4x4 responce

[zippy656]

So whos on standby


Any one been out?

[davenclaire]

i registerd a year or more back never even had so much as an email or phone call

[zippy656]

Thats not good

[ste68blue]

I am a volunteer responder for West Yorkshire 4x4 Volunteers and was on standby the other night, i wasnt called upon but some of the guys were out last night on calls in Brighouse and Mirfield

[Terranoman]

Use to do it but found you had the piss taken out of you by people as they saw you as a free taxi service. Then waited ages to get my fuel money.

[eurag]

i registerd a year or more back never even had so much as an email or phone call

Who did you register with? What county are you in?
Sussex are very active both responding and social.

[Fez_uk]

some sections can be a be slow, I registered and for a whole year waited to be assessed and even then they wanted me to pay for a days training.

Only until I emailed the local co-ordinator I was assessed within a few weeks. Was meant to do a run for a nurse friday but that got cancelled.
Seems like other members are getting priority over me? Would of been nice to help out.

[makeitfit]

I'm in 4x4 response wales:thumb2 Did 120 miles yesterday in the snow :sly
One nurse to work and one palliative nurse out to a poor old boy about to die :o He had to be administered special drugs of some sort. So I'm happy to have helped him out of his misery :rolleyes:
Sometimes takes a while to get fuel money back but big deal. After all it's run by volunteers too. The important bit for me is to help out and get 4x4 a good name . Plus I get driver training :)
Some people take the piss as in taxi but so what, still get fuel money and they get reported and I get to play in the snow with free fuel. Works for me :clap

[darryl]

I'm in 4x4 response wales:thumb2 Did 120 miles yesterday in the snow :sly
One nurse to work and one palliative nurse out to a poor old boy about to die :o He had to be administered special drugs of some sort. So I'm happy to have helped him out of his misery :rolleyes:
Sometimes takes a while to get fuel money back but big deal. After all it's run by volunteers too. The important bit for me is to help out and get 4x4 a good name . Plus I get driver training :)
Some people take the piss as in taxi but so what, still get fuel money and they get reported and I get to play in the snow with free fuel. Works for me :clap

i like this mans attitude:thumb2

[puddle hoppers inc.]

i saw an ad in the local free paper for this service, i think i will be signing up, as previously said, fuel paid to go out and play! i deliver palliative beds by day so can't be released. do they do any out of hours stuff? well done to all the volunteers :thumb2

[Fez_uk]

do they do any out of hours stuff? well done to all the volunteers :thumb2

Yes, depends on what the service like NHS etc needs.

[eurag]

i saw an ad in the local free paper for this service, i think i will be signing up, as previously said, fuel paid to go out and play! i deliver palliative beds by day so can't be released. do they do any out of hours stuff? well done to all the volunteers :thumb2

Depends what you call "Out of Hours". At the moment we have people working round the clock. I am carrying nurses doing home visits Sunday.

[ClanWolf]

After all it's run by volunteers too. The important bit for me is to help out and get 4x4 a good name. Plus I get driver training :)

Precisely: Have fun, do good, get better.

I joined Sussex 4x4 Response a couple of months back, have been and am on call 'til the crap weather buggers orft, but so far the calls have been handled by the more experienced members closer to the target areas. Sixty five calls over three days so far, spread across the region and being handled by over a hundred active drivers.

[davenclaire]

i registerd on the national 4x4 response web site for my local group got my account activated and that was it a confirmation that i was registerd and account activated and nothing since that was july 2011, to be honest i dont think i would even bother with them now or any other group iv done my bit doing voluntering work, over 20 years as a youth leader/TA and local school pta and school gov blah blah blah.

i will say the youth leader and TA stuff was some of the most rewarding things iv ever done and the most fun

[eurag]

i saw an ad in the local free paper for this service, i think i will be signing up, as previously said, fuel paid to go out and play! i deliver palliative beds by day so can't be released. do they do any out of hours stuff? well done to all the volunteers :thumb2

Depends what you call "Out of Hours". At the moment we have people working round the clock. I am carrying nurses doing home visits Sunday.

[zippy656]

Yay been out

[puddle hoppers inc.]

well, i work 8 till 4, leave the house at 0715 get back 1640 mon to fri so anything inbetween is what i would call out of hours(for me).

[Terranosaurus]

i registerd on the national 4x4 response web site for my local group got my account activated and that was it a confirmation that i was registerd and account activated and nothing since that was july 2011, to be honest i dont think i would even bother with them now or any other group iv done my bit doing voluntering work, over 20 years as a youth leader/TA and local school pta and school gov blah blah blah.

i will say the youth leader and TA stuff was some of the most rewarding things iv ever done and the most fun

Sorry you found the experience disappointing Dave but registering on a discussion forum is not registering to join/volunteer. The national forum is just that a discussion forum, it is not a way of engaging with your local group. To do that you need to contact them direct and go along to a meeting. South East 4x4 Response are very organised and highly engaged with the local Cat1 repsonders as well as other voluntary agencies.

