Just wondered - who's done IAM or ROSPA tests?

[DougL]

Anyone want to own up

I know that a few of you have, as there has been a wee bit of discussion before. I've just spent 18 months with LAM in South London, procrastinating and passed my IAM test yesterday. Apparently LAM have a bit of a reputation for progressive riding. I actually enjoyed the experience of being followed by a Class 1 Police rider for a couple of hours, especially knowing that he was one of their collision investigation head honchos....

[Dave Weller]

Congratulations on passing, I passed mine in the last century.

[DougL]

Thanks Dave, was that a LAM one too?

[MrGrumpy]

I did IAM quite a few years ago (probably can't tell from my riding!). I did enjoy the course a lot, though there are lots of other things to learn . It sounds like a rather more informal setup our way - no police riders in attendance!

Turned out the IAM examiner was a near neighbour 6 doors away!

[JohnR93]

I'm with SLAM (South Lancs Advanced Motorcyclists - http://www.slambikers.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) and passed the IAM exam this time last year.

[horobags]

I was with the manchester rospa group in 2001-4, ended up being a rospa observer for a couple of years. Enjoyed the training but found 50% of bikers never get anything wrong and take advice as criticism, even when they have signed up on a course to improve their riding , which pisses you off when you do it voluntary.

[Gerard C]

I did my IAM with Sheffield Advanced Riders and enjoyed it but more to the point I know it improved my riding and the techniques learned have saved my life, or at least a very nasty situation or two. I am now thinking of giving ROSPA a go.
One of the criticism's levelled at the IAM was that they didn't make enough progress. This was usually from people who had no actual experience of the course.
I remember an observer - who shall remain nameless - holding off a Sports Biker who was determined to "Bag us" on the Scooters. He left him in the dust on his Burgman 650. We caught him up a mile or two down the road with the biggest grin on his face.
I would advise anyone to take the initial test assessment ride, but If you can't take advice then think hard as to why not. Learning from other peoples experience is a lot less painful than sliding down the road on your arse - if you're lucky.

[kayz1]

20 years ago, bloody hell time don't half fly

[MrGrumpy]

How does the IAM course compare to RoSPA?

I did the IAM course which is kind of mostly about how to ride on roads, but in recent years I've done several i2i courses, which are much more about bike handling, and I've found the two approaches very complementary (and the i2i courses can be rather mind expanding!)

Don't know anything about the RoSPA courses so don't know where they would fit in.

[DougL]

apparently ROSPA and IAM are very similar and even use the same examiners. IAM have upgraded their test to allow for a sort of diploma called the F1rst, which is where you score all ones on the 26 assessed categories. You have to retest with ROSPA every three years.