Your Institute Of Advanced Motorists
Motorcycle Test

(By Jim McCarter, IAM examiner for Salisbury & Southampton, and CW customer for over 20 years)

These notes are intended to help you to give your best performance on test. They have been committed to paper to replace the standard briefing I would otherwise give immediately prior to the Test in the hope that they will be more readily absorbed in the comfort of your own home, rather than by the roadside with the thought of an imminent test on your mind.

Indeed the notes and the conduct of the test itself are intended to give you the opportunity to relax as far as possible and concentrate on your riding. Knowing exactly what is required and how the test will run should help you do this.

The items below are a culmination of my experience and past candidate's questions. They are not exhaustive and you may have some of your own, which I will answer when we meet, or I can expand on anything that is not explained clearly here.

Be Warned

Because these notes are the result of my experiences they may not be identical in every respect to a test conducted by any other examiner. They are only intended for candidates to be tested by me, and anyone reading these and being tested by another examiner should clarify anything in doubt with that examiner prior to his or her test.

Content

The test itself consists of a briefing, when you can ask any questions; an eyesight test, documents and motorcycle road-worthiness check, an explanation of the route - 90 minutes on the road and a debriefing. I only include a separate slow riding exercise where the route itself does not test this. You therefore need to allow about 2 1/2 hours altogether. If you have a particular commitment afterwards then tell me at the start, if not when the test is booked. I can then arrange to finish in that locality if possible.

What Is Required

On test you are expected to show me an advanced motorcycle ride. It must be safe it should be smooth and it should be progressive.

Safety is always the first priority. You are the one controlling your motorcycle. If you do not think it is safe then it is not. It must be safe.

Smoothness will come from good observation, anticipation and planning. Because you will be reacting to hazards in plenty of time your changes in course and speed will not be erratic.

Progress should be made when it is safe. While it is subordinate to Safety and Smoothness you cannot pass an advanced motorcycle test by constantly riding at 40 mph in the belief that you will not make a mistake and therefore must pass. If there are occasions when it is safe to travel at 60 mph then you should do so. If there are straightforward obvious opportunities to overtake then you are expected to take them.

You should adopt the attitude that you want to get to our destination sooner rather than later (which may well be the case). While you may not always want to ride at this pace I need to be sure you can do so safely if you choose to. Do not hold back until there is room for two motorcycles. I will keep up (but see Method below). Progress is not necessarily about speed but also applies to good planning such as the correct choice of lane at roundabouts and in town. It must be safe.

Speed Limits

The law allows your speedometer to have a margin of error and I can do no less. I will tell you as soon as possible if your margin is greatly different from mine. You can have up to 5 mph extra on test which should enable you to blend in with other traffic in larger towns and cities and save the need for constantly staring at the speedometer with occasional glances at the road ahead. In smaller towns and villages you will probably find you will not need this margin. If it is only safe to travel at 15 mph I do not want to see 20 mph. It must be safe.

Out of town in the national speed limit, if you find you have caught up with another vehicle which is holding us up and you have a safe opportunity where you wish to overtake, do not: -

a) Take half a mile at 60 mph to do so, or

b) Stare at your speedometer when on collision course with oncoming traffic at a combined speed of 120 mph. But do

c) Get past and back to your own side of the road as quickly as possible. This is not authorisation to overtake a row of vehicles at 90 mph. You may have to take them in ones and twos.

Finally, lower speed limit areas begin at the sign, and I will expect you to be travelling at the lower speed at that point. The only circumstance when you may act differently is where the sign suddenly comes into view and you can reach the lower speed within a few seconds of passing the sign by closing the throttle. This may assist following traffic to adjust speed and will make the ride smoother. If this cannot be done you will have to brake and conform at the sign.

The Scales

There are things you can do which will contribute to securing a test pass. There are other things that will contribute towards a failure. You may find it helpful to imagine a candidate's performance as if measured on a set of scales.

