The founder was a Navy pilot for 25 years and currently flies for an airline. Over time, he discovered there lies a parallel between motorcycle and airplane operation. He adapted his experience and developed a program to train motorcyclists. The following narrative by the founder illustrates his ideas:
The training Countersteer is planning to offer is based on processes incorporated in military and civilian flight training to produce a proficient, safe and capable pilot. We’ll also bring in a good bit of the training motorcycle police use to get their job done too. Motorcycle handling and the machine’s limits will be explored in detail and related to street riding for each student.
To be proficient, a pilot must develop a unique skill set based on muscle memory to make an aircraft perform. During basic flight training, students are taught to explore the limits of the aircraft by performing maneuvers — like landing, simulating engine failures, entering and recovering from stalls and flying aerobatic maneuvers. Progressing from simple to complex, students are evaluated and instructed along the way by seasoned pilots. Throughout the training students are constantly supervised and pushed toward comprehension of risk management. Even before they begin to fly they are taught in ground school what to expect and how their bodies perform in the new and demanding environment. All this input provides the student with a “sight picture” that allows them to recognize deviations from a standard of performance known to be safe and conservative. The most successful students pick up on change early and correct before it’s too late.
After initial training the pilot moves on to fly the aircraft he or she will operate in the real world, developing more Situational Awareness (SA). It’s critically important that the first 1000 hours come quickly. The muscle memory and sight picture gained during this initial experience is essential for long-term success. Flying regularly makes the skills stick, however, time away from the cockpit makes it harder to naturally adapt.
Once new pilots have the first 1000 hours behind them, they are filled with a false sense of confidence and are the most dangerous they will ever be. New pilots have yet to accumulate enough experience and maturity to safely deal with adversity. That’s why they fly with other pilots to help them move forward safely and gain a level of SA they rely on to keep themselves safe.
As motorcycle operators, and any equipment operators for that matter, we have the same requirements. Keen SA and handling skills keep us safe on the road.
So why doesn’t society consider an approach like this to motorcycle training?
It’s my opinion that our culture is so “car centric” that we don’t cultivate a learning environment to teach new drivers to approach driving with enough care, respect and caution. Right now, we just want to get out there and drive. It’s our freedom, our right. We need it. Society does a fair job governing training and licensing, there are learner’s permits and a driver’s test, but no real structured programs that teach SA and Risk Mitigation. For the motorcyclist, that’s where Countersteer comes in. By applying what we’ve learned from military and civilian aviation training and law enforcement training experience, we can produce more situationally aware, safer riders and drivers.
Sure, basic motorcycle instruction provided by schools that use the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s proven methods of instruction do a great job to a point. However, since motorcycles are largely single operator transportation devices, the supervised operation car drivers get is just not available. An experienced car driver, much like the experienced pilot, can sit in the passenger seat and communicate directly with a new driver before a situation gets ugly and recommend action. Motorcyclists don’t have that option and many times get into situations too deeply to recover. Results are generally not good.
So what will we do at Countersteer? We’ll provide a rider with intensive supervision on a controlled course that looks just like the road, but is even more demanding. There will be elements of the most difficult turns you could encounter. Mid-corner suspension upset to learn what to do when the bike comes off the line you want to ride. There will be high-speed stopping areas to learn about energy management. We’ll even have a portion of the course that has an LED grid to simulate obstacles in the roadway.
By combining all this in one course, we can accelerate the learning curve through close, direct instruction. We’ll then recommend the rider comes back for a refresher once a year or as often as he or she wants to return.