Florida now requires MSF class for all new endorsements..nice

As the title says...looks like Florida is about to start requiring ALL riders to take a class, regardless of age. The law used to simply apply to people under 21. Although from what I understand, the DMV test was harder anyway..but I think there used to be a loophole where you could keep getting temp endorsements with just a written test,(can't recall if that was Fl or not though)

Here is an article on it.

Bikers rush to dodge new law requiring safety classes





By By Curtis Krueger, Times staff writer
In print: Saturday, June 28, 2008

Ann Skinner came up with a great way of saving money: Drive her 28-mile daily commute on a scooter that gets 70 miles per gallon.
She saved even more money by passing her motorcycle tests on Friday, just days before a new law takes effect requiring new motorcyclists to take a safety class that costs $200 to $300.
"I'm happy to save $200," said Skinner, a graphic artist who lives in St. Petersburg. "That was the whole idea, to save money."
The law, which takes effect Tuesday, is meant to keep new motorcyclists alive by putting them in classes tailor-made to teach them how to safely maneuver on roads filled with other drivers who often aren't looking for them. Many motorcyclists say these classes can be great — even some who showed up at the Pinellas Park driver's license office Friday in hopes of avoiding them.
"You can always learn something," said Susan MacPherson, 48, of St. Petersburg.
But the new law comes at a time when many people are turning to two-wheelers to save money. MacPherson said she looked into a course that cost $300 and decided to try to take the test earlier.
"The money is a tremendously big thing," said Joe Penrose, 40, who works in maintenance and got his motorcycle endorsement Friday. Penrose, of St. Pete Beach, was so happy about getting his new Harley-Davidson recently that he had its image tattooed on his arm.
A total of 14,714 people have received motorcycle endorsements from the state this month, more than twice the 6,354 who received them last June.
Some driver's license offices will be open today and a few will take the unusual step of opening Sunday to accommodate the number of people trying to take the written and driving portions of the motorcycle test. That's partly to make up for several appointments canceled in recent days because of rain, said Ann Nucatola, spokeswoman for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
The law already required people under 21 to take the classes in order to get a state motorcycle endorsement. Now the classes are required for everyone getting the motorcycle endorsement.
The state has selected several groups around Florida to provide the classes, which last from a weekend to five days. In the class, participants take the written and driving tests previously only offered at the license offices.
Florida Highway Patrol Capt. Mark Welch said the courses can be a big benefit to new motorcyclists, teaching them where in the lane to drive, stopping distances and other topics.
David Hendricks, program manager for Harley-Davidson-affiliated safety classes in Brandon, Tampa and New Port Richey, said: "There's so many people out there that ride motorcycles currently that know the idea of how to ride but they don't know all the principles of how to ride."

Any talk of tiered licensing?

Watch how the law of unintended consequences works on this one. I predict that the number of new motorcycle licenses will drop. You may see already marginal dealerships go out of business.

I wouldn't be surprised, or you'll simply see more people riding without a license. I wonder if that loophole with the temp endorsement still exists..any Floridians that can comment?

Unlicensed operators are in a disproportionate number of accidents and in most need of MSF training.

From a purely selfish point of view I love it..simply because we'd get a lot of cooler bikes here..I'd love a 400CC inline 4 Ninja..like a ZX-4R

Pardon me, but what about priorities? The guy has a new tattoo of HD on his arm? What does that cost? Oh, probably about the same as the MSF course. OH, and the MSF course may give him the skills to save his life some day, but he is glad he got the tattoo and dodged the class. I'm not fucking impressed.

I took the class when I didn't have to. I continue to look for classes to keep my skills sharp. I'm guessing here, that this guy may fit into the statistical category of baby boomers with more disposable income, who possibly 'used to ride' and now want to relive thier youth. There are plenty of studies that say these guys are getting killed at record numbers. I want everyone to ride. There are minimum standards for driving a car, and most of think riding a motorcycle is more complex than that. SO, a mandatory MSF course is warranted IMO. I do think the state should subsidize and make it easy (no long waiting lists). Other than that, I applaud FL for trying to ensure the safety of their riders. One step further, however, is a widespread public campaign to educate the public about motorcycles and and how they relate to cars. It would be money well spent, IMO.

But yet they still don't require helmets or insurance..although if you don't have a helmet you do have to have insurance.

I took my first MSF class in 1981. I probably had to take the class to ride on the military base, I don't remember if it was mandatory. In any case I wanted to take the course even though I had been riding for five or six years at the time.

