QUOTE(Ian @ Sep 26 2004, 08:41 AM)
As my driving instructor insisted on telling me, he was teaching me to drive on any road not how to drive on the test route. In other words to be a safe and competent driver/rider you have to be able to make your own decisions based on what you can see and hear around you. Just because you can physically take a corner at a particular speed it doesn't always mean it is safe to do so. Just because it is within the speed limit it doesn't always mean you should be going that fast if the conditions or how far you can see in front don't dictate it.
There was someone else on here who failed for going too slow in wet conditions. They thought they were doing the right thing but the examiner failed them for hesitation and not making progress. It can be a fine line but the important thing is to ride to the conditions and show that you are in control and not riding to a script.
Yes. I got failed the second time for failing to make progress once and once only. I decided to sit behind traffic on a dual carriageway instead of overtaking. I fel totally hard done to but got over it after a day or so then got back on the bike so to speak and passed the next time. Persistence is the key to passing thats the best advice I can give you.
Took my test today on a 500cc. I thought I did really well. Did an excellant u-turn despite my worst fears!! Did an excellant emergency stop procedure and handled town centre traffic exactly as my instructor taught me. Was then taken out onto the country roads and again everything was going great until I was told to take a right turn from a major country road into a minor one. The road was a straight fairly downhill road with a narrow tunnel (approx 15yards in length) and after the tunnel was a sharp left hand bend which was approx 30yards after the tunnel. I reduced my speed from 50mph to 30mph as I approached the tunnel and then reduced my speed further as I approached the sharp left hand bend to about 15mph,did left hand lifesaver and took corner perfectly. On returning to the test centre the instructor told me I had rode perfectly except for my approach to this tunnel and for this reason alone he was failing me!! He told me that I approached it to fast and I therefore had no control over the bike. I totaly disagree with his assessment as I had full control over the bike at all times. I feel really pissed off at mo as I feel this could have been marked as a minus point rather than an instant fail. I would really appreciate other riders views on my experience and whether you think my instructor was right. Cheers!!! 
Thanks for your advice and encouragment everyone! Will take on board what you have said and will put in for a retest first thing monday morning.You made a very good point Snapdragon about speaking to my instructor about correct procedures because this is one of the things that pissed me off. I was never informed on how to deal with this situation and my trainer informed afterwards that road was always used on tests. I had been practising in the area for 3 days but he had never taken me down this particular road!! 
