Revised 7/8/07

 

Who Does Motorcycle Safety Training?

 

            By law in this state, motorcycle safety training is done under contract to the Washington Department of Licensing.  This is done for several reasons, but the most significant are: (1) so that as many as possible of the classes can be subsidized, allowing state residents and active duty military stationed in WA to pay a reduced fee for training, and (2) to ensure that those conducting the training are meeting the standards established by the Washington Motorcycle Safety Program.

 

            Contracts for doing this training are awarded based on a competitive bid process since state subsidy money is involved, and are specific to a particular geographic area.  No training provider is allowed to control more than four of the specific geographic areas.  The contracts are typically for two years, with an option for the state to extend the contract twice for an additional two year period as long as the training provider is meeting the WMSP’s standards.

 

            New contracts were awarded for all training providers effective July 1^st, 2005 and recently (June 2007) renewed for another two years.  Because this is a competitive bid process, the training provider in your area may have changed recently, and two new sites were added effective July 1^st, 2007 – Longview and a second site in Spokane.  This may also mean that training is being held in a different location from where it was being held in the past.  There are several new companies in the state offering training as a result of recent changes to the rules as well as the recent bidding cycle.  For a list of the training provider in your area you can visit: http://www.dol.wa.gov/ds/wmspsite.htm or call: 800-962-9010.

 

            If you’d like to become an Instructor for MSF classes (2-wheeled motorcycles) or S/TEP classes (3-wheeled motorcycles) contact the training provider in your area to gain sponsorship for training as an Instructor. 

 

           

 

Washington’s Motorcycle License Endorsement Categories

 

            On January 1, 2004 new motorcycle license endorsement categories went into effect in this state.  There are now three different categories of motorcycle endorsements.  A “3” endorsement makes it legal for you to ride ONLY a 2-wheeled motorcycle.  A “5” endorsement means you are endorsed to ride ONLY a 3-wheeled motorcycle (sidecar rig or trike).  A “7” endorsement allows you to legally operate both 2 and 3-wheeled motorcycles. 

 

            Why is the state of WA so different from most other states in this regard?  Because the 3-wheeled motorcyclists in this state wanted subsidized training just like 2-wheeled motorcyclists have had in Washington for almost 20 years.  Some of them contacted their legislators and demanded that action be taken.  During the 2003 legislative session Senators Haugen and Horn sponsored legislation (ESSB 5229) to allow the Washington Motorcycle Safety Program (WMSP) to begin offering 3-wheeled training as part of the state program.  The legislation also included authorization for the two new license endorsement categories (“5” and “7”), as well as changing the existing “3” endorsement to “2-wheeled motorcycle ONLY”.  This was necessary in order to offer subsidized 3-wheeled training because before January 1, 2004 those riders who chose to ride only 3-wheeled motorcycles were given an “R” restriction on their license, and weren’t contributing to the Rider Education Fund, which is used to subsidize WMSP training.  Because a ‘restriction’ and an ‘endorsement’ are not the same thing under WA law, it was necessary to create a new ‘endorsement’ thereby allowing the endorsement fees collected to be deposited into the Rider Education Fund. 

There are separate written and riding tests for 2 and 3-wheeled endorsements, and if you desire a “7” endorsement you will have to pass a total of four different tests.  Although the written tests can be taken at any Dept. of Licensing office, the riding tests are only done at certain locations.  2-wheeled riding tests are done in several locations around the state, but not all.  Please call your local DoL office to ascertain whether or not they are equipped to conduct 2-wheeled motorcycle skills testing.  3-wheeled riding tests are only conducted at the following locations: Bellingham, Seattle, Centralia, Vancouver, Yakima, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Wenatchee.

An alternative to testing at the DoL is to take a Washington Motorcycle Safety Program course.  Successful completion of a Novice Rider Training Course or Intermediate Rider Training Course (for 2-wheeled motorcycles), or a Basic Sidecar/Trike Course or Advanced Sidecar/Trike Course (for 3-wheeled motorcycles) will waive any further testing at the DoL for the appropriate endorsement category.  See: http://www.dol.wa.gov/ds/wmspsite.htm for a complete list of all training providers and locations.  Note: Persons under the age of 18 must take one or both of the Novice level Courses in order to obtain a motorcycle endorsement depending on the category of endorsement desired.

New Curriculum in Place throughout the State

            Since the early 1980s motorcycle safety training sites throughout the country have used the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s (MSF) Motorcycle RiderCourse: Riding and Street Skills (MRC:RSS) curriculum for training novice riders; and the Experienced RiderCourse (ERC) for continued/refresher training for those motorcyclists wanting something beyond novice level training.  Although the MRC:RSS and the ERC achieved the goal of training motorcyclists admirably, it had it drawbacks.  They were Instructor-centered curriculums, and were sometimes hard on the students.  The number of students counseled out of an MRC:RSS for not being able to learn the skills fast enough to keep up with the rest of the class was sometimes 20% or more, and this was deemed acceptable. 

