11-01-13, 02:30 PM
with any test / examiner there are always margins...areas of overlap which may or may not conform to how they see " black and white". For example, a speed limit of 60 was ( in my day) expected to be maintained as a " solid 60"..ielimit +10%= 66mph ! Now is this still expected ?...but its clearly a strict breach of a speed limit , but police examiners in the 90s felt it showed your capability of riding at speed , without resorting to excess.But if you went through a speed camera at this speed, there was no immunity to prosecution, and the examiner would just ride off !! Equally so, no allowance was given to 30s and 40s, ie strict adherance was expected.It was a case of learning /knowing what you can and cant do. TBH riding over a white mini roundabout to me is a grey area, like dotted hatchings seperating traffic lanes, as opposed to solid white lines...Do just a bit more than is necessary will invoke examiner displeasure.Oddly , on larger roundabouts it was expected to use all lanes if empty to cut off the corners to maintain progress......To fail on just this is alone seems unreasonable as they usually let you have up to 3 small errors, so maybe there was something else.?
I can remember a chap failing his test cos he only used his back brake ! sounds odd, but if you havent shown any ability in front braking, its not good riding practice, even though it shows good acceleration sense, using engine braking and throttle control to slow down.Some IAM die hards believe you almost shouldnt need to brake at all...the list can go on and on...partly because all examiners have opinions, and the IAM test isnt like a tick box type of test....there is an element of subjectivity in it all. My only advice is to remember that setting a good standard to start off your test will always give you a little something in the bank if a small mistake is made later. IAM always say that you are deemed to have passed your test already ...on the test you can only fail by not riding to the right standard.So a poor start will set the scene badly as it were...
I thoroughly enjoyed my IAM training , was over the moon to pass my test ,it definitely was a major riding challenge and a great sense of achievement ... and then went on to help others as an observer.I think its something which floats your boat or it dont ! If you can join a socially active group that can help. Trouble is with me now, I like to ride how I have developed to , and often its at odds with strict IAM standards, so feel a bit two faced to stand and preach doctrine.But what I can say is if you do want to ride fast , all the IAM dogma works equally well ! You cant just go out there and ride fast in safety.Anyone can twist the throttle and ride fast , but it takes an expert to do so in safety ...and to know where to draw the line and act with restraint. The IAM is a excellent foundation course.
I can remember a chap failing his test cos he only used his back brake ! sounds odd, but if you havent shown any ability in front braking, its not good riding practice, even though it shows good acceleration sense, using engine braking and throttle control to slow down.Some IAM die hards believe you almost shouldnt need to brake at all...the list can go on and on...partly because all examiners have opinions, and the IAM test isnt like a tick box type of test....there is an element of subjectivity in it all. My only advice is to remember that setting a good standard to start off your test will always give you a little something in the bank if a small mistake is made later. IAM always say that you are deemed to have passed your test already ...on the test you can only fail by not riding to the right standard.So a poor start will set the scene badly as it were...
I thoroughly enjoyed my IAM training , was over the moon to pass my test ,it definitely was a major riding challenge and a great sense of achievement ... and then went on to help others as an observer.I think its something which floats your boat or it dont ! If you can join a socially active group that can help. Trouble is with me now, I like to ride how I have developed to , and often its at odds with strict IAM standards, so feel a bit two faced to stand and preach doctrine.But what I can say is if you do want to ride fast , all the IAM dogma works equally well ! You cant just go out there and ride fast in safety.Anyone can twist the throttle and ride fast , but it takes an expert to do so in safety ...and to know where to draw the line and act with restraint. The IAM is a excellent foundation course.