Advanced motorcycle training is based on the book – Police Motorcycle Roadcraft – or is it?
Police Roadcraft for cars goes back to the 1930’s. It was written when there was no training or testing, you just went and bought a licence. Crashes were becoming a problem even with so few cars around.
Roadcraft for motorcycles arrived many years later in the 1970’s. Compulsory motorcycle training began in 1990.
The problem with Roadcraft is what isn’t in there. Although the latest version includes ‘Emergency Response’ riding, somewhat unwisely for public consumption, it is missing many of the actual tactics and maneouvres.
Probably just as well, but unfortunately the other stuff is continually passed on during advanced training.
These include ‘off siding’ – taking LH corners from the RH gutter; the ‘Suicide Swoop’ – overtaking vehicles around a LH corner; ‘making good progress’ – taking every opportunity to overtake (when you should never be in a hurry); going straight on from a RH turn lane; filtering up to the front of traffic queues as a routine; using cross hatched areas to overtake; going past ‘stop’ boards at road works when the lights are red etc. Some are Highway Code ‘should nots‘.
There are two basic rules for the public. Is it safe? But is it necessary?
If this wasn’t bad enough, ‘trail braking’ into corners has now been added rather publicly on National Highways BikeTek website via a video on Braking. This is standard racing practise, but really risky on the road, significantly reducing safety margins.
It comes from road racing. Most racing crashes are due to trail braking. ABS, particularly earlier versions, may not save you from a skid and fall and will not prevent the bike running wide.
What is more worrying is that it is presented as being safer, showing a total misunderstanding of the physics, which I think should be obvious to anyone.
Is braking while cornering in any vehicle safer? Of course not. To be fair, you could be mistaken on a motorbike, as the suspension dips noticeably, but this is grip being used up not created. Bikes also ‘yaw’ when the front brake is used when banked, which requiries an even greater lean angle.
The front brake also sits the bike up making it run wide or needs a steeper lean angle.
RoSPA and the IAM discourage braking in corners. You would fail any test if you did. But there are a number of independent advanced trainers and companies promoting it.
At the moment, absolutely anyone can set up themselves or even a large company providing advanced trainers, sometimes at eye watering costs. There are currently absolutely no barriers to entry.
They are probably acting unlawfully, as car, truck and bus trainers have to be DVSA licenced. Nobody cares or can be bothered.
Madness.
Do not be fooled by clever marketing, or assume ‘Police Class 1’ is a training qualification. It isn’t. It’s an out of date riding qualification. It’s now ‘Police Advanced’ but again it’s not a training qualification.
So we now have racing techniques in addition to the use of police ’emergency response’ and ‘pursuit’ tactics being promoted.
Fatalities were up 8% last year. This isn’t helping.
Time for The Law on commercial trainers to be enforced?
What do riders learn by experience – trial and error?
What is not learned by experience, for which additional training is needed?
Summary
The background is a 8% increase in PTW KSI’s last year, and a recent 50% increase in young rider KSI’s. It’s currently aĺl going the wrong way.
The DVSA data below indicates that it currently takes around 25 years, on average, for 80% of riders to master riding a motorcycle competently.
Far too long?
In order:- ‘Cornering‘, ‘Planning‘, ‘Defensive Riding‘, ‘Use of Speed‘ and ‘Overtaking – were found as the major rider shortcomings
‘Braking‘ and ‘Filtering‘ also stand out as particular extra training needs.
We now know what additional training is needed, and where current learner training and testing is falling short.
The Enhanced Rider Scheme looks to be effective, well managed and subject to continuous improvement.
In contrast, no benefits were found from current ‘Advanced’ training. (Agilisys).
Government action should be considered to make DVSA ERS licensed training far more available in the interests of public safety. This could easily be achieved by making DVSA trainer licensing compulsory for all commercial trainers. This would ensure, that the training is properly and safely conducted, and focused on the priorities.
The charities working in the sector, with volunteers, should also all be working to the same official standards.
