Motorcycle Training - Police Motorcyclists

Police Motorcyclists

Law enforcement motorcyclists, called motor officers in US police jargon, benefit from advanced training, typically lasting one to three weeks, that covers safety during routine patrol, and police-specific riding like pursuit, as well as policing methods such as safely approaching a suspect's vehicle.

Like basic rider courses, police training is dominated by low-speed maneuvering. Much of what can go wrong on a motorcycle happens at low speed, and this is particularly true considering that the usual police motorcycle carries hundreds of pounds of equipment, often weighing even more than a fully loaded bike on tour. And where the touring bike would spend much time on open freeways and autobahns, the police motorcycle is lumbering through urban traffic, pedestrian zones, and narrow city streets. Very tight U-turns and paired riding with a second officer are typical of the techniques practiced, and police training can include riding on inhospitable surfaces, such as up and down stairs or loading ramps or on railroad tracks.

Another difference between basic riding and police training is the frequency that police trainees fall down. While in the standard MSF course the student is not expected to fall at all, and can be removed from the class after more than a couple of spills, police motorcycle trainees can expect to drop their bikes dozens of times per day, and even hundreds of times during a two or three week course. The bikes used in training are equipped with crash bars to minimize the damage to the motorcycle, and the design of the bikes typically means they do not land entirely on their side or rest on the rider's feet or legs when they are dropped, however. Police trainees in the USA who bring their own motorcycles or their department's bikes to a training course are advised to expect between US$1700 to US$2300 in damage to their machines. Though severe injuries are not usually the result of these many crashes, it is exhausting, and a day of falling and picking up 800 to 1,100 lb (360 to 500 kg)bikes leaves motor officer students sore and aching.

Some current or former motor officers have come full circle by offering rider courses to the public based on the special skills and training methods used by police motorcyclists. In the United Kingdom, most civilian advanced training is based on Roadcraft, the police system of motorcycle control.