Theory test for CBT

[darrsi]

Theory Test only takes 20mins with a REALLY upset stomach.....trust me. 
And i passed......the test, and in the toilet. 

[joebloggs]

I think if the theory test was written specifically for bikes it could save lives. Rather than just teach road signs etc, actually make riders understand safe road positioning at junctions etc, OK so not everyone will put it into practice but some will and that has to help prevent accidents.

[darrsi]

I still think everyone should ride a bike for at least a year before even contemplating getting in a car.


The grey area is that in 29 years of bike riding, i've never tried driving a car, yet i could jump into a three wheeler motor and be on my way without question!

[joebloggs]

I still think everyone should ride a bike for at least a year before even contemplating getting in a car.


The grey area is that in 29 years of bike riding, i've never tried driving a car, yet i could jump into a three wheeler motor and be on my way without question!

If you ever get the chance to drive a reliant or similar you'll soon understand why they allowed riders to use them without a full car license.

Saying that though I used to be able to drift mine at wet junctions, much to the amusement of pedestrians 

[tommyardin]

Also it's worth noting that according to nearly every bit of research that's been done the most dangerous age group on motorbikes is 31-40 year olds. More riders of that age die on the road every year than any other, followed closely by 41-50 year olds.

Similar story with cars but with a higher age group. Over 70s are actually the most dangerous people on the road ( which we all know) probably due to the fact that most of them passed in the 60s and haven't had any kind of testing since.

So really what you can take from this is if you a driver/rider between the ages of 24 to 30 or 51 to 60 then your insurance should be free haha

Oooy! I'm only 10 weeks away you cheeky young whippersnapper lol

[tommyardin]

I still think everyone should ride a bike for at least a year before even contemplating getting in a car.


The grey area is that in 29 years of bike riding, i've never tried driving a car, yet i could jump into a three wheeler motor and be on my way without question!

If you ever get the chance to drive a reliant or similar you'll soon understand why they allowed riders to use them without a full car license.

Saying that though I used to be able to drift mine at wet junctions, much to the amusement of pedestrians

Same as that I scuffed the drivers side door handle off my old Regal van one night going around a tight left hander had it up on two wheels (Nothing unusual about that) but going much to fast for the bend (I think there was something wrong with the beer that night as it seemed to upset my judgement) and over she went corkscrewed down the road spun 360 degrees a couple of times and came to a stop. I had to get out of it like a tank with a top trapdoor, I stood on the upturned door sill of the old girl leaned out holding the opened outside side of the door, fell off backwards and pulled the old thing back onto its wheels, this enabled Carol the then girlfriend to get out.   the only damaged done was wing mirror gone, door handle gone a shed full of paint and fibreglass gone and a broken finger nail with belonged to Carol, she grabbed at the little alloy loop door slam handle and stabbed her finger into it as the old Regal reared up. the good thing is I patched the old regal up, never quite looked the same though.


Carol and I went out for a further 4 years.
I was really upset when she went but there was no way to get her through anymore MOT's

[mtread]

Carol or the car? 😉

[darrsi]

I still think everyone should ride a bike for at least a year before even contemplating getting in a car.


The grey area is that in 29 years of bike riding, i've never tried driving a car, yet i could jump into a three wheeler motor and be on my way without question!

If you ever get the chance to drive a reliant or similar you'll soon understand why they allowed riders to use them without a full car license.

Saying that though I used to be able to drift mine at wet junctions, much to the amusement of pedestrians

I would still wear a lid, Top Gear stylee.
You can't be ridiculed any more....safety first! 

[midden]

As soon as the theory test was introduced it should have been part of the cbt and not the main test and only required by those not in possession of full car licence

[darrsi]

I've lost count of the amount of times i've had discussions with new, and even old, car drivers who have no real interest in bikes, about stupidly placed drains, leaves, painted road markings, diesel, oil, petrol, people about to open car doors, BMW drivers, bus drivers, black cabs, BMW drivers, cyclists, BMW drivers, schoolkids, people walking from behind busses, BMW drivers, people crossing between static traffic looking the wrong way, etc.....oh, and BMW drivers, yet they don't really have too much of a clue what i'm on about?
As you're probably aware by now, being a non car driver i'm an absolute nervous wreck as a car passenger!


It was many years ago now, but i took a mate of mine out for a very brief spin on the back of my bike, as i was out with another friend at the time and he'd never been on a bike before.
Firstly, he was a big lump, i've now decided if you're over 10 stone you're way too heavy for my bike as a passenger, due to my own weight/top box/my law.
But in the 10-15mins we were out i've never heard such obscene language directed at other vehicles on the road.
He'd suddenly found himself totally vulnerable and exposed to danger, so when anyone came even close to doing a wrong'un he let them know.
To my sheer delight, once his death defying rollercoaster ride was over (a lot like me going to work every day) his response was fantastic.
In just a very short space of time his attitude towards bikers dramatically changed, but in a very positive way.
I did nothing wrong, we had no incidents, not that i cared about anyway, it was just a quick ride out, yet it opened his eyes from a totally different angle.
He even got off the bike saying "What a bunch of ****s out there", yet to me it had all gone smoothly. 
I'm meeting him at a mates 40th in March, and i'll mention this story to him and see what he thinks now. As i said this was a long time ago so he's had plenty of years to gather his thoughts.