History
The DVSA Enhanced Rider Scheme (ERS) was launched in 2006. It was to provide additional safety training for licence holders, particularly those returning to riding in later years.
Up to 1989 the examiner stood by the roadside, so it is only after this date that examiners followed riders on their test.
Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) was not introduced until 1990.
Currently most riders over 50 years old will not have had any training, nor been subject to a ‘pursuit’ licence test.
Findings
This is the data supplied by the DVSA following an information request. The speed of the response shows that the DVSA have clearly been closely monitoring the ERS Scheme, on an ongoing basis.
This is, I believe, the latest 5 years of data. The first observation is how relatively few riders are attracted to the scheme. This is the only post-test training in the UK delivered by qualified licensed trainers. That it is such a small number of riders, is a concern.
The vast majority of post-test training is performed by volunteers, or untrained unlicensed trainers, mainly to Police Roadcraft standards, but also sometimes encouraging ’emergency response’ and racing practises, such as trail braking by commercial trainers.
(A recent review by Agilisys found no benefits from traditional ‘Advanced’ training).
There is no other published rider assessments that I can find.
DVSA Data
The bar graph shows the number of riders who needed, or who did not need, additional training following their riding assessments.
Green is needed training, Red is didn’t.
If you compare ERS attendees to the population of riders by age, you get this:-
Young riders look neglected? These are at the highest risk, so it looks like an opportunity?
The ERS scheme was aimed at ‘returning riders‘ and has hit the mark.
Training needs diminish up to 45, where the number of riders peak, then increases again. Strange?
There are are also two large peaks in training needs. 17-30 and 51-65 years – the Red bars vs the Green bars.
Training needed by age
If you present the data as the percentage of riders, by age, requiring training, a rather odd profile emerges.
Having stared at it for some time, and initially considering it as two separate distributions, a ‘light bulb’ moment.
You might have come across Dunning-Kruger before. It’s the journey from:-
‘Unconsciously incompetent’ to ‘Unconsciously competent’
The theory has been applied across many different fields. In this case the ‘Y’ axis is ‘training required’ – incompetence not confidence. However, it does look like younger riders don’t seem to be looking for more training, so could be over confident?
If you flip the graph, competence is shown to peak at 41-45 years. It then deteriorates as we move into later life.
It maybe a bit misleading, as the scheme is aimed at ‘born again‘ bikers, who have a big experience gap. And these will be riders who mainly felt they needed more training.
The riders over 50 will likely not have had training or a pursuit licence test, so are essentially a different group, who are mostly untrained.
But their apparent ‘lack of competence’ is not reflected in the accident figures at all. So there looks like there is no relationship between competence, as measured, and the risk of a collision.
Modules taken
So what additional training was found to be needed to get riders up to standard?
You can see there is no particular training needs identified. They are various. Training needs are across a wide spectrum.
‘Cornering‘ tops the chart, followed by ‘Planning‘, ‘DefensiveRiding‘, Progress and Overtaking.
This is where rider needs are identified, that needed extra training.
This identifies ‘Braking‘ as the main need – more than a third of riders, and nearly twice the demand of the next module. Braking from higher speeds is not part of the licence test – just from 30 mph.
Probably circa 50% of riders cannot meet Highway Code braking distances from higher speeds, and many skid and fall in an emergency. It is encouraging that this is recognised and is being addressed.
‘Filtering‘ is the second most popular training module, which is widely known to be hazardous.
Training vs Casualties (KSI).
If you add casualties by age (orange line), you now have a complete data set.
Young rider vulnerability is very clear. 10% of riders but 28% of the casualties.
After 30 years of age, KSIs roughly follows the rider population, with a divergence from 40-50, where the accident rate halves, before moving back to a standard KSI percentage.
So is the 40 – 50 group showing the results of experience? Or the peak of physical or mental ability? How much are older new riders part of the problem?
