You would not fail a test for not using your horn, the RoSPA test is graded, so you might not get a Gold, but he must have have other issues on the ride
ROSPA Riding
- Thread starter King Rat
- Start date
yes in fairness you are correct he needed a gold to continue being a Rospa instructor so it was his instructors test or whatever
I also think he had some previous with the tester
If I can find it, I’ll post up the recent one from mine!
Observer feedback (UK)
How does your motorcyclist rate their skills?
Advanced
Has consent been given to collect and store data.
Yes
What is your Police Force?
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Motorcyclist name:
Richard Merryfield
Motorcyclists email address
[email protected]
How will you give your feedback?
Typed (short)
Give your overall observer feedback summary.
[Attitude, IPSGA, Cornering, Overtaking, Junctions, Hazards, Observation, Filtering]
Richard provided a ride that excelled in all areas. Information was taken, given & used in a professional manner. No mirror checks were omitted, signals were reacted to and given correctly at all times. Hazards were seen and dealt with in a timely and safe fashion.
Positioning was accurate for all hazards and the progress to move between hazards was fluent & smooth. Cornering position was always for safety and view.
Speed was used well with progress made where possible and restraint exercised where required. A brake light was shown when needed, otherwise speed was adjusted accurately by means of good acceleration sense.
Gears were used well, to aid progression and also lowered accurately to provide the best area of engine revs for cornering, providing a balanced, stable route through bends.
Acceleration was brisk away from hazards, and to complete overtakes in a safe, timely fashion. Overall, the ride was of a very high standard, demonstrating a thorough understanding of smooth, safe machine control.
On urban riding, consider more 'lifesaver' checks, to ensure nothing has appeared alongside you. Well done.
What skills could be developed further to be safer and more skilled?
Other (please specify): Continue as you are doing
Nothing needed
According to your motorcyclist how likely are they to take action on this feedback?
Very likely
Workshop date:
* 27/04/2024
Workshop venue:
Cambridgeshire
Lead Coordinator name
PC Darren Osker
Observer name
PC Darren Osker
Observer type
Police Motorcyclist
Which posttest motorcycle training options are recommended?
[If you prefer not to make specific recommendations select 'other']
Last edited:
And follow up email
Good morning Richard,
Thank you for the email and the photos. These are a definite reminder of how motorcycling should be enjoyable, despite the odd spill!
They also go to show how you’ve built up your riding over the years to provide the ride you did on Sunday, which was an absolute belter.
The Multistrada delivery has been postponed until tomorrow, due to logistics issues with Ducati, which is a bit annoying, but can’t be helped.
I am looking forward to my trips this year, they can’t come quick enough!
As for the BikeSafe bike, I will continue to keep the pressure on, in the hope for success.
Best wishes
Darren
Good morning Richard,
Thank you for the email and the photos. These are a definite reminder of how motorcycling should be enjoyable, despite the odd spill!
They also go to show how you’ve built up your riding over the years to provide the ride you did on Sunday, which was an absolute belter.
The Multistrada delivery has been postponed until tomorrow, due to logistics issues with Ducati, which is a bit annoying, but can’t be helped.
I am looking forward to my trips this year, they can’t come quick enough!
As for the BikeSafe bike, I will continue to keep the pressure on, in the hope for success.
Best wishes
Darren
GS2022
Registered user
Sadly, that speaks volumes.
That wasn't the only thing that let me down and I clearly have work to do - I've enjoyed the process and the continued learning and I ride better for it - but did sort of come away feeling that, despite the Roadcraft book prioritising safety at all times, my lack "progress" (or demonstrating I was looking for it) counted against me. I'll keep practicing ovr the summer
That must have been disappointing. I have no experience of ROSPA, only the IAM so don't know how they work. Was your ride on test similar to your latter observed rides and if so why wasn't this and any other "failings" picked up by your observer or maybe you hadn't ridden in the rain with them before? We all get nervous on test, I know I did but I wasn't put forward until after my observer was confident I would pass and only then after a pre test observed ride with a national observer to confirm I was ready
Some of the same roads, and I’d had rain before. I have ironed out some issues (tended to apex a right curve rather than vanishing point it, meaning my head might have been in a dodgy spot!).
I think some was nerves, some trying not to do something stupid, some not picking up clearly enough on “demonstrating a desire to make progress”, but either way it’s on me to actually do what some have said above: be safe, comfortable, focus on the “process” and that “making progress” will likely come: no reported issues on bike control, gear, braking etc so it’s practice that’s required.
Sometimes you are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t….
