“Motorcycle School: Be Very Afraid”

The article by the above title in the New York Times is excellent background reading for anyone talking with youngsters who covet motorcycles—or who, as adults, are toying with riding the 2-wheeled power vehicles. The author bases what he writes on a course he had just taken on motorcycle riding, and in particular on the first session which focuses on “everything that can go horribly wrong.”

From a school safety point of view, teaching kids to be careful is a lot more effective when you know what you are talking about. From reading this article, I felt more competent to talk with a youngster intent on riding: “Using a course designed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, a not-for-profit organization in Irvine, Calif., that is sponsored by several motorcycle manufacturers, Trama’s instructors emphasized the mental commitment that counterbalances the physical act of riding a motorcycle.”