The answer is probably the lack of compulsory learner training and pursuit testing for the older riders, which only became compulsory in 1990.
If you look at the downward slope of the orange KSI line, there is an upward bump at 50 years which coincides with the introduction of CBT. It then continues downwards at the same slope but displaced upwards.
It will be interesting to see if this bump moves further along in the coming years.
Conclusions
It’s difficult to draw firm conclusions, but the data seems to confirm the positive impact of CBT from 1990. The ‘bump’ currently at 50 years should move along year by year?
But that currently leaves older riders at relatively high risk, which still needs addressing.
The high level of KSIs for younger riders is graphically illustrated, with a steep circa 10 year learning curve which also needs urgent action. This surely should be the priority?
The most obvious risk, which could be quickly addressed, is in young riders moving from a moped to a geared 125cc motorcycle with no additional training, despite the massively increased risk.
After 30 years old, the graph shows a steady decline in KSI’s which is probably continuous learning by experience, but at a lower steady rate.
This would seem an ideal opportunity to review learner training and testing (which will be ongoing internally within the DVSA) to address identified shortcomings in training.
Although inevitably, any major changes will have to be a political decision. This to balance the accessibility to PTWs, which are currently very high risk, with public safety.
The ERS scheme is currently poorly promoted and consequently very under-utilized, with far too few riders trained to likely have any effect. Only circa 1,000/year based on these figures.
The graph also suggests that ‘advanced’ training doesn’t currently fill the lack of learner training within older riders >50 years.
This would appear to support the recent Agilisys report, which found no benefits from advanced training.
Unqualified and unlicensed advanced trainers are currently allowed (probably illegally) to train riders commercially. This puts properly trained qualified and licensed DVSA trainers at a financial disadvantage, but more importantly potentially puts riders at risk,
The argument has always been that The Law states ‘driver‘ not ‘rider‘ trainers have to be DVSA licensed. However the CPS definition of ‘driver‘ is whoever is steering – by legal precedent I understand. This would include ‘riders’.
This could be implemented today.
The Enhanced Rider Scheme has been around for 19 years and is collecting data which will be used to improve training. The scheme has trained, tested, qualified, licensed trainers. They have a syllabus and standards to work to:- ‘Ride – The Essential Skills’. They are also regularly check tested whilst delivering the training.
It only costs around £1,000 for a week’s training to obtain a DVSA trainer’s license.
Government action is needed to make this compulsory, in the interests of public safety. Motorcycle riders are the most vulnerable road users by a margin, so need the best training available.
The ERS scheme is established and proven, so just needs fully implementing, as I believe was always intended.
We now know what is needed to get riders up to standard, and what the priorities are.
Police BikeSafe assesses circa 7,500 riders per year, with 20% or 1,500 going in to take further training. RoSPA and the IAM also provide ‘advanced’ training although the total numbers are not published, nor any findings.
Are they focussing on the same identified rider’s priority needs to stay safe, and shortcomings?
And as only 1,000 riders/year are being been ERS trained, with a population of 1.7 million, we’re all just scratching the surface.
Feedback and opinion encouraged.
Mike Abbott MBA, RoADAR (Dip), DVSA RPMT 800699, ACU Coach #62210
As motorcyclists, the problem with young riders is something we are going to have to tackle ourselves. If we want anything to change.
I came across 5 young riders on a single day last week, probably all riding illegally. One had no headlight, 3 were wearing shorts and T-Shirts. Two had proper kit and were riding off-road bikes. Gave me a nod as they passed me on my E-MTB.
If I’d been on my KTM they may well have stopped for a chat.
I trained the Notts police off-road team many years ago, who were very successful in tackling the off-road riding problem. But that is not where the problems mainly are. It’s on road. Off road riding really is just a nuisance – mainly noise, and complaints from land owners. Tractors do far more damage.
So what can you do?
Firstly discourage your youngsters from riding a motorcycle if under 16 years, when they can do their CBT. An E-Cycle or E-MTB can be legally ridden from 14 years. Good chance to learn braking and handling skills – and the use of disc brakes and suspension movement.
They can race mini motos etc. and off-road, but it’s expensive. There are facilities in some areas where they can ride, but sadly they are rare. There is no national equivalent of ‘Young Drivers’. There should be.
Personally I’ve never had a problem talking to young riders. Never had any abuse.
Motorcyclists come from all walks of life, sharing a common interest. If you breakdown roadside the next biker along may well stop to help.
The Problem
In 2022, in the 14-16 young rider age group:-
115 KSIs in total
60 were underage
55 were riding 125cc machines illegally
In 2023, in the 17-20 year old group:-
36 young rider fatalities
50% higher than the 24 fatalities in 2019
Double the number from 2020, which at 18 fatalities, was probably affected by COVID 19.
The extent of the problem seems to be a well kept secret.
The Main Issues
Illegal E-Scooters.
Average rider age 16 years.
50 deaths all ages so far. >1,000 serious injuries.
Underage Riders
40% of fatalities. Many others probably had no licence. Proper training is vital.
Upgrading to a 125cc
The risk of upgrading from a 30 mph moped to a 125cc geared bike capable of 60 mph with no extra training.
No legal requirement for more training. The vast majority of KSI’s are on 125’s.
Emergency Braking.
The DVSA advice is wrong. Apply your rear brake immediately. Do not snatch the front brake lever, or stamp on the rear brake. Apply the brakes steadily. Practice.
Consider riding with two fingers on the front brake lever and clutch, and just squeeze both in an emergency. This should save you >1 sec and critically should reduce your impact speed by around 15 mph or maybe avoid an impact altogether. You’ll probably survive a 30 mph crash, but not at 40 mph.
A New Approach?
I started again, this time with pre-teen riders and Bikeability, who are supported by the Dft.
We already know that there is a serious problem with PTW braking, so I asked them how they teach braking to young cyclists.
Received an immediate response. Somebody cares.
They are taught to ride covering their brakes, how to brake progressively, and particularly to avoid snatching the front brake. Perfect.
So moving to a motorcycle, the skills are immediately transferable.
The question is then why are PTW riders not taught to cover their brakes, and why is PTW braking so poor?
Bikeability cover 44% of younger riders who should be more open to accepting advice before they become teenagers. Braking skills can be embedded more easily with younger riders creating ‘muscle memory’.
There is now also a ‘halfway house’ with E-Cycles from 14 years, which they also cover, many with disc brakes and front suspension, where they can experience weight transfer and the front suspension compressing when braking.
Motorcycles and cycles could be part of the National Curriculum, within Physics, centre of mass, friction, tipping, leaning, speed, gyroscopes, kinetic energy, braking distances etc. I think it helps when you have a practical example of the theory.
Regarding the essential difference between cycles and motorbikes, it is simply speed, and mastering throttle control which is straight forward.
What is vital to grasp, and to be taught, is that momentum obeys a ‘Square Law’. So it takes 16 x further to stop from a motorbike’s 60 mph as it does from a bicycle’s 15 mph.
The major danger is young riders jumping on motorcycles of 125cc and above, which can get to 60mph or more, without any training.
The truth is no one currently knows exactly how experience makes riders safer, although some things seem obvious.
Riders probably mainly learn either by crashing, or having near misses. Trial and error.
I crashed a dozen times in my first year of riding, but apart from racing, only twice since – both at very low speed on slippery surfaces.
Motorcycle training didn’t exist at the time. My parents generation didn’t even have a licence test.
I learned that scraping the floorboards on my Lambretta lifted the wheels off the ground, more so with a pillion (sorry Graham).
I learned that a car moving over when I was trying to overtake was not necessarily to let me pass (He was ‘swan necking’ and turned right). I got prosecuted for ‘lack of care and attention’ via A&E. (Sorry Andy – pillion).
I learned cars and trucks often didn’t see me, and pulled out it front of me.
