Test Conditions - hearing the examiner clearly?

[Mudskipper]

I've been thinking about this today.

Yesterday I had the first of my DAS lessons. The headset used was, basically, a bit rubbish. It was crackly and unclear and the earpiece was agony on my ear after about 5 minutes.

Coupled with the instuctor being a glaswegian ('torn leyyyft at the roooondabooot'), I struggled to hear many of the instructions.

So my questions are:

Are the headsets used by examiners a better quality?

If you have difficulty hearing the examiner, can this be taken into account? Obviously he will have tested it before you set off, but what if it packs in just as he's telling you something important?

Has anyone experienced difficulties of this nature? Any unfeasibly strong and undecipherable accents caused problems for you?

Looking forward to any views/experiences on this.

Mudskipper
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Davo]

The headsets used by the DSA examiners are usually much better quality. However the examiner should tell you what to do if you don't understand an instruction given to you. He'll also test the radio before you head off.

[Whosthedaddy]

They have an intercom system that they can turn on and off at the flick of a switch. I had a problem with the on/off switch

Second test, going down a duel carriage way at 60 approaching a roundabout, left or right turn only:

'At the end of the road turn......'

Bangs on lid

'....road turn....'

Bangs on lid and eases of gas

'At the end of the road turn....'

His voice is getting louder each time and the sense of 'WTF are you stupid' is quite clear.

More banging on lid and staying vaguely in the middle as not sure which lane I'm supposed to be in at this stage

'TURN LEFT!'

I then quickly MSM and turned left rather quickly.

We stopped further down the road to do the E stop. I tried to state that I could nt hear him, yet he never mentioned it, but the b'stard marked me down for awareness and preperation
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[stinkwheel]

They will give you instructions very clearly and in a pre-arranged manner.

Such as
"At the next junction, turn right."
"At the roundabout, take the third exit."
"Take the next available left turn." (watch this one, 'next available' does not equal 'next', could be a one way street etc.)
"When it is safe to do so, pull over to the left and stop."

Should be very unambiguous.

[Whosthedaddy]

[Crash125]

If there is ever anything wrong with the intercom you should find a safe place to pull over using the correct procedure and let the examiner know whats wrong.

I took a wrong turn on my test that I passed but because I used the correct procedure there was nothing he could do about it.
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*SV650s* 7th time lucky, finaly passed me DAS

[Itchy]

the head set used for my test was shit , kept getting activated by wind but no taxis like the DAS ones , apparently if you can't hear it properly just go straight ahead.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[stinkwheel]

[Whosthedaddy]

[angryjonny]

The worst thing about my DAS was the damn intercom. Every time I took my helmet off the earpiece took my ear with it. It got to the point that I had switched ears and both were red raw. And the batteries kept going. And I kept going out of range.

The examiner's radio is far superior. It may not be any more comfortable, but it's clearer and has a range of about a mile.

Also, it's worth remembering that you won't fail your test if you go the wrong way - as long as you ride to the standards the examiner expects to see. It's a test in riding, not navigation. Naturally, you'll endear yourself to the examiner more if you go where he tells you to go, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.

I seem to recall that the examiners have channels reserved too. There was no interference on my test, but during my lessons we were picking up conversations from lorries and taxis etc, and no doubt they were picking us up too.

[Ariel Badger]

How do they do the test if you are deaf?
I know a couple of riders who are without hearing but they took their tickets in the old days when you just rode around the block.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[Syx]

The earpiece my instructor used was okay, but my examiners was worse. I missed a turning once due to not being able to hear him correctly (he had the radio on too... ) so he made my turn back at the smallest mini-roundabout I've ever come across. Made the U-turn seem a piece of piss!

[JonT]

The ones on my test where obviously voice activated, therefore I would never hear the first word or two of what the guy said unless he coughed or something before speaking.

"At the next junction, turn right."

turns into

"next junction, turn right."

Which is perfectly understandable, what is not though is in this example.

"Turn left at the lights mate"

which turns into

"ftat the lights mate"

Que, much confusion

[J0Al1]

Don't worry about it at all.

During training you get a radio connection that may well break n jerk, on top onf that you pick up the local cabbies. . . . . always nice to know Brends needs collecting from ASDA in 10 mins.

