Another pointless thread

BTW I don't think the driving test is too easy or needs tightening up.

Strikes me the most dangerous drivers breeze through their test, then promptly start driving as if they're in Grand Theft Auto.

The test is very expensive and difficult for nervous drivers to get through, and these tend to end up making pretty cautious drivers who are unlikely to end up crashing into a tree or pedestrian.

Basics and road safety aside, the real learning process begins when you are out on your own, without the instructor... putting what you have learned into practice.

Nervous drivers can be as dangerous as over confident ones - they hesitate and it is not clear to other drivers what they are intending to do - it can lead to a lot of frustration for those following a nervous driver. They may not be involved in an accident but they probably see plenty - where frustration gets the better of a normally safe sensible driver behind them and they end up doing something stupid, or where their hesitation is misread by a fellow road user.

Meanwhile back to pointlessness.
What should I have for dinner tonight?

Just confirmed with my little girl (40) that we are sharing a cottage at the end of June near Daymer Beach,N.Cornwall ( between Rock & Polzeath ) looks amazing - maybe Chloe (3) will teach me to swim !!

1 Pentax,Fishing rod,1 more Pentax,1 pair trunks - anything I`ve forgotten ??

Tony

Sun tan lotion, sun glasses - or is that too optimistic?

Seriously it sounds great - enjoy it.

Never use lotion - I`m an easy tanner and never burn - sun glasses built into my prescription specs...............really very very excited - will break the journey around Bristol so as to be not too tired driving.
Hopefully no nasties will turn up to hinder the plan - I`m not really ill anyway !!!!

Tony

That's the attitude!

I hope it all works out for you. Take it easy and enjoy the planning as well as the holiday.

We'll look forward to some good photos of Cornwall .

I was taught this way 28 years ago

Took motorcycle test just before that changed. Now that change was ridiculous

I did it with a month to spare. Bought myself a bike (125) for the first time in over 25 years. Took the CBT in the July, only to find the bike test was changing in Sept. Didn't find out until Feb, that it had been delayed, so quickly got it sorted. The instructor who took me called it a day when the test changed. He would have had to travel 18 miles each way to use the off road facilities

What changed?

Don't know all of it, but the controversial element was a controlled stop. This had to be from a speed of 50km/h, which is over the UK speed limit of 30mph, and therefore special off road test centres had to be built. Hence the delay - the test centres weren't ready.

That element I believe consists of coming around a bend, accelerating to the 50km/h by a given point, and then coming to a stop after swerving a round an obstacle. The trouble is many of the lesser powered bikes have to be pushed hard to reach the 50km/h in the short distance allowed. You only get 3 attempts, if the speed isn't correct, then its a fail, regardless of how well the manouvre is achieved.

In addition, prior to the introduction of the new elements, the examiners obviously had to be trained. At my local test centre 5 examiners put their bikes down while trying to do the manouvre. One of them broke his collar bone

This may explain why so many people end up embedded in the scenery when it snows.

I tend to switch to the same techniques I was taught for off road driving. Don't use the brakes except on level ground. Don't attempt to change gear while going up or down anything steep, and use momentum wisely. Being able to just select low 1st and let the car take itself down is extremely useful when confronted with slush on a steep slope with an unguarded drop off one side!

I can drive from Llangurig to Rhayader in 5th at legal speeds without using the brakes at all, just by easing off the power and letting engine braking shave off a few mph for the bends. The results? I got over 30MPG from a Discovery 300 TDI and it took me around half an hour, so I wasn't dawdling.

The using of brakes, rather than the engine, is obviously dependent on road conditions Matt

As to driving in the snow, its the only time I don't regret having my 25 mpg diesel guzzler. An old Toyota Hilux Surf. Handy for pulling Discovery's out of the snow ... only joking .. lol

Ah. Here the test is in two parts - one at a test centre where you do 7 if 12 special manoeuvres, walking with the bike, low speed manoeuvres, high speed mane=oeuvres and braking manoeuvres. You need to pass 5 of them, and you can repeat each one once during the exam if you fail at it the first time. If you pass that then you go on to do a test on the road - often instructors wait until you have part one of the test before even taking you out on the road anyway. You have 12 months between passing part one in which to get part two.
You also have to pass a theory exam before you can do the road test. If you have a car licence you can ride on the roads without the theory exam but you still have to take it (and pass!) before the practical. If you don't have a car licence you must pass the theory exam before being allowed on the roads.

The next thing to worry about will be driving on the right (wrong) side of the road.
I think this could be a disaster in the UK - it took me 2 hours to get home yesterday

Why would driving on the right affect your travel times?
Afaik there are no plans to change which side of the road the UK and Ireland drive. There is no reason to.
In Sweden it made sense - most of their cars were LHD and the neighbouring countries drove on the right, but for the UK, as an island, with RHD cars there is no reason to change.