NOTE: BMW drivers should be included as part of the Theory Test.


Q: "..If you see a BMW driver, what should you do?.."


A: "..Presume they (always unintentionally) want to hurt you, so avoid them at all costs and take a wide berth whenever possible.."

[YamFazFan]

@agree Dude

the point I was making was obviously missed. The point was if the car test was as hard to do and get to "unlimited" status, there would be an outcry but as bikes are a minority transport they get picked on unfailrly. The reason used for picking on bike is related to the accident statistics for KSI's in bike accidents vs. car accidents and the fact that proportionally we are involved in more accidents than car drivers.
Some of this is true. Some is bollocks. Car drivers have a lot more accidents than recorded, its just that they can still drive away so goes unrecorded.

If drivers were made to spend 12 months (or more) on a bike before they were allowed behind the wheel of a car, the number of bike accidents would go down as the myopic ones would suddenly be more aware of their surroundings and look out for bikes.

Well said


I think they'd rather motorcycles weren't on the roads at all. They can't uninvent them, so therefore they make it as hard as possible to obtain a licence hoping that will put most people off riding.

Aside from accident statistics I think a lot of the negative feeling towards bikes is raised by filtering.

I know several car drivers who are enraged by bikes filtering through traffic, not because they feel it is particularly dangerous, but because that they see it as 'queue jumping'.

They view it the same as pushing in at the supermarket.

The attitude is: 'I've got to sit stuck in the queue, why should you get to the front before me?!'

[darrsi]

@agree Dude

the point I was making was obviously missed. The point was if the car test was as hard to do and get to "unlimited" status, there would be an outcry but as bikes are a minority transport they get picked on unfailrly. The reason used for picking on bike is related to the accident statistics for KSI's in bike accidents vs. car accidents and the fact that proportionally we are involved in more accidents than car drivers.
Some of this is true. Some is bollocks. Car drivers have a lot more accidents than recorded, its just that they can still drive away so goes unrecorded.

If drivers were made to spend 12 months (or more) on a bike before they were allowed behind the wheel of a car, the number of bike accidents would go down as the myopic ones would suddenly be more aware of their surroundings and look out for bikes.

Well said


I think they'd rather motorcycles weren't on the roads at all. They can't uninvent them, so therefore they make it as hard as possible to obtain a licence hoping that will put most people off riding.

Aside from accident statistics I think a lot of the negative feeling towards bikes is raised by filtering.

I know several car drivers who are enraged by bikes filtering through traffic, not because they feel it is particularly dangerous, but because that they see it as 'queue jumping'.

They view it the same as pushing in at the supermarket.

The attitude is: 'I've got to sit stuck in the queue, why should you get to the front before me?!'

My boss text me a couple of months back saying traffic was at a standstill, just as a warning, so i text him back saying cheers for the heads up,
He wasn't wrong, the traffic started outside my house, nearly 6 miles away from work, so i knew i was in for a bad journey.
Anyway, when turning up bang on time he was astounded and asked me how i got there so quick, bearing in mind some people turned up two and a half hours late, later on.
Simple, i rode the whole journey on the other side of the road, as that side was really empty and it seemed a waste not to make use of it. 
Technically i wasn't even breaking the law as i'm allowed to overtake static traffic, and there were no hard white lines.

[Skippernick]

I've lost count of the amount of times i've had discussions with new, and even old, car drivers who have no real interest in bikes, about stupidly placed drains, leaves, painted road markings, diesel, oil, petrol, people about to open car doors, BMW drivers, bus drivers, black cabs, BMW drivers, cyclists, BMW drivers, schoolkids, people walking from behind busses, BMW drivers, people crossing between static traffic looking the wrong way, etc.....oh, and BMW drivers, yet they don't really have too much of a clue what i'm on about?
As you're probably aware by now, being a non car driver i'm an absolute nervous wreck as a car passenger!


