Photo By Michael Strasser | A high-five from Dale Petry, motorcycle safety coach, is a clear indication that a...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (April 19, 2024) -- As warmer weather attracts more motorcyclists on the road, the first group of 10th Mountain Division (LI) Soldiers completed the Basic Rider Course (BRC) April 17 at Fort Drum.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation-approved curriculum is the standard across the Department of Defense and is required for all service members before operating a motorcycle, both on and off the installation unless they have equivalent civilian BRC certification.
Soldiers prepare for the class with an online tutorial, followed by two days of classroom instruction and hands-on learning at the range next to Clark Hall.
“Basically, this class assumes you’ve never been on a motorcycle before,” said Dale Petry, motorcycle safety coach. “So, we are going to start with the basics, which is smooth, slow and in control. The motorcycle is a mirror. It will reflect everything that you do. If you are herky-jerky, grabby, and unconfident, the motorcycle reflects that.”
Petry said this takes time for students to grasp, so the group spends several hours on the course mastering throttle and clutch control, smooth starts and stops, shifting gears, and slow speed maneuvers.
“This is all slow speed and done correctly at five miles an hour,” he said. “And then we start combining those things at speed, 20 miles an hour.”
Other drills focus on cornering and stopping in short distances.
“That takes a lot of confidence,” Petry said. “It’s scary when somebody pulls out in front of you, so you have to learn how to stop in time. There are three ways we can do to avoid a hazard – one way is to stop before the hazard, another way is to swerve around the hazard, and then there is running over the top of a hazard.”
Students learn this by riding over blocks of wood, and they also practice swerving – a maneuver that Petry said makes students bug-eyed when he tells them.
“Imagine a manhole with no cover on the road, or a stalled car,” he said. “This requires a fairly assertive swerve. When I do the demonstration, I’ve had people tell me that they didn’t want to do that. But at this point there has been a sense of trust that I’ve been working with them, and this one’s a lifesaver. So, they need to have the confidence to find out for themselves that it’s actually easy.”
Petry has taught people to ride motorcycles for roughly 18 years, working at Fort Drum the last three training seasons.
“I think the MSF has put around eight million Americans through this program,” he said. “So, this is not me teaching. This is the combined wisdom of 100,000 coaches who’ve been working on this program for 40 years, and the program works.”
Petry talks through each drill with the Soldiers before demonstrating how to perform them correctly. Then he directs the action with hand signals, offering feedback with a few words or the occasional high-five.
“Yeah, there’s lots of positivity out here,” he said. “Yelling at people is not effective. They’re already nervous, and I need them feeling confident because motorcycling is a confidence sport.”
Before leaving the range, students completed a skills evaluation to prove they can operate the motorcycle smoothly and with confidence, and a written test to assess riding knowledge. Passing is not a given, and Petry said he has failed his share of Soldiers.
“Honestly, not everybody should be on a motorcycle,” he said. “But taking this class is the smartest, safest, and cheapest way to find out. Instead of spending $6,000 on a bike and crashing it to learn you don’t like bikes, come ride one here for free. I’ll even loan you a helmet.”
Petry said that about 93 percent of students will pursue motorcycling after completing the course.
“But then there are others who are either going to walk away from it mid-class because it was not what they thought it would be like, or they will finish the class – pass or fail – and they are glad for taking the class but found they weren’t really enjoying it,” he said. “But they got to try it for free. It cost them nothing.”
Inexperienced riders may purchase a motorcycle that is unsuitable for them, but they didn’t have the knowledge yet to make that determination.
“If you take the class first, then you’ve experienced riding the right way,” Petry said. “You know what you like, you know what you don’t like. Then you are probably going to make a better decision when you do buy a motorcycle.”
John Rebelo, Command Safety Office, said that after Soldiers are certified they are referred to their state department of motor vehicles for any additional requirements before the motorcycle endorsement can be added to their license. Soldiers are required to take the Advanced Rider Course (ARC) within one year of completing the BRC.
Soldiers can register for classes at https://airs.safety.army.mil, but they must contact their battalion and brigade motorcycle mentors to guide them through the enrollment process.
“Due to the short riding season and limited number of class seats available to support the demand, it is crucial that Soldiers coordinate all efforts to sign up for required courses through their mentors,” Rebelo said.
Petry said BRC students learn a lot in two days – like drinking from a firehose – so he advises them to continue practicing the skills on their own.
“There’s a limit to what I can give them from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation perspective,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, it’s a good program, but it’s the basics. They need to continue practicing those skills, get two or three thousand miles in, and then we want you to come back and take the advanced class. That’s where we’re really going to polish those skills and it’s going to make a difference.”
Soldiers can learn about personal protective equipment requirements for motorcycle operation in Army Regulation 385-10 (para. 13-16), and reference Installation Policy Memo 22-25 and Fort Drum 190-5 for other information.
For more information about the Motorycle Safety Foundation Course, visit https://home.army.mil/drum/my-fort/all-services/motorcycle-safety-foundation-course.
| Date Taken: | 04.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.19.2024 07:36 |
| Story ID: | 468922 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 179 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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