So, you’ve read
about the types of training available to bikers of all ages and abilities, but what
if you can’t afford to do any at the moment, or just don’t have the spare time
in your diary? Well, I can point you in a direction where you can learn the
basics for free. That’s right; this stuff won’t cost you anything!
Norfolk County Council’s Road Safety section has developed a
series of free rider skills download sheets designed to assist all motorcycle
riders in their everyday riding. These skills and techniques were established
by generations of police instructors through their training manual Motorcycle
Roadcraft, in its various evolving forms. The manual itself is also used by RoSPA,
the IAM and numerous private training bodies for one very good reason, it
works! The only trouble with it is how it reads – it is very formulaic and you
can easily forget what it is trying to teach you; whilst the use of diagrams is
better than reams and reams of text, it all becomes ‘samey’ far too quickly and
as a result you lose focus and interest!
This potentially life-saving information is too valuable not to be readily accessible; so the downloads break the material down into easily readable topics with accompanying embedded videos to illustrate the main points where applicable. These videos were filmed on Norfolk roads, but the principles will be the same regardless of where you live in the country. The topics are as follows:
This potentially life-saving information is too valuable not to be readily accessible; so the downloads break the material down into easily readable topics with accompanying embedded videos to illustrate the main points where applicable. These videos were filmed on Norfolk roads, but the principles will be the same regardless of where you live in the country. The topics are as follows:
- Hugger Rider Skills - Cornering
- Hugger Rider
Skills - Overtaking
- Hugger
Rider Skills - Filtering
- Hugger
Rider Skills - Police System
- Hugger
Rider Skills - Observation and Planning
- Hugger
Rider Skills - Junctions
- Hugger
Rider Skills - Wet Weather Riding (to be released late 2012 - early 2013)
You can download the topics from the Think Norfolk website; the videos are embedded but you can search for them on YouTube by typing in ‘Hugger Rider Skills’ into the search facility on the site.
If you have not taken any post test training, it may make you think about things slightly differently. It will help improve your safety as well as your enjoyment of riding by being more in control of your environment and being smoother and more accurate in how you ride.
These downloads are not a substitute for training, but can give you a good starting point as to what you need to focus on when you do enrol on a training course; be it BikeSafe, ERS (Enhanced Rider Scheme), IAM or RoSPA.
A head start is better than going into training blind….
©Angela Freeman