24 Hours

24 HOURS

RESEARCH HAS shown that most motorcycle accidents occur early in the game, and some studies indicate an injury rate as high as 60 percent for first outings. So your first day on a motorcycle can well be one of the most important in your life.

One answer to this high initial accident rate may be the acquisition of experience in a controlled environment. Let's take a look at the big picture, and at one motorcycle training course. The initial aim of the program operated by the Ottawa Safety Council in Canada is to take new riders gently over the hump of the first day. Coincidentally, the duration of the course is 24 hours.

In Ontario, there are no learners' permits for motorcycle operators. Nor are there any official methods of learn ing how to drive. And this leads to a paradoxical situation. You can't drive unless you have a license; but you can't get~ license unless you can drive!

Brian, a friend of ours, bought a used bike last year, and spent the winter overhauling it. Made a good job of it too. `this Spring he applied to the Ontario l)epartrnent of transport for a license, and was asked to report in for the test. `I'he test turned out to be a physical mainly concerned with eye sight, plus selected questions taken at random from the l)river's Handbook. `I'hen Brian had to go home and wait for an appointment for the practical part of the examination. In due course, a tern porary license arrived in the mail with notification of the time and place of his test.

AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION

Catch 22 in this case was that Brian's license was good only J~r the trip to the License Bureau. In other words, his first time in traffic was on his way to take a test! When and if he arrived there, he would he asked to name parts of his motorcycle, apply his brakes at about 20 mph, oegotiatc an easy cone-weave or slalom course, and finally drive around a miniature road course. If he failed this fairly simple test, he had to leave his hike at the test site, and hitchhike home. If he passed, he was free to ride the nearest freeway at night, in icy rain, and without a word of further advice.

Our young friend, anxious to get some sort of practice before the test, sneaked out of his driveway, and shakily drove up and down a quiet suburban street. Maybe a neighbor complained... maybe his exhaust was a little rau cous...who knows? In any event, the local fuzz arrived within 15 minutes, and since Brian didn't have a license he was charged. Pleading guilty, he was convicted, fined S 125 and sentenced to one night in jail.

`~b"~"• For a situation with inevitable conse quences such as these, and largely the responsibility of the authorities, this would seem to be akin to Shylock's pound of flesh. Suppose Brian had wanted to learn to drive an automobile? There are learner's permits for car driv ers. His friends have cars in which he can practice. his parents own a car and will let him drive it. There are commer cial driving schools. There is the High School l)river Education Program, and the police run three-night courses for car drivers. Score for motorcycles'? Zilch.

Jim Bancroft, Chairman of the Otta wa-Carleton Safety Council, expressed concern with this situation in 1966. Jim noted that many youngsters came to grief on their first motorcycle outing. He also expressed concern with the number of unlicensed motorcyclists who were involved in Dragnet-type po lice chases, often with tragic conse quences.

"YOUNGSTERS ARE BEING SHAFTED"

The answer seemed to lie in driver education programs for motorcyclists. The initial snag appeared to be in finding someone with the necessary qualifications to organize and run it. And that's where Stu Munro came in.

Munro, a former clubman competitor in Britain and an instructor with the Royal Automobile Club/Auto Cycle Union motorcycle training scheme in the U.K., stepped into the breach. And when I spoke with him, he pulled no punches in his criticism. "1 think the youngsters are being shafted," he said. `Many of them don't have a vote, and there's no organization to put their case. And if you stop and think about it, motorcyclists are potentially our most valuable citizens."

When I asked him about this, he explained. "Riding a motorcycle is not necessarily dangerous, but there is an element of danger involved, It follows that a motorcyclist is an adventurous person. Not only that, but a youngster who buys a bike is someone who wants to be independent. He doesn't want to rely on other people for lifts, lie wants to go when and where the spirit takes him. He's a Twentieth Century cavalier on an automated horse. And in our computer culture, with armies of little grey men, we need some Don Quixotes. And we need to be able to blow off steam once in a while. We seem to be subjected to more and more pressure in our society, and motorcycling is a gas and a great release valve,"

I can't argue with the philosophy, although I'm sure the bureaucrats can. Rut one thing they can't do is to stop the course Stu started in January 1967. The copyrighted program has been run ning continuously ever since, and more than 1 000 student motorcyclists have successfully graduated.

The course is divided into three parts. The first stage is given in five three-hour sessions, and is aimed at preparing students for the Department of `Transport test. Once the initial hur dle of licensing has been. cleared, the youngsters can return for advanced training. And this is saying, in effect, "You may have a license, but you've still got a lot to learn."

The next part of the program con sists of an introduction to road riding, city driving, highways and freeways. Solo operation, driving with passengers and riding in groups is covered compre hensively. Stress is laid on overtaking and judging distance. After three hours in the controlled environment of the Canadian Forces Vehicle Proving Ground near Ottawa, the students are taken out individually and in groups by teams of two instructors. These often take the form of pleasant excursions to beaches or scenic areas, with discussions at the conclusion.

