Ride out guidance

As all members of WAM are aware, Wirral Advanced Motorcyclists is a formally affiliated group of IAM RoadSmart - the UK's largest road safety charity and we are therefore expected to conform to its overall aims and objectives, with safety being the first and foremost consideration. With this in mind, all participants in group rideouts must be: 

  1) Current Full or Associate members of WAM.

  2) Full and current members of IAM RoadSmart, or, an associate in training to pass the Advanced Rider Course, or, a prospective member sampling        the WAM / IAM rides before committing to join. 

Members of WAM are all capable of making individual decisions, however the Club still has a vicarious responsibility to its members and whilst not a definitive list of points/considerations, members should regularly remind themselves of the guidance set out by the Club for rideouts. We do expect all riders on our rides to maintain their advanced riding standards,  be courteous to other road users and abide by traffic regulations. 

Organising rides using any of the WAM linked website, emails, social-media or WhatsApp groups to arrange/organise rideouts means WAM is involved in that activity to some degree. Rather than becoming a strict set of rules these notes aim to provide guidance on behaviours expected of all riders engaged in club/group rides. Attention is brought to the IAM guide for rideouts which should be the basis for all formal and social rides.

Prospective members are welcome to participate on one rideout with the group to find out what WAM is about, however they will need to apply to become a member or associate member of the IAM before they join subsequent rideouts.

Weather Considerations 

Members organising rides should check to see if any severe weather conditions are likely to be present and should alert other riders to this as a headline statement using the same media as the ride is organised. Effectively if using WhatsApp a leader may suggest something like

“I intend leading a ride on Tuesday … I note the forecast shows heavy rain”

A sensible and reasonable approach should prevail with safety as the first consideration. Rides should not normally be organised via WAM where significant poor weather has been forecast (eg named storms, very high winds, significant risk of flooding, significant risk of ice). Members can seek additional advice from the Chairman, Chief Observer or Deputy Chief Observer.

Disclaimer: 

All riders are required to make their own decisions as to the suitability of the ride and inherent risks. In attending rideouts, participants must agree to accept that Wirral Advanced Motorcyclists, Officers of the club, Council members, members of the club and ride organisers and leaders are not responsible for individuals decisions to participate in rides or for the actions, behaviours or lack of actions by other members.

• Associates will normally invited to join on regular rideouts by the Associate Coordinator/Chief Observer following on from Wk3 of their respective course and agreement with the ride leader.