Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety: MMRS News

1-800-922-BIKE

MMRS Training Class News

28-January: Welcome to the newly redisigned Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety website!

Registration for the 2008 Motorcycle Rider Safety season begins Februrary 1st! Be sure to get your registration in early to get into the class you want.

New this year is our secure online registration and payment system.

5-May: MMRS Trains Four New RiderCoachs®

GREAT FALLS -Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety (MMRS) completed a RiderCoach® Preparation Workshop (training for new instructors) at Malmstrom Air Force Base on Sunday May 4, 2008. Connie Mullikin of Helena, Matt Petersen of Bozeman, Tina Reinicke-Schmaus of Missoula and Tim Mitchell of Kalispell successfully completed their training and will be joining the Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety teaching team as new motorcycle safety RiderCoaches®.

Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety offers basic and experienced motorcycle safety classes across Montana from April to September each year. Last year over 1,600 Montana motorcyclists were trained at 10 locations throughout the state.

At the request of Montana’s motorcyclists, the Montana Legislature created Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety. Montana State University-Northern houses and operates Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety as a public service. For more information regarding MMRS and MSU-Northern visit their website at http://motorcycle.msun.edu or contact Michele Calvert – Director of MMRS at 1-800-922-BIKE.

MAY IS MOTORCYCLE AWARENESS MONTH. WATCH FOR MOTORCYCLES.

5-May: Governor Signs Letter of Support for May as “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month” in Montana

HAVRE – Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has signed a letter in support of May 2008 being “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month” in Montana. The letter outlines the growing popularity of motorcycling in Montana and ways all Montanan’s can keep motorcyclists safe.

“All Montanans need to do their part in reducing the number of motorcycle crashes and fatalities in our state by always watching for motorcyclists. We need to share the Big Sky.” said Gov. Schweitzer in the letter.

In 2007, Montana motorcycle registrations have hit an all time high with over 95,000 registered. As the numbers of registrations continue to rise, the number of crashes and fatalities has also increased. According to statistics from the Montana Department of Transportation, there were 36 motorcycle fatalities in 2007, a 38 percent increase.

“We are very pleased Governor Schweitzer’s administration supports motorcycle safety in Montana and has signed this letter. We encourage all Montanans to be aware of motorcycles the entire riding season and not just one month of the year,” said Michele Calvert, Director of the Montana Motorcycle Rider Safety (MMRS) program.

MMRS will continue to work diligently to reduce the number of motorcycle crashes and fatalities on the streets and highways of Montana by offering high quality training. For more information on training opportunities, contact MMRS at 1-800-922-2453, or visit them on-line at http://motorcycle.msun.edu.