In the final stage, the students return to the proving ground for work-outs on dirt and gravel roads, running off paved roads onto various surfaces; operation

A Look At A Motorcycle Training Course Designed To Keep Your First Hours On A Bike From Ending In Injury

JOSEPH E. BLOGGS

on grass, sand, gravel and rocks; and end up traversing a hair-raising Alpine course. Involved in the final part of the course are two members of the local CMA affiliated club, and talented students are encouraged to enter trials and involve themselves in the competition scene.

PRACTICAL RIDING EMPHASIZED

Emphasis throughout the course is on practical riding, with the aim of giving each student the maximum possible experience in operating a motorcycle under all conditions. Lectures are discouraged, and traffic law and all theoretical subjects are sweated out by the youngsters at home in their own time. They are each given copies of the Driver’s Handbook, CYCLE WORLD’S “Intelligent Motorcycling,” other reference materials, and told to get on with it themselves. And they do. Motivation is no problem and students arrive half an hour early, are often engaged in heated discussions, and stay after organized classes to bug instructors with questions.

Down-to-earth practicality starts right from the first lesson. After documentation, the instructors rap informally with the students, learning their names, and trying to put them at ease. The simple ground rules for the course are laid on the line-no riding without a helmet or without the knowledge of an instructor, and some suggestions concerning sensible attire are given. Then right into the business of riding a motorcycle.

Many courses start with naming the various parts of vehicles, or with long dissertations on traffic signs or regulations. Not here. The very first period deals with correct brake application. In conjunction with this, the student’s ability to balance is assessed by coasting down a ramp or incline, and gently applying the brakes to stop at a pre-designated point.

Following this, cold starting is taught with parts being named as they are brought into use. At this stage it is useless for the class to know what a chain adjuster is; it only confuses them. Switching off is practiced while astride the motorcycle until it becomes an automatic reflex. The reason for each

action-in this case the horrors of a stuck throttle-is always clearly stated by the instructor.

THE INSTRUCTOR IN FRONT!

Gear selection is followed by moving off and stopping. Clutch control is taught by what appears to be certain suicide for the instructors. The instructor stands astride the front wheel facing the student and controls the forward motion of the bike with his body, saying, “Little more gas...easy on the clutch...now pull the clutch lever in.” Strange as it may seem-it works. Quicker than any other method, too.

Then on to gear shifting and maintaining predetermined speeds in all the gears. This is accomplished around a rectangular course with progress being interrupted by instructors shouting “Stop!” or “Switch Off!” and the student must stop the bike or switch off the motor on command.

Pattern riding entails figure 8 riding and negotiating a cone-weave or slalom course. Students start with 10-foot figure 8 circles and 10 feet between the traffic marker cones on the slalom and

these distances are gradually cut down until no one in the class can clear the obstacles without knocking cones over. Competition is keen. It’s of interest to note that for these tests on the licensing examination the markers are 20 feet apart.

At this point the students are taught to glance over the shoulder and signal before changing direction. The glance over the shoulder is called a “shoulder check” and is drummed into the class until it becomes automatic. The turn is taught as a complete sequence. Look back, look ahead, signal, hands on bars, look back, look ahead, move to lane position, and so on. The problem of moving off line of travel during the shoulder check is solved by making the students ride a 100-foot line while looking back. Control during signalling is developed by obstacle negotiation while riding with one hand on the hip.

Emergency braking is the next item. There is a very effective method of teaching this based on the principle of always stopping at a predetermined point. Two traffic cones mark the start of braking, and the point at which the student must have stopped the motorcycle is indicated by another two cones. Initially, the distance between the two sets of markers is about 30 feet and the student must approach these at 20 mph. Gradually, the distance is whittled down until the youngsters can complete a pop-eyed panic stop without tears. Then the whole business is repeated at 30 mph.

One of the most difficult things to do on a motorcycle is controlled slow riding, and slow' races are very popular with the classes. Competition is encouraged during all stages of instruction, but the wobblies fas they’re called), really generate enthusiasm.

OBSTACLES AND THE UNEXPECTED

And this enthusiasm reaches a peak during the next phase involving obstacles. 'The instructors try to outdo each other in devising more and more fiendish obstructions. The standard course involves a teeter-totter, a ramp and jumping over tires, but that’s just where most classes start. Taking a motorcycle under a four foot or lower limbo bar is fun, and develops self confidence and superb control. Another challenge is avoiding a suspended tire swinging wildly. The kicker is that the student is attempting to negotiate a slalom under the tire’s suspension point.

Then on to traffic riding under simulated conditions. Right and left turns, stopping and starting on a hill, dangerous intersections, traffic circles and overtaking are all covered. Then through the whole thing again with a passenger. Listen to an instructor during this portion of the course:

“That’s a secondary road on your

right up ahead and it has a stop sign on it. If a car runs it and hits you as you pass, who’s at fault?”

