2 mod 2 test fails, very disheartened!

[baderlfc]

Hi all, new to the forum so sorry to post a first post like this but im feely very down about my future in riding currently.

Failed my mod 2 for 2nd time this morning and i'm struggling to deal with it.

I'm 27 and recently got back into riding having had a couple of 50/125s as a 16-17 year old before i got my car license.

Bought a 125 last year and got some good practice and really enjoyed it so did my theory ready for the direct access this year.

Passed my mod 1 with if im honest relative ease I took to the slow maneauvres quite well and got through it first attempt.

So onto my mod 2, had the full days training on road (part of the DAS package with my training provider).

Had the test then and admittedly was a bit nervy and didn't have the best ride but got failed for not using a bus lane.. now i was told on training to use bus lanes when it's beneficial to do so which in this instance it wasn't so that was hard to take, especially as i didnt think i'd fail for it! but i accepted it and rebooked booked for another test.

That was this morning, i felt really good on the bike, the hour or so warm up went perfectly and the instructor said my riding was excellent and to just take my time and i'd breeze the test.

So went out on the test, was feeling good, took my time, kept calm and went around the route feeling really happy. To then get back and get told i'd failed again.

This time i failed for "impeding traffic", basically it was my right of way, nothing coming, but i could see immediately after the junction a car was readying to pull out into my path so i delayed a few seconds so he saw me then proceeded.. the examiner said i'd failed because there was a car behind that i'd hindered (by all of a few seconds). again i struggle to see how this is a justifyable reason to fail as I did what i thought was safe rather than go straight through and potentially get knocked off my bike.

Now gotta wait another 4 weeks for a 3rd attempt and i'm just feeling really down in the dumps and its beginning to feel like an impossible task, I had a really good ride with only 3 riding faults yet hes decided to fail me for this reason which i find hard to stomach.

As you all know its not a cheap pass time resitting mod 2 tests and im starting to feel like this guy has it in for me.

Am I wrong to feel slightly hard done by here? I really dont want to give up cos i've had my heart set on a big bike for years but this really was a kick in the teeth today!

[Baffler186]

Hard luck. First off, don't give up, you have spent all this time and money getting this far so one more test should see you through.

What were the other faults for? If they were unrelated then giving you a serious or dangerous fault seems very harsh.

Third time lucky, maybe sit on some bikes to keep you motivated!
____________________
Current: 2009 SV650 S, 1990 Kawasaki GT550
Previous: 2009 CBF125, 1998 GSF600, 2004 FZ6 Fazer, 1978 CB400a Hondamatic

[waffles]

If you feel like the examiner is being unfairly critical of your riding then you could speak to your instructor and book another mod 2 at a different test centre. I presume you have had the same examiner for both tests?

Don't kick yourself about it, get another one booked (see if you can get a cancellation if possible) and don't take it personally. Do you have access to a bike that you could head out on? Or some mates to go out for a ride with?
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[someotherguy]

[Matt B]

[rubyhorse2]

hmm tricky one that, i suppose the idea is that you should be wary of impending dangers but not react to them before they actually become a danger.

He is correct, as you should not slow down unless a hazard actually appears.

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

Don't beat yourself - or your instructor - up about it. It does sound like a slightly pedantic bit of examining, but for better or worse, their word is final. I'd be willing to bet that third time lucky is more common than we all think. I got lucky on the second attempt - and it was lucky too. Cos although I only got one minor, the roads were eerily quiet throughout. I had to pick tumble weed from the bike when I got back to the test centre. A half hour before and a half after, I honestly think I'd have encountered all manner of motor-vehicular shenanigans that would've caused me to go full potato.
____________________
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease and the mortality rate is one hundred percent."

Mobylette Type 50 ---> Raleigh Grifter ---> Neval Minsk 125

[pinkyfloyd]

Dont give up. You failed twice. Big deal. I failed twice too.

I did not give up, I nailed it the 3rd time and now I am a DVSA qualified DAS instructor. It all works out in the end.
____________________
illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[TheArchitect]

Keep at it mate. I failed Mod2 twice too and was pretty pissed off with myself at the time. But the key is to keep the momentum going and re-book as soon as you can.

Passed third time with no minors. I think I was more relaxed on that one hence the easier ride.
____________________
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
MT09 - Almost stolen

[RedPanda]

I'd be annoyed for failing for those 'reasons' as well. You'll be fine next time then after a few days on your new bike all the trauma will be forgotten.
____________________
CBF125 (2013) -> CBR600F (2001) -> 'Ninja' 300 (2014)

[N cee thirty]

meh me and a few other people i know took 5 goes to pass mod 2

strangely enough i passed the car test , which is alot harder, first time round
____________________
'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[wristjob]

it looks from your post you have got a pass in you but perhaps nerves or just bad luck is stopping you.
book it again.
as has already been suggested perhaps a different test centre might make you feel better.
i got a couple of minors on my test for being hesitent.i pointed out(after he had given me my pass)that i was on my test and trying not to ride like a twat.
do it again and you will pass,and then you can learn to ride.

[pompousporcup...]

try not to let it bother you. I passed first time.. but i was fully expecting to fail a few times before getting it.

it will be a great feeling when you do pass.

[southglasgow]

Another vote for keep at it.

I failed down to my reactions to other drivers at the time. Manoeuvred round a woman in a car who I considered was putting me at risk while I was waiting to turn at a junction. No kittens injured and I dare say with a full license in my pocket it would have warranted a shake of my head and a reminder that lots of people driving around just won't look, or consider other road users.