The 'assesors' have their own radio frequency. I did two tests and they were both clear as crystal - even when I left one instructor about 3/4 mile behind - teee heee hee

Good luck.

[J0Al1]

PS - My instructor used to laugh and tell us all sorts . . . . . . 'My wife wan ts me to get a new 4 x's 4 and I know that you girls are not really interested BUT . . . . . '

T'was funny. Untill we went out when he had a bad back and every bump - I got OUCH- ARRRRR - I'm my ear LOL

[kawakid]

I thought i'd failed the test.

Because I was riding along and I got " turn crackle crackle crackle left."

So I turned left and got a message through my headphones saying "I actually meant that left". Dohh

To be honest it shook me up for the rest of the test as i'd then thought i'd failed, to the point of answering one of the questions at the end, with "What's the point". ....

I still passed first time!!!

He didn't even mark me down for it.
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I've a twin and a 4.

[KTM Gordo]

The driving test is about how well you ride, not how well you navigate. You won't fail for taking a wrong turning (as long as it's not in to a No Entry )

As you were approaching the junction and couldn't hear the instructions, you should have made your own decision and set yourself up for the direction you've chosen. Whilst it may seem harsh, the examiner was right to mark you down as you hadn't planned ahead.
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Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine.

KTM 990 Adventure | KTM EXC 250 Racing | Land Rover Freelander SE Td4

[Kal]

My radio packed up during the test. I signalled him and the examiner had me pull off the road and reset it. No problem.

The radio is their equipment so you arent responsible for it and should not be penalised for it.
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S

[h00dwink]

[17-in-87]

[alone]

Ha. I failed my re-test (trying to get licence un-restricted)
I made the mistake of trying to correct a navigational cock up on my part. Wrong lane on a roundabout over the M4, during rush hour.. My bad, forced my way in between a car and van. I wasn't even thinking about the test- I was riding for myself. The examiner even said what I did was safe, and he'd have done the same in reality- but it was a dangerous fault on the test. Blast it..

I ended up just taking the restriction out anyway.

and to comment on-topic- Same experiences as others here. Training schools radio is poo. The Examiners was perfect!
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Bikes; '06 Triumph Sprint ST 1050 (for sale) - '95 BMW R1100GS

[Tommy]

After my test, me and the examiner had, shall we say and frank and forthright exchange of views after he shouted at me for taking a right turn, before the roundabout he wanted me to turn right at. All I heard was " ...... turn right ......", so I did. What he apparently said was " At the next roundabout turn right"

This had happed quite early on in the test, so I was convinced that I had failed, coz he went absolutley mental when it happened, told me to pull into the side, and drew alongside and I thought he was going to get off the bike and deck me. I just held my hands up and shrugged my shoulders. He told me to move off, and the test continued

Once we had stopped at the end, I told him what I had heard, he said, "well at the end of the day, this is not a hearing test, and you performed the manouver correctly"

He passed me

[Mudskipper]

Some interesting experiences, thanks to you all for sharing

I won't worry about hearing on the test then.

Though if I do have problems hearing, and have to do too many straight ons, I may end up in Teeside!!

Mudskipper
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CBR125|||GSXR400|||CBR400|||CBR400|||CB250RS|||GSXR750|||CB250RS
"You're clumsy, you eat too much and you behave like a 12 year old boy. But you know what? Every once in a while, you find a thumb."

[Tarby777]

I did Direct Access last week and found that while the bike school's radio wasn't the best (leads came out, batteries ran down...), the DSA's kit was top-notch.

The examiner's radio was voice-activated; he somehow programmed it to be triggered by my name, so when he began a sentence with my name, it started transmitting. Presumably it's an idea aimed at saving batteries and allowing him to speak without me hearing, should he want to.

The DSA gear is 10x more robust than yer typical bike school gear (at my local test centre, at least...). It's a fairly weighty thing that you wear around your waist on a belt. They take time to make sure that it's a comfy fit and working properly before you set off. I can't imagine you'd ever struggle to hear what the examiner is saying...

HTH
Tarby

[Kal]

When the examiner has forgotten to change the batteies and they are flat - don't laugh happened to me!
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Kal...
I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It I Like To Hoon It Hoon It Ya Like To (HOON IT!).
1984 GB250 Clubman,1983 CB250N Superdream, 1999 GPZ500S