Motorcycle Safety course California

As some of you may already know, the state of California just recently dropped the riders' training program that the Motorcycle Safety Foundation had been providing for many years and replaced it with a new program developed and managed by Lee Parks, the author and creator of the very successful Total Control book and riding clinic. The change will become effective starting January 1st, 2015.

This switch in programs has raised many questions, both from riders and instructors alike, so a few days ago I had the opportunity to discuss the subject with a friend of mine who is involved in the new program. He gladly agreed to answer some of those questions but, for privacy reasons, asked me not to divulge his name. Below is a transcript of the Interview:

Everyone is making their own conclusions so I would like to hear it from you. What is the reason behind this change in the California Motorcyclist Safety Program?

The California Motorcyclist Safety Program contract was up for bid as required. There was concern for the health of the program due to the rising accident and death rates in the state. As a result of these climbing statistics, when the CHP put the contract out for bid, they wanted more control over the program and so the new contract had more requirements to meet. The MSF did not bid on the new contract so it wasn't a takeover; there was only one bidder for the contract.

The existing programs run by Total Control are amazing and have an almost 20 year proven track record. From the press release and the additional information that has been made available, I know it appears that the folks at Total Control have the new Motorcycle Training Course well in hand; they have taken a proven program run by the State of Idaho and infused it with the knowledge and experience gained from being riders and from running the original Total Control advanced riding clinics for years.

Will the new CMSP program take the Total Control name or are the two programs going to remain separate?

No, the name of the program is the California Motorcycle Safety Program (CMSP) and the training course will be called the Motorcycle Training Course (MTC).

Everybody knows Total Control is one of the most recognized intermediate and advanced riding programs available. What can new riders expect from the new program in comparison to what they got from the more traditional MSF training courses?

The new program is a basic riders' course for new and beginning riders. So, unlike the advanced programs, the course will cover the information needed for new riders.