I narrowly missed out on an IAM F1RST award due to overtaking a coach whilst passing a “live” parked vehicle which was about sixty feet up a big house driveway (post office corsa van with engine running, steaming exhaust, postie walking off towards the house).
I had assessed it as no possible hazard (too far back from the road) so the overtake was on, progress was made as required.
At debriefing I was asked if I could have seen the van driver, I said no as the van was angled away from me. Smart arsed examiner argued that despite seeing the postie there could have been another driver in the van ready to pull away….”what you can see, what you can’t see, what you can reasonably expect to happen”.
Maybe if he was Ayrton Senna this mythical driver could have been a risk to me, but I doubt it.
I still got a good solid “Pass”.
I narrowly missed out on an IAM F1RST award due to overtaking a coach whilst passing a “live” parked vehicle which was about sixty feet up a big house driveway (post office corsa van with engine running, steaming exhaust, postie walking off towards the house).
I had assessed it as no possible hazard (too far back from the road) so the overtake was on, progress was made as required.
At debriefing I was asked if I could have seen the van driver, I said no as the van was angled away from me. Smart arsed examiner argued that despite seeing the postie there could have been another driver in the van ready to pull away….”what you can see, what you can’t see, what you can reasonably expect to happen”.
Maybe if he was Ayrton Senna this mythical driver could have been a risk to me, but I doubt it.
I still got a good solid “Pass”.
My first Rospa test I was marked down for lack of progress. Admittedly I did hold back once when I should have filtered but thought I might struggle to find a gap to get into when oncoming traffic approached.
The second lack of progress baffled me. Following a tractor which was towing a trailer along a narrow, bumpy single track road I decided not to overtake. There was about two feet of tarmac either side before the grass, any slight wobble whilst overtaking would have pushed me off the tarmac so I held back. It would have been one of those overtakes that once past, you mutter to yourself inside your helmet 'fu@k, that was close' yet I was marked down for not going for it.
I was awarded a silver.
The second lack of progress baffled me. Following a tractor which was towing a trailer along a narrow, bumpy single track road I decided not to overtake. There was about two feet of tarmac either side before the grass, any slight wobble whilst overtaking would have pushed me off the tarmac so I held back. It would have been one of those overtakes that once past, you mutter to yourself inside your helmet 'fu@k, that was close' yet I was marked down for not going for it.
I was awarded a silver.
I keep thinking that I should do one of these courses. I’ve done the BikeSafe day many times and have thankfully, always been complimented on my riding by the bike cops on assessed rides. I have also enjoyed it a lot and learned plenty of things along the way too. No question at all that it has improved my riding.
The only thing that stops me doing IAM or ROSPA is that I think anything like this is a pedants paradise and if I get drawn with the wrong assessor, it will be of little use and I would not complete the programme.
The only thing that stops me doing IAM or ROSPA is that I think anything like this is a pedants paradise and if I get drawn with the wrong assessor, it will be of little use and I would not complete the programme.
The IAM do a free taster session. Give it a try and see how you get on
. I've done both car and bike with them and if you don't get on with your observer they will try and swap you over to another observer as they recognise sometimes there can be a personality clash. Both my observers were great 
Free Tasters | IAM RoadSmart
The best way to find out more about advanced driving and riding is to experience it for yourself.
www.iamroadsmart.com
Excellent feedback. I take it you enjoyed it and it was worth the m9ney
I have put in for my test. I had some gardening work and a couple of new salons for sharpening their scissors, so had some spare money - £88.50 to take the ROSPA test! Now it is just a matter of waiting until I get the call. I will ride as much as possible in the meanwhile. I have a cafe racer to photograph tomorrow for the magazine, south Oxfordshire, so I get a nice ride down and back. I will try and do a different route homeward than going down and get a mix of roads. They reckon it will be within a fortnight.
I had exactly this with my local IAM group (Solent).
I had signed up and paid my £139 yet my initially enthusiastic observer lost the love for it for some reason. I turned up one Sunday as planned, only to find he had gone to see family up North for the weekend without telling me. I was livid.
I decided it was a lost cause and gave up, then the local branch secretary rang me a month later to ask what was going on/why no progress. I told him about my observer and they then put me onto a different guy on a K1300R from Andover (ex 2-Para) who was fantastic. I learnt loads from him, enjoyed every session and went on to pass the IAM test and get my "Green Badge".
Good luck Simon!
I face the executioner next Wednesday..... going for a last minute check up on Monday. My nails are already bitten down to their quicks...
Good luck with it guys.
