MBE for road wise Renee

Mrs Renee Alice Logan (pictured), of Culdaff Road, on the North Coast has been awarded an MBE for services to road safety in Northern Ireland after the members of her local advanced driving group put her name forward..

Currently secretary of the North-West Ulster Group of Advanced Motorists and Motorcyclists, Renee joined the road safety group after reading a notice in her local paper inviting drivers to “have a go” on a newly opened skid pan situated at Nutts Corner, Crumlin.

“I read that and I thought ooh that’s for me... I’d like a go on the skid pan!”, Renee told The Times this week. “That was 20 years ago and I haven’t left since.”

“Every year and every election I always say I’m going to hand over the reigns to someone else but they just won’t let me go,” laughed the pleasant driving instructor.

Conscious of the role Renee plays in attracting new members, supporting their sub-group in Enniskillen and organising training days and events, it was her colleagues in the Limavady-based committee that wrote to the cabinet office nominating her for the gong.

But talking about herself doesn’t sit well with the modest Portstewart woman: “This is a real team effort. Without everyone in the Group doing their bit, there would be no need for a secretary and I wouldn’t be receiving this award,” she said.

“At the end of it, if it has saved lives or got a few people out of trouble when they are skidding sideways down an icy road, then that’s what it’s all about,”she added.