On the plus side we have Safety, Smoothness and Progress. An example could be maintaining the correct distance behind a lorry so that you are not caught out if it brakes suddenly; you have a view of the road ahead and may even be able to overtake. Average motorcyclists may be too close and continually trying to peer around the side of the lorry (which accounts for the scratches on their crash helmets).

Difficult situations may also develop which give you the chance to show advanced skills by the way you deal with them.

On the negative side there are three categories of error, which carry different weight on the scales, as follows: -

The Law - If you break the law you fail. Things such as red traffic lights, 40 mph in 30 mph limits, not stopping at stop signs, going right of a keep left bollard and overtaking across unbroken white lines weigh quite heavily on the scales. No matter how dazzlingly brilliant the ride was up to that point a breach of the law cannot be condoned and, because it will not be possible to pass, the test is terminated. This is the only type of error, which causes the test to be stopped, and any other faults are dealt with at the debriefing.

Safety - If there are any major compromises in your safety or the safety of others (including me) then these will weigh heavily on the scales. Too many people having to swerve out of your path or pedestrians diving for cover will begin to make me wonder if I am watching an advanced motorcycle ride. Depending on the nature of the mistakes they will not automatically constitute a failure but the more of them and the more serious they are will make a test pass more doubtful.

Basic Errors - While these are not as serious as safety errors, a whole sack full of these on the scales will also put a pass out of reach. This type of fault includes those normally associated with a learner, such as dragging feet for yards after setting off or imprecise steering etc.

The Method

In order to be able to assess your riding I need to be able to see you. You will therefore need to glance in your mirrors from time to time to see if I am still around. Three or four vehicles in between us are not a problem; indeed I may even try to give you some following traffic to deal with. In this event I will try to be in such a position that you can still see me. If you cannot, then slow down. If I do not appear, then find somewhere to stop. As I appear, if you can set off again do so, if not I will stop before we continue. If you try to lose me to use up some test time you will be marked down for lack of rear observation and I add on some injury time at the end.

When you do look in your mirrors and see me, do not judge my position / lane as being correct for you. I may be in the wrong position to see more easily what you are doing (and I won't admit any different). If you do move into the same position I will probably move, and we will end up zig - zagging down the road. I also ride with my lights off on test unless they are essential as I feel it is distracting to have a motorcycle behind with lights on. Every time they go over a lose chipping you think it is a signal to stop. You do as you wish.

The message is, ride for yourself in your own way not how you imagine I want you to. Do treat me as following traffic and signal etc. to me as you would any other road user. At the end of the test, criticism will be levelled against things done unnecessarily as much as things missed which were necessary.

The Route

I will tell you the route when we meet for the test. This will be 90 minutes of various road types including urban and rural, dual carriageways and motorways if available. Following the route is not part of the test (within reason and the range of a 5 gallon fuel tank). I want you to devote your attention to your riding. Whatever makes this easier for you is the way we will negotiate the route. It may be in 2 or 3 stages, by towns and places, road numbers and names or by watching for my indicators.

If we stop during the test for further directions I will not comment on the ride up to then lest it adversely influence the remainder of the test. If you need to make an unscheduled stop for any reason such as toilets or removing a bee from your crash helmet then do so. You should be able to concentrate on your riding. I decide when the 90 minutes is up and will then overtake and lead to our destination if we are not already there.

The Result

I will almost certainly discount any errors made in the first few minutes of the test as being nerves. You must be able to put these to the back of your mind also. Whether made at the start or during the test mistakes will snowball if you are thinking about what just happened instead of what is going to happen next.

At the end of the test it is the performance as a whole that is assessed and the final resting point of the scales, taking into account all the good and the bad determines the result. I am not expecting a perfect ride. Everyone makes mistakes and in Advanced Motorcycling we are only trying to make them as seldom and insignificant as possible.

Finally, good luck. But then Advanced Motorcyclists do not need luck.

Jim McCarter I.A.M. Examiner For Salisbury & Southampton