I don't want everyone to ride. In fact, I don't even want everyone driving. I don't want text messaging, lipstick applying, electric shaving, taco eating drivers on the road.

I was at a local motorcycle/scooter dealer recently. I overheard a salesman tell a woman buying a motorcycle that she could get a scooter instead and not have to do ATGATT. :huh
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Bloodbath.

This is a good step forward.

Next tiered licenses.

That is because he is a dipshit. We bought our girls a 49cc scooter. It does about 40mph. We require full gear, because I told them 40mph down on a motorcycle is no different than 40mph down on a scooter.

My dumbass nephew proved that recently when he borrowed a friends scooter. He normally rides a Ninja 250. He only wore his helmet on the scooter. He has some serious road rash from this little scooter just on the neighborhood streets. All up his arm and shoulder and down his leg.

What is the grit rating of asphalt anyhow?

Jeebus people can be stupid sometimes.

Exactly! The pavement is the same not matter what you fall from. It is like a human belt sander.

Do you wear full gear if on a racing bicycle? (I've seen 50+ on downhills)

At some point you have to draw the line...I can understand just a helmet on a scooter...and I'll accept the roadrash if it happens.

If I'm mostly doing <35mph..helmet will suffice.

It gets better. We live in a small enough town, a lot of kids ride bicycles or scooters around town. We bought a scooter for our girls for the things farther than the bicycle trips (we make them go pretty far on the bike). The scooter is also good for porting things, since we put a GIVI trunk on it. Anyhow, the law in Arkansas says kids 10+ must have a motorized bicycle permit in order to operate things under 50cc. In all honesty, 99.9% of parents aren't getting their kids a permit, they just get the scooter and send them on their way. These small scooters don't NEED to be licensed either, but they can. We are making our girls get permits, pay for their own insurance and wear gear as well as take the safety courses, etc, etc.

Now, they have to get a letter from the school stating they have a minimum GPA. Well, my 11-year old's school had never had a request like that, because most parents don't think to get their kids an actual permit (ignorance of the law). We go into the school administration building yesterday, and a lady tells my daughter she'd better watch out because she almost hit a little girl on a scooter the other day and nearly killed her. When the lady walked away, I reminded my daughter, though the law here says 'I didn't see them' is no longer an excuse, it is idiots like her that bring home the reason why we are always extra careful when we ride and we do the things we do to be extra careful. She agreed.

At 11 years old, she has to take the full drivers test, and the full motorcycle endorsement test to get a permit to ride a motor driven bicycle permit. Insurance is $160 a year for both girls on the little 2007 Honda Metropolitan 49cc Scooter we bought them. We'll be studying this weekend. If she doesn't pass Monday, she can retake the test on Tuesday.

I hope she smokes those grownups.

I wish I had pictures of my nephew. His arm and leg where he went down were messed up pretty deep. I can see wearing tennis shoes versus boots, as your foot is less likely to get caught underneath the scooter, given the floor boards, but he got rashed up as bad as I've seen some motorcycle rash, and he was doing about 25-30 mph on a neighborhood street. He wasn't wide open on the throttle, but he hit a pot hole and he slid on his body when he fell off. It could happen to anyone.

I will also never, ever wear anything less than a full face I don't care what anyone says. He was wearing a full face helmet and I got the impression it was trashed.

Physics is physics, trashed is trashed, road rash is road rash. Asphalt does't get softer based on the vehicle you are riding.

Ok, let me get this straight.
Wanna ride a MC, take the MSF... ok I am cool with that!
Wanna drive a big Rig, gotta go to a school of some dsort to get CDL, I am cool with that too.

Wanna drive a cage, fuck it, come on down to DMV, take a 20 question test, drive around the block. NOW you are qualified to drive 70+ mph on I-95, I-75!

Fucking get real!
This is a bullshit move by DMV!!
Until they make it mandatory for asshat cagers, thier attempts are futile..
What a waste!!!

Make EVERYBODY who wants to ride/drive ANYTHING, take a damned class.

We need an ASF Class (Automobile Saftey Foundation)

So do you wear full gear on a bicycle?

This law means Florida will have more unlicensed riders.

I don't ride a bicycle. Helmets are mandatory for my children on a bicycle. We stress safety, period.

Do you make them wear jackets and long pants everytime they get on a bicycle? Most energetic kids have been faster on a bicycle than the speeds a scooter sees..it's an honest question since the bicycle has weaker brakes and less traction. Anything above and beyond a helmet on a scooter is ridiculous...unless you apply the same standards to a bicycle..since they operate in the same speed envelope.