but according to this article its not the younger riders that are the problem allegedly...its the born agains who undoubtably took there test in the 70's and early 80's when any muppet could pass coz the examiner was lucky if he saw you for more than 20 seconds at a time as you rode round the block. Unfortunately theres nothing to stop anyone going out and buying a new blade when the last thing they rode was a 1977 cb400 back in 1983! thats the problem!!!
and it would be interesting to see the figures of fatalities for women compared to the men....unfortunately the traffic here dont keep such stats.
@Dyna there is a restriction on new car drivers here in NI. they have to display an "r" plate for 2 years and are not allowed to exceed 45mph in any circumstances. You might think this is a great idea, However, they are allowed to drive on motorways but still not allowed to go more than 45...i'll let you figure what sort of mayhem this can lead to on a busy motorway in rush hour!
Think we are missing the point here "born again Bikers " tend to be the ones who passed the old test just like i did in 1981 when you only had to ride round the block a few times .
Scrapping the direct access wont affect these rider who passed there test 20 odd years ago & now decided to start riding again after a long break.
The direct access riders in many case might be high standard of riders than many who have been ridding for years or at least much better than those who have passed there tests years ago .
By restricting them you are just being like a lot of over people who like to bring in rules that dont efect you .
How would you feel if they decide that all those who took the old tests should ave to take the new one to see if there ridding is up to standard of the now much harder test.
When i was 17 i was always visiting mates in hospital from bike crashes mostly on 250s .
I also helped teach CBTs & Direct Access 10 years ago & i can tell you most of us who took the old test wouldn't pass the much harder tests then let alone now
Did my cbt in June and my direct access in September. Between my cbt and passing my test I did about 4000 miles on my 125, nearly 2 years worth of biking to the average rider. I got my Street Triple delivered on a Monday, it was in for it's first service on the Saturday (bit of a balls up there as I had to waste a day off work when I could have been clocking up the miles).
I went out and did about 50 miles on Boxing day and didn't see another biker, saw loads of shoppers though. You can have been riding for years but if you only ride when the sun is shining then you're more likely to end up as a statistic when it's not.
I agree with Kev from Keent, so does my instructor - most people who've been riding for years would be hard pressed to pass the current direct access.
The slow speed riding training is worth the money alone. I might not have been a biker long but at least I can keep my feet on the pegs at 3 mph
On the other hand, I think biking for 2 years or a set mileage should be compulsory before anyone can take a car test.
the compulsary bike riding before driving a car has been mooted before...it would be a great idea for young drivers but what about someone with disability or much older who wants to drive a car. Then its not possible and if you start to make exceptions for one group then it cant work.
I agree there are a lot out there who took there test 30 years ago who wouldnt be able to pass the direct access test....but then how relevant is some of the test...for instance although i did it for my test i would never do a u turn on any road without putting my foot down...it might be easy enough on a 600 hornet but on my kwak...no way!
Apparently in Japan, you can only qualify to ride a bike of a size which you can pick up, if it's on it's side. .... I reckon that's a good idea, there are so many people over here, who ride bikes which are physically to big for them.
I did my CBT and DA in 2007 ..... I have had 2 bikes since then both of which have been what most bikers would class as sensible. I don't feel the need to get from A to B in a nano second i just enjoy the freedom i get from the bike.
I will point out one thing though we sit a hazard awareness test these days and I fully support it to a point ....I do wish however it included other bikers on the road. As thats what hit me back in April this year and still not recovered fully.
When your in heavy traffic and there are break lights going off all around you .... you tend to watch the road ahead so you don't hit the guy or gal in front (well i would) not the guy who hit me he was looking behind hm .... a shoulder check takes seconds swtf did in his words travelling at 15mph hit me forcing me onto the arnco barrier when i was slowing to stop !!!!
"@Dyna there is a
restriction on new car drivers here in NI. they have to display an "r"
plate for 2 years and are not allowed to exceed 45mph in any
circumstances. You might think this is a great idea, However, they are
allowed to drive on motorways but still not allowed to go more than
45...i'll let you figure what sort of mayhem this can lead to on a busy
motorway in rush hour!"
@Kwakgirl: That is just totally ridiculous. The danger of going that slow, particularly with HGVs around is a very dangerous law IMHO.
------------------------------
"I agree with Kev from
Keent, so does my instructor - most people who've been riding for years
would be hard pressed to pass the current direct access.
The slow speed riding training is worth the money alone. I might
not have been a biker long but at least I can keep my feet on the pegs
at 3 mph"
@Contradiction: Funny thing, I've been riding for years and still remember quite a bit of what my instructor told me, especially things like the 'life saver' (over the shoulder look) and I think a majority of riders actually still do, the rest of it, well.....horses for courses I think .
Not trying to be clever here, what does riding at 3 mph do? Yep I get close control is good thing , but does that really help at speed? I've never heard of slow speed training before
Dyna - it is the most dangerous stupid law on this island ! and worse it produces a bunch of wussy drivers scared to death of going over 45 on motorways. as i said in my opinion driving standards are lower here.
Dyna,cant believe youve never heard of slow speed training! all of the training organisations do it, ROSPA,IAM remember the star riders in the 80`s? it really builds confidence when learning to get the slow stuff right,some people do it really well naturally and cant seem to empathise with those who find that this is a skill that for a lot of us needs to be learnt.
maybe you havent then, just suprised that you dont know someone whos done some as part of learning to ride a bike, a lot of the CBT is about developing slow speed control,for example how would you do a hill start with out it, or pull out from behind a parked car whilst checking no one was moving alongside? Its the same as in a car only then you dont have to worry about falling off!
If you didn't know there are specific ways to pick up bikes from being on there sides.
I've picked up my pan1100 more than once, one of the heaviest bikes using a certain technique, that maybe new bikers should know about, that is apart from them being able to u turn without putting their foot down!
exactly! if you are experienced its something you prob dont think about, if you are learning and dont have a group of supportive mates to show you the ropes a bit of extra training is very helpful, not every body will need it.
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