Bryan's Blog

Seems like my home state passed a couple new motorcycle laws for 2010. Senate Bill 546 requires that all new riders complete an ODOT-approved motorcycle safety course before they can get a motorcycle endorsement. Oregon already required riders under the age of 21 to complete the course, and starting January 1, 2011, this law expands to all new riders under the age of 31. By January 1, 2015, all new riders or motorcyclists who have let a year go by since they renewed their endorsement will be required to go through the class. The only approved rider education training is through the ‘TEAM OREGON’ Basic Rider Training (BRT) course. Oregon becomes only the third state in the country to adopt mandatory rider training, joining Florida and Rhode Island on the short list.

The ‘Team Oregon’ Basic Rider Training is fairly basic, teaching turning, braking, obstacle avoidance, traffic strategies, and basic bike maintenance. Maneuvers are performed in a controlled environment at parking lot speeds. A BRT course waives both the DMV motorcycle knowledge test and the on-cycle skills test. The Basic Rider Training course is $179. This on top of the $87 fee for the motorcycle endorsement, a fee that bumped up $10 starting Jan. 1, 2010. Throw in the required insurance fees that are bound to be higher for new riders and paying for the privilege to ride a motorcycle quickly adds up.

I’m all for requiring newbies to take a class if they really want to ride a motorcycle. But I believe making them pay $179 in addition to the $87 endorsement fee is too much. Riders who pass the class are exempt from the DMV motorcycle skills test, so why not cut them a break on their endorsement fee to boot? Makes me question whether the legislative powers actually have rider’s best interests in mind or is it just another money-making scheme? Is it a knee-jerk reaction to a bunch of slanted statistics or will the program really save lives? In their motorcycle facts and figures report, they talk about the increase in motorcycle-related fatalities, but they don’t mention that the increase in the number of bikers on the road logically means this number is going to go up as well.
 
House Bill 2370 gives motorcyclists who took the course a little break on their insurance, but the amount of discount they will receive is left to the discretion of the insurance companies.

You also don’t want to get caught without a motorcycle license now in Oregon. Effective Jan. 1, 2010, Senate Bill 124 increased the penalty for riding a motorcycle without a motorcycle endorsement from a Class B ($360) to a Class A ($720) violation. The fine can be suspended though if a rider completes training and receives a motorcycle endorsement within 120 days of sentencing.
 
A few Oregon Motorcyclists Facts and Figures:

* There are 131,204 registered motorcycles in Oregon, or about 3.2% of registered vehicles. 
* 235,754 Oregonians have motorcycle endorsements on their driver licenses, or about 7.9% of licensed drivers.
* TEAM OREGON trained 9,972 people in 2008.
* In 2008, there were 873 crashes involving motorcycles; 834 people were injured and 49 people killed. 48 of those killed were motorcyclists.
* The number of motorcycles involved in crashes increased from 746 in 2007 to 873 in 2008.
* Across the nation, motorcycle crashes involving injuries and fatalities are rising. Oregon is no exception. Motorcycle crashes in Oregon have almost doubled from 2002 (443) to 2008 (873). In contrast, during the same time period, the total number of crashes for all vehicles decreased 13 percent.
* Fatal motorcycle crashes represent 11 percent of fatal crashes in 2008 while only representing 3.2 percent of total registered vehicles.
* Speed is a factor in the majority of motorcycle crashes. Motorcyclists and/or drivers are either going too fast for conditions or exceeding posted speed.
* The majority of Oregon fatal motorcycle crashes are single vehicle, occurring on a rural road on a corner where the rider is going too fast for conditions.
* Alcohol was involved in 35.6 percent of motorcycle fatalities in 2008.
* The average age of motorcyclists killed in crashes in 2008 was 48.
* Non-endorsed motorcyclists were involved in 17 percent of motorcycle fatalities in 2008.