grumbleweed Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Chaps - the South East 4x4 Response team is steadily growing and is in need of additional response members. Membership costs £23 a year, and you get to be part of a volunteer organisation to aid emergency services throughout the area. There is a downloadable application form on the website. South East 4x4 Response website Excerpt from website Across the UK there are numerous 4x4 or Land Rover Clubs offering a service to their local community. Members of these clubs voluntarily use their vehicles to support the Emergency Services, Local Council Emergency Planning Departments and other volunteer organisation in times of poor weather, emergency or other times of need. Some have been active for more than 20 years others, like South East England 4x4 Response, are still forming. South East England 4x4 Response covers the counties of Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex and parts of East London. South East 4x4 response: - is not an emergency service or rescue team! - will not be expected to deliver an instantaneous response nor any group member travel at high speeds to the scene of an incident. - is neither a taxi service nor a parcel delivery company. Therefore, a volunteer group should not find itself competing with local businesses or be regarded by authorities as a cheap form of transport or bargain courier service. What South East England 4x4 Response can and should do is provide reliable, discrete and effective logistics support to the emergency services, the local authority and other voluntary groups who attend civil incidents in Kent, Surrey and Sussex. South East England 4x4 Response aims to give valuable back-up of a tactical and measured nature. Certainly, members may find themselves in extreme situations assisting in a dire emergency or rescue but that is not the prime function of a 4x4 Response group. Typically the tasks undertaken would be of a "fetch and carry" nature and may involve the movement of personnel, equipment and supplies. Operations might include the delivery of urgent medical supplies to families living in remote areas, the evacuation of personnel or members of the public from potentially hazardous situations, the transport of medical personnel including midwives and health visitors, the recovery of stranded personnel, assistance during search operations over rough terrain or remote areas, transportation of key staff to hospital during extreme weather, etc. ____ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juz Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Am I missing something? Why should someone PAY to be a member of a VOLUNTEER group? Juz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 probably to cover the cost of insurance etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I would be keen to learn about the insurance (third party or otherwise) in place for these types of volunteer groups. Are members expected to provide their own insurance, is it provided by the group or are local authorities, NHS trusts expected to provide - and do they? Anyone know? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumbleweed Posted December 3, 2009 Author Share Posted December 3, 2009 they have liability insurance to cover cock ups. Your insurance should be notified of volunteering and usually isn't aproblem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Certainly, members may find themselves in extreme situations assisting in a dire emergency or rescue I have a suspicion that my insurers would take issue with this. ...not that I live within the catchment area anyway currently. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Well, I AM in the catchment area, but also would ask What the situation with private insurance doing this sort of thing ^^^ and as Chris says Why the membership fee ? What is deemed to be suitable training and for what situations ? (ie I see helpers at events, they would be better styaing well away as although wishing to help they pose a signifant danger to themselves and others they are hoping to help) What is the liabilty insurance and risks that come with helping and then being sued by some muppet becuase of X What is the council police / emergency services etc stance on this, does their own PI cover etc extend to all members, and on what rukles would this be invalidated etc, as there will be a scope of accetable conduct and services and those outside the PI cover How do you know that the members are 100% covered re all of the above for all tasks /services undertaken ? In this day and age of blame culture and litigation even people trying to help for all the right reasons can find themselves quickly on the recieving end of a world of pain Sorry but it all has to be said Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumbleweed Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 The fee is put in place to cover public liability and indemnity. There is a controller who will advise on the task involved when they call you up. You are not obliged to carry out any task, which then requires a common sense approach when dealing with situations. As for your insurance, as you are not doing tasks for 'reward' as they put it, and are merely volunteering your insurance should be fine with it. It is obviously a requirement to inform your insurance about doing volunteering. Highway 4x4 didn't mind a bit when I phoned for advise. As I have off road cover anyway it made no difference. There is a letter on the website to send to your insurance which they can sign to say you are covered. To be honest - one of the main attractions of this scheme is this. I'm sure many of us will have pulled a car out of the ditch/hedge/black hole and thought no more about it. However - if you damage their car, you are liable. With the insurance that the response scheme offers all you need do is ring the controller to log the 'rescue' and you are covered if it goes a bit awry. Chris Well, I AM in the catchment area, but also would ask What the situation with private insurance doing this sort of thing ^^^ and as Chris says Why the membership fee ? What is deemed to be suitable training and for what situations ? (ie I see helpers at events, they would be better styaing well away as although wishing to help they pose a signifant danger to themselves and others they are hoping to help) What is the liabilty insurance and risks that come with helping and then being sued by some muppet becuase of X What is the council police / emergency services etc stance on this, does their own PI cover etc extend to all members, and on what rukles would this be invalidated etc, as there will be a scope of accetable conduct and services and those outside the PI cover How do you know that the members are 100% covered re all of the above for all tasks /services undertaken ? In this day and age of blame culture and litigation even people trying to help for all the right reasons can find themselves quickly on the recieving end of a world of pain Sorry but it all has to be said Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top90 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Don't the local LR clubs in the South East provide the ability to volunteer for 4x4 response for no cost if you are a member? I know as an Essex LR club member you can opt into the scheme and there is no charge at all. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but if you can be covered through your existing club then when you don't get called out you have not paid for nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltwt1981 Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 Nige I could be up for this, but like you would need to learn more, maybe we could go to a meeting to see what it is all about. I also know that some members on here are members of other 4x4 response groups, or were can they comment. NigeT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumbleweed Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Guys - we are on our chinstrap here dealing with all the callouts - Mainly in Kent. Kent county council have agreed to help with fuel costs. PLEASE IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN ASSIST OVER THE WEEKEND????? Please join the forum here http://southeast4x4response.co.uk/forum/index.php - We could do with all the help we can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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