I.B.T.

minidazzler

On this forum I see plenty of complaining about IBT. And that's fair enough from older riders who didn't have to do it. But now, we do, in fact, I did it twice, because I turned 24 after doing it the first time. Here are my thoughts in general.

The instructors are advertising it wrong.

They are advertising it as a way to get into biking..... now, I get that bikers will agree that's good, but I think it's wrong and I'm completely open to being corrected.

My idea, as a beginner and young fcuk in general is advertise I.B.T. as a try before you buy thing. Yeah, it's expensive, but everyone knows riding is great fun. Why not promote that as a really inexpensive alternative to buying straight out and buying later on.

I.B.T. seems to be seen as a bad thing by most bikers, especially here.... Now, I'm here to tell you guys, My dad was a biker for longer than I can remember, and I only started a year and a bit ago, I.B.T. Is worth it? EVERY SINGLE PENNY.

I could have learned to use a bike from my dad. But, proper use of life savers, how to properly overtake or filtering...... unless you have a radio in your ear you are guessing at best when you are a young rider like me. When you have a radio saying "And now we're gonna look right, signal, life saver and move right" You pick it up as habit.

I guess, I'm in the minority, but, I learned more in the first two days of biking than I would have if I had never done IBT.... and the second two days of IBT, that just made me aware of my surroundings better than I can explain.... I could very well have been creamed at one point because of my own fcuk up, But I was talked through it and kept calm.....


Maybe this is an over reactive post to I.B.T. But I think, if the over all message of how it's presented was taken by even a few instructors, I'd feel decent.

It's not about learning to bike for me, it's about seeing what it's like....

Roadskill

Hi Mini
Glad you enjoyed it but to advertise as a try before you buy would give the impression that you could turn up and give it a go without going through the learner permit process. In fact you would get a lot of calls from people wanting to buy vouchers for birthdays so they could try it out then realise they need the theory test and permit first. I know what your saying and I agree to an extent. For example IMO IBT should be done before purchasing a motorcycle as the rider may well change their opinion on what they need and want to buy afterwards.
The only people who will pay out for IBT are those who genuinely want to get on a bike and will put in the time and expense that it needs to get on the road. What I would say to anyone who is anti IBT is come along with an open mind you just might learn something and as far as I am aware I have never heard of or seen a post on any forum from someone who has not enjoyed it once they are finished.
Correct me if I'm wrong.

..Brian..

I think IBT is a great idea and should have been made mandatory a long time ago. I don't think any reasonable person will argue that point. The price however, is a joke. I don't know how much it actually costs instructors but I would imagine their margins are pretty tight. If so there should be massive government subsidies. Give or take €500 just for the IBT is huge money when trying to get into biking.

Wonda-Boy

It is expensive no doubt about it, and from alot of guys I talk to the actual training been giving by some is hit and miss aswell. But there are trainers out there that really want to give you the very best start instead of seeing new bikers as a "CASH COW".

You really need to talk to guys who have done it with a really good trainer and go there. The government dont give a rats towards biking, they cant even drop the vat on helmets and see them as a safety item.....but any training that prepares you for the road on a bike is deffo a good thing.

eoinkildare

Personally I found the ibt to be a brilliant two days. I had to go back again then for a bigger bike which was a bit annoying as it cost so much but my instructor tailored it brilliantly to my needs. I even went back for further training and another insurance assessment in the end.

Eoin

Suasdaguna1

Yeah, I did all the modules in IBT, I'm the better for it...it was beneficial but the price was outrageous.

There is no substitute of practice and experience. People thinking there'll all set with ibt behind them are an accident waiting to happen.

josh59

When I took up biking at the age of 51 a few years back - I didn't have to do any training by law as that was the situation at the time. I decided for my own preservation and the missus blood pressure ! to do this nonetheless and I have to saw it did save my skin.

Then I was lazy and didn't do the driving test when I should have so when the new rules came out in January I got caught out and so had to do IBT before I could to the test under the new rules.

However being over 24 (ahem) over the past week I did my direct access IBT so now have the IBT cert and can apply for the test.

After a very long days training yesterday (9 hours) I can only saw that's it's very worthwhile as for one thing I brushed up on stuff I did in my training 3 years ago and as the man says you never stop learning.