Motorcycle Organizations Turning Against MOST
Even the pros need training and practice, as this officer has demonstrated.
Some motorcycle groups never supported the MOST program in the first place but now even those that have are turning against it. Look for it to be an issue at the state capitol this session and next.
MOST, or Colorado’s Motorcycle Operator Safety Training program, was created to make motorcycle rider training more affordable, with the expectation that lower costs would encourage more riders to get trained. In order to fund this, an extra $2 is tacked onto the motorcycle registration fees we all pay each year. While some riders have objected to paying out of their pocket for someone else’s benefit, others have been willing to pay the extra to make riding safer and, by doing that, forestall any moves by legislators to reinstate Colorado’s helmet law.
Of the money raised by this $2 fee, 15 percent of it has been earmarked for the administrative costs of operating the program. The rest is to be used to reduce training costs for students.
Now, ABATE of Colorado and others are upset that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), which administers MOST, has put out a request for proposals with the intent to bring on a contractor to oversee MOST. And the money to pay that contractor would come out of the 85 percent that is supposed to go for training, not the 15 percent for administration.
ABATE’s legislative liaison, Stump, explained that they feel it is too late to be getting a bill in this session that would terminate the $2 fee, although that is definitely a likelihood for next session. In the meantime, efforts are being made to have legislators put pressure on the MOST bureaucrats to justify their intended use of this money in ways not specified in the legislation.
One fly in this ointment, however, seems to be that the actual legislation was not specific about this intent. While the debate and discussion at the time MOST was created clearly held reducing rider training costs as the intent, that wording never made it into the bill.
We’ll see now how much influence motorcyclists have with the state legislature.
(Not related to MOST, but regarding rider training, if you’re in England and want to feel more confident riding there, they do have rider training companies over there, too. We suggest visiting London Motorcycle Training.)
Biker Quote for Today
A smart rider knows what he knows, a wise rider knows what he does not know.
Tags: ABATE of Colorado
February 4th, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Ken,
some of this information is correct. Please speak with Glen Davis, Emiliano Barela at CDOT, Senator Tochtrop and MSF about this issue. Also please check out how other states, like Idaho run their motorcycle education. There is much more to this issue than just the fees or how vendors interface with it. Look at Full Throttle riding academy is the best example of the changing landscape of motorcycle training in Colorado, and how that is affecting the other vendors. Also, don’t forget about the 4$ motorcycle endorsement renewal fees. MOST will come up for renewal in 2017, but has funding to continue at current state until 2022. If MOST is sunset, what will happen to the program, those taxes, etc? Also, consider that the legislation has dealt with MOST for the last 2 legislative sessions and when it is stacked against the other issues they have to deal with, is small potatoes, just as MOST’s budget is a drop in the bucket compared to CDOT’s other responsibilities.
February 6th, 2015 at 9:38 am
Matt–
Can you give me a little more to go on, and clarify some things.
You say some of the info is correct, and to speak to several folks. Can you be more specific as to what you feel is not correct and what it is I should speak to them about? Yes, I know there is more to the MOST program than the fees but my post was intended only to speak to the one part about overseeing MOST using money beyond the 15% designated for administration. So I’m very interested that there seems to be something here I ought to know more about but I’m not at all clear on what that is.
Regarding all of this and much more, I’m wondering if you’d like to get together so we can talk about a lot of things. We seem to share a lot of interests and could probably accomplish a lot more working together than operating individually.
February 6th, 2015 at 11:16 pm
So, I’ve always felt organization is key… Hence my comment out in the open. Nor am I sure what you know, and what you’re holding back from being published, so dropping hints was the tactic… Anyway, I agree. Reaching out in private.
February 19th, 2015 at 2:47 pm
Ken,
As one of the larger vendors in Colorado, we wholeheartedly support the direction MOST is going. I also believe the majority of the other vendors also support the direction MOST is going. I have only heard of 2 companies opposing.
I would love to talk to you more if you are interested.
February 24th, 2015 at 10:34 am
Dave I’d love to get together with you and talk about all of this. Lately I’ve been finding that much of what I have known has been pretty one-sided and I’m very interested in broadening my perspective.