I found wet roads had far less grip than dry.
I found out what ‘black ice’ was and where it often formed, and how slippery snow was when compacted, but fresh snow was better.
I found out oil and diesel were also slippery and where you might find them (petrol station forecourts and nearby roundabouts).
I also found mud on the road was particularly slippery too, and where farmers and construction companies often left it. This was a surprise as I’d taught myself, with the help of my sister’s boyfriend Tony Dyer, by riding around waste land next to Southend Airport on an old 98cc James. Mud was better when it was deeper!
(The police and wealthy land owners largely prevent the current generation of youngsters learning how to control a motorbike this way, away from road hazards. Mike Hailwood (who) learned the same way, so did Casey Stoner and many other top riders).
The Notts police have a 12 man team on dirt bikes, a helicopter and patrol cars. You’d think they’d be better deployed elsewhere like city centres tackling anti social riding, the out of control gig economy, private E-Scooters etc etc. No one bothered me, and clearly noise wasn’t an issue, but continually smelling of aircraft fuel was.
I found out tractor drivers couldn’t apparently see or hear, and were generally oblivious.
I found gravel in places, that was also very slippery, but figured out why and where – mostly. I also found out it can be difficult to recognise on some surfaces, again recently.
I discovered white lines were like ice when wet, drain covers were always slippery as was overbanding (thin lines of tarmac on joints)
I found leaves were slippery too in the autumn.
I found out my brakes were better than my bicycle, and I also now didn’t go over the handlebars if I braked as hard as I could.
I found the rear brake worked better than the front, and a rear skid didn’t mean a fall although a front skid did. (Old drum brakes).
I also found that stamping on the rear brake or snatching at the front, often caused a skid.
I found out some of my mates were lunatics. The wheelie on a 50cc Honda along the top of a double brick wall outside Leigh-on Sea Community Centre wasn’t big or clever, was it Phil? Spectacular – I’ll give you that. A helmet might have been a good idea (not compulsory then). Just a broken arm was quite lucky.
I then learned, after my licence test, that my Triumph Tiger 110 could corner far quicker, went twice as fast, but that the throttle could jam wide open. But I never dropped it.
I found out I could do a ton-up fly past of the Blinking Owl on the A127. And by following another rider, if you got it wrong coming through Raleigh Cutting just before the cafe, and went over a sequence of drain covers, you could end up running wide, across the Esso station forecourt, and through a nice white fence.
I saw a few riders panic and crash on rural bends when I was following them, or they were following me, but I didn’t. I just leaned the bike further.
Interestingly, when I returned to riding 15 years later, I learned quickly to cope with more than twice the power, a bike capable of 140 mph that would both wheelspin, wheelie and do stoppies, but didn’t seem to like corners (Kawasaki GPZ1100 A3).
There followed a selection of sports bikes of ever increasing speed and power, until commonsence finally prevailed after 3 weeks riding an adventure bike around New Zealand. I bought a KTM 950SM in 2007 which I still have. (I still do trackdays on classic bikes).
I seemed to have learned not to panic somehow, and to instinctively brake or swerve before I’ve realised what is happening. I found out that this is called ‘muscle memory’ but it isn’t, it’s learned instinctive reactions without conscious thought.
And how to brake really hard and steer consciously in what seems to be what I call ‘slow time’ to avoid a collision. I guess it’s the effect of adrenaline?
I’ve dropped it twice at zero miles/hr, on an oil slick on the roundabout over the M1 Junction 29, and last year on gravel in a car park whilst putting it on the side stand.
I’ve had some crashes racing. Two bad ones. I locked the front going into Sears at Snetterton on an unfamiliar bike with better brakes, and had a corker when my TZ350 seized flat out going into the Esses at Mallory (before the chicane was put in and the tyre wall moved back).
Not all learn by trial and error, some mates and other riders continue to have the same collisions. Some only have one crash. If they survive, many don’t ride again.
Some continue to generally crash regularly.
