U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

I know the majority have passed their tests on here but we were having a discussion this afternoon about these manouvres in the new test. Just wondered the .orgs view.

U turn...I'm for. You wouldn't put your foot down on a mini roundabout and it shows low speed control.

Swerve test...against and for. I believe it's good control BUT it's the legal aspect I'm not keen on. I checked this with a copper a while ago. Apparently it's illegal to swerve and if you caused an accident as a result you would be at fault.

So...if it's illegal to swerve on the roads then why is it in the new test? Hmm.

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

how can it be illegal to swerve ? "

oh look theres a car pulling out in front of me, i better not swerve to avoid it, as that would be illegal , no....... straight into the side of the car, thats what i'll do ?"

:rolleyes:

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

I can only assume the "illegal to swerve" bit is some kind of note that intentionally kicking the back out for no reason would be seen as dangerous driving. I suspect the definition of "swerve" is icky - I've no doubt the new test sees swerving as "emergency avoidance", in which case I'm in favour :D

Came back to riding after a three(ish) year break, and realised in the first couple of weeks that I'd forgotten a lot. The things I'd forgotten (low speed maneuvering, high-ish speed cornering and avoidance) seem to be the things they want to test more. I get the impression that the limited number of test centres equipped properly is going to cause problems in implementation, but what I see of the direction they're taking the test I support.

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

How are they proposing swerve testing? Examiner steps out in front of the bike/throws a ball at the front wheel?! I thought this sort of thing was only tested at police riding standard (tested formally- I know all of us who ride are regularly tested in the real world ;)).

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

The DSA reckon that most motorcycle accidents are caused by car drivers pulling out in front of m/cycles, so the brake & swerve is supposed to help in that respect.
I must admit that I am against it, because, for us it is going to be a nightmare training people to do it. Plus it has to be carried out at over 30mph, so does that mean we are going to have to buy speed cameras to make sure it is done correctly? and where are we going to find an off road site big enough to carry it out?

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

My point of view on this is I can see what their thinking is, but I'm not sure how much it's going to help.

The swerve test... I guess the idea is that if new riders had more confidence in their avoidance skills/capability of the bike, then more crashes will be avoided. However, I think there is a world of difference between swerving around a set of cones at a set speed on a good surface, and doing it on the road, with a moving car, and other obstacles. I.e. it's not just the technical ability, but the confidence and understanding to use the manoeuvre that counts.

In the end it's just going to make it harder to get a bike license (Especially with limited test centres, imagine the outcry if drivers had to travel up to 2 hours to take a test)

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

The DSA reckon that most motorcycle accidents are caused by car drivers pulling out in front of m/cycles, so the brake & swerve is supposed to help in that respect.
I must admit that I am against it, because, for us it is going to be a nightmare training people to do it. Plus it has to be carried out at over 30mph, so does that mean we are going to have to buy speed cameras to make sure it is done correctly? and where are we going to find an off road site big enough to carry it out?

http://www.dsa.gov.uk/Documents/MPTC...re_Diagram.pdf

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

the brake and swerve is puzzling me. the test is going to be sat on private ground, because it is deemed too unsafe to do this test on public roads (my riding school told me this) so if its unsafe to do on public roads, how can any bike school safely teach this skill? as not all schools have access to large open spaces to do this!

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

Apologies if you're already aware of this. Part of the reason people are objecting to the new style of test is precisely because many training schools (and test centres) don't have access to a big enough patch of land to do this.

Re: U turns...swerve tests...for or against
 

Check out MCIA on the forthcoming changes, including charts etc.

http://www.takeyourbiketestnow.co.uk/