DOT HS 809 980

1.2 Operator Licensing

Effectiveness: Uncertain

Use: High

Cost: Low

Time: Medium

All 50 States and the District of Columbia require motorcyclists to obtain a motorcycle operator license or endorsement before they ride on public highways. The goal of licensing is to assure that motorcyclists have the minimum skills needed to operate a motorcycle safely (NHTSA, 2000a, Licensing).

Operator licensing faces three issues.

Many motorcyclists are not properly licensed. In 2003, 25 percent of motorcyclists involved in fatal crashes did not have a valid motorcycle license, compared to 12 percent of drivers of other vehicles who were not properly licensed (NHTSA, 2005a, Tables 65 and 91). Many of these motorcyclists did have a driver's license but not a separate motorcycle license or endorsement (NHTSA, 2005a, Table 91). Barriers to obtaining a motorcycle license include limited and inconvenient licensing examination hours, which sometimes require appointments weeks or months in advance, and licensing systems in some States that provide no incentive to become fully licensed because learner's permits may be renewed indefinitely (NCHRP, under review, Strategy D3).
State motorcycle licensing practices vary substantially. Most States have a learner's permit requiring only vision and knowledge tests. Motorcyclists with a learner's permit can ride only in restricted circumstances, typically some combination of no passengers, only during daylight hours, and only with the supervision of a fully licensed motorcyclist. A skills test is required for full licensure. Two-thirds of the States use one of three tests developed by the MSF and AAMVA, while one-third use their own tests. Most States will waive the skills test, and sometimes the knowledge test, for motorcyclists who have completed an approved training course. See Baer et al. (2005) for a summary of each State's licensing requirements and procedures and NCHRP (under review, Strategy D1) for brief summaries of the major skills tests currently in use.
The goal of motorcycle operator licensing is to assure that motorcyclists have basic riding skills, but its effectiveness is not known. This is perhaps not surprising given the variability of licensing tests and procedures. The National Agenda recommends research to "ensure that licensing tests measure skills and behaviors required for crash avoidance" (NHTSA, 2000a, Licensing). NCHRP (under review, Strategy D3) notes that there are no evaluations of whether increasing the proportion of motorcyclists who are validly licensed would reduce motorcycle crashes or injuries.

NHTSA has reviewed and summarized each State's motorcycle education and licensing programs and practices (Baer et al., 2005). A second report, Promising Practices in Motorcycle Rider Education and Licensing , was published in September 2005. It describes effective training and licensing programs and actions to promote training and licensing. Also, in 2005 NHTSA and MSF are scheduled to begin a study of the effectiveness of motorcycle operator education and training in developing crash avoidance skills.

As with motorcyclist education and training, NHTSA and motorcycle organizations must take the lead in establishing model motorcycle operator licensing and testing requirements, demonstrating that these requirements measure the essential knowledge and skills needed for safe riding, and evaluating their effects on motorcycle crashes and injuries. In the meantime, States should do their best to encourage all motorcyclists to be validly licensed. The National Agenda (NHTSA, 2000a, Licensing) and NCHRP (under review, Strategy D3) recommend that States:

provide enough convenient testing times and locations to accommodate the demand, for example by offering testing during evening hours;
waive skills and knowledge tests for graduates of approved education and training courses;
actively enforce motorcycle operator licensing requirements; and
promote motorcyclist licensing.

NCHRP (under review, Strategy D3) describes how Maryland and Minnesota used some of these strategies to increase proper licensing for motorcyclists. Maryland used the additional strategy of comparing their vehicle registration and driver licensing files. A letter was sent to each owner of a registered motorcycle who did not have a motorcycle operator's license. This quick and inexpensive strategy caused 1,700 owners to become licensed within four months.

Use: All States require motorcyclists to obtain a motorcycle license or endorsement to ride on public highways.

Effectiveness: The effectiveness of current licensing and testing has not been evaluated.

Costs: Most States charge a small fee for the motorcycle licensing tests (MSF, 2002). The costs of changing the licensing tests and procedures depend on the extent of changes and the amount of retraining needed for licensing examiners.

Time to implement: New licensing tests and procedures likely would require 6 to 12 months to implement.

Other issues:

Graduated licensing: Most States employ graduated driver licensing for beginning automobile drivers. Under GDL, new drivers must pass through learner's permit and provisional license stages before becoming fully licensed. A learner's permit allows driving only while supervised by a fully licensed driver and a provisional license allows unsupervised driving under certain conditions, such as limiting the number of passengers and prohibiting driving at night. Many States place restrictions similar to these on motorcyclists with a learner's permit or younger than a specified age (MSF, 2002). Mayhew and Simpson (2001) describe motorcyclist GDL programs in California , Maryland , and South Dakota . Baer et al. (2005, p. 24) report that seven States had a some form of graduated licensing in 2001 and five restricted motorcyclists in some age groups to motorcycles of certain sizes. GDL programs for automobile drivers are proven to be effective in reducing crashes (Hedlund, Shults, and Compton, 2003; Hedlund and Compton, 2004, 2005). Evaluations in New Zealand and evidence from Quebec suggest that they may do the same for motorcyclists (Mayhew and Simpson, 2001).