Alas, being my test and under the eye of the examiner he decided it was inappropriate, and potentially dangerous - although I did point out that to me at the time I felt if I hadn't moved she'd likely have hit me - so I was taking avoiding action.

No dice. One resit booked and I turned up to the test centre to find the same examiner.

I felt awful, added to which it was morning rush hour and chucking it down. I started and just got on with the ride.

Passed with two minors, and the guy being extremely positive about it.
Way I see it, these guys are signing off on you reaching a 'standard' which you display on the day - nothing else is considered and sometimes they're view may not be the same as yours.

Yes, I was gutted the first time, but like everyone says, just get on with the ride, tick their boxes and enjoy the freedom which comes with the pass.

Also, another +1 to getting out and sitting on a few more bikes, got to have something to remind yourself why you've did all the hard work already and what's to come.
____________________
CBT June 09 - Kymco KR 125 July 09 -> Sept 09. Suzuki RV125 June 10 -> Theory June 13, MOD 1 July 13, MOD 2 August 13. Woohoo -> April 14. Yamaha XJ6N.

[baderlfc]

Cheers for the comments guys I will keep at it, hoping 3rd time lucky! I will get this license if it's the last thing I do!'

It is the same examiner I've had twice in Newport and although it feels like a personal grudge against me I of course no it's not and its just the way he's seen the situation different to me today and I have to accept his decision.

I did ride a lot better today which I think is what added to the disappoint.. On my first test I was a bit nervy and did rush things yet still only failed on a technicality (not making use of available bus lane).

There is light at the end of the tunnel.. Just about!

No longer have a bike, sold my 125 to fund the full license and deposit on new bike although that deposit is now dwindling away..

I have rebooked, going to see if I can get a cancellation prior to the date though as its 4 weeks or so away which is a long time to over think things and feel sorry for myself.

Cheers again, will keep you updated.. Fingers crossed with good news at some point..

[Teflon-Mike]

[Bluing]

Driving tests are inconsistent and are mostly based on luck. This is because of two reasons:

1) Road conditions are never the same twice in a row, because the route, weather and traffic levels AND traffic behaviour are constantly changing.
2) Examiners are performing a subjective assessment of whether you're safe, and this, assuming that they haven't taken an aversion to your face and/or they didn't run out of coffee for breakfast that morning, could mean that any given situation might be considered alternately "safe" and "dangerous" by the same person in the same circumstances. Therefore, for example, the use of bus lanes. Completely unnecessary to use them to be "safe", but because the examiner has discretion to say you're not being "safe" if you choose not to use them, and the discretion to say the opposite if you do use them, it's a purely nonsensical gamble.

Having said that, you need a licence and this illogical rigmarole is the only way to get one.

I am going to take my module 1 soon. It will be my second module 1. The first I failed purely because of nerves, i.e. it was my OWN fault. Module 1 is different from module 2 because there are people watching through the wire fence to make sure it's by the book. And everything in module 1 is a matter of measure and doing things by the book.

As for my module 2, as it costs a fair bit more, I will refer to the government-published stats on motorbike test centres. You can download these as an Excel spreadsheet online. They show that my module 1 test centre has one of the lowest pass rates in the country. There are test centres in the middle of nowhere (countryside) with 80%+ pass rates. You do the maths. I would be a fool to take module 2 anywhere where not only do you have to deal with heavy urban traffic but the examiners are so up themselves you hear about them failing people one day for not filtering and the next day FOR filtering, or one day for using bus and the next NOT using bus lanes, etc.

[Yorkshire Geek]

[Val]

[Baffler186]

[techathy]

[DVSA Derek]

To be fair I probably would have failed you for sitting needlessly at a junction, hindering traffic too. I don't really see how you can wait for a car 'readying' to pull out. Get on with it, approach with caution and be ready to stop if needed. Show some planning, not just stop until everything in view disappears. The car driver may have been looking at you thinking ' it's your right of way, get on with it', and by waiting may have confused the situation. Every situation is different, so I may be way off the mark. But the way you describe, sounds fairly straightforward to me.

Good luck next time, and I echo what has been said, don't let a couple of fails knock you down - sounds like you are not far away.
____________________
It's just a job. Don't hold it against me!

[recman]

[pbt]

The examiner didn't fail anyone for not using a bus lane, you failed yourself.
The examiners viewpoint is simple...
Bus lanes are marked out with road signs, cant miss em, they're big and blue. They have pictures on them in white, telling you what vehicles can use them. Some of them even have writing underneath, telling you when they aren't actually bus lanes any more.
One way streets are also marked out with road signs, Blue rectangles with a white arrow in them, and one end has a circular red sign with a horizontal white line across.
If you're incapable of noticing and acting upon the information on a bus lane sign, you're equally as incapable of acting upon the information on a one way street, so you don't deserve a bloody full licence.

[angryjonny]

I failed my first test courtesy of one stupid cock-up at the end that I couldn't blame anyone else for. Unfamiliar town and unfamiliar roads, I made an error, c'est la vie. I was really pissed off. Even the examiner was gutted, I could tell.

Then I slept on it and thought, "Well I know I can do it now, so next time just avoid the one cock-up and you're in the clear." I literally was. No minors. Delighted.

See the positives. Good ride, good feeling. Disappointing result. Learn from it and you're better placed for next time. Try not to resent all the bikers you see for rubbing it in your face in the meantime. I hated those bastards for that fortnight.