Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider's Handbook to Better Motorcycling Paperback – 27 Jun. 1996

This is the book the police use as their rider handbook. There is a lot in it and if you could ride to the standards set, there is no question you will be as safe as you could be on a motorcycle. The "Bike Safe" scheme available in the UK tries to help motorcyclists, of all standards, to ride safely and with consideration to both themselves and other road users. However, it is time restricted but gives a taste of what is available with the road safety organisations that use this as the standard for their literature, such as IAM RoadSmart.

Would probably describe my riding as intermediate, so room for improvement.I found no earth-shattering revelations in this book. However, some of my riding (and driving) is probably a bit ad-hoc, so adopting a more systematic approach to riding will ultimately lead to an easier, smoother, faster and more enjoyable experience; and that's exactly what I'm after. Devoting less conscious effort to the mechanisms of riding and hazard perception/processing means I can spend more time just enjoying the scenery and so forth.I have a dreadful habit of over-thinking just about everything and getting myself tied into knots. I've been using the system described in this book for a couple of weeks now and already I'm more relaxed and probably quicker on the bike than before.I'm old enough to realise that the most dangerous thing I can do on my bike is be arrogant and assume I know it all, and that to be told what to do is somehow a compromise to thinking it out for yourself. This book does not provide all the answers; what it does do is give a really solid framework that lets you deal with the real-world problems of riding a bike. Being observant is only part of the problem (e.g. spotting the 'idiot motorist'), to avoid an incident we still need to react, and do so quickly and without hesitation. There are often too many choices to work through when deciding how to react to a hazard, so the system speeds this up.This book has got me thinking far more actively about those things that I probably take for granted, like assuming people obey the rules of the road. It's all very well saying after the event that "I rode perfectly, it was the other guy's fault" but I'd rather not be doing that from a hospital bed. SO READ THIS BOOK - it's folly not to.

I'm New back to riding after 30 year's and only completed a star rider course then- which wasn't compulsory and many riders did'nt take and aren't around now.I've read this book and think its a must to all experienced riders especially those returning to biking. It makes you realise how little you know about biking safety and its craft and that it has to be learnt, after talking to a few experienced bikers young and old it was obvious how little they are aware of safety aspects of riding.I'm 100% certain that this book will save many accidents even from the most experienced riders-if it's no use to you, give it to a biker mate and save them from an accident.note: I don't think this book is suitable for new bikers just starting out until you've past your test's as it will cloud all the information you've been given to learn.So you can judge where I'm at (not a proffessional)below:-My experience: 2 years all weather riding 30 years ago on a 250cc and many accident and rightoff's and 6 months on a 1700cc sports tourer 2010, no accidents (touchwood), and 30 years of everyday 30kmiles+ year car driving no accidents (touchwood).

This book sets out the training system used by the police to train its motorcyclists. It is an excellent book.The book distills years of motorcycling experience and training into a concise and focused book. The lessons in the book were written in blood and should be heeded.The book is clear, well written and straight to the point.I have read some criticism from experienced riders that the book just reiterates the obvious and there is nothing new in it - this criticism misses the point. The purpose of the book is to present all this information in a clear and very structured way, which it does were well.I have been riding for years but still learned new things from this book.Recommended.

This is written by someone who knows everything there is to know about riding motorbikes (big and small) on the road. If you're a hooligan-rider then, this is for you as well because it teaches you how to stay out of trouble. If you're a newcomer to biking on a more modest machine, then this is the last word on staying safe and growing vastly more skilful on your transport.My experience? 48 years on seriously fast bikes. I race them to but ride to work and for pleasure. My lastest machine is limited to 204 mph.If there's one omission for the very advanced rider, it's taking right-hand bends. You know - the ones with an adverse camber. Almost all riders don't know how to do this and stay safe - they keep well out into the road, which is the exact opposite of what you should do. Imagine doing this when a truck is coming the other way! My additional advice is this: take a Police Advanced Riding Course with your local cops - all Forces run them - and tell them you've read this book. They'll be very impressed.