            In the mid-1990’s MSF began work on a new, more student-centered curriculum.  The new novice course is called the Basic RiderCourse (BRC).  The ERC was revised and expanded.  More on that later.

            The conversion from the MRC:RSS to the BRC began throughout Washington in May of 2003 and was completed at all training sites by the end of the year.  (NOTE: The WMSP chooses to call the BRC “Novice Rider Training”.)  This new curriculum allows students to learn more at their own pace, without some of the pressure imposed by the MRC:RSS.  BRC students are shifting gears and making judgments concerning safe interaction with other traffic by the fourth exercise.  The number of students counseled out has dropped dramatically, and the comments of course graduates now contain more praise for the course than ever received for the MRC:RSS.  The classroom sessions of the BRC involve the students in taking responsibility for their own learning.  Where MRC:RSS Instructors were used to lecturing from a podium, and asking questions to help the students learn; the BRC Instructors are now facilitating discussions among the students, taking advantage of knowledge the students already have as well as what is contained in the Rider Handbook that students receive at the beginning of the class.  Using adult learning techniques results in more student interaction, helping them to learn more quickly and maintaining their interest level.

            For the last several years successful completion of the ERC in Washington would grant students over the age of 18 a waiver of any further testing for an endorsement.  (NOTE: The WMSP chooses to call the ERC “Intermediate Rider Training”.)  This was done to make it easier for riders who had several years of experience but no endorsement to ride legally.  There was no sense in having these people take the novice course when they already had most of the basic skills taught in the novice curriculum, and it freed up seats in the novice courses for those that really needed it.  The exercises in the ERC have all changed, and the course structure itself is shortened to approximately six hours in length – all done on the training range with no classroom time at all.  Classroom type discussions are conducted on the range between exercises.

            As with the old ERC the new version has the students ride their own bikes, building on the skills taught in the BRC.  Again, as with the old ERC, the first exercise is used as a screening tool for the Instructors to ensure that students do indeed have the requisite skills to proceed to the more demanding exercises.  If you are taking the ERC to obtain your motorcycle license endorsement you cannot take the ERC with a passenger.  However, if you’re taking the ERC to brush up your skills, and already have an endorsement you can carry a passenger and take the course only, without having to take the written or riding tests.  Clubs and organizations desiring to set up training for their members that includes passengers need to plan and contact their local course provider(s) several months in advance to ensure that an ERC can be scheduled for them.  The demand for ERCs is significantly less than for the Basic RiderCourse, and therefore is usually scheduled only about 12 times per year by most course providers

            I strongly encourage any group or club desiring to set up an ERC exclusively for their group to contact their local course provider(s) during the months of November and December to arrange training for the following year.  Course providers typically make up their schedules for the entire following year in the fall.  If an ERC is to be set up for a specific group this has to be planned for well in advance.

The noise issue

            Several of the training sites are located in areas surrounded by residences.  Most of us prefer not to have our home environment invaded by unwanted things – like noise in some cases.  The result is that several of the training facilities have noise restrictions imposed on them either by the landlord who owns the parking lot, or local law enforcement due to complaints from the neighbors near the training site.  This has forced these training providers to require students in the Intermediate Rider Training (IRT) courses to have stock exhaust systems on their motorcycles in order to use them in the IRT.  The bottom line is that ANY modification to a motorcycle’s exhaust system that makes it louder than the muffler(s) originally installed by the manufacturer of the bike, is a violation of RCW 46.37.370.  The course providers enforcing this “stock exhaust only in an IRT” rule aren’t doing this because they want to.  They’re doing it because they’re being forced into it, with the threat of being shut down and/or losing the use of the property where the training is held.

 

Course Funding

By law, Washington residents pay $125 for any novice level course offered with the support of the Washington Motorcycle Safety Program (WMSP). The reality is that a Basic RiderCourse (BRC), the Basic Sidecar/Trike Course (S/TEP), and sometimes any version of an Advanced Course (ERC or S/TEP Advanced) each cost more than $125.00 per student to put on.  Usually at least half of the BRCs and Basic S/TEP courses offered by a training company in this state are subsidized by the WMSP. This subsidy comes from the Rider Education Fund. When a Washington resident renews a motorcycle endorsement to their driver's license, they pay $25.00 for that endorsement. This money is placed in the Rider Education Fund, and is used to subsidize the courses, pay the salary of the WMSP coordinator and staff, cover the expenses of the WMSP, provide for training and mentoring of new instructors, and to provide for continual monitoring and improvement of instructors through Quality Assurance Visits by certified Instructor Trainers. In other words, the WMSP is fully funded for and by motorcyclists in Washington. Not one penny for this program comes from the general tax fund.

