You can never have enough...

[Oh_hunnihunni]

When I started riding road bikes I was offered a place on a defensive riding course run by two of our local cops, who had done the Police College advanced course. My father encouraged me to do it despite the fact I was the only female rider in the group - he too had done an advanced course in the British Army and had been a member of a display team, doing hair raising tricks on some really clunky machines.

So, I did it. The experience was terrifying and enlightening, and so much fun. By the end of it I could do some pretty interesting things myself on my bike, learned how to avoid other road users interesting things, and it boosted my skills and confidence enormously. I was a better rider than my husband because of it, and I reckon things I learned saved my life a couple of times if not more. I still had some memorable and scary incidents, but I survived them.

I cannot recommend advanced road user training for riders and drivers highly enough. We simply do not do enough of it. We would have fewer families in grief if we made them compulsory. With refresher courses...