It was many years ago now, but i took a mate of mine out for a very brief spin on the back of my bike, as i was out with another friend at the time and he'd never been on a bike before.
Firstly, he was a big lump, i've now decided if you're over 10 stone you're way too heavy for my bike as a passenger, due to my own weight/top box/my law.
But in the 10-15mins we were out i've never heard such obscene language directed at other vehicles on the road.
He'd suddenly found himself totally vulnerable and exposed to danger, so when anyone came even close to doing a wrong'un he let them know.
To my sheer delight, once his death defying rollercoaster ride was over (a lot like me going to work every day) his response was fantastic.
In just a very short space of time his attitude towards bikers dramatically changed, but in a very positive way.
I did nothing wrong, we had no incidents, not that i cared about anyway, it was just a quick ride out, yet it opened his eyes from a totally different angle.
He even got off the bike saying "What a bunch of ****s out there", yet to me it had all gone smoothly. 
I'm meeting him at a mates 40th in March, and i'll mention this story to him and see what he thinks now. As i said this was a long time ago so he's had plenty of years to gather his thoughts.


NOTE: BMW drivers should be included as part of the Theory Test.


Q: "..If you see a BMW driver, what should you do?.."


A: "..Presume they (always unintentionally) want to hurt you, so avoid them at all costs and take a wide berth whenever possible.."

I think thats very unfair on BMW drivers………………….










Add Audi drivers to the list as well!

[Dudeofrude]

@agree Dude

the point I was making was obviously missed. The point was if the car test was as hard to do and get to "unlimited" status, there would be an outcry but as bikes are a minority transport they get picked on unfailrly. The reason used for picking on bike is related to the accident statistics for KSI's in bike accidents vs. car accidents and the fact that proportionally we are involved in more accidents than car drivers.
Some of this is true. Some is bollocks. Car drivers have a lot more accidents than recorded, its just that they can still drive away so goes unrecorded.

If drivers were made to spend 12 months (or more) on a bike before they were allowed behind the wheel of a car, the number of bike accidents would go down as the myopic ones would suddenly be more aware of their surroundings and look out for bikes.

Well said


I think they'd rather motorcycles weren't on the roads at all. They can't uninvent them, so therefore they make it as hard as possible to obtain a licence hoping that will put most people off riding.

Aside from accident statistics I think a lot of the negative feeling towards bikes is raised by filtering.

I know several car drivers who are enraged by bikes filtering through traffic, not because they feel it is particularly dangerous, but because that they see it as 'queue jumping'.

They view it the same as pushing in at the supermarket.

The attitude is: 'I've got to sit stuck in the queue, why should you get to the front before me?!'

My boss text me a couple of months back saying traffic was at a standstill, just as a warning, so i text him back saying cheers for the heads up,
He wasn't wrong, the traffic started outside my house, nearly 6 miles away from work, so i knew i was in for a bad journey.
Anyway, when turning up bang on time he was astounded and asked me how i got there so quick, bearing in mind some people turned up two and a half hours late, later on.
Simple, i rode the whole journey on the other side of the road, as that side was really empty and it seemed a waste not to make use of it. 
Technically i wasn't even breaking the law as i'm allowed to overtake static traffic, and there were no hard white lines.

But really that just means you were the only numpty not to get 2 1/2 hours off work haha

[midden]

I've lost count of the amount of times i've had discussions with new, and even old, car drivers who have no real interest in bikes, about stupidly placed drains, leaves, painted road markings, diesel, oil, petrol, people about to open car doors, BMW drivers, bus drivers, black cabs, BMW drivers, cyclists, BMW drivers, schoolkids, people walking from behind busses, BMW drivers, people crossing between static traffic looking the wrong way, etc.....oh, and BMW drivers, yet they don't really have too much of a clue what i'm on about?
As you're probably aware by now, being a non car driver i'm an absolute nervous wreck as a car passenger!


It was many years ago now, but i took a mate of mine out for a very brief spin on the back of my bike, as i was out with another friend at the time and he'd never been on a bike before.
Firstly, he was a big lump, i've now decided if you're over 10 stone you're way too heavy for my bike as a passenger, due to my own weight/top box/my law.
But in the 10-15mins we were out i've never heard such obscene language directed at other vehicles on the road.
He'd suddenly found himself totally vulnerable and exposed to danger, so when anyone came even close to doing a wrong'un he let them know.
To my sheer delight, once his death defying rollercoaster ride was over (a lot like me going to work every day) his response was fantastic.
In just a very short space of time his attitude towards bikers dramatically changed, but in a very positive way.
I did nothing wrong, we had no incidents, not that i cared about anyway, it was just a quick ride out, yet it opened his eyes from a totally different angle.
He even got off the bike saying "What a bunch of ****s out there", yet to me it had all gone smoothly. 
I'm meeting him at a mates 40th in March, and i'll mention this story to him and see what he thinks now. As i said this was a long time ago so he's had plenty of years to gather his thoughts.


NOTE: BMW drivers should be included as part of the Theory Test.


Q: "..If you see a BMW driver, what should you do?.."


A: "..Presume they (always unintentionally) want to hurt you, so avoid them at all costs and take a wide berth whenever possible.."

