Connecticut Allows Scooters for Motorcycle Tests
by Steve
Friday, April 18, 2008
An article published in the Waterbury American Republican, a newspaper based in Connecticut, points out that the state's Department of Motor Vehicles actually allows people to use a scooter when performing the motorcycle endorsement test.
The DMV already allows scooters to be used for its road test, a fact that doesn't seem to be widely known. If it were, I suspect more impatient "newbies" would try to beat the system by showing up to take the road test on easier-to-ride scooters.
Here's a link to their article...
http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2008/04/18/lifestyle/334366.txtIn response, the Department of Transporation, which administers a Basic Rider Course, an alternative to the DMV's endorsement test, will be offering a scooter riding course. Somehow, the DOT is trying to send a message to the DMV.
As it stands now, Connecticut does not have a special endorsement for scooter riders. It sounds like all they need is the standard drivers license. So, if you want a motorcycle endorsement, just bring in a little Honda Metropolitan, whizz through the cones, and get yourself a Class M endorsement.
On the flip side, scooters these days are nothing to laugh at. The
Gilera GP800 has an 850cc engine in it, the same engine used by the Aprilia Mana, a motorcycle, and capable of hitting 120mph. I'm not sure why scooters should be treated differently than motorcycles.
The manifestation of all this, are people killing themselves on two-wheeled vehicles. Often times it's because they're drunk or high, trying to do something foolish, or getting hit by somebody else. Aside from those three things, most riders do just fine.
Me thinks that using a scooter to obtain a motorcycle endorsement is probably ok; it just sounds shocking. But I think scooter riding should require a motorcycle endorsement.
Labels: Connecticut Motorcycle Laws, Motorcycle Endorsements, Scooters
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New Jersey Motorcycle Endorsements
by Steve
Sunday, September 30, 2007
John Cichowski, writing for The Record, is calling for mandatory motorcycle training in the wake Clooney's accident, and in the wake of rising motorcycle fatalities...
http://www.northjersey.com/....jcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5
I disagree with him.
First, he points out that the State of New Jersey currently does not track people riding motorcycles, they apparently only have estimates...
State Motor Vehicle Commission computers don't regularly track bikers with motorcycle endorsements -- the $5 authorizations required to drive bikes.
However, he admits that the problem is not mandatory training, it's people who don't have endorsement...
But an audit under way by the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety is showing that a surprising number of bikers killed over the years did not have endorsements. Estimates made by safety experts assisting in the study range from 35 percent to 50 percent.
My opinion on this is that Cichowski is mixing apples and oranges. Mandatory training does not encourage a rider to get an endorsement. In fact, it won't encourage a rider to take training at all.
Go back to what Chichowski pointed out, that "35-50 percent of riders in New Jersey don't have endorsements". If an endorsement is already required by law, and that many people are flaunting the law, then requiring training is not going help ONE DAMN BIT.
Laws are only respected by good citizens, and good citizens are not the problem. This is just like that old saying about guns, "If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns". New Jersey has 35-50 percent of riders who disrespect the law. How will another law address that?
As it stands now, police regularly schedule sobriety checkpoints in Southern California, but only at night. These are not just for catching drunk drivers, but people without licenses and registration. That's the only way to catch bikers without endorsements. Maybe Chichowski wants more sobriety checkpoints, but then again, he won't appreciate being checked out everytime he runs an errand.
Labels: Motorcycle Endorsements
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Schwarzenegger is Let off the Hook
by Steve
Thursday, January 12, 2006
When California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger crashed his motorcycle into a car last Sunday, it was revealed that he didn't possess an "M1" California motorcycle endorsement on his license, thereby making it illegal for him to ride a motorcycle.
Today, the Associated Press reports that Los Angeles Police isn't planning on citing him for the violation, on grounds that they didn't witness him riding the motorcycle."The LAPD does not issue a motorist a citation unless that person is observed by the officer committing a traffic violation," said police Officer Jason Lee, a department spokesman.
Frank Mateljan of the City Attorney's Office said prosecutors reviewed the police report on the matter, then sent it back to the LAPD, saying "it was their call whether or not to cite" the governor.
Interestingly, the California Department of Motor Vehicles chimed in saying that technically, he doesn't need an M1 endorsement because the motorcycle he was riding had a sidecar attached, negating the definition of a "motorcycle".The law requires an M1 license for drivers of two-wheel vehicles. Immediately after Sunday's accident, Department of Motor Vehicles officials said the governor was unlikely to be cited since the sidecar made the motorcycle a three-wheel vehicle.
So does this mean he didn't have to wear a helmet either?
In another article, television station KCRA Channel 3 of Sacramento reported that the Governator plans to get his M1 endorsement, and that he'll refrain from riding his Harley until he's legal.
But when asked why he hadn't sought the proper endorsement, he gave out a very common reply...You know, I just never really applied for it ... and it was just one of those things that I never thought about it," the governor said.
Sounds like a biker to me.
Labels: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Motorcycle Endorsements
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Pennsylvania Modifies Motorcycle Permit Rule
by Steve
Friday, January 06, 2006
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Washington State Considers New Motorcycle Laws
by Steve
Saturday, November 26, 2005
An article from the Associated Press reports that officials from the Washington State Patrol and the Department of Licensing are discussing strategies to address older motorcycle riders killing themselves.
Among the solutions is a requirement that people must show their motorcycle license before buying a bike
While age certainly does play a factor towards reduced vision, and slower reflexes, I know some geriatric riders that ride better than I do. Who hasn't heard of "Turbo Dave", who's like 80 years old, owns umpteen different bikes, and rides coast-to-coast just to pass the time away?
If a guy wants to leave this world while riding his bike, let him. It's a lot cheaper for government to pay for road cleaning, than it is to pay for years of public healthcare services.
Labels: Legislation, Motorcycle Endorsements, Washington
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Comparing Motorcycles to Airplanes
by Steve
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Rowland Nethaway writes an opinion in the Waco Tribune-Herald about the bikers wanting to change the helmet law in Texas.
His solution is to limit the number of people who ride motorcycles by making it harder to get motorcycle licenses (endorsements):
"A way to improve safety and still allow adults the freedom to risk their bodies would be to require that riders pass a thorough motorcycle training course before qualifying to take a comprehensive riding examination for a license. The state would conduct written and riding tests and approve the private riding schools."
"We don't hand out pilot's licenses like bingo cards. Neither should we do so for motorcyclists and drivers."
Actually, why not make it easier to give out pilot's licenses? I mean pilots are always telling us that we're more likely to die in a car accident than in a plane crash. So maybe if everyone flew airplanes we'd save more lives!
Seriously now. There
isn't any clinical evidence that motorcycle safety classes actually reduces accidents and injuries. As I've stated many times before, there are more people getting hurt in car crashes than in motorcycle crashes. Why isn't there a greater emphasis on making cagers wear head and neck gear?
Labels: Motorcycle Endorsements, Texas
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