A case for continuous motorcycling training
Doc Shaw - Mar 3, 2011

The American spirit in the 21^st century is alive and well. And motorcycles reflect this spirit like no other experience. Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, Easy Rider lives in the deep gray matter of most motorcyclists (riders), even if most riders didn’t start riding until 10 years after that movie first hit the theaters in 1969. 

Back in that not so distant past, riding entailed not much more than throwing a leg over the saddle, twist the throttle, let out the clutch and don’t become a hood ornament. Most riders back then didn’t give a lot of thought to motorcycling. We just rode. And just like today, all motorcyclists heard from well meaning family and friends about how motorcycles were inconsistent with a long life. I still clearly recall that my mom left a Forest Hills burial brochure on my bed after I purchased my first bike. That said, I and thousands of other riders are still here and vertical after thirty five or more years of riding.

In those early years, rider training was meager to say the least. If you were lucky, a friend who had ridden for a few months himself offered some sage advice. “Here’s the throttle, this is the clutch, don’t squeeze the front brake or you could eat asphalt. Step on this pedal for the back brake if you need to stop.”  Learning to turn was not as important as knowing how to stop.

Fast forward to the twenty first century.  In the thirty-five or so years since I took my first ride, the motorcycle industry has evolved on so many levels.

For one, motorcyclists today are no longer considered by society as a culture of criminals. Some still consider motorcyclists organ donors and based upon today’s crash numbers, that perception won’t fade anytime soon. In 2008, 5,300 of our riding peers were killed while riding on US roads and highways. And as gas prices continue to rise, more novice or returning riders will purchase new motorcycles and scooters, and sadly, many more will become horizontal at intersections. If motorcycling has evolved so far in the last fifty years, why do increasing numbers of riders continue to eat fenders and asphalt year after year? 

There is an old saying that goes something to the effect that insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Lets apply this vein of thought to motorcycles: if motorcyclists continue to ride the same way as the ghosts of motorcycling past, then the riding community should not expect any reduction in the number of bodies that litter the landscape each year. 

There are many reasons for crashes, but the human factor is the number one reason. It isn’t that other vehicle operators (OVOs) decide one morning to ruin a rider’s day. It has to do with inadequate rider education and training, dismal use of high visibility protective gear, driver or rider perception and skill errors, excessive speed, alcohol and drugs to name a few of the contributing factors that lead to crashes. 

Would mandatory rider training make a difference in reducing crashes? Current research by NHTSA supports that motorcycle training is effective in reducing the number of crashes for only the first six months following a basic rider training course. After that, no crash reduction advantage is shown. 

Why after six months does the advantage of training fade? Likely its related to human nature. With time, riding a motorcycle like driving a car becomes easy and automated. We become comfortable accelerating, turning and braking. All riders reach their own comfort zone of survivability. And like OVOs, most riders don’t continue to regularly practice their fundamental emergency riding skills including quick stops, swerves, slow speed turns and active traffic separation skills. The rider consciously or unconsciously thinks; “I haven’t had a crash yet mentality, therefore it won’t happen to me.”

Statistically, around 270 riders left the driveway today with the same attitude, but were proven wrong. They didn’t make it home.  

As long as motorcyclists continue to think of rider training as a onetime experience on a parking lot, then number of riders injured and killed each year will continue to be a significant family, social, and economic problem.   

Though the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s BRC provides a novice rider with a good introduction to riding fundamentals, this course needs to be recognized as a very narrow training format. The reality is, the skills to safely ride a motorcycle on the road should be much more comprehensive and perpetual. By perpetual, I mean training every time you ride as well as annual skills refresher course. Keep in mind that the benefits of reduced crashes begins to fade at six months following a rider training course. 

What should training mean to a motorcyclist? Training means that motorcyclist practice traffic separation strategy, manage risks, learn and follow the rules of the road. Training means also informing non-riders to be aware of and how to look for motorcycles when driving on the road. Rider training is a constant process that means frequently practicing riding skills until they become instinctive reflexes to unsafe or emergency situations.  Think of a commercial pilot. Pilots are perpetually trained and tested to maintain their edge in the event of an emergency.

There are many motorcycle clubs that meet monthly to socialize, plan events and trips, and share the pleasure that only riding affords. But, how many members actually review and practice the fundamental skills on a parking lot or discuss safe group rides?

Learning the skills needed to safely ride a motorcycle proficiently is a continuous effort that is too easy to dismiss as unnecessary or inconvenient. But the reality is, a ride to the hospital or the morgue is much more inconvenient. Read, study and practice your riding skills can save you a great deal of pain and expense.

Meet someone face to face and not face to fender.

Dr. Steven Shaw is a motorcycle enthusiast with 35 years of motorcycle riding experience; 5 years as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Motorcycle Rider Coach and Traffic School Instructor. He teaches advanced on road riding skills to inexperienced riders. Dr. Shaw volunteers time to the local high school driver’s education classes introducing new drivers to motorcycle awareness. Doc Shaw is dedicated to improving motorcycle safety.