Highland 4x4 response group looking for north volunteers

[lynne duncan]

A group of 4x4 drivers have formed Highland 4x4 response team and are looking for volunteers from the caithness area to join them.
Their group has been inspired to provide a service in the highland area, it will be similar to the COTAG group which operates in Aberdeenshire and Moray.
They will be providing assistance to the emergency services in adverse weather conditions or any conditions that they need 4x4 vehicles to help out.

anyone who could possibly see a use for this group are welcome to contact the group at the below address

anyone wanting more information are invited to contact Mr Andrew Knox at highlandresponse@btinternet.com

a local highland forum for 4x4 folk is here
http://www.scottish4x4forum.com/

[Kirdon]

A group of 4x4 drivers have formed Highland 4x4 response team and are looking for volunteers from the caithness area to join them.
Their group has been inspired to provide a service in the highland area, it will be similar to the COTAG group which operates in Aberdeenshire and Moray.
They will be providing assistance to the emergency services in adverse weather conditions or any conditions that they need 4x4 vehicles to help out.

anyone who could possibly see a use for this group are welcome to contact the group at the below address

anyone wanting more information are invited to contact Mr Andrew Knox at highlandresponse@btinternet.com

a local highland forum for 4x4 folk is here
http://www.scottish4x4forum.com/

Is there any need for this? Think the emergency services up here have coped very well in this period of "adverse weather".

[Boozeburglar]

Is there any need for this? Think the emergency services up here have coped very well in this period of "adverse weather".

Have you seen the news?

4x4 drivers have been helping Police to keep stranded drivers safe all day today.

Seem sense to me to formalise it, and offer it as an option in all areas.

[sids]

Is there any need for this? Think the emergency services up here have coped very well in this period of "adverse weather".

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

That they might be a bunch of wallies?

[DopeyDan]

Well there's a shiny new "4x4" on its roof up on the main road from me tonight - obviously its driver forgot that the stability of these things at 60 mile an hour on a sharp bend on a road with surface water is worse than a normal saloon car.

It's not what you drive, it's how you drive.

[slinky]

[quote=lynne duncan;666141]A group of 4x4 drivers have formed Highland 4x4 response team and are looking for volunteers from the caithness area to join them.
Their group has been inspired to provide a service in the highland area, it will be similar to the COTAG group which operates in Aberdeenshire and Moray.
They will be providing assistance to the emergency services in adverse weather conditions or any conditions that they need 4x4 vehicles to help out.

anyone who could possibly see a use for this group are welcome to contact the group at the below address

anyone wanting more information are invited to contact Mr Andrew Knox at highlandresponse@btinternet.com

a local highland forum for 4x4 folk is here
http://www.scottish4x4forum.com/[/quotethink i read earlier 4x4 volounteers they deliver blankets food etc when roads are piled up due to weather think it was a electrical cable also causing blockage today

[northener]

Is there any need for this? Think the emergency services up here have coped very well in this period of "adverse weather".

Up here in Wick we've hardly been touched by the bad weather.

Down in the Highland region there's been a lot of 4x4 users helping out with deliveries, towing vehicles to safety and getting people to doctors etc.
It's not about being an 'emergency service' - although I'm sure there'll be the odd dimmock who likes the idea of being part of International Rescue or summat.

[lynne duncan]

sids

it's my best pals husband that is involved in setting this up and I can assure you that he ain't no wally.
just a decent citizen who wants to help his local community without any gain for themselves, (which in this day and age there aren't that many of) so if that's what you call a wally crack on. but i'll stick my hand and wish there were more of them.

[DopeyDan]

although I'm sure there'll be the odd dimmock who likes the idea of being part of International Rescue or summat

The only thing worse than an Enthusiastic Amateur, is a band of them with a self-inflated sense of importance.

The guy with the fork-lift may have been the safer option after all.

[macgee]

Why is it some folk insist on being rude and put a dampner on people when they have a good idea. I think the service sounds like a great idea. Whether is gets used or not, we'll need to wait and see but to have helpful people on stand by that are willing to go out of their way to assist others in need, for nothing, is a brill idea.

[Thumper]

The only thing worse than an Enthusiastic Amateur, is a band of them with a self-inflated sense of importance.

The guy with the fork-lift may have been the safer option after all.

works the same on here though......lots on here think they are better than others x

[DopeyDan]

works the same on here though......lots on here think they are better than others x

But they are safely confined in their own padded cell on the end of a telephone wire.

Unlike the wannabe Thunderbirds charging around in 3 tonnes of Chelsea Tractor.

[changilass]

What is it with you and insults?

You insult the folks trying to help out on this thread and also any woman who happens to have a tatoo on her back.

What has made you so bitter and twisted?

