Motorcycle Safety Foundation
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) is an American national,
not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organization, founded in 1973, and sponsored by the U.S. manufacturers and distributors of BMW, BRP,
Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
,
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
, Kawasaki,
KTM KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
, Piaggio/Vespa,
Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
,
Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...
,
Indian Motorcycle Indian Motorcycle (or ''Indian'') is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by American automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s. The MSF maintains rider training curricula used in most states for novice and experienced riders. The MSF fosters a "ride safe" attitude, and promotes lifelong learning for motorcyclists. It also participates in government relations,
motorcycle safety Motorcycle safety is the study of the risks and dangers of motorcycling, and the approaches to mitigate that risk, focusing on motorcycle design, road design and traffic rules, rider training, and the cultural attitudes of motorcyclists and other r ...
research, public awareness campaigns, and technical assistance to state training and licensing programs.


Courses

MSF is a developer of comprehensive, research-based rider education and training curricula designed to develop or advance motorcyclists' riding skills. , the Motorcycle Safety Foundation has published 28 RiderCourses for current or prospective motorcyclists. MSF offers several courses via
iTunes U The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
including "An Adventure in Motorcycle Physics", "Dr. Ray's Street Strategies", "Dr. Ray's Guide to Group Riding" and "Dr. Ray's Seasoned Rider". MSF administers courses directly in Colorado, New Mexico, New York, and West Virginia and directly operates training sites called MSF Campuses in Troy, Ohio and Alpharetta, Georgia. However, in most states courses are administered by state agencies (i.e. Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety) or state university or community college networks that use MSF's curricula. Individual training sites may be public, as through technical colleges, or private organizations. Thirty-one states use the MSF tests for licensing, and 41 states use the MSF motorcycle operator manual. In 45 states, these local training sites are certified by MSF.
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
,
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
, and
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
states use non MSF-developed curricula. All fifty states have rider training programs. MSF is recognized by most state departments of transportation in the U.S. Successful completion of MSF's ''Basic "RiderCourse"'' usually replaces a state's riding exam, and may also replace the written exam, to receive a motorcycle operator's endorsement or license. Some insurance companies also offer discounts to those who have passed an MSF course. All United States military personnel are required to graduate from an MSF course to ride a motorcycle either on or off base.


Team Oregon dispute

A 2006 lawsuit by the MSF over alleged
intellectual property infringement An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
by the Team Oregon Rider Safety Program was settled in 2008. Team Oregon is a motorcycle training program run by the
Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...
and
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
. In the settlement, Team Oregon was granted permission to use MSF materials provided a statement of MSF
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
ownership was included. Team Oregon also agreed to only market its materials in Oregon, as in the past, and will still deny that the agreed upon acknowledgment of copyright is needed. Team Oregon claimed victory in the settlement, in that no payments were required and they may continue to use the training materials, while the MSF said the settlement was the same as one they had offered in 2006. Underlying the dispute was the question of whether programs like Team Oregon, or Idaho's Skills Training Advantage for Riders (STAR), were free to develop their own training programs, specifically in response to the contention by the state programs that the MSF had made changes in their course that weakened it, making it easier to pass while putting riders at greater risk. Idaho's training manager had expected to be named in the suit along with Team Oregon, due to their similarity to Team Oregon.


See also

*
Congressional Motorcycle Safety Caucus The Congressional Motorcycle Safety Caucus is a bipartisan caucus of the United States House of Representatives. Founding and Members The caucus founders and co-chairs are Representatives Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Tim Walberg (R-MI). The caucus ...


References


External links

*
National Association of State Motorcycle Safety AdministratorsMotorcycle Safety Foundation
at the
Open Directory Project DMOZ (from ''directory.mozilla.org'', an earlier domain name, stylized in lowercase in its logo) was a multilingual open-content directory of World Wide Web links. The site and community who maintained it were also known as the Open Directory ...
{{Authority control Motorcycle safety organizations Non-profit organizations based in California Motorcycle training 1973 establishments in California