The Motorcycle Theory Test Explained
If you've completed your Compulsory Basic Training and decided that you want to get your full UK motorcycle licence, you'll firstly need to pass the motorcycle theory test. Without a valid motorcycle theory test certificate, you won't be able to take the Module 1 or Module 2 bike tests and will be confined to a 125cc bike for two years (or until your CBT certificate runs out).
The good news is the motorcycle theory test isn't overly difficult, however it does require some revision beforehand (after all, we want to pass first time round don’t we?) The test costs £23.00 and you'll need to have your provisional driving licence in order to book a place. You'll have to go to a DVLA test centre to take the test, however these are just about everywhere so you shouldn't need to travel too far to find one.
The test consists of two parts, a multiple-choice question section followed by a hazard perception test (where you’ll be shown some video clips and you must identify the hazards in each clip). There are 14 main areas that the theory test will assess you on, which can be broken down into the following categories:
· Alertness
· Attitude
· Safety and your vehicle
· Safety margins
· Hazard awareness
· Vulnerable road users
· Other types of vehicles
· Vehicle handling
· Motorway rules
· Rules of the road
· Road and traffic signs
· Documents
· Accidents
· Vehicle loading
Now this might sound like quite a lot to remember, however many of the questions just require common sense and the rest you can easily learn with a bit of light reading. You’ll need to correctly answer 43 out of the 50 multiple choice questions, and you'll have 57 minutes to complete this. You may ‘flag’ questions if you’re unsure of the answer and come back to them later if you want.
For the hazard perception part of the test, you’ll be shown 14 video clips, which in total will take around 30 minutes to watch. These clips involve typical road driving/riding scenes where there’ll be at least one developing hazard per clip. During one of the clips, there will be two developing hazards so watch out for this one.
When you see the developing hazard, you must click the mouse button anywhere on the screen. If you recognize the hazard at the right time, the maximum score you’ll receive is 5 points per clip (except for one of the clips where two hazards are presented resulting in a possible 10 points). Points are reduced the longer you take to recognise the hazards developing. The pass mark for this section is 44 out of 75 points, and no, you can't continuously click the screen as that would be cheating!
So how do you guarantee that you'll pass the motorcycle theory test? Practise, practise and then practise some more! There are loads of resources (books, websites, apps etc.) to help you with this, but a good place to start is by getting yourself a copy of the highway code. This book will cover literally everything in the multiple-choice question section of the test, so it’s worth its weight in gold (and only costs a couple of quid!)
Personally, I’m a rather terrible reader and struggle with books (ironic I know), so I opted instead for some apps and websites where I could take mock tests. I had to wait about six weeks for my test, but you want to make sure that when it comes to booking yours that you give yourself enough time to learn everything. There’s no use booking it three days from now if you aren’t confident that you’ll pass.
After I did a few different mock tests online I went searching for apps, as I found the ones I’d tried kept repeating the same questions over and over again. Eventually I stumbled upon what I consider to be the holy grail of motorcycle theory test apps (I should mention here that I did pay for the premium version which I think was around £4.99, but it was the best £4.99 I’ve spent in a long time!)
I’ll pop a link to this app below, but it has over 900 questions, 80 HD hazard perception videos and a bunch of other cool features that allow you to tailor the questions to any areas you might be struggling with. During the six weeks I had to wait to take my test, I did one mock test every day and a couple of hazard perception clips. To begin with I’d occasionally fail the tests, but only by a small margin so I knew if I kept practicing I would pass.
The hazard perception section is a little harder in my opinion due to the scoring system. It’s easy enough to recognise the hazards developing but tapping the screen at exactly the right time so you get the full five points is more difficult. Again, this app was amazing for practicing this, it really helped me as I could watch the videos back and see exactly where I should be tapping the screen.
Then surely enough, after a week or so of mock tests I began to pass every time with my scores improving more and more as the days went on. By the time test day rolled around I felt 100% ready and confident I would pass, and I did!
Just to reassure you, as tests go this is a fairly nice one, as you get to sit on your own at a computer and the only thing you really need to keep an eye on is the time (however most people don’t need anywhere near the full 57 minutes to complete the multiple-choice section). So just remember to breathe, read the questions carefully and if you aren’t sure flag them and have another look once you’ve completed all the others. An hour and a half later and you should be all done and ready to collect your theory test certificate!
If you do fail on the day don't be too hard on yourself, the test centre will give you a breakdown of your scores so you'll know exactly what you need to revise. Just pick yourself back up, get back to revising and book another test in when you feel ready.
Right folks, that’s it from me today however stay tuned as I’ll be posting some more blogs soon all about the Mod 1 and Mod 2 tests. Good luck with your theory tests girls, you got this!
As always, any questions comments or suggestions I would love to hear so please pop them below. Stay safe and happy riding!
Jennie x Links:
https://www.gov.uk/motorcycle-theory-test
https://www.gov.uk/motorcycle-theory-test/revision-and-practice
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/motorcycle-theory-test-hazard/id600089803
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.deepriverdev.motorcycle.hpt&hl=en_GB&gl=US