Advanced Courses

[richyboy]

Howdy all,

Been a while..........

Can anyone recommend an Advanced Riding Course? I've been looking around for a while but there seem to be a number of choices.

Also, anyone in the Gloucester area recommend anything in particular - I know there is a local IAM Bikers thingummy-bob.

Thankings in advance of obviously constructive reponses.

Rich

[iainm9438]

i know that the police at the local bike nites were offering a course held at the fire station on eastern avenue.
i was going to do it this year but due to my shift pattern i couldn't.
it may be worth going to bearland and asking what they offer?
i will be doing it next year.
i did do a course in yate last year. it was only a day course held by an ex copper but it was well worth it and free.
i'll see if i can dig out the info for you.

[richyboy]

Thanks Ian!

Good to get some local kowledge.

Rich

[ryanh]

There are a number of advanced riding courses on offer:

1. Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) http://www.iam.org.uk/do_you_want_to_be ... rider.html
They offer a 'Skills for Life Programme' for £139.00 (which includes the advanced test fee, your first years membership post test and the IAM advanced motorcyle manual).

1.1. Obviously linked to the above is the local IAM groups, where you do your rider training and prepare for advanced test. You offer check rides, mock tests, 'roadcraft' theory nights and they confirm you are ready for the advanced test. The local clubs are IAM affiliated but all voluntary so there is an annual membership fee, which reduces post test.
Gloucester has its own IAM group: http://www.glosiam.org/
Not too sure though if it offers both car and motorcycle advanced training, you would need to contact them directly.

2. The RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders Association
Glouceter Group - http://www.glos-roadar.org.uk/
I don't know much about RoSPA or the cots involved but it provides advanced motorcyle training and an advanced riding qualification through their advanced test. It also offers additional and higher levels of advandce motorcyle training post test.

3. BikesafeGloucestershire - http://www.bikesafe.co.uk/Police-Forces ... shire.aspx
BikeSafe’ is a nationwide police-led motorcyclist casualty reduction initiative that is run by the majority of forces throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It is a one day course (or maybe two in some Force areas) and the cost ranges from btween £25.00 up to £48.00. Some Bikesafe courses provide a copy of the Advanced Police Motorcyle 'Roadcraft' manual.

ryanh

[MaXX2]

[TRIPPO]

I totally agree Maxx some fooooka from Coventry with some intelligence that can post something that aint utter bollix

[T.C]

It is not so much which group you go with, it is more about the quality of the instruction

Just recently a number of claims have started coming into the office where riders have been having accidents whilst on advanced training courses. It appears that riders have signed up for courses with people advertising themselves as advanced instructors, when in fact they are toatally unsuitable or unqualified to teach at this level. As a result, they have followed their instructors advice in the belief that "It is the advanced way" when in fact what they were taught not only goes against the grain of what we seek to achieve at advanced level, but is downright dangerous.

Now you as members of the public often have to take someone on face value, and if someone says that they can teach you to a higher level, who are you to question their ability? Well you would be right to question their qualifications in order to ensure that the training you will be given is from a suitably qualified or competent person. So what questions should you ask. Well here are a few to start with!

1 How long have you been riding? There are some instructors who only do 2 - 3K miles a year and struggle to keep up let alone instruct.

2. How long have you been instructing, and at what level. There are quite a few CBT and DAS instructors jumping on the advanced bandwagon and feel that because they are qualified to teach learners, they can also teach more experienced/advanced students.

3. What advanced riding qualifications do you have? You should get an answer along the lines of Police class 1, RoSPA diploma, IAM Observer, RoSPA gold, Btec level 3 or 4 qualified advanced instructor. Anything else like self taught advanced instructors or having no formal advanced qualification, or I spent 15 years as a courier so I am well qualified should be treated with suspicion.

4. What sort of courses do you run? Do they do assessments, full courses, do they run groups of three, four or more, do they specialise in smaller groups? If they say that they like to work with groups any larger than 4, find someone else.

5. Which advanced test do you recommend, and what sort of pass rate have you obtained? Bit of a silly question if you are joining an IAM or RoSPA group, but it is a worthwhile question if you are going to an independant trainer. If he/she favours RoSPA, how many of his students have attained Gold grade? If IAM how many have simply passed the test.

6. Can the trainer provide some references from students he /she has trained in the past. If he is a quality instructor and you have some doubts about their ability to do the job, then he should be quite happy to put you in touch with previous students where you can discuss the potential of the instructor you are considering.

If any of the above questions cannot be answered satifactorily, then walk away and find someone else, there are plenty more properly qualified instructors out there.

As a by the by, within the next 12 months or so, a register of advanced riding instructors will be introduced by the DSA. This means that anyone offering advanced instruction, like CBT and DAS now will have to be on the register before they can conduct courses.

Some bodies like RoSPA already have their own register which is approved by the DSA, therefore those on the RoSPA register will be given grandfather rights when it is introduced. The IAM will no doubt get their act together in due course, and the DSA will run their own instructor course at advanced level similar to the CBT, DAS courses they run now, so it will at least weed out those who are not doing a proper job.

Things are changing slowly for the better (which makes a change) and advanced training will be regulated more closely in the future, but in the meantime, avoid falling into the trap that many previously have done, and that is to pay an unqualified person to train you.

It is also worth bearing in mind that Bikesafe is purely an introduction to the principals of advanced riding, it is not an advanced course (although some peopke would have you believe otherwise), however, apart from having your riding assesed, they (Bikesafe) do work closely with local advanced groups and so can put you in touch with those who can help you.

As an Examiner for RoSPA, and because it is graded, I will obviously recommend RoSPA but the IAM is a good starting point, and they tend to be better at the social side of advanced riding, although RoSPA groups are slowly improving .

[MaXX2]

I totally agree Maxx some fooooka from Coventry with some intelligence that can post something that aint utter bollix

That's what I was amazed at Blew me away it did

[aj]

I totally agree Maxx some fooooka from Coventry with some intelligence that can post something that aint utter bollix

That's what I was amazed at Blew me away it did

savour it... it will be the last....


regards
aj