Superb condition. Brand new. Lots of great information in there for both novice and beyond riders.many thanks

Personally, I feel there are three aspects to a well-formed belief system around police riding... 1. Roadcraft / street strategies - how you conduct yourself on the road to maximize the probability of not being in an accident or other threatening situation... vehicle positioning, situation and traffic assessment, etc. 2. Well-practiced vehicle-handling skills - obstacle avoidance, braking, slow-riding & balance, etc. all worked sufficiently and recently enough that they have been committed to procedural (muscle) memory. 3. A personal training ethic to keep the highly perishable skills of points one and two honed, current, and available. I don't believe you can be a safe and proficient rider without spending equal time on all three points. This book deals exclusively with the first aspect."Motorcycle Roadcraft" discusses one approach to the mechanics of optimizing awareness over the road. It's a "system"... it's a point of view... it's a collection of street-level strategies for staying on the right side of the event horizon of crashes and unplanned/reactive vehicle-handling in response to hazards. It's not the only way to do it, but it is the best considered one I have found to date. Operators get hurt when they get surprised and one explanation of roadcraft might be that it is an efficient process for organizing your awareness of your environment that reduces the probability that you will be surprised. Until you get into this, you will be surprised as to just how far you can take this and particularly if you do a little further research on physiological and psychological limits on the operator's ability to organize his knowledge of his environment. Reading this book in conjunction with observing a talented operator do a running commentary on his work flow really drives the concepts home."Roadcraft" seems to be an essentially UK point of view on riding that has been called "street strategies" on this side of the pond though everything I've observed about the UK approach is that it is significantly more systematized and more deeply considered that anything I've seen out of the US. I've certified to the Advanced level with police in the US. They do a very good job in terms of drilling on/mastering the most essential vehicle-handling skills... slow-riding, braking, obstacle avoidance and pairs/group riding. However, I feel a gaping omission in the US system is a nearly complete lack of roadcraft work, at least in the training I've taken or am aware of, and this is where the Brits appear to really do it right. Just as the essential vehicle-handling skills and associated teaching methods have been studied and honed by the police on both sides of the pond over generations of motor officers and instructors, the Brits have applied this same approach to roadcraft.Learning to ride proficiently isn't like learning to apply physics proficiently... there isn't just one answer. What works... what is "optimum" is continuously evolving and always a matter of opinion, some credible, some not. This book, and in fact any single book or learning method or point of view, does not eliminate the immense value of competent instruction under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable and experienced instructor. The acquisition of riding skills (any skills) is an open-ended journey of scholarship, practice, questioning, improvement and collaboration, and while this book is in my opinion very well considered and expressed, it shouldn't be the only brick in the foundation of your knowledge. But I suggest it should be one of them. If Julliard taught riding, this book would be in the curriculum.There is nothing on vehicle-handling itself in this book, but that is what the basic and in-service training are for. There are also some very useful thoughts on the value of a personal training ethic, though that is a bit distributed.Ride safe.

Lots of great information about motorcycling with a huge focus on staying safe out there.

While you can read about a lot of advanced motorcycling skills in this book, you should be aware that it is intended as the 'course book' for actual tutored training. Roadcraft is a SYSTEM of safe motorcycling, and attitude and mindset are actually more important than the individual techniques in the book. You can learn a lot from the book, but if you don't back it up with (at least) thoughtful and self-critical practice, you'd be selling yourself short. Better still would be practice with another experienced rider, and joint evaluations of progress.

This is an British manual for police motor officers. As such I expected a lot of information on riding techniques, such as seen in police rodeos, slow riding, sharp turns around a cone / course, and such. Instead it's a basic book on safe riding on surface streets and in traffic. As such, it's a very useful read and reference. But I left off the one star because I expected, rightly or wrongly a little more, whenever I see police riding in the title or tag line.