My wife got her license in Germany and from what she told me, the training is 100x’s more vigorous than the MSF training. She couldn’t believe that after taking a 2 day course that I was automatically waived from taking the road test upon successfully completing the course. As a learner, she was exposed to several conditions under supervision such as riding on the range, in the rain, on the road during the day and night. They even exposed her to highway riding, especially on the Autobahn. The MSF definitely seems to be just an intro to riding and then the rest is left up to you. I would definitely have loved to take a course like Germany’s so all these things wouldn’t be a surprise to me after taking the MSF course when I hit the road. Of course, it’s more expensive to get your license in Germany, but at the same time you can’t put a price on your, or others, safety. I’m sure the cost would be a lot less than a visit to the Emergency Department.
I honestly thought there were some students who walked away from the MSF with a passing grade when they shouldn’t have which scares me a bit. Imagine all the riders out there that learned from friends and picked up their bad habits as well. Just on my drive home the other night, I saw guy pulling a standing wheelie, going downhill, doing what it looked to be 60+MPH on a 35. A 20 year a few towns over killed himself by hitting a guardrail while stuntin’.
Maybe a limit on a bike’s displacement wouldn’t be such a great idea cause I wouldn’t be happy riding on a 125cc knowing that I would have to jump on the highway to get to work. But at least provide us with a more thorough and robust course like the one my wife took back in Germany or at least make the MSF mandatory. It obviously won’t eliminate all of the risks but at least we would have a lot more smarter riders/drivers on the road.