CONREP Asks About Instructor’s Side Classes

An ad for “private motorcycle riding instruction” now posted on Craigslist in Connecticut initially raised eyebrows at the state CONREP headquarters because the man offering the lessons is an actual CONREP instructor, who is providing the lessons on the side. The ad by Howard Fuller of Farmington, CT targets “those wanting to learn to SAFELY ride street motorcycles” and declares that private instruction “is a great way to prepare for the MANDATORY Rider Education Course for those seeking to obtain a CT Motorcycle License.”

The ad prompted the head of the Connecticut Rider Education Program, Nicholas Just, to talk with Fuller after learning of the ad.  “We spoke with him and he’s just giving lessons on his own, on his own bike – no affiliation (with CONREP),” Just reported. The ad doesn’t state this fact but does state, “Use your own bike, or rent mine!” It later adds, “It is also a great way for beginners to practice & build on safety skills.”

When RIDE-CT and RIDE-NewEngland spied the ad, the first thought was that Fuller was somehow trying to compete with his part-time employer. However, unlike with CONREP’s Basic Rider Course, students finishing Fuller’s classes won’t get a rider an “M” endorsement on his or her driver’s license. The only way to obtain that needed certification to be able to ride on the street is to pass the state-run course.

Said Just, “What he offers is his perceived knowledge to better ride a motorcycle. As long as he’s not soliciting (CONREP) students while he’s teaching the students, we’re OK with that.”

The ad contains a picture showing an instructor (not Fuller) talking with a pupil. It also shows students riding motorcycles on a range. (The above and below pictures are of an actual CONREP class at Tunxis Communty College in Farmington, CT last year.) One additional picture in the ad shows the Motorcycle Safety Foundation logo. Fuller is MSF-certified.

“What I offer has nothing to do with CONREP. I don’t bite the hand that feeds me. What we do (in CONREP) is very meaningful,”Fuller  said Friday afternoon. But there are often students who need “additional help in their skills. People really enjoy the one-on-one things that I’m doing.” His goal, he said, is “make riding a little safer and more pleasurable.”

Meanwhile, CONREP classes for this year have already begun. In 2013, CONREP ran a total of 561 courses and enrolled 5,622 students. However, only 96 of them took the Advanced Rider Course or the Experienced Rider Course, despite the fact that even an experienced rider can learn a lot by taking the refresher classes. A good time to do so is when a rider gets a new motorcycle as the ARC and ERC offer a safe environment to get used to the new bike. For more info, visit CONREP’s website.

Bottom line: When I first saw the ad, I wondered immediately what CONREP’s reaction would be; that’s why an inquiry was made. Having been a “newbie” myself 10 years ago, I could have used some additional instruction. I may have completed the Basic Rider Course, but I still didn’t feel fully confident to hit the road. Some private tutoring would have been helpful.

– By Bud Wilkinson