            In an effort to allow training to continue when the subsidy money runs out, Washington law allows the training providers to offer unsubsidized basic courses at the full cost of the course to the student.  These unsubsidized courses are typically scattered throughout the training year by the course providers in order to ensure that subsidized training will be available throughout the year.  Naturally the subsidized courses fill up quicker than the unsubsidized courses do so it may be quicker to get into an unsubsidized course.

            None of the Advanced courses (ERC or Advanced S/TEP) are subsidized.  The student therefore pays the full amount.  The course fee may vary from course provider to course provider depending on several factors, including the cost of renting training range space in a particular area.  It is usually less expensive in rural areas than it is in large cities like Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Spokane, etc. to rent the blacktop necessary for running classes.  Contact your local course provider(s) for the cost of ERC or Advanced S/TEP courses in your area.

3-Wheeled Training for Sidecars and Trikes

Most trikes and sidecar rigs are motorcycles under Washington law. However, they don't handle like a 2-wheeled motorcycle. The handling characteristics and dynamics are very different. Even veteran motorcyclists should consider themselves novices when it comes to driving a trike or a sidecar rig for the first time.

For this reason, completely separate training was developed for these unique vehicles. These courses are not Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) courses, as are the 2-wheeled courses; and 3-wheeled motorcycles are no longer allowed in MSF courses.  Curriculum development, certification of Instructors, and course administration for 3-wheeled training on a national basis is done by a different organization, Evergreen Safety Council, through their Sidecar/Trike Education Program (S/TEP).  They are located right here in Washington.

The Novice S/TEP class starts with the basics of what a sidecar rig, and/or a trike are, and why they are different from a standard 2-wheeled motorcycle. The course then progresses in steps, through basic riding skills to more advanced exercises and street survival strategies. The Advanced S/TEP class has students using their own 3-wheeled outfit to accomplish advanced turning, braking, and obstacle avoidance maneuvers.

It is important to note that in order to be cost effective the course has to be broad enough to encompass both sidecar rigs and trikes.  Students on both types of vehicles are combined in the same class, with the similarities and differences between the two types of vehicles discussed throughout the course.  Regardless of which type of vehicle the student will eventually choose to ride, they need to pay attention to the entire curriculum as there is only one written test for course completion which contains questions specific to each type of vehicle.

Another important note about S/TEP classes is that they pertain to ‘motorcycle-based trikes’ only.  The curriculum was meant to be part of a state’s motorcycle training program, and is not applicable to ‘auto-based trikes’.  The reason for this is the vast differences that exist between auto-based trikes.  These vehicles are most typically home-built; and vary from everything with a 5’ wheel-based, rear-engine, VW powered 3-wheeler; to 12’ wheel-based, front-engine V-8s with a bench seat and standard automobile controls.  Because of these extremes among auto-based trikes it is impossible to cost-effectively tailor training that would be applicable to all of these vehicles.  For that reason S/TEP classes are only permitted to allow vehicles into their classes that meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) definition of a motorcycle.  That being: A motorcycle is a vehicle that meets all three of the following criteria – 1) it has less than 4 wheels; 2) it is steered with handlebars; 3) the driver sits astride the engine or the drivetrain.

Current Washington law for registering motor vehicles uses the same definition to determine whether a vehicle is a motorcycle or a car, with one caveat.  The last line in the law allows the state patrol inspection stations to designate any vehicle not meeting the NHTSA definition as a motorcycle if they feel the vehicle more properly belongs to that category than the car category.  This means that a trike may be licensed as a motorcycle, and the driver required to have a license endorsement for 3-wheeled motorcycles, and yet not be eligible to participate in training at an Advanced S/TEP class.

Currently S/TEP courses are offered in several locations throughout the North American continent, and as of January 1, 2004 is part of the WMSP and therefore eligible for subsidies just as MSF courses have been for almost 20 years in this state.  As of that date successful completion of a S/TEP course also serves as a waiver for further testing for a license endorsement in Washington.

Not all of the WMSP course providers offer S/TEP training.  Currently the only locations where S/TEP training is available in the state are Kent (a Seattle suburb) and Moses Lake in the central part of the state, through Evergreen Motorcycle Safety Training.  Other WMSP training locations may choose to offer it in the future if there is sufficient demand in their area.  If you feel that there is demand in your area, and you would like to participate in Instructor training to get certified to teach S/TEP courses, contact your local WMSP course provider, or Evergreen Safety Council at: 206-382-4090.