How To Obtain a Motorcycle License in Holland

[SirSeanSean]

Texas is a helmet required state. A person may ride without a helmet if he/she pass the MSF course.

So..... what was one of the first things they teach you in the MSF course? 

[DWR577]

Imagine if Canada and the US had the autobahn.

The autobahn is a four lane highway.  If you've driven on any us interstate highway you've drove on a road exactly like the autobahn.  The only difference, there is a recommended maximum speed limit of 130 kph on the autobahn.  You can legally drive faster but it is "at your own risk".

In my mind, it's the "You can legally drive faster" part that makes the autobahn the autobahn, not the fact that it's four lanes. Well, that, and the fact that German drivers actually live by the "slower traffic keep right" rule.

Yeppers... keep your eye on the mirrors when you're in the left lane.  That little dot you see way behind you becomes a big vehicle really quick.

[jerjohn]

Texas is a helmet required state. A person may ride without a helmet if he/she pass the MSF course.

So..... what was one of the first things they teach you in the MSF course?  

Yea I know. The instructer was hesitant to mention that the certificate that allows for lower insurance doubles as the helmet pass. Go figure.
You can also nix the helmet if you are able to provide the the DPS proof of healthcare coverage in some amount, not sure what the amount is but I wanna say it was something like 10,000.00. I didnt really concern myself with this info since I always wear a helmet.

Edit: I just looked it up. The exemptions were repealed in 2009.

Bicycle helmets required? Not that I have heard of.

[Mad_Marv]

During my visit to Chicago, I noticed that almost no motorcyclists wore a helmet.
But all cyclists did....

Can someone explain to me why the hell this is how it is?

My European mind just can't understand this 

[Laminar]

Different cultures. No one bicycles because it makes you badass and independent.

[Mad_Marv]

  I have passed my Vehicle-Control exam! (as shown in first post)

My traffic participation exam will be in 2 weeks!

 

[Burgi]

Congrats Marv! 

[Mad_Marv]

Had my first "on the road" lesson today....
There was a lot to learn!

For starters: When you want to go left on an intersection. follow these steps:
Look into:
1 Right mirror
2 scan environment
3 Left mirror
4 Dead corner
5 All clear? Aply left blinker
6 check mirror
7 Brake and choose right gear
8 scan intersection
9 choose line

You get the idea right? well...  

Second: my lines aren't correct...
I tend to stear to abrupt.
I tend to brake to late.

So... I'm having fun...  but it all needs to go more fluently

[n5tbu]

If an auto license is as hard to get there....I would feel really safe on your roads!!!

[Mad_Marv]

Yes, all licenses are hard to get.
But that's a good thing, keeps the morons off the street :)
Make one mistake and you fail your exam.

But on the other hand... It's expensive as well.
If all goes right I'll have to pay about $1800,- for all lessons and exams in total....

[Mad_Marv]

BTW I changed the pictures in the first post.
Now with measurements so you guys can copy and practice 

 

[Bumblebee]

That wouldn't have happened if they where taught to drive properly

In the US, being taught at all is a big assumption. You can often take the test with no training at all.

Colorado:
No beginners permit required if 18 or older. No rider training required at all. No helmet or crash gear required.
Take a 20 question written test. (idiot simple check the box kind of thing)
Driving test: Do a U turn and stop in a huge box. Weave 6 or 7 cones. Do an emergency stop from 10mph. Feet off the ground while moving - I think you were supposed to keep your feet on the pegs but the DMV guy said as long as they don't touch the ground, it's a pass situation. Three attempts are allowed for each maneuver before a fail situation. All this can be done in 1st gear with minimal slipping the clutch.
Done. That's it. Now you are fully licensed to ride anything of any size under any conditions day or night on any road you want with passengers.

I walked in and took the written and practical test cold one day with no preparation or learner permit. I rode off and on since I was a kid so I knew how to ride though the state didn't know that.
The hardest part of the whole thing was the bureaucratic process that takes 7 hours of patience sitting in a chair or wandering around circles aimlessly bored out of your mind while waiting for your name to be called without throwing things and screaming at someone to just get it done and overwith. The paperwork and ride test part took about 30 minutes total.

[Mad_Marv]

If it is as easy as Bumblebee describes, I would have had my license already!!! 

[Bumblebee]

If it is as easy as Bumblebee describes, I would have had my license already!!!

You and everyone else. It's seriously that easy here. That's likely why so many riders can go fast in a straight line yet not maneuver to a reasonable skill level. A zero motorcycle experience person with a little coordination that can ride a bicycle can pass the test I was given in under a week of puttering around a parking lot. That afternoon they would then be legal to ride a 100hp superbike on any road anywhere at night in rain carrying a passenger at any legal speed through mountain twisties. Legal, completely yes; smart, absolutely not; safe, not even remotely a chance.

Honestly I don't see how the system that is in place here can remotely believe that the lame test for cages or motorcycles is any indication of skill to a point that the rider is allowed out on the roads where they are a threat to the population in general on a 500lb marginally guided missile.