He seems to know a bit about this subject
It had to happen sooner or later
He seems to know a bit about this subject
It was suggested to me that if you are a police biker travelling at high speeds (three figures) then every tiny advantage achieved by off-siding can be justified.
For the average rider, even experienced advanced riders, the advantage to be gained is so small that the disadvantages in terms of possible danger from other road users outweighs any potential benefit.
Consequently I changed from a rider who off-sided quite often (when I considered it safe to do so, was perhaps even a little blasé) to a rider who thinks twice about any advantage I'm likely to gain and now generally I stay on my side of the road - although undoubtedly there are times when it can be useful, given clear sight lines and the ability to lessen bends
In all of Giles's photos above the vision ahead is obscured by one feature or another so common sense tells me to stay on my side of the road.
It was suggested to me that if you are a police biker travelling at high speeds (three figures) then every tiny advantage achieved by off-siding can be justified.
For the average rider, even experienced advanced riders, the advantage to be gained is so small that the disadvantages in terms of possible danger from other road users outweighs any potential benefit.
Consequently I changed from a rider who off-sided quite often (when I considered it safe to do so, was perhaps even a little blasé) to a rider who thinks twice about any advantage I'm likely to gain and now generally I stay on my side of the road - although undoubtedly there are times when it can be useful, given clear sight lines and the ability to lessen bends
I think there's also a big a difference between straight lining stuff / ironing out those kinks in the road, and approaching a left hand bend from way out on the off side.
Tempting to straight line right? (so we're not talking brush the offside hedge, we're just talking straight line, maybe pinch a few inches of the offside). Eight out of ten times you'll get away with it, but it's uncanny how often another vehicle can completely hide in that dead section that you can't see. Don't be tempted to be greedy here, run it deep and get that view ... !
The "Skill for Life" tag was dropped last year, it is now called the "Advanced Rider" (or "Advanced Driver") course, and as pointed out by 'Tractors are go' they are shortly going to offer periodic retests.I have long thought the IAM should drop the "Skill for life"tag and insist on 3 yearly retests.
The "Skill for Life" tag was dropped last year, it is now called the "Advanced Rider" (or "Advanced Driver") course, and as pointed out by 'Tractors are go' they are shortly going to offer periodic retests.
Each individual member will have the choice of what type of membership they take up on passing the test, a "member" will be pretty much as it is now, pass the test and that's it, or the alternative is a type of membership (there was talk of it being called a "Fellow") whereby to maintain the membership they will have to be retested every three years.
This could be a six pager. All the riding Gods will be along
The "Skill for Life" tag was dropped last year, it is now called the "Advanced Rider" (or "Advanced Driver") course, and as pointed out by 'Tractors are go' they are shortly going to offer periodic retests.
Each individual member will have the choice of what type of membership they take up on passing the test, a "member" will be pretty much as it is now, pass the test and that's it, or the alternative is a type of membership (there was talk of it being called a "Fellow") whereby to maintain the membership they will have to be retested every three years.
The "Skill for Life" tag was dropped last year, it is now called the "Advanced Rider" (or "Advanced Driver") course, and as pointed out by 'Tractors are go' they are shortly going to offer periodic retests.
Each individual member will have the choice of what type of membership they take up on passing the test, a "member" will be pretty much as it is now, pass the test and that's it, or the alternative is a type of membership (there was talk of it being called a "Fellow") whereby to maintain the membership they will have to be retested every three years.
What he said. They've recognised the need to offer something with an ongoing quality element not least because their favoured insurer IAM surety have crunched the numbers and found out that for those who have been 'qualified' for over 5 years the risk of a claim is the same or greater than for non members. Being an insurer their logic is bound to be why offer them cheaper insurance? You can't really argue with that can you?
Problem might be that the status of 'fellow' not only comes at a higher cost but also if they fail the retest they have to start from scratch and qualify again, presumably paying the course fee again. 'Fellow's' will get a better insurance deal from IAM surety.
I did ask why National observers, for whom part of the qualification is riding above the IAM test standard, weren't in line for a cheaper insurance deal. Surety said they were looking at it and the IAM hierarchy said effectively that it didn't count at the moment because riding was only part of the NO qualification and it wasn't a full riding test.
There is as already mentioned a requalification system for observers and those who hold a 'masters' qualification.
I had someone explain that getting a f1rst is harder than getting a masters; I really did try not to laugh.
I got a silver for my first rospa car, as the examiner didn't believe anyone is good enough to get a gold first time.
Whilst I am sure we can all give our personal gripes over IAM/ROSPA, this thread is about DSA and lifesavers
In all of Giles's photos above the vision ahead is obscured by one feature or another so common sense tells me to stay on my side of the road.
How are your gear changes during these manoeuvres