TOO MUCH OBSERVATION IS NO GOOD

[alol74]

Hi,

After disgraceful but teaching-a-lot failure of Mod 2 test a few weeks ago, yesterday I had a 2-hour session with another instructor as my previous ones were not too accommodating and wanted me to go for 4 hours at a higher price. Anyway. Initially the Kwak I went on was a bit dodgy and the guy decided to check my basic controls so after a few minutes riding quiet streets he decided that I'm good enough to go through town centre. So he told me bits and bobs about what I need to do and eventually he said that I have no problem riding a bike, but I tend to do too many things like unnecessary lifesavers and shoulder checks which basically affect my balance and screw up the whole picture. So, just a few things I got from him :

1. If you are ahead of a queue at a T-Junction turning right, just check both directions, but lifesaver isn't necessary even if you are stationary, doing it will only make you miss the opportunity to go

2. The same as above if you are at a roundabout, waiting for a gap in a traffic

3. On mini roundabouts if you are turning right don't indicate left before exit...

Any opinions on that ?

[Jimmi_929RR]

Assuming you're not mixing up rear observations with lifesavers then:

(1) Let's hope you haven't got an enthusiastic cyclist, bike or even a car trying to under or overtake you as you turn. You do lifesavers to "save your life" by checking the blind spot next to you, not because you should for your test.

(2) Going straight on then no, but do a lifesaver before exiting left or even moving over into the left lane on one of these big roundabouts.

(3) Regardless of it's size, it's a roundabout & follows the same rules as others. Therefore you should indicate.

Just my opinion/interpretation though

[PhatDad]

Assuming you're not mixing up rear observations with lifesavers then:

(1) Let's hope you haven't got an enthusiastic cyclist, bike or even a car trying to under or overtake you as you turn. You do lifesavers to "save your life" by checking the blind spot next to you, not because you should for your test.

(2) Going straight on then no, but do a lifesaver before exiting left or even moving over into the left lane on one of these big roundabouts.

(3) Regardless of it's size, it's a roundabout & follows the same rules as others. Therefore you should indicate.

Just my opinion/interpretation though

 

1) There is a period between seeing an open space to move into and actually moving. This period is while your letting out the clutch, lifting your foot/feet onto the pegs, releasing brakes etc where you should do your mirror and shoulder check to make sure a cyclist or nman1 hasn't moved up along side you.

2) Going straight on from traffic lights you should still do a mirror and shoulder check, I tend as I believe I was taught to, shoulder check both sides in case another cyclist/biker has moved up and feels his R1 is more important than your Tiger.

[polecat]

I would say that advice will get someone alot of minors on A MOD 2 I got one on my last test for failing to do a lifesaver pulling away from a traffic light and I got One also for no lifesaver before pulling out of a junction but thats just me maby.

[alol74]

Assuming you're not mixing up rear observations with lifesavers then:

(1) Let's hope you haven't got an enthusiastic cyclist, bike or even a car trying to under or overtake you as you turn. You do lifesavers to "save your life" by checking the blind spot next to you, not because you should for your test.

(2) Going straight on then no, but do a lifesaver before exiting left or even moving over into the left lane on one of these big roundabouts.

(3) Regardless of it's size, it's a roundabout & follows the same rules as others. Therefore you should indicate.

Just my opinion/interpretation though

 

(1) Well technically I SHOULD do them on my test otherwise they'd fail me ?

(2) I was talking about different thing

(3) Here is another example of different opinion... Do we have any bike test examiners on this site ?

[spunky1976]

Hi,

After disgraceful but teaching-a-lot failure of Mod 2 test a few weeks ago, yesterday I had a 2-hour session with another instructor as my previous ones were not too accommodating and wanted me to go for 4 hours at a higher price. Anyway. Initially the Kwak I went on was a bit dodgy and the guy decided to check my basic controls so after a few minutes riding quiet streets he decided that I'm good enough to go through town centre. So he told me bits and bobs about what I need to do and eventually he said that I have no problem riding a bike, but I tend to do too many things like unnecessary lifesavers and shoulder checks which basically affect my balance and screw up the whole picture. So, just a few things I got from him :

1. If you are ahead of a queue at a T-Junction turning right, just check both directions, but lifesaver isn't necessary even if you are stationary, doing it will only make you miss the opportunity to go

2. The same as above if you are at a roundabout, waiting for a gap in a traffic

3. On mini roundabouts if you are turning right don't indicate left before exit...

Any opinions on that ?

