IAM or ROSPA - Did the training but not the test?

[darylB]

Perhaps I should have said 10% ish, within reason, I would rather the associate was watching the road and not the speedometer while doing the overtake, if the overtake was on a short stretch of road and required a speed well over the limit then it should have not been taken at all, thats where restraint comes in. All situations are different and a different action is required.

Daryl.

The thread may be reading a bit negative, because of the question I have asked, but lets not forget this...

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

I'm doing ROSPA training at the moment, and the group are great, they go about it in the right way, and even as an experienced rider I'm learning some good stuff

and so long as you approach it this way

Originally Posted by -Ralph-

You do have to take away from it what you want to take away from it though.

then the 5% of the stuff which is a bit daft, then you can just discard that. It's a toolbox, and you only need to take out the tool that you need for the job you are doing, and if there's a tool in your toolbox you've never used and think it's useless, you can take it out and throw it away.

I had a bad ride on Sunday anyway, I got impatient with a few cars, and frustrated that I was stuck behind them for ages, then as soon as the road opened up and I got a clear overtake, of course the car put the foot down and got up to 58-60 mph. I got red mist and made a few mistakes. I also don't like being hounded from the rear by cars who think I'm going too slow. Lets face it, a lot of the countryside speed limits around the Midlands area are the result of nothing more than some idiot employed by the local council's job creation programme! 50mph across the board, or 40mph for two miles because it happens to be 2 miles to the next village. WTF!

I just felt that half the feedback I got on Sunday, was training me to get through a test, not training me to be a safer rider, and left me wondering if I would get more value out of the training if they weren't having to worry about getting me through the test?

The training is absolutely worth doing.

The speed limits thing, I don't think IAM or ROSPA have any choice. It's a political correctness issue. As organisations they both need support from various government agencies, and the insurance companies. It's for this reason they can't advocate breaking the speed limits, not because they believe it is safer. They certainly don't stick to the limits on the ride home!!

Some of them do have a pompous view of what an 'Advanced Rider' is, and think that because they've done the training and got the badge, they are somehow better than other motorcyclists, but you get people like that in all walks of life.

Originally Posted by darylB

Perhaps I should have said 10% ish, within reason, I would rather the associate was watching the road and not the speedometer while doing the overtake, if the overtake was on a short stretch of road and required a speed well over the limit then it should have not been taken at all, thats where restraint comes in. All situations are different and a different action is required.

Daryl.

I've been told the examiner who deals with my area won't tolerate speeding under any circumstances and expects you to ride by your over-reading speedo, and I have to get used to not doing it.

I could put in for my test in a different area though, which some members of my group have done, and he allows 10%, and expects you to ride at sat nav measured speed limits.

There seems to be a lot of questions you need to ask the examiner at the start of the test to say "how would you prefer I did that?".

The key difference between ROSPA and IAM is something that would be a fail on either test, would be a fail on both tests, but something that may not be ideal on an IAM test, that the examiner won't fail you for, may get you downgraded on ROSPA from Gold to Silver, or Silver to Bronze.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback on this thread. I've decided to just play the game and do the test.

I'm not doing this to get a badge, but three yearly retests and the refresher training that goes with that, was one of the key reasons I chose ROSPA, not IAM or any other advanced course.

As I was told on Sunday over a coffee, this is exactly the same as your lessons for the driving test. We are teaching you too do it a curtain way to pass the test. We will then tell you to change forget some of what you learnt and do other things a little differently as your not on a test.

And regard speed limits there only there while your been coached the training. After you passed it's a different matter so it seems, but using the same same techniques you have and planning. It seems to be a but a pickle, I have been told to make the overtake using the appropriate speed to do it safely. From what I have read hear +10%. If that's the case why do they ride zzr 1400, blackbirds, cbr600 and everything inbetween.

[NTECUK]

Go for Gold .
Good luck

[darylB]

Originally Posted by robh539

As I was told on Sunday over a coffee, this is exactly the same as your lessons for the driving test. We are teaching you too do it a curtain way to pass the test. We will then tell you to change forget some of what you learnt and do other things a little differently as your not on a test.

And regard speed limits there only there while your been coached the training. After you passed it's a different matter so it seems, but using the same same techniques you have and planning. It seems to be a but a pickle, I have been told to make the overtake using the appropriate speed to do it safely. From what I have read hear +10%. If that's the case why do they ride zzr 1400, blackbirds, cbr600 and everything inbetween.

Not being rude but what a load of tosh, we are not teaching you to just pass a test, but hopefully to take away skills that will make you a safer, smoother and more capable motorcyclist for the rest of your m/cycling days. I would never tell an associate to forget anything taught on the course. Obviously speed limits are up to the individual when riding away from the observer, wether they stick to them after is up to them. As to why we ride bikes capable of exceeding speed limits, what bikes nowadays aren't, we all ride bikes that we enjoy riding as does everybody else on the road, comfort, handling, acceleration, looks, everybody looks for different things in bikes, thats why there are so many to choose from, daft question really!

Daryl.

[darylB]

Forgot to say good on you Ralph and good luck with the test, perhaps when you've done it and passed with flying colours you will go on to be a tutor and pass on some of your new found skills to others as I did.

Daryl

E

Originally Posted by darylB

Not being rude but what a load of tosh, we are not teaching you to just pass a test, but hopefully to take away skills that will make you a safer, smoother and more capable motorcyclist for the rest of your m/cycling days. I would never tell an associate to forget anything taught on the course. Obviously speed limits are up to the individual when riding away from the observer, wether they stick to them after is up to them. As to why we ride bikes capable of exceeding speed limits, what bikes nowadays aren't, we all ride bikes that we enjoy riding as does everybody else on the road, comfort, handling, acceleration, looks, everybody looks for different things in bikes, thats why there are so many to choose from, daft question really!

Daryl.

Yeah mate because I always ride around like a nodding dog so one bloke can see I am llooking into the mirrors. And trailing brake lights into restrictions even tho no one is following to show im slowing down there's a few others too. Why would I do these when not to past a test. you should know what's behind you.

Not really daft is it. do you brake the speed limit? If so by your own posts your not a save road user by the advance standard. hence why have a 100+ mph bike if ride an no more than 66mph to over take.
On this basis I agree with OP don't bother with test get the skill you want. Hence I ride with a group that don't eye with you mate but still get us the advanced status.
Each to there own I guess

One thing that is very clear, is that every group has developed their own way of training associates, getting them through the test, and putting across what it is they are trying to teach.

There's also a counter argument for everything. Orose may say that you should be moving your head to look directly into the mirror, others may say it's sometimes advisable to trail the rear brake when slowing down, as the engine braking on some bikes can be more powerful than the vehicle behind is expecting.

Like I said earlier - toolbox - if you don't like a tool that's in there, don't use it. Trouble is, some of them you have to use to get through the test, whether you like them or not.