So the Test is becoming harder

Just cought the tail end of the news clip but it seems they are making our bike test harder
Now make the CBT alot harder for those little gits maybe

[northwind]

I approve- I've wanted a harder test since about 2 seconds after the nice man said I'd passed, just like everyone else

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by northwind

I approve- I've wanted a harder test since about 2 seconds after the nice man said I'd passed, just like everyone else

I want a test without automatic fails.

The instructor that passed me 3rd time was the instructor that failed me 2nd time.

He spotted that it was my leathers that caused the drop at the end of the e-stop and commented that the rest of my ride on my second outing was better than the ride on the 3rd.

Ok so you could say it was my choice of safety wear that failed me (wore Draggin Jeans and Textile jacket for test 3 - leathers have NOW loosened up to not being a factor) and so it was my judgment that failed me, but......

So I would say ditch the U-turn as a test of low speed control, and put something else in (I believe this IS one of the proposed changes anyway).

David

Yeah the U turn is a pathetic way of measuring a persons ability to control the bike at low speeds as many bikes these days would need 3 lanes of width to do it.

If you are out on the road and haven't mastered that skill then what the f**k was the CBT all about?!?! You should have already mastered that during your basic training and there should be no need for it on the test proper.

Testing and general training standards in the UK are still far beyond what they are over here in Ireland. Sure when I turned up for the test the guy was to trail me in a car, but the headset links to allow him to dictate the route to me as we moved along didn't work so he gave me a route to follow before we set off, me on bike and him in car. It was ****in' rain and I was dead jealous of his warm and dry car then!

I think testing procedures really require continuous updating, say every two years or so. This will allow any instruction/training to take into account known causes of accidents and how best to avoid them then examine for these skills for when the test date duly arrives. Out of date test practices just leave riders out on the road without the proper degree of knowledge and ability to deal with daily driving occurrences. Teach people to survive in the current highway climate and we'll all be a lot better off. I still wish our system was as "shoddy" as the UK one then we'd be leagues ahead of the way the things lies now.

On the subject of the U turn: I was on an IAM course with about 20 other delegates. When it came to driving around cones in a car park, aside from the instructors, I was the best there. All the other riders had been riding longer than me, some by a few decades more! Bike held a U-turn competition and found the same thing; a lad who had passed his test only weeks earlier was better at it than vastly more experienced riders.

I'd love to say it's because me and this bloke were riding Gods and the others just weren't a patch on us. The real reason though (I think) is that many experienced riders got their licences before there was any need to demonstrate slow control, let alone do U-turns. I'm sure others have followed a rider who seems competent, but when they stop for lights drag their feet on the floor and have to dismount to wheel their bike into a parking space.

The fact that such a large number of riders never did learn how to (or since passing their tests haven't bothered to continue to) control a bike at very slow speed and u-turn would suggest it's not really that important. I'm inclined to agree; I think it's useful, but it's limited how much so. Personally, I'd rather see it dropped and the time spent on it on teaching people how to filter. Filtering is one of the most dangerous things we do (and done correctly, it's one of the best things about a bike), but it's also the one that most people attempt for the first time in an unsupervised manner.

On the subject of a harder test, I think it's fine as it is; just make the CBT a bit harder. You currently have to be comedically bad to fail the CBT at a lot of centres.

NB to pedants: Yes, you can "fail" a CBT. Saying someone hasn't passed isn't the same as failing is just semantics to make people less nervous about taking the CBT...

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

On the subject of a harder test, I think it's fine as it is; just make the CBT a bit harder. You currently have to be comedically bad to fail the CBT at a lot of centres.

I am inclined to agree. The biggest problem with our lovely little government is that the real reason for any kind of major change is to hit the general public in the pocket, then if it's also found to improve safety well that's an added bonus. Also the real reason to have a U Turn excercise in the test is to have that as the point at which people have to get past. Interseting to note is that it is also the one thing that most students fail on (taken from information from a well know examiner). A coincidence? Of course not. I have no faith in our government anymore. They are out to milk us dry. Anyway, having passed my CBT a good couple of years ago now I have to admit that I found it a peice of p*ss. The new CBT though looks stupidly hard, considering it's aimed at those who have never been on a bike ever before. So much so that I think it is even more difficult than our current full test. My friend who is also a bike instructor (3CMT) fails a lot of people on CBT day. At least one person out there is doing the CBT syllabus correctly. The only downside is that he gets a negative rep for being 'too tough' as there are so many cowboys out there. It amazes him (and me) when parents phone up to complain and ask why there 16/17 year old child had not been given a certificate. It's quite shocking that parents have no problem letting their own children loose on the roads when they cannot even complete the most basic of manouvres. Most parents then take their kids somewhere else that has substandard training. Apparently their lives are only worth the cost of a guaranteed CBT cert.

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

I'm sure others have followed a rider who seems competent, but when they stop for lights drag their feet on the floor

I sometimes do that when waiting in tightly packed traffic. Coz i'm lazy when its really slow.

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

..... and have to dismount to wheel their bike into a parking space.

I have to do that when reversing and there's an incline. More to do with leg length/strength at stretch than anything else. In fact i dont get on when reversing my bike out of the work bike shed because theres a 1 inch ridge which i could never reverse over

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

Personally, I'd rather see it dropped and the time spent on it on teaching people how to filter. Filtering is one of the most dangerous things we do (and done correctly, it's one of the best things about a bike), but it's also the one that most people attempt for the first time in an unsupervised manner.

Can't agree with that.

I remember when I first got my SV after passing my test. I felt more comfortable on my SV than I ever did while learning, but the idea of filtering scared the hell out of me.

Don't forget what the test is there for - to ensure you have the minimum skill set required to ride on the road without killing yourself before you've learned to ride properly on your own. Nothing more.

[SoulKiss]

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

Can't agree with that.

I remember when I first got my SV after passing my test. I felt more comfortable on my SV than I ever did while learning, but the idea of filtering scared the hell out of me.

Don't forget what the test is there for - to ensure you have the minimum skill set required to ride on the road without killing yourself before you've learned to ride properly on your own. Nothing more.

On my DAS we had 2 distinct modes of riding - getting to the Test Area (Vauxhall to Belvedere (A2)) was very informal, with the instructor having a follow me if you feel happy to do so filtering(and falling back if any one person didnt want to). Once in the area it was a lot more strict - the same applied on the way back. So I did a little filtering on DAS.

Wouldn't be without it now tho - one of the best bits - tho not such a fan of it in the dark.

David