member of an advanced organisation. If the qualification is older than 3 years, you need to have a formal assessment or another test prior to joining.

Everyone who rides or drives with us must either have a 3 yearly test (Fellow and RoSPA) or if an IAM member pass, they will have to do a formal internal assessment (which is basically run to a test standard). If a Fellow is no longer a Fellow and having their tests externally, they will transfer to our internal assessment at the 3 yearly point they would have had their test.

We have volunteers who are both IAM and RoSPA, so if a RoSPA member decided to leave RoSPA they would revert to the IAM internal assessment route if they were still a member of the IAM

We as a group mostly use our own bikes, we only have a small fleet of marked bikes and cars, which are subject to further familiarisation and assessments to use.

Very clear.

 

[trebor]

As previously mentioned, check the requirements with the group you are joining, all have slight differences.

For example, our group do not insist that you have an advanced qualification if you are going to use your own bike. However, all new riders must have an assessment ride before they are allowed to ride for us. I'm one of the assessors for our group and they tend to be about an hour long covering all types of roads and traffic scenarios they are likely to encounter as a blood biker. During these assessments I am basically checking that they are essentially safe and sensible (and also have a good attitude to safety).
I've argued that we should re-assess those that use their own bikes every 3 years but, as one of the largest, if not the largest, group in the U.K., we apparently don't have the resources to do this.

To ride our liveried bikes the rider has to have an advanced qualification. Before they can ride it they have to be assessed riding the liveried bike, and then re-assessed every 3 years for insurance purposes. Once they reach 70 the assessments are every year. When I conduct these I am looking for the ride to be at an advanced test standard, and that they are physically able to control and handle the bike.
These assessments are still carried out even if they take 3 yearly advanced tests with RoSPA or the IAM (Masters included).

With our group, the assessors have to be current IAM National Observers or RoSPA Advanced Tutors. Until recently I was both but due to other commitments dropped the RoSPA side of things.

 

[Jeremy]

Thanks for for the insightful responses. I'll report back post my assessment.

 

[Toshack10]

South London group has no adqual requirements for car driver: we have two daily shifts that are car only. Bike (regardless of ownership) requires an advanced qualification that is time restricted

So I might need to start saving for a KitKat and frothy coffee

 

[fatnfast]

Message @fatnfast (Phil) on here…he’s the riding assessor for Kent blood bikers and a mine of information. He gifted me a riding assessment and I got a gold, only cost me a Kit Kat and a coffee to buy a good review. Easily bought is Phil

You just about scrapped through, the kit kat swung it, but it was a close thing.....
SERV Kent require IAM/RoSPA or the DVSA ERS with the Blood Bike Module.
To ride a marked bike then it has to be IAM/RoSPA but this is a SERV Kent criteria. All riders have to be reassessed every 3 years regardless of qualification. A lot of our volunteers are not getting any younger hence why this is done.
As we have no exemptions on the road, the ERS is a popular choice even for those with expired IAM/RoSPA. The objective is to introduce/reaffirm advanced techniques with the ultimate aim to make sure they can safely get the product from A to B without loosing the blood box or riding like a knob. The DVSA do require bike to bike Comms rather than the "watch for my indicator" with the added benefit of instantly correcting faults rather than stopping all the time.
Its a great thing to do and a good reason to get out on your bike.

 

[MartinK]

I'm in Blood Bikes Scotland (BBS). They require IAM or RoSPA, but in practice, I think all riders here are IAM (maybe one or two are RoSPA) - I think that's mainly to do with the local IAM being prominent, and RoSPA not having much presence in my area,

My understanding was that BBS needs riders to have IAM (or RoSPA) for insurance purposes. Insurance is a major cost to the charity, and I understood a IAM (or equivalent) qualification was mandated by the insurers....

There's also the angle that we're providing a professional service to the NHS. The bikes are all GPS tracked, have "dashcams" and all riders (or drivers) are security-checked and qualified...

 

[Jeremy]

Having been riding bikes for over thirty years, today's assessment was the first time a qualified rider has opined on my abilities. Based on a RoSPA grade, my riding was described as bronze and just needs some polish to get to gold standard. It was noted that:
1. be in a lower gear for corners; I was over reliant on the GSA's torque to power me out and a higher gear limits my options if I needed to take evasive action
2. he couldn't see me align my nose with the mirror and so was unsure if I was aware of danger in the rear mirror; I made the point that I am carefully looking in mirrors but didn't need to move my head to do so
3. he noted my pannier rail crossed a double white line on a bend; he suggested I ride with my panniers and check that my position is appropriate
4. watch my feet position and ensure I'm always on the balls of my feet

I thought it was worthwhile and I'm signing up for tuition with a local instructor to get my gold pass. This will allow me to join the Blood Bike Team. The assessors recommendation was to join the Southwest group.

He also shared this Ryan Fortnine video, "invisibility training for motorcyclists".

 

[GS2022]

He also shared this Ryan Fortnine video, "invisibility training for motorcyclists".

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Kevin was asked to contribute to the Biker Down syllabus on how to avoid SMIDSYs, and he’s lectured in New Zealand on the subject. He’s worth reading.

the Science Of Being Seen

PLEASE NOTE: THIS BOOK DOES PRINT IN THE UK - the warning message is incorrect. A magician knows that the 'world' we see has been built entirely inside our brains. The magician knows that the audience about to attend the magic show understands that they are going to be fooled, yet still can't...

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