Montana Motorcycle Safety Advisory Committee
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Meeting Minutes
October 19, 1999
1:00 – 3:00 PM
Room 273 – Scott Hart Building
303 North Roberts Street
Helena, Montana
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Dal Smilie at 1:00 p.m. Present at the meeting were MMSAC members Michele Hand, Ladd Paulson, Ken Radovich, and Dal Smilie. Also present were MMRS Director Roger Swearengen, and Mike and Betty Tingley from Mike Tingley’s Suzuki-Yamaha-Triumph in Missoula.
2. FY2000 Membership
Continuing members of the MMSAC are Anita Drews-Oppedahl of Helena representing the Montana Department of Justice, and Ken Radovich of Great Falls representing MMRS instructors. Dal Smilie of Helena has been re-appointed to the MMSAC to represent motorcycle rider groups. New members recently appointed to the MMSAC are Michele Hand of Missoula representing motorcycle rider groups, and Ladd Paulson of Billings representing peace officers.
Michele Hand nominated Dal Smilie to serve as MMSAC Chairman for FY2000. Ken Radovich seconded the motion. Dal was elected MMSAC Chairman by acclamation.
3. Montana Motorcycle Safety Legislation & Administration
Chairman Dal Smilie reviewed SB428 that transferred the motorcycle safety program from the Office of Public Instruction to the Board of Regents of the University System, and the action by the Board of Regents delegating administration of the program to MSU-Northern. Copies of 20-25-10 MCA and the Board of Regents resolution were distributed.
4. 1999 Training Season Review
MSU-Northern took over the Montana Motorcycle Safety Education Program (MMSEP) on January 1, 1999 under a cooperative agreement with the Office of Public Instruction. MSU-Northern centralized administration of the program by taking responsibility for all student registrations, instructor hiring, and site management. A two-day instructor up-date workshop was conducted in April 1999 at the new site at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls. Upon transfer to MSU-Northern on July 1, 1999, the program was renamed as Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety (MMRS) in an effort to simplify and focus on likely Yellow Pages and Internet search key words. A preliminary summary of training performance by site was distributed, and conditions at each site were discussed. Particularly interesting were charts showing the large number of female students age 40-55. Lack of an adequate number of instructors was the primary factor that limited training more riders in 1999.
An Instructor Preparation course was conducted in August 1999 in Great Falls. Two very competent instructors graduated. The problems encountered at this Instructor Preparation course were discussed, along with the actions taken to prevent reoccurrence.
Ken Radovich reported on the Instructor Season Wrap-Up meeting held in Helena on October 16, 1999. The instructor group had specific concerns about and recommendations for improvements to the Instructor Preparation process, and MSF has been contacted about those concerns.
5. 2000 Training Season Preview
Negotiations are under way to re-establish a training site at MSU-Bozeman, and to re-open the training site in Butte. A potential site has been located at Miles Community College in Miles City. The range at the Helena airport has been lost to development, and negotiations are under way to replace that in time for the 2000 training season.
Several additional training motorcycles have been acquired from dealers who support MMRS by providing dealer loan motorcycles. All 45 training motorcycles in the fleet are scheduled for long overdue maintenance and repairs over the winter. Additional storage trailers are being acquired for placement at training sites.
The concepts for stand-up promotional counter displays and brochures were distributed. The primary distribution locations will be motorcycle dealerships, driver license examination stations, and the Montana Motorcycle Operator’s Manual. Discussion produced several suggestions for refinement. Site schedules should be available in January 2000, with registration starting in mid-February 2000.
Instructor recruitment and training are the top priority for the 2000 training season. An Instructor Preparation course is tentatively scheduled for May 11-14 and 18-21, 2000 in Great Falls. Instructors are needed most in Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman, and Billings. The instructor group has agreed to work hard to recruit Instructor Candidates.
6. Discussion of the Long-Term Future of Motorcycle Safety in Montana
6.1. Primary Mission
20-25-1001 MCA states that a “’(m)otorcycle safety training course’ means a course for beginning and experienced riders with both classroom and on-road components that has been approved by the board of regents and that is designed to teach motorcyclists how to safely operate their vehicles” [emphasis added].
Following discussion, the MMSAC concluded that MMRS should focus its resources primarily on training new riders. Other rider groups who will receive secondary emphasis include experienced riders and riders returning to the sport after a hiatus.
Another discussion followed on whether MMRS should continue to focus only on training for street riders, and whether MMRS should consider expansion into training for off-road riders. A representative of the Department of Fish, Wildlife, & Parks will be invited to the next meeting to discuss their efforts to start training for off-road riders.
6.2. Primary Constituents
The following constituent groups were identified for motorcycle rider safety training courses: a) the students who take courses; b) family members of students (particularly spouses of adult riders and parents of young riders); c) motorcycle rider groups (particularly those active politically); and d) motorcyclists in general who pay the motorcycle vehicle and license fees that support MMRS. Following discussion, the MMSAC concluded that students and their family members were of the most importance to MMRS in achieving its mission of training the maximum number of new riders.
7. Next Meeting
The MMSAC will meet again on Tuesday, November 30th at 1:00 p.m. in Helena. This meeting will pick up where the discussion left off and consider target groups, the relationship between rider training and licensing, a possible connection to off-road training, and service delivery options.
8. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m.
