Classes will be held rain or shine.
The minimum age is 14 years old.

To learn more about the MSF and the programs they offer, visit the following site: http://www.msf-usa.org

ATV SAFETY
A lot is written about motorcycle and ATV safety. Most articles talk about the "alarming" increase in accidents, but fail to mention the rapid growth of the sport, both on and off-road riding. Many of the alarmists call for added legislation to keep people from doing what they want to do and enjoying the sport they choose to participate in. I personally do not believe that we need another law, protecting me from myself....

HOWEVER, that being said I do believe that it is the responsibility of the rider to ride their motorcycle or ATV in a responsible manner. Riding at excessive speeds, without protective gear or stunt riding on public roads is just plain STUPID. In all cases "STUPID HURTS" but in these cases, STUPID KILLS.

The ATV manufacture and dealers do a lot to try and keep off-road riding as safe as possible. The good dealers (and most of them are) will follow the guidelines set up by the manufactures, the ATVSafety Institute and Consumer Product Safety Commission and will not sell an ATV to an individual that they know will use it incorrectly. The manufactures not only provide safety literature, videos and even games to the consumer free of charge, but also provide a safety course, and in some cases will even pay an individual to complete it - what other industry goes so far in trying to make their product safe?

At some point in time, you have to rely on the individual riding the ATV to make the right judgment and ride it in a safe manner. If the rider is too young to make that decision, it is the responsibility of the parent to make sure they do not ride an ATV that is not designed for that young of a rider. Basically, no rider under the age of 16 years should ride any ATV larger than 90cc's and no rider younger than 12 should ride any ATV larger than 50cc's.

Lets quit blaming the manufactures and dealers for the poor judgment of certain riders and parents. If you don't follow the manufactures recommendations when using an ATV - you will soon find out that STUPID HURTS!

Motorcycle /ATV Safety - Just my perspective, by Ron Bray

I continue to be amazed by the number of riders that think they do not need to take a safety-training course. As owner of Green Country Cycle City and an avid motorcyclist for over 40 years I am still amazed at the number of people that tell me they have been driving for so long - "its merely instinct now", or "I've never been in an accident that was my fault so I don't need this training" - BELIEVE ME - this is exactly the people that need this training. Many long-time riders (myself included) pick up bad habits. We don't think of them - we just instinctively do it. Courses like the one taught by the MSF catch these bad habits and correct them before something serious happens. Even more, they will likely teach you how to be a better rider as well as a safer rider and thereby make your riding experiences more enjoyable. Ever heard of counter- steering? If you have not - you need this course. If you don't use counter steering every day while riding a motorcycle - you need this course.

How many of you have heard of people (perhaps yourself) that have been involved in a motorcycle accident? How many people believe that the motorcyclist COULD NOT have avoided that accident, regardless of fault? I'm not going to say that ALL accidents involving motorcycles could have been avoided by the motorcyclist, but I will say that MOST - the vast majority, could have. As a motorcyclist you HAVE an obligation to be more aware of your surroundings. YOU HAVE TO plot strategies and anticipate what could happen in each situation. YOU MUST PRACTICE ACCIDENT AVOIDANCE - your life depends on it. Accident avoidance goes beyond defensive driving. Practicing accident avoidance means ALWAYS anticipating what could happen, and have a scenario planned to avoid it. It requires that you think about it all of the time. Your brain works at amazing speeds so don't think this will deter from your riding enjoyment. In fact, it will do just the opposite, as you will be more assured of your safety.Of course you must also avoid riding STUPID. Excessive speed, stunt riding and riding without protective gear is just plain STUPID! In most cases, STUPID HURTS but in these cases STUPID KILLS. Did you know that it will likely take you over the length of a football field for you to come to a complete controlled stop if you were travelling 80 mph? However, a more likely scenerio might be you coming to an immediate stop on the back of a vehicle. People, its just that simple, SPEED KILLS.

An example of accident avoidance is stopping at a stop sign or red light - watching your rear view mirror to ensure that the person behind you sees that you have stopped and then having a plan to get out of the way if it is evident that the person is not going to stop. Another example is assuming that the cars nearest you cannot see you and you making that extra effort to ensure that they do - then having a plan of what you are going to do if they pull out in your path.

Even more amazing is the number of people that do not take advantage of the FREE safety course for ATV's that is offered by the ATV manufactures. In many cases, they will even pay you to take it, yet over 50% of the people that are offered the course, decline the offer. For some reason or another they think they know it all and yet it is often these individuals that end up getting hurt in the off-road accidents. Even more disturbing is that parents continue to allow their children to ride off-road vehicles that are designed for older people. Children under the age of 16 years should NOT ride any ATV larger than 90cc's, yet MOST - yes, MOST parents ignore this rule. It is this age category that is involved in the most injury accidents and fatalities involving ATVs.

Green Country Cycle City fully supports the ATV manufactures, the Federal Consumer Safety Commission and the ATV Safety Institute in their quest to making ATV riding as safe as possible. After all - STUPID really HURTS.

Take a motorcycle, ATV or watercraft safety course. There are a lot of really good ones out there. Practice accident avoidance. We want to keep you around as a customer.

- Ron P. Bray

HELMETS and the Snell/DOT Standards

There are two organizations setting safety standards for motorcycle helmets in the United States: The Federal Governments Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Snell Memorial Foundation. DOT sets minimum standards that all helmets sold for motorcycling on public streets must meet. The standard is Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 (FMVSS 218) and is commonly known as the DOT standard.

The Snell Memorial Foundation is a private not-for-profit organization that sets voluntary standards for motorcycle helmets, bicycle helmets and auto racing helmets, as well as other kinds of protective headgear. Snell standards are the worlds toughest.

For more information contact the Snell Memorial Foundation at (918) 331-5073 or E-mail them at snellit@aol.com

We at Green Country Cycle City support your right as to whether or not you wear a helmet, but at the same time recommend that you do wear a helmet and other protective gear. We recommend that you NEVER wear a helmet that is not at least DOT approved - and they are out there, so beware. We further recommend that people wear helmets that are SNELL approved. All of the helmets sold at Green Country Cycle City are at least DOT approved and MOST are SNELL approved.

PERSONAL WATERCRAFT OR BOATING SAFETY:
OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY PATROL (Lake Patrol). Visit the following site: http://www.OKboatEd.com