Another excellent PSA video from the UK THINK! motorcycle road safety organization.

ninja250.kingston.net/hand_signals Study and memorize these motorcycle riding hand signals. They’re bound to come in handy. :-) Thanks to Da Magnator on the mortorcycle-usa forums for the link.

Well, they did it. Instead of giving up the fight in Oregon as I thought they might have, the MSF has just signaled that another round is starting. IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 15, 2006 - The Motorcycle Safety Foundation filed a lawsuit against Oregon State University, its president, and also against Stephen Garets, both individually and in his official capacity as director of the Team Oregon Motorcycle Safety Program of OSU, charging the parties with copyright infringement and violation of the MSF’s rights under the Lanham Act. The complete press release.

Update 12/29/2006: lawsuit (pdf file)

So why didn’t they sue the state of Oregon? Team Oregon is a partnership of Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Transportation. Maybe they’d rather not tangle with a state Attorney General or chance the possible negative publicity of doing so?

I must have been on happy weed when I thought the battle might be over. It’s not just Oregon that the MSF is concerned about. In addition to Oregon, Idaho and Hawaii have stopped using the MSF training curriculum. Earlier this year Colorado was going to look into using the Oregon curriculum. Washington is apparently looking at using the Oregon curriculum now. If the MSF didn’t do something who knows how many more states might jump off the MSF ship.

One thing they could have done but didn’t would have been to develop a quality curriculum that better meets the needs of the beginning motorcyclist. Instead, they chose to go with the ever popular American tradition, a lawsuit, to try and retain their dominance.

Shame on you MSF. And shame on everyone who blindly assumes the MSF is a benevolent organization that cares about the motorcycling public. They don’t. They are a manufacturer’s organization whose objectives are (1) to protect the interests of manufacturers and (2) help sell more motorcycles.

The MFS hasn’t had any luck getting the road bike Basic Riders Course (BRC) approved for DMV certification but Lady Luck has showered the MSF with success when it comes to dirt bike safety training. They own it (training rights) lock, stock and barrel. The USFS, BLM and ORPD recognize only the MSF dirt bike training curriculum. And it seems they aren’t doing a very good job of providing courses.

Ever tried signing up for a course? Good luck finding one (especially for adults). While such training is not currently required for adults (though it may be in the future) it is required for children under 12. Violations result in a citation. The Oregon Parks & Recreation Dept website states the fine is $180. In practice the fines have been $250. Think about that before hitting the trails with your children next season.

My interest in dirt bike training was sparked a couple of weeks ago when I received a report from a person (who doesn’t want his name spread all over the web, so let’s call him Anon) that outlines the troubles he encountered trying to (1) simply take a dirt bike course and (2) obtain certification from the MSF to conduct dirt bike safety training courses. Anon owns a logging business in Oregon and has used dirt bikes and other off highway Vehicles (OHV) in his business for many years. So he is no newcomer to off-road riding. His motivation: to better ensure the safety of his employees he wanted to be able to train them in the proper use of OHV’s. He has now published the report of his trials and tribulations on the web. Read it here.

From what he writes it seems the MSF is not doing a very good job of serving the Oregon dirt bike and ATV community.

Glossary of terms in the report:

• ATV – All Terrain Vehicle
• COHVOPS – USFS Combined Off-Highway Vehicle Operations Bend, OR
• DBS – Dirt Bike School
• LE – Law Enforcement
• MIC – Motorcycle Industry Council Irvine, CA
• MSF – Motorcycle Safety Foundation Irvine, CA
• OHV – Off Highway Vehicle
• ORPD – Oregon Parks & Recreation Dept: ATV’s
• PSS – Puget Sound Safety Tacoma, WA
• ROC – Retailer Operated Course
• SVIA – Specialty Vehicle Institute of America Irvine, CA
• USFS – US Forest Service