Sadly, it takes all sorts and both IAM and ROSPA do have their fair share (albeit, a minority) of not just pedants, but those who put too much emphasis on personal opinion rather than stick to the book, leading to inconsistencies as well as the odd personality clash. To try and get all observers up to scratch, the role of Local Observer is being phased out this year (in fact it technically no longer exists) with all previous L/O's being required to take their National Observers test to address some of the main points, which include a national standard and consistency of training resulting in a more unified National Observer qualification. There are some examiners (no names, no pack drill) whose personal opinions seemingly have resulted on some members being docked points on their exam rides so if anyone believes that they have suffered this, they have the right to appeal via the group they're with. These cases are though fairly rare, from everything I've seen and experienced. There are mistakes made due to human error in every walk of life and IAM/ROSPA are not immune.
Relating to the docking of marks for not overtaking to demonstrate reasonable progress, especially where conditions are less than ideal, needs more explanation. The only circumstance where this might be justifiable is where the candidate does not at least demonstrate the roadcraft skills to position for an overtake where the opportunity arises. As long as they do that, they have the option of dropping back and can explain after the ride, that in their estimation, no overtake was on due to the conditions prevalent at the time, which is a perfectly sensible attitude to take and demonstrates restraint. It's where a candidate makes no effort to demonstrate their approach to a likely overtake which would dock them a point and this tends to be more the case rather than an arbitrary "I docked points for no overtake". After all, it's the principles of SLAP (Safe, Legal and what perception of other road users might be) that matters. Clearly, where it's not safe, it's irresponsible to attempt such manoeuvres or to expect a candidate to undertake them.
I remember on my exam, dropping points for this even though I positioned myself for the overtake but the examiner stressed that there had been a point where it may have been possible and the opportunity was lost early on. I strongly disagreed and dropped a First because of that one error (his, not mine!). To me, it didn't matter as I didn't much care about bragging rights and was just after a pass. I'm now involved with training and the role isn't to change how a person rides, but to build on their styles and strengths whist encouraging development and confidence in them. It has to be a positive experience for those being trained otherwise they'll understandably be put off continuing.
Sadly, it takes all sorts and both IAM and ROSPA do have their fair share (albeit, a minority) of not just pedants, but those who put too much emphasis on personal opinion rather than stick to the book, leading to inconsistencies as well as the odd personality clash. To try and get all observers up to scratch, the role of Local Observer is being phased out this year (in fact it technically no longer exists) with all previous L/O's being required to take their National Observers test to address some of the main points, which include a national standard and consistency of training resulting in a more unified National Observer qualification. There are some examiners (no names, no pack drill) whose personal opinions seemingly have resulted on some members being docked points on their exam rides so if anyone believes that they have suffered this, they have the right to appeal via the group they're with. These cases are though fairly rare, from everything I've seen and experienced. There are mistakes made due to human error in every walk of life and IAM/ROSPA are not immune.
Relating to the docking of marks for not overtaking to demonstrate reasonable progress, especially where conditions are less than ideal, needs more explanation. The only circumstance where this might be justifiable is where the candidate does not at least demonstrate the roadcraft skills to position for an overtake where the opportunity arises. As long as they do that, they have the option of dropping back and can explain after the ride, that in their estimation, no overtake was on due to the conditions prevalent at the time, which is a perfectly sensible attitude to take and demonstrates restraint. It's where a candidate makes no effort to demonstrate their approach to a likely overtake which would dock them a point and this tends to be more the case rather than an arbitrary "I docked points for no overtake". After all, it's the principles of SLAP (Safe, Legal and what perception of other road users might be) that matters. Clearly, where it's not safe, it's irresponsible to attempt such manoeuvres or to expect a candidate to undertake them.
I remember on my exam, dropping points for this even though I positioned myself for the overtake but the examiner stressed that there had been a point where it may have been possible and the opportunity was lost early on. I strongly disagreed and dropped a First because of that one error (his, not mine!). To me, it didn't matter as I didn't much care about bragging rights and was just after a pass. I'm now involved with training and the role isn't to change how a person rides, but to build on their styles and strengths whist encouraging development and confidence in them. It has to be a positive experience for those being trained otherwise they'll understandably be put off continuing.
I don't honestly think the nob status will increase consistency,there will always be inconsistent veiws imo
And do you have to pay to retake the nob test? Lo retests were conduted whithin the local group.
Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk
And do you have to pay to retake the nob test? Lo retests were conduted whithin the local group.
Sent from my SM-A226B using Tapatalk
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