The BRC should be required

[threecircles]

Well...I passed the BRC course this weekend! Now, I have my Maine motorcycle license. The course here was Sat and Sun from 8-6 and today we went until 7. I am wiped out!

I am a complete beginner and after the BRC course I feel pretty comfortable on a bike. I can't believe the amount of information they teach and the entire course is perfectly organized to progress you through how to ride.

I am surprised this course isn't required. You have to learn how to maneuver the bike at very slow speeds which is the hardest time to balance the bike.

For anyone who hasn't taken this course I would strongly recommend it. There were 2 guys in my class who had been riding for a few years (on a permit) and they both learned many things and weren't perfect at all of the exercises...which means even someone who has been riding has more to learn.

Anyway...I had a blast and I am excited to start riding. Now on to finding a bike to ride...

[diamond_jim]

It was required for me. I was in the Army back in the late 80's and early 90's and you had to take the BRC in order to get a post decal to go on your bike to get on base.

[Tab B.]

I can only speak for my time in NH. One of the reasons NH didn't make it mandatory, was because we didn't, and even today, have enough infrastructure in place to support it. It is a little better now, as a privately run course is available also. It is more expensive than the state subsidized course, and the course schedule fills up rapidly too. I would suspect that other states might have similar problems also. When NH started its' program in the late 80s, they had no problems getting instructor candidates. Heck, when I applied, there just over 50 candidates for 12 positions. They have a hard time today just getting 12 candidates.

[amvince]

I agree everyone should take the course whatever it is called in your area. Now its time to practice, practice, practice. Congratulations and have fun.

[diamond_jim]

A local collage runs the course and the website for the course here in Alabama. I just looked at the schedule and the BRC class is offered a total of 13 times across 5 different locations during the next month. The ERC is offered 5 times in the same locations across the month. So that's 18 separate classes in a one-month period. I'm not sure how that compares to other states- whether it is similar,. less or more than is available in other states.

Also, on some dates the BRC is offered simultaneously at 3 different places whole the ERC is offered at that same time but in a fourth location.

It appears to me that they've got a pretty good supply of bikes and instructors for the program.

Here's the link:

University of Montevallo - Alabama Traffic Safety Center

[robertc729]

Congrats on passing the class.

[Apertureguy]

It's a great course to take...and should be run by the state if it was to be manditory...this way it might be more affordable for everyone.

Congrats on passing...but the education doesn't end there. Keep on riding and keep on learning. Stay safe!

[fbrown]

Congrats on passing the course. I took my course in California back in 84 when I lived out there. WOW! They ran you thru a course in the parking lot and if you passed that then you went on a street ride with the instructor riding behind you on another bike.(just that county I guess) Rode out there for about ten years or so before I moved. I figure if I can ride there and survive I can ride anywhere

[TFee3]

I hadn't been riding for almost 20 years when I bought a C90T Suzuki, which is a 700-lb cruiser. It was difficult to handle, so since I had never been a "legal" rider in my life, I decided to take the MSF course here in Missouri. I was relieved to see that they had us training on 250's rather than big bikes like mine. I breezed through the course and wasn't required to take the riding course for the state. When we finished the course, the MSF instructor told us we were now experts, but ONLY experts in riding in parking lots. After riding off and on for over 50 years, I learned a lot in that course, and I was much more confident riding my big bike than when I went there.