May 2009
The number of motorcycle riders (operators) who did not have a valid license and were involved in a fatal crash has increased by 89.6 percent over the past decade, from 665 in 1998 to 1,261 in 2007. In 2007, one out of four motorcycle operators (25%) involved in fatal crashes were riding their motorcycle with invalid licenses at the time of the crash, while only 13 percent of drivers of passenger vehicles in fatal crashes did not have valid licenses. In response to this increasing trend, NHTSA entered into a cooperative agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to examine the issue of motorcycle operator licensing and provide guidance to jurisdictional driver license agencies on the elements of a complete licensing system for motorcycle operators. The result of this collaboration is the development of the Guidelines for Motorcycle Operator Licensing, which is a combination and update of two previously published motorcycle operator licensing guideline documents, the Motorcycle Operator Licensing System (rev. 1997) and Integrating Motorcycle Rider Education and Licensing (1993).
This guideline document contains information on standard motorcycle operator licensing systems; motorcycle safety initiatives and strategies to increase proper licensure among motorcyclists within a jurisdiction; a model graduated driver licensing system for new-entrant riders; and motorcycle rider education waiver programs and third party testing. Also included, as appendices, is information on national data and trends associated with motorcyclist fatalities and injuries; a survey of current motorcycle and operator licensing practices by jurisdiction; an AAMVA guideline document on knowledge and skill test
development; and examples of how a few jurisdictions have integrated rider education into their driver licensing system and implemented a graduated driver licensing system for new-entrant motorcyclists. No. of Pages 168