“Uh ... I guess he is . . . isn’t he?”

“Well, that’s lovely. That’s just lovely, isn’t it? I mean, it’ll pay for the repairs to your bike and everything, won’t it? Don’t you know that some of those dummies invariably run stop signs and red lights?”

The message sinks in.

NOT ALL MAKE IT

Finally, after braking on oil-slick pavement and loose gravel, the whole course is reviewed. Not all students graduate. The course is not a rubber stamp, and those who don’t measure up to a very high standard are advised to take the whole program again, at no extra cost.

How effective is the training? Let me give two testimonials. The first of these is a quotation from Ontario Traffic Safety, the official publication of the Ontario Department of Transport, which says, speaking of the Ottawa Safety Council Motorcycle Courses: “'These graduates have a definite advantage over home-trained motorcyclists when it comes to getting a license. Driver examiners at the Ottawa driver examination center say there’s no comparison between the two. Course graduates are better trained, more confident and capable on their machines, and know the answers to all the questions.” The second testimonial speaks for itself— the motorcycle police officers of Vanier City near Ottawa are trained by instructors of the course.

A REFRESHER

The last nine hours of the course are completed after the student has obtained his operator’s license. A refresher

of city driving is followed by highway and freeway pointers.

“How far should you be behind the car ahead of you?”

“Six car lengths.”

“At what speed?”

“Oh yeah, 1 forgot-one car length for each 1 0 mph.”

“And just how far is a car length? A Honda coupe or a Cadillac? And what does it look like on the ground? I know the book says one car length for each 10 mph, but a better way is to count the seconds you are behind the vehicle ahead, and keep it to two seconds. This is good at all speeds and for all sizes of vehicles. Just start to count as the car ahead passes a light standard or pavement joint, ‘one motorcycle, two motorcycle’-that’s two seconds, and you should just be passing the marker you selected as you finish. In bad weather or if visibility is low, make it three seconds.”

Later come the road runs with a group, shepherded by two instructors. Afterwards, analysis of the trip over a coffee.

'The final part of the course consists of handling exercises on grass, sand, gravel and over rocky ground. Running out of road onto differing surfaces eliminates fear of this maneuver, and increases skill and self-confidence. The graduation run is over the alpine course, and involves panic stops and starting on very steep grades, both ways!

In each course there may be several natural riders, or those who have the innate skills and co-ordination necessary for competition. These youngsters are encouraged to join the local CMA-affiliated club, the Sportsmen Club of Ottawa.

MINIMAL COST/NO FRILLS

The cost of the course preparation for the DOT test is $10, with pro rata fees for the remainder of the program. This is just about enough to pay for administrative costs, with nothing left over for frills. The instructors are all volunteers. There are 18 hard-working volunteer instructors, including two members of the Sportsmen club, and they all know the score and what they’re talking about. Among them are high school students and teachers, university under and post-grads, a physicist, an RCAF flying instructor, a research scientist, a designer and a suburban housewife. All like bikes and kids.

(Continued on page 57)

Continued from page 50

Unfortunately, the budget is so skinny that there’s nothing left over for replacement of the current holding of 15 motorcycles.

Moreover, the industry in Canadawith some notable exceptions-is not really big enough to support such courses. However, a system is emerging that may well pave the way to establishing motorcycle training. When funds are needed, teams of the younger instructors ask local service clubs for an invitation to weekly dinners, where they put a friendly arm on the group for assistance for a particular project. Such was the case recently, when the Optimists Club of Carleton agreed to supply street/trail bikes for the advanced course. To everybody’s surprise, the Honda Motor Company of Canada donated four SL 100s to the service club.

AN UPHILL FIGHT

Still, it’s been a long, uphill fight for over four years. At times it seemed as if no one cared, but the times are changing, and this year it is hoped to use federal funds to find out just how much good motorcycle driver education is. The yearly death and injury figures for Canadian motorcyclists are 1 in 600 and 1 in 20 respectively. As far as is known, only two graduates of the Ottawa Safety Council Motorcycle Courses have been seriously injured, and none have died. However, it should be pointed out that not all graduates eventually buy motorcycles. With luck, a student summer program will uncover the facts and figures. But it is generally agreed that all indications so far are highly favorable. An Ottawa Police Traffic officer said recently that he could spot a course graduate a block away, “they sit right, they look right, and you know what they’re going to do,” he remarked.

The future would indicate widespread adoption of motorcycle training. Stu Munro, chief instructor of the program says, “Anyone who is connected with motorcycles, even anyone who just likes bikes, should aim at two connected targets. First, the incorporation of motorcycle driver education into the high school driver education program; and second, sensible motorcycle operator licensing procedures.”

And that, to me, makes a lot more sense than bleating about helmet laws, or charging off on other lost causes. What do you think? 0