How do I Start?

Something to think about
Riding and driving (whether it's commuting, popping to the shops, taking the kids out, etc.) is an essential part of personal, family and work life for millions of us. It can be enjoyable and pleasant, but it can also be stressful and dangerous.

Motorcycling continues to undergo a renaissance. There are currently 1.6 million PTWs on Britain’s roads, approximately 50% more than ten years ago. There has been a major resurgence of sales of scooters, particularly in major urban centres. Trail bikes, super-motos, cruisers, super-scooters, tourers, adventure tourers, and sports and classic bikes all form part of an increasingly diverse motorcycling scene in which people are riding for leisure and recreational purposes as well as simply to get from A to B.

Every year approximately 80,000 riders obtain a licence for Class A motorcycle by passing a test or through ‘direct access’.

Many younger riders of scooters and small motorcycles ride all year round but move on quickly to car ownership, learning valuable lessons hopefully about road safety on the way. Riders of sports bikes, cruisers and tourers on the other hand, often ride only in the months of May to September, mainly for leisure and cover relatively small annual mileages. Once the motorcycling bug has bitten it often remains with people all their lives. Many take to bikes again after a break, often on much more powerful machines than the ones they learned on.

Compared with only ten years ago, today’s riders benefit not only from more sophisticated machines with better handling, brakes and tyres but better riding gear, improved luggage carrying and numerous accessories.

But, despite forming only 1% of road traffic, motorcyclists account for 18% (almost one in five) of
road deaths and serious injuries. In 2005, 569 motorcyclists were killed on the road, 5,939 were
seriously injured and just over 18,000 were slightly injured. In recent years numbers of fatal and serious casualties have been rising due to the increased popularity of motorcycling, although the number fell in 2004 and 2005, and rates per mile travelled have declined.

Serious casualty rates among sports bike riders seem to be particularly high. The minor ‘shunt’ in a car will only damage the vehicle, but on a motorcycle can result in serious disabling injury. Whatever safety improvements are made to motorcycling, such as Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS), improving conspicuity or better helmets and protective riding gear, the PTW rider remains especially vulnerable. Unlike car drivers who can rely on ‘secondary safety’ features (impact protection, seat belts and air bags), the motorcyclist has to rely almost entirely on ‘primary safety’, that is, using their skills and experience to safeguard themselves by avoiding crashing in the first place.

Estimates from police investigations suggest that rider errors are responsible for about 50% of crashes. But even in the other 50% (for example, – ‘Sorry mate, I didn’t see you’ – accidents) there is much riders can do to avoid collisions, for example by riding defensively.

Being a good rider means that you never stop learning. Becoming an Advanced Driver or Rider will not only make you safer, update your driving skills and attitudes and increase your enjoyment of riding, but can also lead to improved fuel consumption and reduce wear and tear on your vehicle.

The need for Advanced Training speaks for itself.