The UK bike licence rules have always seemed overly complicated and expensive to me. I passed in 1994 when it was just a CBT and a single ‘pursuit’ test, and the further back you go the simpler it was.
Jumping off a CB125 and straight on to a Panigale V4S would seem a tad foolhardy but the current system can penalise people financially and put them off becoming full A1 licence holders.
There’s a bunch of opinion under the article that I thought might stimulate some thought here, too.
I’ll be amazed (but pleasantly surprised) if it gets past “consultation”.
Simplify testing and cost, but focus on providing better training.
(And make car learners more motorbike aware while we’re at it)
Edit
And sadly most MP’s would like to see motorbikes gone, the current test process (and forcing EV only bikes by 2030?) seems to be fulfilling that purpose.
Like many on the forum I past my test with a ride around the block. IMO the increased training and restrictions initially introduced including having to wear a helmet were required, but the current process to achieve a full licence is far to complicated and costly and eventually will kill new riders taking up riding.
It would be interesting to see the data that shows how the changing licence rules affected safety. For a given group who passed the same test there’s still a broad spectrum of skill and capability. You’d think the increased training would help but does it, and by how much? CBT may be quite effective whereas the Mod1/Mod2 rules may not, for example.
There are many factors that influence rider skill levels and therefore level of accidents involving bikes. For example when I started riding the road network and volumes of traffic were significantly different than the situation today, so I think it would be difficult to make any real comparison. Time moves on and there is no doubt that the risk of riding a motorcycle today is far higher than back in the day.
I guess training needs to reflect the changed situation.
I’m no statistical analyst but perhaps there are some models that could be employed. Certainly it would be feasible around the time of a change but perhaps more tricky over the longer period, for the reasons you mention.