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New UK bike test is really crap!!!

1K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  yetti motorcycl 
#1 ·
Just took my module 1 motorcycle test. I have been riding in the US since I was 18 (now 29) and moved over to briten a couple of years ago and been riding loads over here but my international liscence is about to expire and had to take a british test. I have now taken 3 old style tests with no result and done the new test 1st module and was failed for being 1KPH under the required speed for the emergency stop and the object avoidance. Which is actually over the national speed limit for surface roads where you would likley encounter Objects that you would need to avoid.

Anybody else had similar problems?

For you that are not familiar with UK laws you can drive for a year on a US liscence but then must take a test unless you leave the UK for a period of 28 or more days a year based on residency.

The UK seems to deem you unfit to ride after you have been here a year and I am tired of lining the pockets of the DVLA because they will not convert my US liscence.

Sorry for the rant but am really steamed as I have spent £1200 on traning and tests.
 
#2 ·
The BBC agrees with you

BBC NEWS | UK | New motorbike test is under fire - CLICKY

and a bit of video

BBC NEWS | UK | Anger over motorbike 'swerve test'

To be honest, the swerve test looks just like what you might do on a 30mph, 40mph or even 50mph road to avoid a wet manhole cover. I think that part of the problem is that the test centres are physically too small to permit safe, controlled acceleration and braking by mostly inexperienced riders in the wet.

British bike test examiners are often former motorcycle police or former police motorcycle trainers, so they are REAL sticklers for perfection. It is a tough and demanding test because of this.
 
#3 ·
U.K. Motorcycle Operator License



The U.K. motorcycle licensing and test requirements are tough! I was like you, experienced at riding for years in the U.S. We moved to the U.K. and we brought my bike along. To get a U.K. motorcycle license (I quickly learned NOT to call it an "endorsement" - a Court/DVLA restriction, rather than a privilege!) I had to take a multi-week riding course with all of the beginners, mostly teens), and take the riding tests (NOT easy, as you pointed out), but there was also an oral exam by the DVLA tester. And pricey - yes! When I finally passed and took the paperwork to our neighborhood post office for our friendly neighborhood postal person to complete and send off to DVLA Swansea (where we also lived) he closed the place down and took me to the pub down the road for a celebratory pint! I used to say that the U.K. system was set up especially to wear people down! That was some years ago - it's probably changed at least some since then. Good luck, and hopefully you'll get your license quickly!
 
#4 ·
sooooooo...................let me see, and yeah, maybe play a little devils advocate ( and no not just to argue)

it seems they instituted a higher standard to ride on 2 wheels, which yeah is definetly more dangerous than 4.

The swerve test makes sense to me, since I have had to swerve at 80mph before, seems sometimes things end up on the highway, and when following behind traffic, it comes at ya real quick.

and who complained about injuries ?

it said novice rider, where on gods green earth does she get off saying what is applicable to riding a motorcycle ?

does her 10 miles of class time qualify her for this ?

motorcycles take time and experience to ride properly..........in california, any jerkoff can take a 2 day class, and suddenly be allowed to ride on the highway, ride at night, and take a passanger.....all of which I am against.

we were discussing how loud pipes save lives, you could just as easily save many with better licensing requirements, and for people to prove they have experience.

to drive a car, you go out with an instructor...........yet not for a bike

the swerve test is very applicable to riding
 
#5 ·
The U.K. motorcycle licensing and test requirements are tough! I was like you, experienced at riding for years in the U.S. We moved to the U.K. and we brought my bike along. To get a U.K. motorcycle license (I quickly learned NOT to call it an "endorsement" - a Court/DVLA restriction, rather than a privilege!) I had to take a multi-week riding course with all of the beginners, mostly teens), and take the riding tests (NOT easy, as you pointed out), but there was also an oral exam by the DVLA tester. And pricey - yes! When I finally passed and took the paperwork to our neighborhood post office for our friendly neighborhood postal person to complete and send off to DVLA Swansea (where we also lived) he closed the place down and took me to the pub down the road for a celebratory pint! I used to say that the U.K. system was set up especially to wear people down! That was some years ago - it's probably changed at least some since then. Good luck, and hopefully you'll get your license quickly!
Yep. The test has gotten longer, more awkward and the examiners are just as pedantic as they used to be.
 
#6 ·
was failed for being 1KPH under the required speed for the emergency stop and the object avoidance. Which is actually over the national speed limit for surface roads where you would likley encounter Objects that you would need to avoid.
Ummm, i hate to be pedantic, but are you saying that at over 30mph you're never going to need to swerve to avoid an object?
a pothole?
wet manhole cover?
roadkill?
debris on the road?

