In motorcycle safety circles it is common to know why riders should seek motorcycle safety education and refresher training based on ready access to statistics and knowledge of how the efforts of such training can translate into safe and fun motorcycle operation. The question then becomes how to invigorate others to seek out the same life-saving knowledge embraced by RiderCoaches and those who have willingly attended courses already.
Would the 2012 statistic from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which indicates that 43 percent of all motorcycle crashes are single vehicle crashes grab your attention? Does it not seem odd that the main message heard amongst riders is how a motorcyclist was not seen by another vehicle? Still almost half of crashes have nothing to do with other vehicles.
Curriculum like the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s (MSF) Basic RiderCourse (BRC) utilize underpinnings that support a rider’s decision to pursue the safe operation of a motorcycle and acknowledges that it is an individual’s choice. Because safe operation of a motorcycle is a mental, physical, social, and emotional activity that requires specialized skills and behaviors, it makes complete sense that the rider is the only one who should make such determinations. Yet, there is a huge population of motorcyclist who have not been exposed to the value of a good rider’s education program and/or truly believes that years of riding experience outweighs what could be gained from a few hours of coaching.
So the question of why to seek out rider’s education becomes one of forced legislation, peer pressure from loved ones, or something to do with a group of friends maybe to “help a new rider out.” Frankly it truly does not matter what the originating factor is as long as the individual who is enrolled or seeking the training understands the value of the experience and walks away with one more tool in their bag that could save their life.
I doubt a student has ever left a course with less than they came with and in my experience, each student was able to demonstrate something they had not been exposed to before they attended the course. Generally even those that are “required” to attend a riders course will acknowledge some benefit by the end of the course and without effort be able to explain their gratefulness for learning something new. What is essential is that a RiderCoach uses the underpinnings of Safety and Risk Management, Adult/Accelerated Learning Principles, and Motor Skill Principles as described by the MSF to reach each student individually and wholly as a group.
So the answer is an individual one based on the individual needs of a rider on that particular day. The benefits serve the rider, the rider’s loved ones, and the motoring society in general when a rider manages his or her own level of risk alone or in the company of others. Overall everyone would like to reduce the heavy weight of motorcycle crash statistics. Rider’s education courses enable us all to be a part of the solution.
Originally Published on December 12, 2014 on Linked In
© 2017, Donald L. Green, Rider Choices
