I am sure this has been done before, but as I cannot find it I will ask again anyway, how do IAM and ROSPA compare?
I am planning to do one or the other (maybe both over time) and not sure if one is better suited to certain types of riders than the other.
I do not want to be too rigid and ride around the outside of bends on potholes / wet patches, or to not take advantage of a decent line (where visibility permits) because the "book says so" and neither do I want to have to drop the bike into 2nd at 60mph to skow down "to avoid showing a brake light" as I firmly believe brakes are for braking!
I know there are a lot of rumours about how silly the IAM is, and MartynH has assured me it is no longer like this (or never was) but a friend of mine rides with an IAM club (no names) where they do still smash their bikes down through the gears instead of braking. I don't want to spend £139 on the IAM to immediately fall out with my observer and have miserable time doing very counter intuitive things to pass the test.
On my Bikesafe course I spent the day with a ROSPA examiner and rode pretty similarly to how I normally would and he thought my standard was pretty decent (he would not tell me what he was on, but it must have been strong stuff)
I have to admit I am leaning towards ROSPA partly because of the day out with this chap, and also because the costs are considerably less, with the IAM it is a £139 all in price, with ROSPA it is £20 to join and £54 for the test, so almost half price, plus I only initially need to spend £20 to get started.
I am also unsure of standards, as the ROSPA test is graded (Bronze / Silver / Gold) I would hope to attain a Silver, but at least it is not an all or nothing affair, I get the feeling the IAM may have a very high standard (more like the ROSPA Gold) and therefore may take longer to attain or cost even more for re-tests.
The IAM lasts forever and the ROSPA requires a re-test every 3 years, but this is free if you keep up the membership (£20 per year) - but after 3 years the IAM mob will have got the extra cash back. But the re-test seems OK to me, and gives you the chance to better your last result (unless you attained Gold first time)
Anyone done both
I am planning to do one or the other (maybe both over time) and not sure if one is better suited to certain types of riders than the other.
I do not want to be too rigid and ride around the outside of bends on potholes / wet patches, or to not take advantage of a decent line (where visibility permits) because the "book says so" and neither do I want to have to drop the bike into 2nd at 60mph to skow down "to avoid showing a brake light" as I firmly believe brakes are for braking!
I know there are a lot of rumours about how silly the IAM is, and MartynH has assured me it is no longer like this (or never was) but a friend of mine rides with an IAM club (no names) where they do still smash their bikes down through the gears instead of braking. I don't want to spend £139 on the IAM to immediately fall out with my observer and have miserable time doing very counter intuitive things to pass the test.
On my Bikesafe course I spent the day with a ROSPA examiner and rode pretty similarly to how I normally would and he thought my standard was pretty decent (he would not tell me what he was on, but it must have been strong stuff)
I have to admit I am leaning towards ROSPA partly because of the day out with this chap, and also because the costs are considerably less, with the IAM it is a £139 all in price, with ROSPA it is £20 to join and £54 for the test, so almost half price, plus I only initially need to spend £20 to get started.
I am also unsure of standards, as the ROSPA test is graded (Bronze / Silver / Gold) I would hope to attain a Silver, but at least it is not an all or nothing affair, I get the feeling the IAM may have a very high standard (more like the ROSPA Gold) and therefore may take longer to attain or cost even more for re-tests.
The IAM lasts forever and the ROSPA requires a re-test every 3 years, but this is free if you keep up the membership (£20 per year) - but after 3 years the IAM mob will have got the extra cash back. But the re-test seems OK to me, and gives you the chance to better your last result (unless you attained Gold first time)
Anyone done both