Safe Riding

Safe Riding: CONREP Fees Going Up, Instructors Get Raises

By Steve Smith / Changes are coming to the Connecticut Rider Education Program in spring. The powers that be held off as long as possible, but it was bound to happen. Fees for CONREP courses will increase slightly. Please don’t be a hater… The cost of almost everything has gone …

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Safe Riding: Another Season Of CONREP Instruction

NAUGATUCK, CT – Another riding season is here and, for me, another year of serving as a Connecticut Rider Education Program (CONREP) instructor. Classes started today at the site where I teach; Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, CT and 23 of the 77 of Basic Rider Course classes are …

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Safe Riding: Emergency Braking Techniques Need To Be Practiced

NAUGATUCK, CT – The subject of emergency braking came up recently in posts on motorcycle social media groups, at a club rally and while on a group ride, so perhaps a review of proper techniques is overdue. Learning, practicing and always using the correct emergency braking practices will not only …

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Safe Riding: CONREP Stressed Safety During 2020

NAUGATUCK, CT – Getting a motorcycle endorsement in Connecticut (or anywhere) is always a challenging endeavor, but never more so than in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out Connecticut Rider Education Program (CONREP) classes in the spring and forced safety-related changes for the remainder of the year at teaching sites that …

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Safe Riding: Tip For Novices – Don’t Get Complacent

By Steve Smith NAUGATUCK, CT – You’ve been riding for a while. You’re no longer a fresh-from-class “newbie,” rather a novice street rider with some actual seat time. In progressing from novice status to being an experienced rider, though, it’s easy to become complacent and to forget to apply the …

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Safe Riding: Passing BRC Doesn’t Make One Road-Ready

NAUGATUCK, CT – Riding a motorcycle isn’t for everyone. While an estimated 85 percent of students taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation-designed Basic Rider Course are successful, passing the course doesn’t make one a skilled rider or even road-ready. That only comes with seat time and a willingness to constantly work …

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Safe Riding: Quick Tips For Cold Weather Riding

NAUGATUCK, CT – The temperature change during October has some riders putting their bikes into hibernation. Then there are the motorcyclists who can’t get enough and get more riding time by extending their riding season several months or by riding all year long. For them chilly temperature is no reason to …

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Safe Riding: Becoming An Instructor

NAUGATUCK, CT – As the riding season approaches, so does the motorcycle training season, and the recent annual training session for Connecticut Rider Education Program (CONREP) instructors reminded me that I’ll soon be back in the classroom and on the training range. The day-long session brought together all of CONREP’s instructors …

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Safe Riding: Protect The Brain

NAUGATUCK, CT – Head and brain injuries are the leading cause of motorcycle fatalities, so the helmet is the most important piece of protective gear that any rider can wear to protect the brain. It’s more important than the traditional leather jacket that prevents road rash, the gloves that keep …

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