Motorcycle test fees to increase (amongst others)

[Defender]

THE DRIVING Standards Agency (DSA) today confirmed the driving test fee structure proposed last summer.


Theory tests for car drivers and motorcycle riders from 1 April will be £30 while practical tests for car drivers will be £56.50 from that date.
When the new, more demanding, practical motorcycle test is introduced on 29 September, the fee for that test will be £80. A new off-road part is being introduced to the test before riders will be allowed to progress to the on-road element, which requires a new network of test centres to be constructed.



http://www.dsa.gov.uk/PressRelease.asp?id=SXFBF3-A782D707

[dizzyblonde]

yes this is really terrible.. it put me off training to be an instructor. The school told me they were narrowing the amount of test centre around here( or something like that) so instead of the school having half a dozen to send folk to, it would be about two. Which are a lot further than I remember going to. My school used to be able to go to Halifax, Barnsley ( where i went three times) Bradford( where I passed), Sheffield, Leeds and a couple of others. Whereas under the new rules they'd be going to Rotherham and somewhere else


They really are hell bent on keeping bikes off the road, maybe its cause all the car drivers are fed up with sitting in traffic and being late for work, whilst all us lot filter through and get there on time!!! Annoying the lot of them. I am kidding, but the whole idea is infuriating, they shoud be trying to keep polluting cars off the road.

[the_lone_wolf]

...so instead of the school having half a dozen to send folk to, it would be about two....
can you send one down here? we won't have any...:rolleyes:

[Ed]

The link to the manoovers is interesting, the test is going to be fairly tough.

[missyburd]

Theory tests for car drivers and motorcycle riders from 1 April will be £30 while practical tests for car drivers will be £56.50 from that date.
When the new, more demanding, practical motorcycle test is introduced on 29 September, the fee for that test will be £80.

Damn, now am just gonna have to get my test done/attempted this summer, shame :D

Good excuse to use when my folks ask me what the heck I think I'm doing :lol:

[yorkie_chris]

2 Test centers in all of yorkshire, compared to what, 20 at the moment?

They're trying to make biking illegal, and doing a pretty good job of it. Bunch of cockends.

[Welsh_Wizard]

Stealth tax innit..

Bikers probably more likely to be involved in an accident than car-drivers (comparatively) so they recoup their costs by making it a really expensive pasttime. Stops all the nutters getting a driving license through the biking method than a car method, which in my opinion is alot easier to do currently.

[G]

They are pricing people in cars off the road, so alot more people are opting to try biking.

Brilliant says the goverment, lets makes the test harder and increase the cost of doing it. That way all these new people moving away from cars will have to pay a fortune and will probably fail first time so will have to pay twice.

[Ceri JC]

When you consider many people's family are against them learning to ride, how many are going to be prepared to drive them down to the new test centres many miles away? Seems like you need to have a car (and hence car licence) already and a trailer to take the bike on if you live out in the sticks!

Also raises the question of how it will affect riding schools who aren't right near one of the new test centres. People are usually show the roads that the test could take them on as part of their training. Lord knows with the insane town planning on some areas, even experienced motorists can be caught out by an odd junction etc. they've never seen before, never mind some poor n00b under test conditions. Would you really want to learn in your town only to have to take the test 50-70 miles away on completely different roads? Only the most keen will take a week off work, stay overnight and do the DAS at a riding school near a new test centre.

[Ceri JC]

Stealth tax innit..

Bikers probably more likely to be involved in an accident than car-drivers (comparatively) so they recoup their costs by making it a really expensive pasttime. Stops all the nutters bothering to get a driving license at all.

Sadly it won't result in the nutters not driving. It'll result in them driving unlicenced (and consequently uninsured) and hence more likely to be involved in hit and runs. Safer roads?
:smt076

:D

[Daimo]

tbh, its a pain that the prices are going up...

But...

You already have the license, so why worry?

And, it'll increase new riders basics skills so that maybe so many new riders won't bin their new SS 600 sports bikes......

It'll stop the "boyracers" of the world spending out a little, getting an easy license, acting a fool. It wont stop all of them, but it will put a few off, only those that really want the licence will apply.

So there are bad parts to it, but I see the positives in the overall scheme of things.

[yorkie_chris]

The license now is hardly easy, and the cost of getting a license is going to be prohibitive, when so many of the SS bike deathwish brigade are quite affluent anyway it's going to make s0d all difference to them.

This is just going to hurt younger people and people who want to take up biking as a form of cheap transport.

[Ceri JC]

This is just going to hurt younger people and people who want to take up biking as a form of cheap transport.

+1.

Also, the idea that we shouldn't care as we have our licences is a dangerous one (although no doubt what the government want). No new blood means as we age there are fewer bikers, so a smaller minority (easier to sideline and mistreat), less collective R&D money (as fewer bikes being sold) so slower development of bikes and associated technologies (many of which, ironically, make biking safer).

[ASM-Forever]

+1.

Also, the idea that we shouldn't care as we have our licences is a dangerous one (although no doubt what the government want). No new blood means as we age there are fewer bikers, so a smaller minority (easier to sideline and mistreat), less collective R&D money (as fewer bikes being sold) so slower development of bikes and associated technologies (many of which, ironically, make biking safer).

Most bikers i see are drawing pensions anyway. :p

If people don't pass first time, it could get expensive.

I agree with Daimo that some elements of this are positive, whilst others are negative. They surely have to raise the standards for the car test though?