Muddling Through

Making progress is a key mantra for IAM/Roadsmart training, it means proceeding briskly, confidently and efficiently while maintaining your safety and that of others. It is something police officers are trained to do so that they can reach emergencies without causing accidents in the process. This police derived methodology has been translated into advanced training for civilian riders.

My initial reaction was to think, ‘this is just what I need’ as I was experiencing increasingly frightening incidents with drivers who often seemed in no mood to take prisoners. What caught my eye was their reference to defensive riding. The process kicks off with a taster session, it works both ways, you find out a bit more about the course and it enables them to assess your performance.

I was allocated an observer, their word for a tutor. The training takes place on a one-to-one basis, each session is a little over two hours with a break in the middle. The cost of the course is in the region of £160 but you end up paying nearly twice that as you must contribute to the observer’s fuel plus buying coffees and there are booklets they advise you purchase.

The associate, or trainee, goes first following directions given by the observer behind via their indicators. This was a surprise as I thought instruction would be by radio link. On the good side, it makes you use your mirrors. I found it a strain as my old bike vibrates the mirrors and the observer’s big adventure bike had lights and indicators close together.

In parallel to the above I went on group ride outs on the advice of my observer, these are set at three levels. The beginner one was OK, but it quickly became obvious that my heavy 1980’s tourer, with shaft drive, wasn’t as nimble as the powerful modern racers and enduro type machines ridden by the others so I slowed the following riders and felt stressed for doing so.

After this, the observer encouraged me to take bends faster using various techniques and I improved as a result but not before a few occasions when I got it wrong and I was lucky not to have been injured. This process hardly felt that safety was the uppermost consideration no matter how much they said it was. More ‘do or die’ in my opinion.

My tutor signed me up for a level two ride out which turned out to be too fast for me. I tried to maintain position, but it was getting scary and I felt the lead rider was charging through bends on their 150 bhp bike in situations where, it seemed to me, impossible to see far ahead.

I wonder if attaining an advanced rider qualification does not feel like an immunity against misfortune. At another point on a second ride out the route flicked to a metaled farm road, raised about the fields it passed across. My bike started to oscillate, I had to slow as I was beginning to lose control, meanwhile the lead bike became a speck in the distance. It felt dangerous.

When I confronted the ride organiser about this speed matter I was told that I should go at my own pace, I suppose that meant that they would wait up ahead. However, there is a pressure to keep up. When I mentioned the oscillation issue, I was told to get better shock absorbers, my bike had only just passed its MOT with no advisories. I upgraded anyway even though I don’t ride like that.

The experience left me both fed up and humiliated. I was told that Rospa were less concerned with making progress so I had a taster session with them only to find, if anything, there was more of an expectation to overtake – when safe to do so of course. I quickly found that I did not always see the need to overtake when they did.

The course involves relearning ingrained habits, it reminds you to keep your bike in top condition and makes you think about positioning, hazards, to read the road in advance and how to pass in the safest way. I'm a plodder though, too long in the tooth for pressing forward.

I will nip by other vehicles if necessary but the words 'making progress' jars as I'm happy to stay in line. For me, the term is better applied to motorcycle endeavours like becoming acquainted with far off places and upgrading my bikes.

I won't bother then.

1 hour ago, AMB said:

I won't bother then.

haha - i thought i was reasonably balanced, depends on your tutor's i guess, i did end up with the basics but didn't like the forced pace. the near serious accidents i've had were associated with overtaking so i'm a bit on the anti-overtake side of things unless driven to it but even then it needs planing as opposed to a routine thing.

dunno about u amb but there's two likely areas we are most likely to get wiped out, junctions and overtaking imo - maybe bends too but with experience most have got the hang of them

My uncle was a Police bike trainer, he must have been a contractor as he wasn't a police officer. He also taught the BMF Blue Riband Instuctors. My Auntie made me go for a few rides with him when I first got into riding, I don't remember his philosophy making me ride faster than I was comfortable with. It was mostly about defensive riding, observation, prediction etc. as well as the obvious things like not sitting in blind spots, riding through corners etc.

I then got onto doing a Police Bikesafe course and that was fantastic. The police wanted you to ride at your normal pace, weren't interested in you speeding, they said they want to see you how you really ride and would make you safer. I was a bit of a moron then as was in my mid 20s, and was always speeding, the police followed me and talked to me after about what I was doing what was dangerous, what I could do better, and what I was doing well etc. It was the best course I've ever done.

I did another course, can't remember if it was BMF, IAB etc, but they were teaching the SMIDSY maneuver, essentially wiggling your handle bars before junctions to ensure car drivers see you. Although the instructors could do it safely, confidently and smoothly, I never could. I still today don't do it after trying quite a bit, I still feel the risk in wobbling your bars before a junction is more likely to be a risk than stopping when the car pulls out. Obvisouly depends on the road and conditions etc.

Now in Australia, training sucks, it's all track based. I've done three track sessions with the Honda training centre which uses an ex police training track. Now the training is great, but it only applies to roads with zero traffic and junctions. I really wish they had proper road based training out here.

Just thought, one key thing my uncle always tried to drum into me. Always practice emergency stops. Which reminds me I haven't practiced it since my last bike course about two years ago.

i agree with the above, common sense stuff. i don't know what got into iam and rospa, the two main training bodies here about 'making progress' it really isn't the best tactic on our crowded roads in the UK.

to my mind there are three dangers, junctions, overtaking and to a lesser extent bends, the latter is just experience. emergency braking, good thing to master of course but i'd say best never to let yourself get in that position if you can, animals might run out that's true. i try and leave gaps, use the gears to get speed down for bends and generally look well ahead for anything that might cause a hazard.

I did mine with the manchester branch and although they were always mentioning making progress, this didn't phase me and even lost the observer one time on the twists. he then claimed i was speeding when I defiantly wasn't. I do enjoy a spirited ride, although I do like to look around if touring so ride accordingly.

I got different observers each session which provided a balanced approach as it def is their personal approach within the framework.

I got a lot out of it and suss a lot of idiots out before they make their move. I do think its depends on who you have observing.

I use my bike daily for commuting to work so get the worst of the issues due to riding at peak hours through a city. Three main culprits, pulling out from junctions even when they bloody see me, pulling out on roundabouts very frequently i think the drivers think they'll fit along side me, and lastly quickly pulling out of stationary traffic into the lane i'm in as they think there;s a space, or even if it's a bus lane and I'm in, they decide to swerve out quickly in to the bus lane as they're turning left in a few hundred meters.