Module 1 slalom and figure of eight

Watch it, then drive it

1. 1

   Watch how it is done

   Instructors film this one step by step. Watch a couple before your first try.

   More videos on YouTube↗
2. 2

   Drive it with the coach

   Guided mode puts the reference points on screen and stops you the moment you drift.

   Practise this in the simulator
3. 3

   Test yourself

   Test mode says nothing and marks you in the examiner's words. Three clean runs in a row and it is learnt.

What you ride

A slalom through five cones, passing them on alternate sides, then a figure of eight: round one cone in one direction, back through the middle and round the other cone the opposite way. You finish by stopping under control. GOV.UK lists it as one of the seven module 1 exercises.

What goes wrong

Touching a cone, putting a foot down and running wide out of the exercise are the usual faults. All three come from looking at the cone instead of the gap beyond it, and from riding too slowly to stay balanced or too quickly to turn.

How the simulator marks it

Each cone has a side you must pass it on and the figure of eight has an order; skipping part of the course, touching a cone or crossing the edge of the area ends the run as a fail. In Guided mode a yellow ring on the ground shows the next point to ride through.

Step by step

These are the words the simulator says to you, in order, the same briefing you would get from your instructor over the radio.

1. 1Look over your right shoulder, then move off. Pass the first cone on its right and weave through all five. Eyes on the next gap, not the cone.
2. 2Figure of eight: through the middle, round the right cone clockwise, back through the middle, then round the left cone.
3. 3Last half loop. Back through the middle, then stop in the box ahead with the bike upright.
4. 4In the box. Tap Finished.

Common questions