A fun ride...

[Grahamm]

It's about time the IAM was disbanded I think, this organisation has had a disastrous and embarrasing image for a couple of decades now and it's simply not able to change peoples perception of it. This is very bad for motorcycling.
Regularly, on all the forums I've frequented over the years a significant number of people have voiced dislike of the IAM and ironically of course, some of these same people would benefit from advanced training, but they don't go for it -because they don't like the IAM's image and image is important in motorcycling whether the beardy IAM people think so or not. No effort has been made to change this image as far as I can see and this smacks of an even deeper arrogance within the organisation.

So when I, as an IAM Associate, try to "change this image" when others post their dislike of the IAM based on an outmoded impression of what the IAM is like, I should just give up and stop wasting my time and, instead, lobby for the IAM to be closed down?

If the IAM is putting off people getting advanced training it's time for the organisation to go

Oddly, my local group, the Solent Advanced Motorcyclists, have a Mobile Display Unit which they take out to various bike events and offer people free Assessed Rides and the opportunity to sign up.

Recently there has been discussion about *not* taking the MDU out, not because of some alleged negative image which is "putting people off getting advanced training", but because the group simply does not have enough Observers to assign new Associates to!

The instructors, many of whom are no doubt valuable teachers could work for similar less odious organisations and/or get behind the launch of a new one.

Like RoSPA, for instance? I know someone who's a member of a RoSPA group and says that it's "struggling to survive" at the moment.

Who is to blame? I would say a lot of it is to do with the high degree of arrogance that exuded from many of the IAM observers in the early years.

Whereas I'd say that it's to do with the constant negative image being pushed out by arrogant people who aren't even up to date with the situation at the moment (oddly enough, not many members of the group I'm a member of are either "paunchy" or "bearded") and choose to describe an organisation that's doing a good job as "odious"

So *WHO* exactly is putting people off joining the IAM and stopping people from getting the advanced training they could well do with...???

(Fortunately I'm willing to actually go out and *meet* these people and see what benefit I can get from joining them, rather than listen to the pontifications of "some bloke on the forums" who has as much credibility as "a bloke down the pub")