Effective September 1, 2011, the Missouri Highway Patrol has begun using new standards for testing motorcycle riders. These tests include both written and skill test for motorcyclists. The changes reflect updated testing standards developed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.
The new tests include an obstacle motorcycle course. This test has been developed in order to measure the motorcyclist’s ability to avoid obstacles and the degree of avoidance skills. Besides the obstacle test, the new tests include other courses that will test a motorcyclist’s skill level more accurately. The changes will be implemented across the state of Missouri, and will include both two and three-wheel motorcycles.
Douglas R. Horn, Kansas City motorcycle accident lawyer and safety advocate, could not be more pleased. After all, riding a motorcycle in the year 2011 is vastly different from motorcycling a decade ago. Motorcycles are now faster, more powerful and lighter, making them more of a challenge to operate. The demographics of the motorcyclist population have also undergone a sea change. In the past, motorcycles were favored by a younger generation, while now, an increasing number of motorcycles are purchased by men above the age of forty.
It is important that motorcycle safety standards also be tweaked in order to accommodate the safety concerns affecting these motorcyclists. It appears that the tests which have been developed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation will do just that.
Stronger testing for motorcyclists is likely to help reduce the number of motorcycle accidents across the state of Missouri. Motorcycle safety is one issue that has been a source of concern to Missouri motorcycle accident lawyers, because death rates in these accidents have remained more or less stable over the past decade, even as overall accident rates have declined.
