Tennessee
Effective date of original law:
July 1, 1988
Ultimate Program Responsibility
Tennessee Department of Safety
1150 Foster Avenue
Nashville, TN 37249
Day-to-Day Administration
Tom Guerrant, State Coordinator
Department of Safety
Tennessee Highway Patrol
Motorcycle Rider Education Program
Tennessee Highway Patrol Training Center
275 Stewart’s Ferry Pike
Nashville, TN 37214
Phone: 615-741-3073 x114
Fax: 615-532-3606
E-mail: tom.guerrant@state.tn.us |
Program Administration
Legislative Provisions
- Source of funding: Motorcycle registration ($2) and license and permit fees ($1)
- Stipulated use of funds: To administer only expenses of motorcycle rider education program and to reimburse organizations with course sites
Relationship Among Various Programs
- Currently, the rider education program is working with the licensing agency to upgrade the motorcycle licensing system.
Collection of Rider Training and Licensing Data
- Agency responsible for collecting rider training data:
Motorcycle Rider Education Program
- Agency responsible for collecting licensing data:
Driver License Issuance Division
- Data available in electronic format: Yes, training data
- Link between crash, licensing, and rider education data: None currently, but data will be available with the new crash reporting system.
|
Rider Education
Training Delivery
- Months of instruction: March through December
- Number of instruction sites: 16
- Types of providers: Universities, community colleges, private contractors, vocational technical schools, high schools, and Rider’s Edge
Operations and Participant Characteristics
- Courses offered: 396
- Students enrolled: 4,066
- No-shows or registration refunds: 0
- Time until course reaches capacity: N/A
- Average waiting period to take course: 2 weeks
- Students on waiting list: 0
Program Funding and Expenditures
- Annual budget: $158,800
- Source of Federal funds: None
- Average cost to State to educate rider: $39.06
- Course tuition charged to novice rider: $150
- Course tuition charged to experienced rider: $75
- Special fees in addition to course fees: Some colleges charge for the insurance.
Curriculum
- Approved curricula: MRC:RSS,
BRC, and ERC
- Advisory committee: Five-member advisory committee with members appointed by the Governor and commissioner. Members serve a
3-year term.
- Curricula approved by: Commissioner of Safety with recommendation from advisory committee and State coordinator
- Process to modify curricula: N/A
- Data collected for modifications: N/A
- Description of validation of modifications: N/A
|
|
Instructor Selection, Training, and Evaluation
- State certification or approval is required for Instructors and Chief Instructors. The Department of Safety prescribes Instructor qualifications.
- Annual Instructor updates. Chiefs/RiderCoach Trainers, program staff, and State coordinators monitor Instructors 2–3 times a year. Use of Quality Assurance Assessments is provided to the Site Coordinator for corrections.
- A mentorship requirement exists as directed by the site coordinator.
Profile of Instructors
- Certified Instructors/RiderCoaches: 139
- Chief Instructors/RiderCoach Trainers: 6
- Instructor candidates in 2001: 73
- Percentage of successful Instructor candidates: 84%
- Instructor demographics: 86% male, 14% female
- Reciprocity for Instructors trained in other States: N/A
Quality Control Procedures
- Quality control measures are in the form of site quality assurance visits and assessment by Chief Instructors and the State coordinator.
- The State coordinator is responsible for quality control.
- A minimum of three quality assurance reports are done at each training site; more are done
if required.
Program Evaluation
- The program coordinator conducts an annual program evaluation using the quality assurance assessments and personal site evaluations.
- All the Chief Instructors and the State coordinator individually evaluate each training site. All involved individuals meet to discuss and determine appropriate actions to ensure standards are achieved and maintained.
- During the annual update with site coordinators, the recommended program improvements are discussed and implemented.
Special features of rider education and/or licensing program
- State offers point reductions for riders who have successfully completed a rider
education course.
|
Licensing Requirements
Permit
- $6.50 permit issuance fee
- Successful completion of vision test
- Successful completion of knowledge test
- Successful completion of skill test
- Valid for 1 year
- One renewal permitted or valid until individual reaches 16.
License
- $20.50 license endorsement fee
- Rider must be 16 with or without the successful completion of a rider education course.
- Motorcycle license must be renewed every 3–7 years. State is in transition to a 5-year license. Renewals last until the next birthday divisible by 5.
|
Operator Licensing
Testing and Training Responsibilities
- Testing agency: Department of Safety
- Third-party testing: Yes
- Agency responsible for training examiners: Currently the Director of License Issuance. The Motorcycle Rider Education Program is preparing to assume this responsibility.
Knowledge and Skills Tests Used
- Primary knowledge test used: Modified MSF
- Skills test used: Local on-street
Incentives
- Rider education waiver: Skills and knowledge
- Reciprocity for rider education completed in
another State: Yes
- Reciprocal license waivers: Yes
Operator and Vehicle Characteristics
- Motorcycle operators licensed: 214,473
- Registered motorcycles: 81,746
- New motorcycle licenses/endorsements issued in
2001: N/A
- Operators licensed through rider education in 2001: 3624
- Operators licensed without rider education: N/A
- Operators without license or proper endorsement: 64,342
Motorcyclist Licensing System
- Graduated licensing: None
- Tiered licensing: None
Public Information and Education
- Operator’s manual used: Motorcycle Operator’s Manual
- Annual budget for public information and education: None
|
|