[veekay]

Dopey Dan you are quite horrid. People who set up this sort of thing are normally very knowledgeable their big problem will be - apart from less than helpful comments from the likes of you - that Northern will not use them no matter how hard pressed they are.

[fred]

We have volunteer firemen, we have volunteer mountain rescue, we have volunteer lifeboatmen.

I assume anyone joining the group would be given training and insurance, sounds good to me.

[groater]

some years ago the local Police used to borrow 4x4s from SUBSEA7 at wester during spells of bad snow and roads? not sure about now

[DopeyDan]

You insult the folks trying to help out on this thread and also any woman who happens to have a tatoo on her back.

What has made you so bitter and twisted?

A harrowing adolescent experience with Lydia The Tattooed Lady in the back of a Land Rover.

[Blarney]

A harrowing adolescent experience with Lydia The Tattooed Lady in the back of a Land Rover.

Was that you doing your bit to help others in their time of need in a 4x4?

[Warren Dukes]

Just to bump this old thread back into life again, Highland 4x4 Response group are currently seeking volunteers from the far north area.
I was interested to read some of the early doubting and, sometimes derogatory comments - all of which I have seen before as a founder member of the largest 4x4 Response group in the UK, based down in the south west of England - that group, Wessex 4x4 Response, now has more than 300 members and is in constant demand by the county councils, police forces and NHS when they have weather issues like the flooding in Somerset earlier this year.

I now live in the Highlands, close to Tain and have been appointed Vice Chairman of Highland 4x4 Response and my main role is to help the group to grow along with the raised profile we now have with the Highlands and Islands Local Resilience Partnership. Who are they, you may ask? HILRP are comprised of all of the organisations who would be involved in the case of a public emergency as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act - All the Blue Light services, County Councils, NHS and statutory providers such as electricity, water, telecommunications and public transport companies. All of those groups are backed up by the voluntary sector, well known organisations such as Red Cross, the Womens Institute, RAYNET and others all provide specialist support to the front line responders. The 4x4 response groups are a member of the voluntary sector, and are certainly not a front line responder despite the word 'response' in the title.
The primary aim of 4x4R is to provide logistical support to the front line agencies during times of need, be it caused by adverse weather, civil emergency or other unknown circumstances. We do this by using our own vehicles to transport people and equipment to where they are needed. Typical examples of this would be taking the local District Nurse or Health Visitor out on his or her rounds or, perhaps, picking up a remotely located patient to transport them to a clinic or hospital for non emergency treatment. We have also collected ambulance crews and surgeons from their homes and delivered them to work in poor weather and delivered fresh bottled water supplies to households without running water during flooding incidents. None of these activities could ever be considered to be exciting or thrilling - that's not what 4x4R is about; we are not 'wannabes'. In fact, a significant number of responders would not have joined groups if they perceived anything about the groups to be amateurish. We are, for the most part, 4x4 enthusiasts who realise that we can be of use to the community in time of need.

We have in place, formal, documented agreements with NHS Highland and Police Scotland setting out our roles and responsibilities before, during and after any callouts, our members are all fully vetted by Police Scotland before they are accepted for membership and we are covered by extensive public liability insurance. This year, we are raising our profile within the Mountain Rescue Community, and the H4x4R Chairman and I are attending a seminar at the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland bi-annual gathering at Aviemore in September along with front line responders and other voluntary groups, where we will be receiving training in leadership and emergency management - this will help in-inter organisational understanding of procedures.

Within the group, we are currently redeveloping our website, to give it a fresher, more up to date look and feel, and in the background, a new training and development programme is being designed and developed for introduction towards the end of the year. When it is completed, we aim - subject to raising the funds - to offer training to all members to at least the following standards, for those who do not already have it:
First Aid at Work Certificate
Amateur Radio Foundation Licence
LANTRA off road driving certificate
IAM Advanced driving test
None of the above will be considered compulsory, but will be encouraged. There is at least one group in the UK who will not consider membership without all of these in place.

So, that's who we are and what we are about. Our membership currently stands at 18 and we would welcome enquiries from anyone who would like to help the community in time of need.

You can see our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Highland4x4Response/info and our website (currently being redesigned) at www.highland4x4response.co.uk

Our Postal address is; Highland 4x4 Response, 5 Deer Park Cottages, Evanton, Ross-shire, IV16 9XH
Telephone: 07598 806071
Email: enquiries@highland4x4response.co.uk or vicechairman@highland4x4response.co.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Warren Dukes Vice Chairman - Highland 4x4 Response, Registered Charity SC041948

[Warren Dukes]

Just an update to advise we have updated our website and now have a new web address www.H4x4R.org
We will be at this years Caithness Show and look forward to seeing you there.