The new test is designed to save lives, by improving rider and road safety.

It’s well documented that bikers form a disproportionately large percentage of road casualties – they make up one per cent of traffic, but are involved in 20 per cent of crashes. The new motorcycle test is designed to address that.

The test is designed to be more challenging but that doesn’t mean it’s dangerous. Riders who have trained and practiced enough should be perfectly capable of passing. The pass rate in the initial weeks was over 56 per cent.

The test was developed over five years and a large number of motorcycle trainers and members of the biking community played a key role in its design. They also contributed in a large number of more than 300 practical trials we carried out over that time, in all weather conditions.

During the development of the test, particular attention was given to the size of the testing area, including the need for it to be appropriate for wet weather riding.

The surface of the testing area is designed to give maximum traction – something not always available on public roads.

In the first weeks of the new test, incidents were reported on fewer than 0.4 per cent of the off-road tests.

There is no “brake and swerve” exercise. On the avoidance exercise, the most common mistake seems to be accelerating too fast up to the avoidance exercise, then braking while swerving, which destabilises the bike. Candidates should be building up speed steadily and only braking AFTER the bike is upright again following a controlled swerve.

The new motorcycle test is very much in its infancy. It’s obviously proving more challenging to riders, as it was designed to do.

DSA hosted open days at various Multi-Purpose Test Centres and provided demonstrations of the test. This included allowing instructors to experience it at first hand, give feedback and ask questions. The open days resulted in those instructors gaining the necessary insight into the requirements of the new test and enable them to review their training methods and where necessary make any changes

It makes sense that the better motorcyclists are prepared for the hazards of everyday riding, such as avoiding other vehicles pulling out in front of them, the safer they’ll be. When we consulted with the motorcycle industry it was agreed that it was important that riders should be able to demonstrate that they could keep the bike under control while doing the avoidance exercise.

We’ll continue to hold meetings with the motorcycle industry, as we have done throughout the consultation process on the new test.

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