Sorry, wasn't trying to correct. There is some clarity here - https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets...driving---the-motor-insurance-commitment2.pdf from the ABI; as it says a number of insurers treat blue light services differently (i.e. blood bikes) but equally a number who have signed up to the commitment are happy to provide cover for members own machines (i.e. without livery or blue lights) for no extra premium. But lets be honest, insurance is a minefield so I guess no size fits all!
A few years ago when chairman of our trade association me and 2 others did the 3 peaks and in the process raised a few grand and as was customary I got to nominate the charity in my case the Northumbria Air ambulance Took one of the fundraising ladies to our meeting to present the obligatory big cheque and had a good chat. I remember asking her would it not be better to be state funded and she was adamant that despite the constant struggle to raise funds they were far better off as a charity working with the local hospitals and not told what to do ny the faceless ones. I reckon the same applies to many organisations Ps I struggle to climb stairs now...seems like a long time ago !
Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers aka Blood Bikers has been going as a charity since 1981. SERV founded NABB the National Association of Blood Bikers. Nothing wrong with charities chipping in to help the NHS, just as the WVRS run tea rooms. The bikers (or cars in wintry conditions) carry urgently needed medical items such as blood, biological samples, breast milk, medical notes, x-rays and scans. The service is offered free of charge to the NHS and all members are unpaid volunteers. NABB 2,700 volunteers responded to over 56,000 requests in 2016. Most runs are out of hours during the evening and through the night when NHS day drivers are not available. The alternative is private couriers or taxis which can be bloomin' expensive. The NHS saves £millions every year. An example I know of: - one evening, samples for a child needed to get between Cardiff and Swansea hospitals urgently for analysis so specialists could determine a course of treatment. The child's life was in danger. His/her parents were frantic, as you can imagine. DHL (or similar) quoted £400 and could collect first thing next morning. Taxi quoted £700. A call to SERV had the on-call biker there and on his way within half and hour and the parents' minds put at ease. The UK is divided in to SERV regions. Where I am it is Herts & Beds serving Barnet Hospital, Bedford South Wing, Colindale Blood Transfusion Centre, Lister Stevenage, Luton & Dunstable Hospital and Watford Hospital. Most SERV regions use liveried bikes bought (or often donated) and maintained by the local SERV charity. Northern Ireland for instance has eight BMWs iirc, secondhand ex-police bikes or some such. Such bikes are passed from volunteer to volunteer as the duty rota changes. Bikers pay for their own fuel. In other districts such as Herts & Beds blood bike volunteers use their own non-liveried vehicles and pay for all running costs out of their own pocket. So I bought a Sprint for blood biking and then a Tiger 800 cos the Bonnie and now Street Twin aren't big enough to carry a blood bag comfortably. Blood bikers volunteers might give one night a month, or one or two a week. It varies. There is no pressure and any time you can give is welcomed. To become a blood biker you need to attend a couple of evening training sessions and fork out c£20 membership fee to cover costs. https://www.facebook.com/groups/953335538111851/?multi_permalinks=1200406910071378,1200298703415532¬if_t=group_activity¬if_id=1499182102672904 http://www.serv.org.uk/site/ (this is Oxon, Berks, Bucks and Northants which provides bikes) http://www.bloodbikes.org.uk/
A very interesting video posted by Rudeboy in the General Discussion forum titled 'Tonne up boys' Shows footage of blood bike volunteers in Surrey from the sixties, plus other biker rallies etc. Great video, well worth a watch.
I ws s SERV rider based out of New Malden for two years a good 25 years ago. Lady Poppy and I did every other Saturday night using our own bikes. Neither of us like needles so decided to move blood instead of giving it. It was normally quiet on Saturdays but seeing the relief on the nurses face when I turned up to a packed A&E at Sutton General on Bonfire Night with a box of whole blood made it worth while.
Twas the national actually did the Yorkshire one a couple of weeks before as training hard to believe cos I'm an unfit fat b*****d now
Full credit to you John. That is no small feat I have done the Yorkshire 3 peaks but not the National.
That's what my insurer told me. However, the extra mileage incurred means being open with the insurer about your expected annual mileage which then does affect premiums.
