2007 Edition of RoadCraft - What do you think?

[AlistairL]

Hi All,

With the tantalising hint on The Stationery Office website that the 2007 edition of Roadcraft for police drivers on the way, do you think that the corresponding version for Police Riders will follow soon?

And should there be much difference between the two versions (whatever colour the covers are)? Some BBs debate the differences in cornering lines and reducing radius curves, but perhaps the subtlety is in machine control, which is a matter for personal instruction?

Regards

Alistair.

[SammyTheSnake]

... should there be much difference between the two versions ...

One difference I've noted is that my copy of motorcycle roadcraft says gear changes should be done "in the later stages of braking" whereas others here quoting from the car version advocate complete separation. I'm not sure if this is a car / motorbike difference or because I have a more recent edition than others (I only bought it about 6 months ago and already it's going to be obsolete any moment now, grr)

I was pondering buying a copy of the car version, but I think I'll leave it until this purported new version is available.

Cheers & God bless
Sam "SammyTheSnake" Penny

[rlmr]

One difference I've noted is that my copy of motorcycle roadcraft says gear changes should be done "in the later stages of braking" whereas others here quoting from the car version advocate complete separation. I'm not sure if this is a car / motorbike difference or because I have a more recent edition than others

Sammy its an inherent difference in the control of the two vehicles... Car has three pedals and most folk have two feet. With the bike one can access ALL controls at the same time. Also most cars (other than sequential box) allow you to select one gear straight from another, passing through neutral. The bike is sequential and although you might not use each gear you have to pas through each position when changing from say 6th to 2nd.

However to further AlistairL's point... the system is basically the same as is the road position... just that one can move the bike about a lot more, positioning for view and line, whilst still remaining on your own side of the road.

Hope this helps?

[markc1290]

I have the 2007 version of the car Roadcraft, would you recommend getting the bike version? I have bought a skill for life bike course, so I will be getting a manual with that as well.

Thanks,

Mark

[AlistairL]

I have the 2007 version of the car Roadcraft, would you recommend getting the bike version? I have bought a skill for life bike course, so I will be getting a manual with that as well.

Thanks,

Mark

Hi Mark,

It is really up to you. I've got the bike edition of roadcraft as it is a very helpful reference. A couple of things I would think about though, one is that the "current" edition of Motorcycle Roadcraft is a revision of the 1996 Edition i.e. Motorcycle Roadcraft has not been updated in the same way as the car Roadcraft. The other thing is that your skill for life course comes with the manual that will mention the police system of motorcycle control and the importance of observations and planning. When you arrange to hook up with an IAM group for your observed runs, I would ask them what they think about buying roadcraft too.

Congrats on purchasing the skill for life bike course - with the extra vulnerability we have on bikes, the skills are well put to use, and the skill for life course is a great cost effective way of applying roadcraft to bikes.

Have you had the opportunity to put what you've read in the 2007 Edition of Car Roadcraft to use on the road with any car training ?

Cheers

Alistair.

[markc1290]

I did the iam car course in 2004, but I had never given the bike side of things a thought until now !

I will wait and see what the local bike group say about reading material.

Cheers,

Mark

[AlistairL]

I did the iam car course in 2004, but I had never given the bike side of things a thought until now !

I will wait and see what the local bike group say about reading material.

Cheers,

Mark

Excellent - hopefully you will see that the principles apply across all vehicles, and it is the machine related aspects of visibility, agility, performance and other control differences that differ.

I did it the other way round (bike then car). Assuming you have the IAM book for car and Roadcraft then you will have an idea of how the books compare in level of detail and "readability" but also what you learn from the books alone and out on the road with an experienced practitioner.

Have fun!

Alistair.