British Columbia new bike laws today

http://www.globaltvb...1438/story.html


Beenies are gone :)

Lane splitting not in but was discussed

I'm pretty alright with those changes.

No-brainer.
Pun intended.

So how does the graduated licensing system work?

This is the part I do no like...... "The province will also introduce a graduated licensing program for motorcycle riders that includes power restrictions". If any Province wants to do that to bikes, why not introduce into the vehicle side as well? The same person who can go buy a CBR1000 can go buy a vette with no prior experience and still wrap either machine around a pole on a Friday night. If its a CBR250, CBR600, CBR1000 or a chevette or a corvette, the individual behind the "wheel" will determine the outcome of their ridding style.

Gerrys02800, on 30 April 2012 - 07:33 PM, said:

This is the part I do no like...... "The province will also introduce a graduated licensing program for motorcycle riders that includes power restrictions". If any Province wants to do that to bikes, why not introduce into the vehicle side as well? The same person who can go buy a CBR1000 can go buy a vette with no prior experience and still wrap either machine around a pole on a Friday night. If its a CBR250, CBR600, CBR1000 or a chevette or a corvette, the individual behind the "wheel" will determine the outcome of their ridding style.
This is a mc orientated answer because we(MC's) are on the leading edge of "lets see if we can push this though on a smaller group, and if it makes it we can use this as a precedent to do the same thing on a larger more resistant group, such as cars.

fast bikes are far more easily obtainable than fast cars. But you can still take your ford focus over 100mph anyways, just takes a while to get there.

I'd like to see those here in Ontario.

I bet they limit new riders to under 100hp,

I have no problems with these laws but the implementation of the graduated licencing and power restrictions will be interesting. Whenever someone asks for newbie advice here the overwhelming advice is to start with a small displacement bike. So that's likely the approach the government will take.

It would be great to have money dedicated for affordable rider training. I heard on a Pace podcast that BRC training was like 75 bucks. A rider course in BC is at least $500. I think that's money worth spending but for a lot of people it's a big deterrent so they'll learn on their own.

And the old helmet law was unworkable because it named specific helmets as acceptable, not a standard. Of course those helmets no longer were available so basically everything is illegal, even your thousand dollar Arai with DOT and Snell certification.

But for the record, I'm glad to be an old fart who got his drivers licence 3 weeks after my 16th birthday back in the day.

I too have no issue with these changes.  I did chuckle a little at the thought of my old high school friend with his V-star 1600 cruiser--he was quite proud of his beanie helmet.  Now he's going to have to buy a real one.  I went on an overnight ride with him a few years back, me in a full-face HJC, him in his beanie.  After a nice day in the sun and about 500 miles, we found a motel for the night.  The first thing he did was head to the sink, take the white facecloth, and wash his face.  The facecloth was black!  I never realized how much (otherwise invisible) road grime a 'proper' helmet protects you from (let alone the crash safety, bugs, rocks, etc.)
As for graduated licensing, we've had it since 2006 for cars.  Sixteen-year-olds have to go through 'L' (Learner) with a lot of restrictions on when and with whom they can drive, and 'N' (New) with fewer restrictions, until they earn their full license.  It takes about three years, though many stay at 'N' for years and live with the restrictions. This has reduced road fatalities significantly in B.C.--I believe I read recently by almost 30 percent.
I think this is a good thing for bikes too.  If younger riders start with a smaller displacement bike, take lessons and are required to stay on the smaller bikes for a couple of years I have no doubt that it will weed out squids and result in fewer fatalities, better riders and safer roads.
Full disclosure: My first street bike was a 650, but I had spent several years on small displacement dirt bikes--and I took a road safety course before driving in city traffic. (I grew up in the country and moved to the city to attend university.)

Too bad that its takes legislation to attempt to correct stupidity. Education trumps legislation and experience and education beats all.

ATGATT, and an attitude to live long and ride far will always triumph over live reckless and go out in a flash.

So ... if legislation demands a higher level of pre license training/education for wanna be riders, it may be the ticket to get newbies in line to live long enough to gain experience.