Ride Drive Bike > Rider Training > About Advanced Motorcycling

Ride Drive advanced motorcycle rider training courses are delivered to the motorcycle Roadcraft system, which is that used by UK police motorcycle rider training centres. This is hardly surprising, considering that Ride Drive is a company that was founded by serving police officers.

Riding to the Roadcraft System

The Roadcraft riding system was developed by police motorcycle trainers with the purpose of laying down the guidelines for effective motorcycle riding protocols at advanced level. Its aims are to promote the concept of riding to a systemised style that provides an effective process of continuous risk assessment. Therefore, riding to The front cover of the police riders hand book to better motorcycling

The front cover of the police riders hand book to better motorcycling

The System means that every manoeuvre and action is pre–planned and nothing is left to chance.

When participating in any Ride Drive advanced motorcycle course you will quickly be made aware of the features of The System of Motorcycle Control, which forms the backbone of the training input we provide.

Not only does this riding system significantly reduce the risk of road collision, but also allows you as a motorcyclist to get the very best enjoyment, as well as performance, out of both yourself and your motorcycle.

Course Content

Motorcycling is said to be dangerous, but so is crossing the street or walking down stairs. A more accurate way of voicing what that statement is supposed to mean would be to say that motorcycling is a high–risk activity.

By making accurate risk assessment of any given situation, and providing the level of risk is accurately perceived, and appropriate measures are taken to counter that risk, then risk is naturally reduced.

Our Advanced Motorcycle Courses provide you as the private motorcyclists with a set of tools with which you can identify risk and plan your progress on the road with the highest level of personal safety. This is just as well, as ordinarily motorcyclists are 35 times more likely to be killed or injured on the road as car drivers.

The key elements of our courses are,

The development of advanced observation.
Increased danger awareness and anticipation skills.
The development of the ability to plan ahead so that nothing is left to chance.
To identify areas of actual and potential danger, and to maintain distance.
To make progress according to the intelligent interpretation of the road environment.
The exploitation of available space to adopt a defensive road position.
Systematic use of gear ratios for greater motorcycle response.
Bend assessment.
To develop an understanding of the principles of cornering.
Effective timing of gear changes and application of brakes.
Acceleration sense.
Appropriate use of speed.
Third party perception awareness.
Conflict management.

The Class–One police motorcyclist, in riding terms, is regarded with awe and amazement, setting the standard of motorcycle riding that ordinary bikers will aspire to. However, it must be appreciated their use of a motorcycle is very different to that of the member of the public. Nonetheless, it is still important that you rise to the same level of awareness, as getting second chance when something goes wrong will seldom be an option.

The Attributes of Advanced Motorcycle Training

Each Ride Drive advanced motorcycle riders course is delivered either as a one–to–one scenario or two–to–one training scenario, and takes place whilst you ride your own machine.

The input you receive can always be adjusted to suit your own particular needs, to be relevant to the motorcycle you ride and dovetail into your existing level of training and ability.

You will quickly realise how the training is delivered in such a manner so as to focus upon giving you the best in practical entertainment and learning.

This is where you gain the skills necessary to become a more effective rider within a public road environment, and so gain greater performance from yourself and your motorcycle by working in harmony with the machine.

The manner in which the training is delivered is always friendly and constructive. We appreciate that we do not have a lot of time with you and so we have to make the best of what is a valuable opportunity to bring about a positive effect upon the way you ride for the rest of your motorcycling career.

We show you how to really take hold of your bike, grab it by the scruff of the neck and make it do as it is told, so you can make unobtrusive progress on the road by riding more consistently, producing a smooth and flowing style where each bend is seamlessly connected to the next.

Motorcycle courses begin and end in your home area wherever possible and are arranged to be completed on a date that is convenient to you.

Accredited Motorcycle Rider Training

As you browse this website you will no doubt notice that we list two levels of accredited courses. The First Step Advanced Motorcycle Course offers a National Qualification Framework award at Level–2. This is an 8–hour programme of both practical rider training and assessment, combined with an assessment of theoretical knowledge.

The Class–One Motorcycle Course consists of a three day programme of both theory and practical input for this very comprehensive and intensive rider training option. This course is accredited at award Level–3 and your success on this occasion is quantified by a process of practical riding assessment, as well as successful completion of theory exam papers.

The reason the accredited courses are so special is they provide a training outcome level that can be quantified. That is to say your success is measurable against a known standard, a benchmark, which is really what the National Framework Qualification system provides.

The courses are registered and accredited by the OCN Credit4Learning, which is an established and recognised education and learning awards establishment, specialising in the field of adult learning. To get the two courses approved, Ride Drive had to submit a detailed account of the training aims and objectives in the form of learning modules, and specifically identify the intended learning outcomes.

After being scrutinised by a panel of experts, both courses were accepted onto the National Framework Qualification system.

Ensuring That Quality is Maintained

Following your completion of either of our accredited courses all reports and papers generated during its delivery are first submitted to someone who is referred to as the internal moderator. This is an individual who is appointed by Ride Drive to verify that all documentation has been completed fully and accurately. It is also the role of the internal moderator to ensure that all protocols have been complied with, prior to onward transmission through the verification system.

The internal moderator is barred from having any involvement in the course up until the point of document submission and therefore maintains a certain degree of impartiality.

Providing all procedures and documents have been completed correctly, the course papers are forwarded to the external moderator. This is an individual who remains independent of both Ride Drive and OCN Credit4Learning.

The external moderator is someone who is trained as an assessor of the procedures carried out within the realms adult learning and National Vocational Qualification protocols. This is where our performance as a training services provider comes under intense scrutiny, and unless all procedures are completed to the required exacting standards, the individual course may be rejected.

It is therefore as much in our interest to ensure that our performance is at top level as it is to ensure that you achieve your maximum potential. Providing the course passes each stage of scrutineering, and you as the course candidate have scored highly enough to achieve the required standard, OCN Credit4Learning will issue a pass certificate.

It can therefore be seen how standards have to be maintained to the highest level, as with a quality control system such as this, there can be no cutting of corners. Therefore the certificate you receive is made all the more meaningful in terms of measured performance.

Non–Accredited Courses

Even though we provide two advanced motorcycle rider training courses that are not accredited that is not to say the level of professionalism when delivering such courses is not of high quality. At Ride Drive we invest just as much care into our non–accredited courses as we do to those which do fall within the accreditation system.

Therefore, you can be assured that whichever Ride Drive advanced motorcycle course you complete you will always receive the very best level of quality of service.