I got knocked down on the road twice and had many journeys in bitter cold, wind and rain.

Riding a small motorcycle had its hardships – but it sharpened my road sense and helped me pass my car driving test when two instructors had virtually written me off.

Reading about my colleague James Pallant's struggles to book a driving test and have a set of wheels brought back memories of my own experiences more than 30 years ago.

When I took my test there were no problems getting a place and there was not even a theory exam to take.

I passed second time, on April 12, 1991, aged 26. Both that and my failed examination that January were taken from a centre in Folkestone.

I remember no struggle getting a test booked: actually, my driving instructor did it for me.

These days, the theory and practical tests are taken on two separate occasions.

But in 1991 the only theory test was the examiner asking me a few questions from the Highway Code inside the car before we set off on the practical.

I understand the financial pain for James of taking lessons. In 1991, mine were £18 an hour – in those days that was a small fortune.

Because of that I made the mistake of spreading out the lessons too far apart – no more than three times a month and in one case nothing for nine months because I had just bought my house.

I had my first lesson three years and eight months before passing my test.

A calamitous false economy because the gaps in time mean you have to keep re-learning forgotten lessons.

It must have cost me more in the long run – better to stump up large sums for a short, intensive, period of tuition.

You may have to get a loan from the bank but it ends up an investment.

My employers helped by allowing managers to supervise me on practice drives.

But on the first occasion, May 11, 1990, a car behind us skidded on oil and smacked into the back of us. We were sent hurtling into the car in front.

This was near Folkestone and the manager and I only suffered a little whiplash. He said: “Give us a fag, Sam. I reckon we both need one.”

He still went out in the car with me next time.

Having a driving licence opens so many doors in employment prospects and gives you that great convenience and independence in getting about.

My experience on the road began in the summer of 1990 when I was assigned to cover Romney Marsh for my newspaper so having my own transport was a must to reach its remote villages.

On hearing that I was on two wheels on the wind-exposed marshland, local contacts joked I’d end up flying.

But still, I bought the small-engined Honda C90 on hire purchase from Hutching’s in Deal that July 14 and used it full-time until I could drive cars.

All you needed then, at first, were a provisional licence and L-plates – but you needed to pass a two-part motorcycle test within the first couple of years.

Being so vulnerable on two wheels sharpened my road sense and made it easier to learn to negotiate traffic and properly judge distances.

Until then, two driving instructors thought I was almost a no-hoper, saying I had at least “a long way to go” before I could take my test.

I just couldn’t feel confident and pick up the skills of driving a car easily but practice on the bike made things fall into place.

That is still the case today, according to Tony Green of motorcycle dealers Alford Brothers in Cheriton Road, Folkestone, who spoke to me last week.

"Starting with a small motorbike is certainly a good way to learn to drive,” he said.

“You are more aware of what's around you and pay great attention to the conditions on the road such as whether it’s wet or icy.

“You develop a sense of safety very quickly because you are so much more exposed.

“With the weather, the specialist clothing to keep you warm and dry is far better than it was 30 years ago.”

But there is no getting away from the vulnerability, especially being exposed on a fast-moving vehicle.

Department for Transport figures show fatal crashes for those on motorcycles in Great Britain were 319 in the 12 months up to last June compared with 83 for pedal cyclists. That means motorcyclists account for 20% of all road user deaths while for cyclists it was 5%.

Overall casualties for motorcycle users in that period added up to 16,867 (13%) and for cyclists it was 15,158 (11%).

I got struck by cars twice. Once it was on the way to work. I was barely hurt so I didn't even tell anyone in the office until I started limping at the end of the day.

My editor noticed that and asked: “Why are you limping?”

“Oh I got knocked down on my bike this morning” (as you do).

He said: “You mean you’ve been working all this time and not said anything?”

I only had a few bruises after falling on the ground and felt no pain so I shrugged it off and rode to the office in Folkestone.

Best to get straight back on the horse straight after falling off before inhibitions set in. (Seventies punk group the Tom Robinson Band did call the motorcycle the two-wheeled stallion in one of their songs, 2-4-6-8 Motorway.)

This accident had happened in Folkestone Road, Dover, and it was the car driver’s fault as he had come out of the junction with Approach Road without looking,

As no harm was done, we parted without even exchanging details.

The second time it was my fault as I tried to undertake a car, again in Folkestone Road. It floored me by taking the sharp left turn into the slip road to Dover Priory Station.

Down I went again, with the worst pain being for my pride. Both times only a footrest was bent and it could just be hammered back in place.

Moral: bikers should never try to get smart with moving cars.

Others I know have had worse. A friend ended up with a compound fracture on his shin, where the broken bone sticks out through the flesh, after a Volvo hit him in London in June 1989.

All that summer he was walking on crutches and five months after the crash he could finally walk unaided, but with a limp.

A colleague also broke his leg in a motorcycle accident and that changed the way he walked for a good few years.

Apart from such vulnerability, if you are on a moped or small, slow motorbike (mine had a recommended top speed of 45mph) you are constantly tailgated by madmen in cars trying to get past you.

Extra clothing is needed on a motorbike to keep you warm and dry. It is surprising how cold it gets.

Gloves are a must to stop your fingers, needed to control much of the bike, seizing up in the cold. Even summer nights are too chilly without them.

I used plastic waterproof leggings and a plastic rainproof coat covered my top. In the end, I was able to ride through all weathers except snow.

But in some ways, the motorcycle has great advantages over the car. It is far cheaper to buy and run and you can park it in the smallest spaces.

You can also glide past queues of traffic while motorists are left behind stressing in their cars.

The Honda C90 I bought, a variation of the Honda Super Cub series, has been made since 1958 and is the most-produced motor vehicle in history.

A total of 100 million were manufactured by 2017.

“The Third World runs on them,” said a biker mate in 1990 who recommended it.

They are ideal for learners as they are simple to drive, with no hand clutch, easy to maintain, cheap, sturdy and need little fuel.

I bought a second-hand 1984 one in mint condition for £400.

I hate to rub it in for colleague James, but the hire purchase package, with price and insurance, added up to £516 in total payments.

A common learner's motorbike today is a Yamaha NMAX125. For a 2017 used model, the price from Alford Brothers would be £828 a year through monthly payments (£2,200 total price) and road tax of £24. Total price over the three-year deal, excluding insurance and fuel, is £2,556.

The annual cost to pay for a small old car such as a 2017 Seat Ibiza, in purchase and tax, is £1,836 a year from monthly purchase payments plus £180 annual road tax: a total of £2,016. This is paid over four years, with a £4,800 balloon payment at the end. So the total price of owning the car would be £12,864.

Starting your life on the road with a motorbike or moped may not be for everyone but it is an option.

But if you do, heed my driving instructor's words when he heard I was doing it: “Be very careful.”