1.
Use the Skills Test Waiver/Third Party Testing option. If you are age 18 or older and have a valid Minnesota driver's license and motorcycle instruction permit, the riding skills test for your motorcycle endorsement will be waived if you successfully complete the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Center (MMSC) Basic Rider Course (BRC). You must: o
Pass the [Minnesota] state knowledge test for the motorcycle instruction permit (fee $21). To study for the motorcycle permit test, read the Minnesota Motorcycle and Motorized Bicycle Manual. o
Have your instruction permit before taking the BRC skills test. Expired permits are accepted if they have been expired for less than one year.o
Successfully complete the BRC. This requires 100 percent attendance and you must pass the BRC skills test…Michigan:
The Michigan administrative code related to its motorcycle instruction program may be found in Mich. Admin. Code R 257.1717: Standards. Like Wisconsin, Michigan uses the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s curriculum in its program and waives testing for persons who complete a basic rider course.
Mich. Admin. Code R 257.1717: Standards.
Rule 17. The national motorcycle safety foundation standards entitled “Motorcycle Rider Course”, January, 1989, are adopted by reference in these rules. Copies of the standards may be obtained from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, 2 Jenner Street, Suite 150, Irvine, California 92718-3800, at a cost of $35.00 as of the time these rules are adopted. Copies are also available for inspection and distribution to the public at cost from the Michigan Department of Education, P.O. Box 30008, Lansing, Michigan 48909.
M.C.L.A. 257.312b. (2) Motorcycle endorsement; motorcycle safety course; examination; motorcycle driving skills test, knowledge test, and road sign test; waiver; 3-wheeled motorcycles; promulgation of rules; administration of driving skills test; prohibited conduct; penalties
(2) Before a person who is 18 years of age or older is issued an original motorcycle endorsement on an operator's or chauffeur's license, the person shall pass an examination … The requirement of a written knowledge test, road sign test, and motorcycle driving skills test shall be waived for an applicant who has successfully completed a motorcycle safety course approved by the department as described in sections 811a and 811b…
To become an MSF-certified RiderCoach [in Michigan] you must, at a minimum:
Be 18 years of age or older
Have a valid license with a motorcycle (CY) endorsement for a minimum of 1 year
Have passed the Basic Rider Course (BRC) or the BRC2 within one calendar year before attending the RiderCoach Preparation Course
Have no more than 6 points on your driving record for moving violations during the 12 months before applying for approval as a RiderCoach[Michigan] RiderCoaches must complete and pass the RiderCoach Preparation Course (RCP). To enroll in an RCP, RiderCoach candidates must sign up with and be sponsored by a Michigan Department of State-approved MI-REP sponsor. RiderCoach candidates must attend 80 hours of classroom and range activity without missing a session and pass a riding skills and knowledge test. They will learn how to teach in the classroom and on the range and, as a final requirement, must successfully conduct a Basic Rider Course while under the supervision of a certified RiderCoach trainer.
Iowa:
Iowa also allows waiver of DMV tests for motorcycle operation if a driver has completed the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s basic rider course:
Iowa Admin. Code 761-635.2(321): Approved Course In Motorcycle Rider Education
…635.2(9) The driving test for a Class M driver's license or a motorcycle endorsement may be waived under 761—subrule 604.31(2) provided the applicant has successfully completed the approved course.
Iowa Admin. Code: 761-604.31(321) Driving test requirements and waivers for noncommercial driver's licenses.
604.31(2) Driving test waivers. The department may waive a required driving test listed in subrule 604.31(1) if the applicant meets one of the following qualifications:
a. The applicant has successfully completed the appropriate Iowa-approved course or courses. The appropriate Iowa-approved courses are the following: … motorcycle rider education for a Class M driver's license or motorcycle endorsement; and motorized bicycle education for a motorized bicycle license. However, if an applicant is under the age of 18, a driving test is required if so requested by the applicant's parent, guardian, or instructor.
The Iowa DOT describes the Iowa motorcycle rider education program as follows:
Motorcycle Rider Education
What is the Motorcycle Rider Education (MRE) Program?
Iowa has a quality Motorcycle Rider Education (MRE) Program administered by the Iowa DOT's Driver & Identification Services. Iowa's MRE Program teaches Basic Rider Course (BRC), the Basic Rider Course II (BRC II), and the Returning Rider Basic Rider Course (RRBRC) of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). The BRC has a minimum of 15 hours of core instruction — five hours spent in the classroom in preparation for 10 hours of range activities. The BRC II has a minimum of five hours — most of which are spent on the range. The RRBRC combines elements of the BRC and BRC II, and is designed for riders who already possess basic skill but have not ridden for several years. You must successfully pass a knowledge test, as well as a skill test to receive a certificate of completion.
Basic skills taught include:
Perception development.
Risk evaluation & evasive strategies.
Riding in a straight line.The next level of instruction is the application of these basic skills to on-street riding conditions.
Who teaches it?
Only Iowa-licensed, MSF-certified rider coaches teach the BRC and BRC II programs.
Who can or must take it?
Any person 14 years of age or older, whether licensed or not licensed for motorcycle, may take the course to learn, refresh or improve safe riding skills. The licensing skills test may be waived upon successful completion of the course.
Iowa Code section 321.180B requires any person under the age of 18 who wants a motorcycle license — valid for the operation of a motorcycle — to successfully complete the motorcycle rider education course before the motorcycle license will be issued.
8. Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies Used and How Any Related Findings Support the Regulatory Approach Chosen:
Section 85.30, Stats., charges the department with responsibility for creating a motorcycle, moped, and motor bicycle safety program. The statute requires that the program include operational skills training, safety education, and public awareness and such other elements as the department deems desirable. It also allows the department to make grants under this program for establishment of courses which further the aims of this program. The statute directs the department to adopt rules that implement the statute. The basic goal of rider education classes is to improve motorcycle rider safety though experiential learning. Three types of learning are used to instruct students: safety principles, adult learning principles, and motor skill learning principles. The motorcycle safety course offered through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation is designed to maximize rider learning through these methods. Buche, Tim: Developing the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider Education and Training System, Motorcycle Safety Foundation (2004). https://msf-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BRC_3_pdf.pdf The effectiveness of motorcycle knowledge and skills test training has been clear since the 1970s. McKnight, A. James and Kenard McPherson: The development and evaluation of a motorcycle skill test, manual, and knowledge test: final report. (1976) https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005467959 (page images at HathiTrust); McKnight, A. James and Brian G. Hilburn: An evaluation of the modified motorcycle operator skill test exercises / ([Washington, D.C.] : National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ; Springfield, Va. : Available through the National Technical Information Service, [1987]) https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102497571; National Public Services Research Institute (U.S.), and United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (page images at HathiTrust); McKnight, A. James and Brian G. Hilburn: An evaluation of the modified motorcycle operator skill test exercises. Final report. (1987) (page images at HathiTrust) https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005504141. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s rider education and training system has been developed since the 1970s to utilize research relating to the effects of various types of training and research in the area of adult learning and coaching of physical skill development. Buche, Tim: Developing the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider Education and Training System, Motorcycle Safety Foundation (2004) https://msf-usa.org/library/#reference-materials-link. The department has utilized the Motorcycle Safety Foundation curriculum since the 1980s and found it to be effective. 9. Analysis and Supporting Documents Used to Determine the Effect on Small Business or in Preparation of an Economic Impact Report:
