Читать книгу Proficient Motorcycling - David L. Hough - Страница 18

What about training? Did Ricochet Red do me a favor by giving me a few riding tips in the schoolyard? A number below 1.0 would be less risk; a number above 1.0 would be higher risk.

Training	Risk
Professional training	0.46
School/club course	0.50
Self-taught	0.90
Taught by friends/family	1.56

I guess Red did me a favor by limiting his advice to just half an hour. Apparently, riders taught by friends or family were about one-third more likely to crash than those who taught themselves. But the smart ones who took a rider training class were half as likely to crash as we do-it-yourself types. Note that the Hurt Report took place at just about the same time as the Motorcycle Safety Foundation came into existence. Obviously, a higher percentage of riders have received professional training since 1980, and training coincides with that gradual reduction in fatalities between 1980 and 1997. Unfortunately, motorcycle rider training philosophy changed around 2000, reducing most courses to “minimum national standards” and coordinating training with what the Motorcycle Safety Foundation calls “improved motorcyclist licensing programs.” Is it just a coincidence that fatalities have been increasing since training was reduced to the minimum standard? I honestly believe that rider training helps a new rider get a head start on riding skills, but I’d prefer to see more comprehensive courses available, to give new or returning riders more knowledge about such things as riding in traffic, cornering control, and negotiating surface hazards.