SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Millions of Americans ride motorcycles. They may commute to work on a motorcycle or ride for pleasure after work and on weekends.
(b) A prominent motorcycle organization, the American Motorcycle Association, has over 215,000 members. Their members are on average 46 years of age.
(c) There are approximately 2,700 motorcycle schools across the United States recognized by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Of these, 130 are located in California, where the
Motorcycle Safety Foundation contracts with the California Highway Patrol to administer the California Motorcyclist Safety Program. The curriculum of motorcycle schools in California is typical, consisting of approximately three hours of online instruction, five hours of classroom instruction, and 10 hours of instruction on the motorcycle range. Fees for these schools range from $250 to $350, inclusive, and the failure rate is around 13 to 15 percent, inclusive.
(d) Since its inception in 1987, Motorcycle Safety Foundation-authorized schools in California have educated 900,000 Californians in motorcycle safety, including 62,000 in 2013.
(e) A rising number of older Americans have begun riding motorcycles. For instance, a 2011 Wall Street Journal article, “When Heaven Is a
Harley: The 50-plus crowd is having a belated romance with motorcycles” focuses on the increased interest in motorcycling among older Americans.
(f) According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, Californians over 50 years of age constitute 47 percent of the nearly 1.4 million Californians licensed to operate motorcycles. Nationally, the average age of motorcycle owners rose from 33 to 40 over the past 10 years.
(g) One observer of the trend toward older beginner motorcyclists has said, “A lot of them say they were just too busy with careers and kids until now, and they’ve reached a point in life where they want to try something different.”
(h) An older proponent of motorcycling has described motorcycling’s appeal as
a “really good feeling similar to downhill skiing, effortlessly moving through the fresh air.”
(i) Additionally, motorcycles are more fuel-efficient than cars and a shift to motorcycle commuting may potentially reduce traffic congestion and emissions, thereby aligning with California’s goals under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) to reduce the transportation sector’s carbon footprint.