But most simply seem to ride more carefully.
Research shows that the chances of a crash diminish by 40% every time experience doubles, in the early years.
Research has also found ‘advanced’ post-test training is ineffective, riders just go faster, ride more, and have different types of crashes. They are also more likely to blame others, which is unhelpful. It’s all far too late and far too ‘clever’, (as a RoSPA instructor).
The problem is also that crash reporting systems are so poor, despite ‘black boxes’ in many new vehicles. So root causes of crashes are guessed.
The current system is performed by the police, who appear to focus on blame and prosecutions rather than prevention.
BikeSafe is, I believe, mainly a PR exercise as they say it’s ‘not training’. I could explain why but it would take too long and doesn’t make any sense. Any biker likes a ride out – even better if you’re getting paid and on a company bike. But go anyway, you’ve nothing to lose and it’s cheap, and you will learn some good stuff from receiving something that’s ‘not training’. (It is really). And you’ll find police riders are generally a great bunch in this setting.
Back to crashes. We don’t know how experienced riders were, only how old, so we can’t match the type of crashes with experience.
We don’t even know if they had a licence or any training. This is a factor in over a third of fatal crashes in Sweden, and even higher in the US where this factor is reported.
40% of young rider fatalities in the UK are underage. Many others won’t have a licence. So no training is probably 50% of the problem, but could be up to 80%? (Pareto’s Principle).
This is where we all really need to focus, learners, young and newly qualified riders, but everyone needs to be critically aware of the child protection issues from both sides.
These are what I believe are the common issues with ‘Advanced Training’ from the unqualified and unlicenced, and the charity sector observers and tutors exceeding their roles, trying to provide training not assessments, ignoring official riding advice and standards, thinking they know better.
The source is probably, at least in part, old police ‘pursuit’ and ’emergency response’ practises – usually on a marked bike but could also be unmarked surveillance:-
You will probably not receive any training to brake from high speed, so you need to master this before you go.
The key thing is not to snatch the front brake lever, so you need to continually practise so you automatically just squeeze it in an emergency with increasing pressure. Practice braking from higher speeds until it becomes automatic.
Use both brakes and cover the front brake with your two inside fingers when you can. This should reduce your reaction time by around 1 second – 88 feet at 60 mph. The difference between stopping and a 40 mph, probably fatal impact. Use a phone App such as iAccel Lite with care. The standard is 0.67 g average. I went though all my training and trainer training without anyone ever checking I could stop from high speed.
If you are presented with a two-way radio, walk away. This is in direct breach of DVSA standards. Radios should be one way only, for obvious safety reasons. The trainer would probably not have been trained in the correct instruction protocols to keep riders safe.
If you are shown the ‘suicide swoop’, which I have by an ex-police rider – overtaking an HGV on a LH bend – forget it. Unnecessary and very dangerous.
If you’re shown ‘off siding’ – taking a LH corner from the RH gutter – forget it as above. These are two old ‘pursuit’ techniques. Never cross the centre line except when overtaking, and don’t cut corners.
Be aware if you move out near the offside kerb to get a better view, you may not see RHS hazards, and emerging vehicles from your right will not be expecting you. You could also be in the blind zone of the vehicle in front, which could pull out.
If you’ve been pressurised into overtaking at every opportunity – don’t. You shouldn’t be in a hurry. Only overtake when you are absolutely certain there are no hazards.
Be very careful filtering. It’s not necessary and it’s hazardous. You may well be encouraged to do it at every opportunity. The training is usually to look for a gap ahead so you can get back in, but there’s no guarantee it will still be there when you get there, and you could be ‘hung out to dry’. Also, if there is a gap it’s often for another road user. This could be for a pedestrian to cross, a car to emerge etc. The gap is very unlikely to have been left for you.
When filtering, treat every vehicle you pass as a separate overtake, and make sure there is the space to slot back in, in front of them.
Only filter past stationary vehicles or vehicles travelling < 10 mph.
