Anger over motorbike 'swerve test'

Found this on the BBC web site, any thought? Link is to a video report.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8067672.stm

something on the news this morning with a women who came off during the swerve bit and ended up braking a few bones-she's gonna sue dsa!

[gruntygiggles]

Saw this on the news this morning. I think the main issue people have is that no concessions are made for bad weather and there are a number of reports of people being very badly injured after falls when doing this in bad weather. Now, put me on the test in bad rain or other poor conditions and ask me to do that where I don't think it's safe to do so and I'll say no and ride it a safe and steady pace that befits the conditions. If they then fail me, I'll see them in court. Not the examiners fault, but the DSA needs to iron this one out. It's good in principal to always be looking at ways of teaching new riders and drivers the reality of using the roads and the skills to cope with different situations, but this module is, at the moment potentially dangerous and so needs to be altered somewhat!

[yorkie_chris]

Well it's basically a load of b0llocks anyway. Why back down to the EU all the time?

Examiners and instructors saying accidents happen when a rider grabs the brake when they shouldn't. Let's remember that you're making a conscious decision to ride a bike here, so you accept that any mistake on your part which leads to an accident is your own fault. Surely it's better for your mistake to happen on a car park than on the road.

None Video article link >here<

I appreciate it's helping equip skills of motorcyclists. The problem is when they do it in the wet, apparently this part of the test is fine in the dry. But as they point out, car tests are postponed when it's bad weather....

New motorbike test is under fire


The new test was introduced in April

The government is under pressure to rethink its new motorcycle test following a series of crashes in the first few weeks of its use.
Some instructors blame a new "swerve test", which they say is dangerous - particularly in the wet.
Bikers e-mailing BBC News said it could be difficult to safely achieve the 50km/h speed the manoeuvre requires.
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) said the test was needed to help reduce deaths of motorcyclists on the roads.
It said the test was designed by professionals in conjunction with the motorcycle industry and 300 trials were carried out before it was brought in.
During the test, learners have to reach 50km/h (31.2mph), then perform a swerve, on special test centre tracks.
A brake and swerve manoeuvre on a wet road is fraught with danger for even an experienced motorcyclist


Jeff Stone
British Motorcyclists Federation

But some instructors say that if riders brake and swerve at the same time they are likely to come off, particularly in the wet.
The new test was brought in at the end of April and in the first three and a half weeks there were 15 incidents during the exam, with at least one rider left with broken bones.
The Motorcycle Action Group says it has warned the government that the test is unsafe and asked for changes.
Its national chairman, Paul Turner, told the BBC News website the new test had been brought in without enough consultation or consideration for riders.
"We don't mind improvements in the test which will make for better riders, but putting people at risk during the test is ludicrous."
He said the new test had been very poorly implemented as many test centres were not ready, and the number of centres had been reduced from 200 to 60.
I have been riding for 30 years and I would not want to do the test they have to do


Barry Kenward
Instructor

Jeff Stone, of the British Motorcyclists Federation, said: "There is no real argument with the actual test, but the DSA really do have to take note of 'real world' conditions.
"A brake and swerve manoeuvre on a wet road is fraught with danger for even an experienced motorcyclist, so there needs to be a safer option for inclement weather conditions."
Mr Stone pointed out that car driving tests were postponed in snowy or icy conditions.
"A motorcyclist's competency can be best judged in the dry," he said. "Wet conditions introduce a chance element that should not be part of the test."
Unsafe acceleration?
Phil Woolley, 28, of Liverpool, told the BBC News website that he recently failed his test after completing the swerve slightly below the required 50km/h.
But the size of test centre sites made it difficult to reach the speed without accelerating unsafely, he said.
"Do it at a controlled speed and you will almost certainly fail," he said. "Or you just floor it as hard as you can and there is a good chance you will pass, but also a risk you will come off."
The hazard avoidance manoeuvre was the only part of the test he had failed, Mr Woolley said.
"I know I can ride a bike, so it's frustrating," he said.
Barry Kenward, deputy chairman of the Driving Instructors Democratic Union, has put in a Freedom of Information request to find out how many accidents have occurred on the test so far.
He said: "In the dry the test is fine but the stopping distance is not enough for the stop to be carried out safely when it is wet.
"I have been riding for 30 years and I would not want to do the test they have to do."

Personally I think asking a new rider to swerve is asking for trouble, as we all appreciate, finer control and better stability come with experience and countersteering, be it consciously done or subconscious but still it significantly improves the ride, but a new user will do what they THINK they should be doing, turn the handlebars one way then the other and add braking into that theres no wonder people fall off.

Originally Posted by Brettus

Personally I think asking a new rider to swerve is asking for trouble, as we all appreciate, finer control and better stability come with experience and countersteering, be it consciously done or subconscious but still it significantly improves the ride, but a new user will do what they THINK they should be doing, turn the handlebars one way then the other and add braking into that theres no wonder people fall off.

Doesn't that just emphasise how dangerous it is to be on the road with just a CBT? Better attempting and failing this test element than thinking you know what you're doing on the road.

Playing devil's advocate a little there, but if the test was devised and meant to be run in all conditions then surely that means that rather than being too hard in the wet, it's simply too easy in the dry.

While you and I may be able to this on our own bikes, you try doing it on a CG or a CBF125 or a YBR125... those little skinny tyres and bad enough in the dry, let alone the wet... they also have a top speed of 28mph so getting to 31 can be a bit of a problem..

[21QUEST]

+ 1 to all what Sinbad has written.

I have no problem with that part of the test. Current test is obviously too easy to pass. A lot of folks who probably shouldn't have a licence appear to have one.


Ben