I think you was a bit too kind to cyclists they should have atleast levelled bmw mentions. Especially Boris bikers who should have to do cbt before being allowed on the pavements, roads and super highway

[darrsi]

@agree Dude

the point I was making was obviously missed. The point was if the car test was as hard to do and get to "unlimited" status, there would be an outcry but as bikes are a minority transport they get picked on unfailrly. The reason used for picking on bike is related to the accident statistics for KSI's in bike accidents vs. car accidents and the fact that proportionally we are involved in more accidents than car drivers.
Some of this is true. Some is bollocks. Car drivers have a lot more accidents than recorded, its just that they can still drive away so goes unrecorded.

If drivers were made to spend 12 months (or more) on a bike before they were allowed behind the wheel of a car, the number of bike accidents would go down as the myopic ones would suddenly be more aware of their surroundings and look out for bikes.

Well said


I think they'd rather motorcycles weren't on the roads at all. They can't uninvent them, so therefore they make it as hard as possible to obtain a licence hoping that will put most people off riding.

Aside from accident statistics I think a lot of the negative feeling towards bikes is raised by filtering.

I know several car drivers who are enraged by bikes filtering through traffic, not because they feel it is particularly dangerous, but because that they see it as 'queue jumping'.

They view it the same as pushing in at the supermarket.

The attitude is: 'I've got to sit stuck in the queue, why should you get to the front before me?!'

My boss text me a couple of months back saying traffic was at a standstill, just as a warning, so i text him back saying cheers for the heads up,
He wasn't wrong, the traffic started outside my house, nearly 6 miles away from work, so i knew i was in for a bad journey.
Anyway, when turning up bang on time he was astounded and asked me how i got there so quick, bearing in mind some people turned up two and a half hours late, later on.
Simple, i rode the whole journey on the other side of the road, as that side was really empty and it seemed a waste not to make use of it. 
Technically i wasn't even breaking the law as i'm allowed to overtake static traffic, and there were no hard white lines.

But really that just means you were the only numpty not to get 2 1/2 hours off work haha

Unfortunately i'm a one man department, and the work needs to be done regardless, so i don't gain anything by going in late, it would just make me stay later as i work to deadlines.

[tommyardin]

Carol or the car? 😉

The old Regal of course!
FFS mtread sharpen up mate. lol
I loved that old van, I lost my virginity in the back of that.

[mtread]

I knew 😉I had a Regal too, and a Janet. Regularly got both off the ground 😀

[taylor]

the car and bike test are both a con to make money.       I took my bike test twenty years after my car,     and had to do a theory test and the hazard perception ,    the hazard I passed and the guy said it was one of the best he had seen.        I should think so after how long I have driven.          the theory test what a joke,    one question was what do I do if my windscreen   steams up, f,f,sake .    it was the same as the car theory of which I have a full license.       so WHY O WHY.

[Grahamm]

Technically i wasn't even breaking the law as i'm allowed to overtake static traffic, and there were no hard white lines.

Interestingly, provided the traffic is not moving you *are* legally allowed to overtake even if there is a solid white line on your side of the road! The actual wording is "You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle".

Now I've checked and "stationary" simply means "not moving", I'd always thought before that meant eg "parked" or "with the engine off", but that's not what it says.

You have to be careful, of course, because, if the traffic starts moving whilst you're going past, you are committing an offence and if you were to have an accident, you'd very probably be judged as being in the wrong as you'd need to justify that it was entirely "necessary".

But, none the less, it's useful to know and it can be very handy for making progress in situations like you describe

[Skippernick]

Technically i wasn't even breaking the law as i'm allowed to overtake static traffic, and there were no hard white lines.

Interestingly, provided the traffic is not moving you *are* legally allowed to overtake even if there is a solid white line on your side of the road! The actual wording is "You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle".

Now I've checked and "stationary" simply means "not moving", I'd always thought before that meant eg "parked" or "with the engine off", but that's not what it says.

You have to be careful, of course, because, if the traffic starts moving whilst you're going past, you are committing an offence and if you were to have an accident, you'd very probably be judged as being in the wrong as you'd need to justify that it was entirely "necessary".

But, none the less, it's useful to know and it can be very handy for making progress in situations like you describe

Add to that that you can cross solid white lines to overtake slow moving trafficwith a flashing yellow lights, so buy loads of them and out them on the roof of vehicles as you go past.

[joebloggs]

I knew 😉I had a Regal too, and a Janet. Regularly got both off the ground 😀

I had a regal van with a bench seat in the back, picked up a couple of girls going to a nightclub one evening, they asked me to drop them round the corner, of course I delivered them straight to the front door lol

Bloody awful thing to drive, no anti roll bar meant it would wallow down the road every time you hit a bump etc

Had a drive in a Bond Bug a few years ago, like a sports car in comparison