OF ADVANCED MOTORISTS
The Examiner will accompany you, on their own bike, on a run usually covering about 35 miles. This is to enable the Examiner to take you on a wide variety of roads, including motorway or other dual carriageway roads, urban roads and country roads. It also enables the Examiner to reach a judgement based on observing your technique in a wide variety of situations so that occasional minor errors can be redeemed by riding to a high standard through the rest of the drive.
It is usually possible to start the test close to where you live and at a time that suits you. Soon after you apply for the test, an Examiner will contact you to arrange a mutually convenient time and venue. It is usually possible to take the test within 3 to 4 weeks of applying.
There are many different routes. It would only be by chance that you have driven on your test route while with your Observer. The Group's aim is to train you to drive confidently and well on any road, not just on roads that you know.
There is no written test. You may be asked a few questions about, for example, road signs and road markings encountered during the drive. At the end of the run the Examiner will tell you the result and, irrespective of the result, offer constructive advice on how to improve further. The test usually takes about 1½ hours.