Don’t filter up the inside between the traffic and the kerb. Drivers and others won’t expect it, and gutters are often full of debris.
When filtering in between two lines of traffic, or when using a bus lane, be aware of hazards appearing from the RHS as well as the LHS.
Don’t filter right up to the front. If you’re in between two lanes the RH driver may not see you and you may get squeezed on take off. You might also get some competition at the ‘traffic light Grand Prix’ as you will probably need to get immediately ahead to stay safe. This can be very dangerous. Look out for sports cars and hot hatches – (and anyone with his cap on backwards). Stop in a space one car back from the front.
Be very careful filtering down the outside, particularly on narrow roads.
Don’t filter up front by using the RH turn lane unless you are sure that you can get back in. Don’t go straight ahead from the RH turn lane. Other road users will expect you to turn right, and if there’s a RH traffic light filter, you’ll be blocking the lane.
I’ve been deliberately pushed into oncoming traffic when filtering, in one case over a double white line by an irate driver who thought I should stay behind him. Got very close to an HGV coming the other way. The drivers had all moved over to give me room. The driver in question did the same until I appeared. He then seemed to realise why everyone was doing it. He then pulled back out just as I was almost next to his car. Many years ago we had a driver opening his car door in front of a group of us, standing in the road trying to stop us passing him.
The lesson is, even if you think a driver has moved over to let you past, you may be mistaken.
Many police riders appear to have been taught ‘pursuit’, are hugely experienced, but they have one other big advantage over the rest of us – a marked bike. From my experience they still ride the same way on a civilian bike when training the public, although it’s usually white, and they often wear a police hi viz jacket with chequered stripes.
Be very careful cornering. You may be following your trainer, and he could be going very quickly. He may be encouraging you to ride at the same pace, potentially taking you out of your comfort zone, leaving you very vulnerable to a panic induced crash.
You may be encouraged to routinely trail brake into corners using the front or rear brakes. If you have to brake into a corner then you have entered it too fast. It makes very little difference to your journey times, but increases your entry speed and uses up some of your safety margin. DVSA and Roadcraft advice is to brake before the corners for obvious safety reason. There is currently a widely publicised MCN video promoting front wheel trail braking into every corner by an ex-police rider from a well known training company. Ignore it.
If you have to brake into or mid corner, DVSA and Roadcraft advice is to carefully apply the rear brake only. This is difficult and risky to practise on the road. However, you can with care, and you can also make sure that your foot is ready. You can also make sure you are using the rear brake regularly as you are stopping normally. Some riders never use it.
Police riders have also done far more riding than almost all civilians, being on a bike most days, so are hugely experienced and have been very well and continuously trained over many years. They are used to riding at high speeds well above the speed limits. I’ve had a couple of ex-police riders come on the DVSA Enhanced Riders Scheme. They didn’t say they were ex-police, and were both surprised when I asked them when they left. They are easy to spot from their attitude and the way they ride – usually at circa 85 mph when they get the chance.
Passing on their knowledge tends to be difficult for many police riders and others. Most are handicapped as they’ve never been taught how to train and pass on their knowledge properly. We used to have a number of police track coaches at The School. Not now. They are trained to be unemotional, impersonal, remote and aloof, so have to overcome this. A large part of the DVSA post-test trainer’s course is how to train using a well-established modern teaching method known as ‘client centred learning’.
The ex-police and some civilian trainers will often check where the speed cameras will likely be before they plan your route. This info is publicly available from some forces, so they would not be overly concerned of being caught speeding. You should adhere to speed limits, so don’t be encouraged to speed.
You may be encouraged to ride on motorways and dual carriageways at 85mph next to the centre barrier. There are some good reasons for this, but be aware that cameras on motorways are far more common, some mobile sitting on the bridges. Stick to or close to the speed limit – probably an indicated 75. You are probably at least as safe on the inside lane at 60 mph with the hard shoulder as an escape route.