Details of how to Join SE4x4R can be found - http://www.southeast4x4response.co.uk/join_us.php

[solarman216]

couple of years ago when we had a lot of snow I turned up at the local nick to offer my services, woman on desk was keen and started to get my details, then a voice from the back said "only if you have commercial insurance" I swore and said what a load of bollocks and walked out, rang the district hospital and offered my services, accepted straight away and sent to collect nurses that could not get in, and once at the hospital ready to ferry nurses at the end of their shift to home, did 4 or 5 trips, there were a surprising number of other drivers there, was offered mileage payments but declined, was just glad to play with a purpose, Rick

[96terrano]

What even it 4X4 response?

[solarman216]

What even it 4X4 response?

?????? Rick

[96terrano]

Typo sorry


What even is 4X4 response?

[solarman216]

it is when 4 x 4 owners give there ability to the public for free, sort of, Rick hick!

[96terrano]

it is when 4 x 4 owners give there ability to the public for free, sort of, Rick hick!

Ahh, ok

[briggie]

I was on duty with raynet at the emley show on Saturday :thumb2

[Terranosaurus]

couple of years ago when we had a lot of snow I turned up at the local nick to offer my services, woman on desk was keen and started to get my details, then a voice from the back said "only if you have commercial insurance" I swore and said what a load of bollocks and walked out, rang the district hospital and offered my services, accepted straight away and sent to collect nurses that could not get in, and once at the hospital ready to ferry nurses at the end of their shift to home, did 4 or 5 trips, there were a surprising number of other drivers there, was offered mileage payments but declined, was just glad to play with a purpose, Rick

The Police were looking out for you (and also covering their own backs too) - the district hospital obviously didn't care. If you had had an accident your insurance may have been invalid. Many insurance companies include volunteer driving as part of normal social, domestic and pleasure cover, and the list is growing, some require you to tell them in advance, others don't, but not all will cover it without either an extra payment or an upgrade to business cover.

[Terranosaurus]

it is when 4 x 4 owners give there ability to the public for free, sort of, Rick hick!

To expand;

4x4 Response is a national charity made up of 33 local groups who provide a resilient all weather transport solution to Local Authorities, the Emergency Services and other charities/voluntary bodies through the provision of suitably trained/assessed and vetted volunteer drivers with their own 4x4 vehicles. They are not an emergency service and do not operate under blue lights (or indeed any colour, with a few authorised exceptions) nor are they a recovery service to replace normal commercial channels though some groups will provide light recovery to ensure continuity of service from essential assets (ambulances for instance) - much of the work involves ferrying essential staff to work during times of snow and ice but groups have also been known to do a variety of work

Patient transport
Out of Hours doctors support
District Nurse and care worker transport
Blood transport
Anti Virus drug disribution
Prisoner Transport
Evacuation of snow bound vehicles
Drinking water and over essentials delivery - after a flood incident for example
Large scale coordinated light vehicle recovery at event - Isle of Wight 2012

Really the list goes on and on, some have been performed only once others are regular work - the transport is there, it is up to the user how they wish to deploy it - that said responders always retain the right to refuse a task if they feel it is beyond their or their vehicles competence/capabilities or if they are just uncomfortable with it.

[solarman216]

The Police were looking out for you (and also covering their own backs too) - the district hospital obviously didn't care. If you had had an accident your insurance may have been invalid. Many insurance companies include volunteer driving as part of normal social, domestic and pleasure cover, and the list is growing, some require you to tell them in advance, others don't, but not all will cover it without either an extra payment or an upgrade to business cover.

I find it sad that today we have this compensation culture, I was bought up in the days of, if someone was in trouble at the side of the road you stopped and offered help, no one thought if this help goes wrong I will sue you, I rest my case, Rickj

[makeitfit]

Rick I agree the culture stinks :o However there are few real ways of fighting it off completely, even though you've got close :sly
You can ofcourse help out in your own right as you see fit in my opinion , and good on you.
I've been doing the 4x4 response thing for 3 years now and have loved it.
A simple "assessment" keeps me safe insurance wise from all fronts. Additionally and slightly selfishly, I've been on various training courses and driven many closed offroad sites :naughty
We're paid a fuel allowance at 43p a mile I think it is:augie However my fun comes after dropping off a vital service worker, a brilliant drive home in the snow :naughty
Bloody ace innit :lol

[solarman216]

Rick I agree the culture stinks :o However there are few real ways of fighting it off completely, even though you've got close :sly
You can ofcourse help out in your own right as you see fit in my opinion , and good on you.
I've been doing the 4x4 response thing for 3 years now and have loved it.
A simple "assessment" keeps me safe insurance wise from all fronts. Additionally and slightly selfishly, I've been on various training courses and driven many closed offroad sites :naughty
We're paid a fuel allowance at 43p a mile I think it is:augie However my fun comes after dropping off a vital service worker, a brilliant drive home in the snow :naughty
Bloody ace innit :lol

Thanks Pete, refreshes my faith in mankind, Rick