The test centres are annoyingly very small and this has been widely complained about. But i am glad that they're making it harder for people to pass the tests, there's too many idiot bike riders on the road... but i am sorry that something so small as a 1mph speed variation caused you to fail.

I don't doubt your riding skill after being on the roads (left side and right side) for over 10 years.

But sadly you need to take a UK bike test to ride on our roads.
So many other countries have such sub-standard tests that if you plan on staying here it's only right that you learn to ride on our roads and pass the same certification as the rest of us.

I had to take my US car license test (written and practical) when in the US on my student visa to be able to drive out there...
I could have passed it with my eyes closed!

I would be scared if i was a passenger in a car in London driven by someone who had recently passed their US driving test.
Round the block twice, stop at the stop sign, park back at the test centre and don't hit the kerb ....and you've passed! shocking!
And then you can go drive a pick-up the size of a house! :eek:

i'm sorry, i don't mean to be rude if it comes across that way.
I just get fed up with the large number of sub-standard drivers/riders i see every day.

We get so many immigrants from parts of the world where you can get a driving/bike license for just going in a straight line, it only seems fair that they should take a standardised UK test to let them drive/ride on our roads if they plan on staying here for more than a year, to at least prove that they're capable of riding somewhat safely...

The tests are expensive and i'm sorry that you had to encounter the new style of tests. I guess i'm lucky that i did mine a year and a half ago in the old style.
There has been widespread controversy about the new ones, but sadly that's what you need to pass to get the license, and sadly there's nothing we can do about it. :(

best of luck for your next test.
 
#7 ·
We get so many immigrants from parts of the world where you can get a driving/bike license for just going in a straight line...
It's ironic how many of them get jobs as cab drivers, van drivers, takeaway delivery drivers...

The ones I find the most worrying are the uninsured, untaxed, unlicensed loons from Eastern Europe (Albania, Poland, Latvia etc.) who think it's OK to have a skinful of vodka and then go for a spin in their decrepit 15 year old deathtrap of a Skoda/Lada. How many times have you heard on the news about a hit and run which turns out to be one of these guys? Too often.

Sorry to go off topic, but at least Yetti is trying to do the right thing as a guest in our country.
 
#8 ·
yes, i wasn't reprimanding Yetti for doing the honest thing and taking our tests. :)


I think it's slightly different for other European drivers. There's so many Latvian, Polish, Romanian & Lithuanian cars over here where the drivers obviously have no clue what they're doing.
 
#9 ·
i think, personally, they need to bring some of their driving and riding standards over here! i didnt study the manuals in school, our "simulator" was a joke, and when i went to take my written portion it was so easy (i think 10 questions) that i about busted out laughing! not to mention the driving portion. the DMV lady saw my car, said "you drive a 5 speed!?" and i went around the block and got my license.

yes...people mostly DO NOT learn to drive manual. you dont know how many people i know who can only drive automatic. its sickening...i think everyone should learn on a manual! and if you cant...well you better work on it till you can!

the bike tests are just as horrible. i had to take the written portion, and of course they tested my eyes (and at the time i only had ONE contact lens, then switched eyes with it and finished the eye portion! LOL), did the little computer thingy (and passed...again too easy, and they told me most people failed on their first attempt! LOL) and when i went to get my license i didnt even have to show that i could start the darn thing. of course, the DMV ladies put me through the wringer, but i just dont think they liked the way i looked, or were sick of their job. but the highway patrolman was nice and i was ready to do whatever he wanted, and all he needed was my license plate.

this is mississippi, but i think its about the same everywhere. sad really...i really wanted to do a few figure 8's, u-turns, and weaves LOL and i HAVE had to weave on the highway, at 70 mph, before. road gators (blown tires), potholes, and even some vinyl siding at one time. crazy!

we need stricter standards here and if you dont pass them you dont drive/ride! the roads already too full of idiot teens who shouldnt be behind the wheel in the first place! and older people as well! LOL
 
#10 ·
I totally agree that you have to be able to swerve to avoid object at over 30mph but if I saw a pothole, wet manhole, or injured and angry badger, I usually would not be acelerating out of a highspeed bend through a speed trap looking at my spedo, and then ancoring on my brakes in a 70/30 split between front and back to place my front tire in a 1m x 1m box on a wet car park with a pedantic little man tutting and ticking boxes on his clipboard.

I ride safe and conservative have never had a ticket on my bike or a spill and just want to continue riding the great roads in the uk without having to bend over for the government man and fork out more pounds sterling than my own body weight for the hounour.
 
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