Never do anything that you feel is unsafe. Ever. Ride away.
Inform children and parents of the risks of riding E-Scooters. Explain the dangers of riding any PTW when underage or without a licence, and without proper training.
Ban E-Scooters. Require any powered vehicle, wherever used, in public or on private land, to meet Highway Code stopping distances (0.7g) Include hoverboards, ball boards, unicycles etc.
Encourage the use of E-Cycles for 14 years and above.
Make ABS (anti-lock) brakes mandatory for all A1 (125cc) motorcycles
Require riders to retake a CBT when upgrading from a moped to a 125c A1 motorbike.
The Problems
40%, probably more, young motorcycle rider fatalities up to 18 years were riding illegally without any training.
50% of KSIs up to 18 years were underage for the motorcycle they were riding.
This seems to be a well kept secret. You can confirm this if you use the government’s freely available accident database. We don’t know how many of the others didn’t have a licence. They probably received no training. Maybe another 10% or more? More thanhalf the problem?
In 2022 there was only a single 16 year old rider fatality who was riding legally – (Probably).
Young rider Fatalities 2022 in detail
YOUNG RIDER FATALITIES 2014-2023
Over the past 10 years, we have seen an average of 1 death/year of a rider below 16 years. But the situation appears to be worsening.
There are an average of 3 deaths/year for riders aged 16. They were probably mostly riding illegally.
There are also 7 deaths/year for riders each year from 17 up to 20 years old, nearly 300 in total. There is no information available as to how many did not have a proper licence.
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
< 16
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
1
3
2
16
1
5
3
3
2
1
2
3
6
2
17-20
33
38
26
26
28
24
18
29
36
35
50cc A1 mopeds aren’t the major issue, but 125 cc A1 motorbikes are. They don’t need to have anti-lock brakes that larger capacity bikes now have to – which makes no sense.
Young riders are mainly a risk to themselves. They are simply demonized by The Press as ‘anti-social’. This view is taken rather than seeing them as children at serious risk.
Young Rider KSI’s 2018 and 2022
Many young riders at 17 move from a 50cc 28 mph twist and go, to a geared 125cc motorbike. They can now easily ride at 60 mph with no extra training. Out they go onto A roads and the countryside at considerable personal risk. KSI’s now more than double.
The number of KSIs of underage riders, 16 and younger, is nearly static. In contrast, overall KSIs for this age group has declined by 25% over the last 4 years. But the underage problem appears to be unaffected.
E-Scooters
In 2022, 440 E-Scooter riders were seriously injured. The highest frequency was in the 10-19 years age group. Estimates suggest that about 150 young riders sustained serious injuries. These account for approximately one-third of all injuries. (Government E-Scooter Fact Sheet).
E-Scooters look to have increased 16 years and younger young rider fatalities by >50%, and KSI’s by 400%.
E-Scooters apparently look set to be legalised.
The average E-Scooter rider age is 16 years, youngest 11 years or less.
There are probably now 1.5 million E-Scooters in the UK.
To date, 50 E-Scooter riders and 1 pedestrian have been killed. An unknown number, but probably at least 500/year seriously injured.
TRL research confirmed the poor braking on E-Scooters. The kerb height they can negotiate has had to be reduced. It has been lowered from the standard 10 cm to 3 cm. This puts riders at risk. And that they are unstable, generally poorly maintained needing constant brake adjustment, had steering faults and underinflated tyres.
For local Government rentals, the Dft doubled the braking distance standard for E-scooters. When all other vehicles would have stopped from 15 mph, an E-Scooter would still be doing 11 mph. Speed related fatalities start at 9 mph.
You can buy an E-Scooter capable of close to 50 mph. Others are easy to tamper with to de-restrict. >40 mph is possible.
The obvious alternatives are E-Cycles. They are legal at 14 years and can stop to Highway Code standards. E-Cycles can also negotiate standard kerbs and use less energy. You have to pedal, which also helps fitness.
British Superbike School 