 

i was taught that lifesavers are for changing direction,speed (accelerating or braking) changing lanes basically anything where this could potentially save your life.

Did lifesavers when turning right at junctions or roundabouts at first then got told they weren't necessary immediate danger coming from left or right and not behind. turning left different cos of cyclists and other idiots going round you etc

for mini roundabouts if you don't indicate where you intend to exit it will be misleading to other motorists.

can't have been that bad instructions as only got 2 minors and they were for the turn in the road, this was before the new tests came in though

[Jimmi_929RR]

(1) Well technically I SHOULD do them on my test otherwise they'd fail me ?

(2) I was talking about different thing

(3) Here is another example of different opinion... Do we have any bike test examiners on this site ?

 

(1) Huh?

(2) If i've mis-read your question then i apologise, but i've answered it as i've interpreted. Incidently by "going straight on" i meant pulling onto the island, don't know why i put it like that so i apologise if it was misleading.

(3) You asked for people's opinions; now it appears as if i was wrong to give mine? Why didn't you just title your post "question for a bike test examiner" if that's what you wanted?

I don't know if you've taken my post as a personal dig (it was actually aimed at the instructor) but seriously, i find your attitude poor.

You've come on a bike forum and asked for people's opinions on something an instructor should be telling you, not random members of the public. And when i (who passed my test 10 years ago (without failing and blaming my instructors incidently)) give my opinion/interpretation as requested, i get the sort of arrogant & dismissive response you posted above. How rude!

[2fast2soon]

I was actually told by my instructors not to bother signalling when leaving a mini roundabout. If you are turning right, signal right but just before the turn off you shouldn't signal left like you should on a proper roundabout.

[alol74]

(1) Well technically I SHOULD do them on my test otherwise they'd fail me ?

(2) I was talking about different thing

(3) Here is another example of different opinion... Do we have any bike test examiners on this site ?

 

(1) Huh?

(2) If i've mis-read your question then i apologise, but i've answered it as i've interpreted. Incidently by "going straight on" i meant pulling onto the island, don't know why i put it like that so i apologise if it was misleading.

(3) You asked for people's opinions; now it appears as if i was wrong to give mine? Why didn't you just title your post "question for a bike test examiner" if that's what you wanted?

I don't know if you've taken my post as a personal dig (it was actually aimed at the instructor) but seriously, i find your attitude poor.

You've come on a bike forum and asked for people's opinions on something an instructor should be telling you, not random members of the public. And when i (who passed my test 10 years ago (without failing and blaming my instructors incidently)) give my opinion/interpretation as requested, i get the sort of arrogant & dismissive response you posted above. How rude!

 

Hmm, easy man... I didn't mean to offend you. In my view "Here is another example of different opinion" is not the same as "Here is another example of wrong opinion"... The question "Do we have any bike test examiners on this site ?" is not a dismissal of your personal opinion as the wrong one, but just a question to other members, if there are any examiners available to answer my questions... That was all. And I'm here to ask other people's thoughts and NOT to put mine as the final instance of truth as the idea behind is to work out something as close to truth as possible, hence the question for any examiners available. Anyway, if you take it personally, I do apologise, no offense intended. And thanks for your reply.

[chiz]

I was actually told by my instructors not to bother signalling when leaving a mini roundabout. If you are turning right, signal right but just before the turn off you shouldn't signal left like you should on a proper roundabout.

 

That's what I've been told on every test I've done (bike, car, rigid lorry, artic, bus, tracked, IAM), although the only test where I can recall actually encountering a mini-roundabout was my bike test and I didn't pick up any minors for junctions so I'm guessing it's right.

[alol74]

I was actually told by my instructors not to bother signalling when leaving a mini roundabout. If you are turning right, signal right but just before the turn off you shouldn't signal left like you should on a proper roundabout.

 

That's what I've been told on every test I've done (bike, car, rigid lorry, artic, bus, tracked, IAM), although the only test where I can recall actually encountering a mini-roundabout was my bike test and I didn't pick up any minors for junctions so I'm guessing it's right.

 

cheers man.