Driving course mandatory?

Forum Sponsor
JP0160 said:
Well, let's not get carried away here. Its a great course to take but it's more focused on "this is the shifter, this is the kickstand, this is the start button" than counter steering and avoiding target fixation. I think the most the course taught me was how to stand-turn the bike and applying rear brake when doing low-speed stuff to stretch her out a little. The rest is basic knowledge, but still I would recommend it!
Click to expand...

Not sure what course you did, but the standardized Gearing Up course includes a lot of practice on swerving, emergency braking, proper turning habits and traffic behaviour, maintaining control through emergency maneuvers, etc. It then tests you on it all before you can pass and get your M2 at the conclusion.

THIS is the important stuff, and yes, the stuff that could indeed save your life someday when your training kicks in automatically during an emergency.

As for the impact on ones insurance, yes not all insurers offer a discount but insurance companies that actually market or specialize to the MC segment (as opposed to it just being something they do out of courtesy for existing vehicle customers but they otherwise have no interest in it) typically do offer a discount, and as mentioned, increasingly many are requiring it.
 
Figured I'd throw my 2 cents in since my wife did the course this spring but I did not when I started riding 3 years ago.

I was able to pick things up fairly quickly and took it seriously between reading books, watching videos, and practicing in parking lots before hitting the roads. Looking back, the course would have given me a greater sense of emergency maneuvers and a good feel of a bike before hoping on my pig of a Katana. Depending on your overall vehicle control, balance, general coordination, etc., I don't think it is necessary but it can't hurt at all.

My wife on the other hand did the course twice (thankfully the second time was at half price). The first weekend the instructors were horrible, whenever having issues and looking for feedback or their input, she was told to just do it again instead of working with her and figuring out exactly what she was having issues with. They were also pretty condescending towards her commenting how "it's always the women" and that maybe she should just give up. She said screw it and walked away late Saturday and although I don't agree with that, I understood the frustration when they are supposed to be teaching you.

Over the next few weeks, I took her out to a parking lot near our house and on our street and worked with her on and off for roughly a total of 8hrs going through everything that she was having issues with and working through whatever difficulties she was having. The instructors the next time were very different. They were helpful, positive, and understanding of any issues even when she dumped the bike during the emergency braking lesson. She ended up passing the course no problem and even commented how she had a great time.

So while it can be a good learning experience, the instructors that you have will determine just how well you are actually taught and what you end up taking away from it. On the insurance side of things, her quote on a 250 Virago was 1400 for liability without the course and 800 for full coverage after passing the course. In my opinion I would do the course for the insurance savings alone since it basically pays for itself the first year. Keep in mind YMMV but that has been my experience with the course through Georgian College.
 
I guess I wasn't very clear, I meant the course was a bit too basic for ME personally. I didn't mean to say it didn't teach useful things. We did the normal swerve and avoid, emergency braking, all of that. But common knowledge with riding bikes my whole life, dirt bike experience for years, and 14 years on the road, I was able to put together enough basic knowledge that (to me) the course was a bit of a fluffer. Nice to have, but I can get it up on my own.
 
I'd bet that upwards of 95% of "experienced" riders who have never taken the course have never properly attempted emergency braking or collision avoidance swerving in real life. Hell, the "lay it down" mentality still persists amongst many.

The course is money well spent, even for an experienced rider who's never taken it before but may have ridden for years. Yes, the first day basics are brain numbing for anyone who's ridden before, but it is standardized based on the assumption some/many participating have never even sat on a bike before. The advanced stuff is where the learning can apply.
 
Some companies do it.

Dealers and brokers have a widespread variety of criteria to determine your rate.

I don't think the OP doubted whether or not it was useful, more of the "can i ride in my buttfak nowhere road to practice before my course in a legal manner"
 
Don't think any insurance companies will take a chance with just an M1. The licence is only good for a short time anyways.

So you have to get M2.

And many obtain it through a course.

You can book your M2 and skip the training.

And the insurance companies will ask how long you've had your licence.

Less than a year.

No training.

Rate would be ridiculous from what is already expensive.

You want to write a test and then bomb around the streets until you take the course.

You will just develop bad habits and there is some valuable information the course and experience can give you to help on the streets.

See if you can take the course earlier.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
PrivatePilot said:
I'd bet that upwards of 95% of "experienced" riders who have never taken the course have never properly attempted emergency braking or collision avoidance swerving in real life. Hell, the "lay it down" mentality still persists amongst many.

The course is money well spent, even for an experienced rider who's never taken it before but may have ridden for years. Yes, the first day basics are brain numbing for anyone who's ridden before, but it is standardized based on the assumption some/many participating have never even sat on a bike before. The advanced stuff is where the learning can apply.
Click to expand...

One of the guys taking the course when I went was in his 60's and riding his whole life without a license. Got busted and had to do the course as part of his sentencing - his story...anyway, worst rider at training that weekend. Full of bad habits and failed the M1 exit.
 
The insurance savings more than pays for the course. Just do it.

Take note, that every person in this thread that has said otherwise, has compared this person who did the course to that person that didn't, which is meaningless. Were those people the same age? sex? same car license and driving xp? Same insurance history? insuring same bike with same company? Living in the same postal code? I'd bet my maxim that they can't put a check mark beside more than one of those very big deciding factors.

The things you will learn at a properly run curse WILL save your life. Don't listen to anybody that says otherwise. I have employed some of the emergency skills already, and so will you when sharing the road with idiots in cars.
 
Last edited:
meme said:
Rider training. It's a riding course, not driving.

Pet peeve
Click to expand...
Lol
I had to hold back. I was gonna do the same.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
meme said:
Rider training. It's a riding course, not driving.

Pet peeve
Click to expand...

Joe Bass said:
Lol
I had to hold back. I was gonna do the same.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
Click to expand...


drive/drīv/


verb

  1. operate and control the direction and speed of a motor vehicle.

Motorcycles are motor vehicles. Ergo, motorcycles can be driven.

You ride a bicycle or a horse.

Pet peeve of mine.

As far as the course, it's not a great panacea for all of one's motorcycling faults.

Most people after taking the course should still take their own first bike into a parking lot and practice there for a while, moving to quiet streets, then very gradually busier streets and highways; not run out and ride two up on the highway with a passenger at night.
 
@Baggsy, I stand, or more appropriately, sit, corrected.

To all that have said that I was a bit extreme: I absolutely was. But that was also the point. When I do forklift training, I tell my students that they can kill someone. And that they can go to jail. You sometimes need to be excessive to make a point. And this point was made to someone that stated that they were new to this.

And as someone else pointed out, I may have taken my answer a step too far. Yes OP, it is possible to insure a bike without the course and with your M1. But I do not, for you, recommend it.

sent from my Purple LGG4 on the GTAM app
 
Thanks everyone for the input. Most likely booking for September. Get everything done faster and get some good skill sets. Lots of great posts here and again thanks everyone for taking the time to read and post!
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom