Is CMRA ready for the DPS OFFICE to regulate the racers

[Steve McNamara]

The CMRA was given an exemption from having to be certified in the eyes of DPS. The licensing school does not teach riding skills. It teaches procedures. The DPS has been asking providers for years to comply with this law. Enforcement awareness started at the end of 2011. Enforcement started in 2012.

[Nancy Selleck]

MacMan, thanks very much for the clarification.

[Dennis King]

What law covers this and where is it stated? (section, chapter, article, or whatever)

[David Kessler]

The nature of government agencies is to spread and grow, it's how they justify their existence. To me it's a matter of freedom. Government has way overextended and intruded into our personal lives and property. Little things become big things. My preference is, tell them to hit the road Jack

[Brandt Dillon]

The CMRA was given an exemption from having to be certified in the eyes of DPS. The licensing school does not teach riding skills. It teaches procedures.

Yes. Thanks for clarifying that, Steve.

As a matter of fact, DPS certified instructors was one of the requirements to be a CMRA License School provider this year. Thhe License School Provider information is on the Forms Page of our website here: http://www.cmraracing.com/pdf/2012/F...0Agreement.pdf.

Then the CMRA class instructors don't need to be certified, only the school.

[Jim Dugger]

My preference is, tell them to hit the road Jack

... and they will shut you down, using your own money to prosecute you. I've dealt enough with the state when I was in the right (and had it cost thousands to get resolution in my favor) to even want to remotely consider testing something this close to the edge.

All of the track day organizations are dealing with a law written at a time when the track day business didn't exist like it does now and motorcycle training was mostly teaching people street riding skills as part of an MSF course.

The only real solution is a legislative action, unless someone can talk Governor Parry into an executive order not to enforce the law. We are such a tiny community it's probably not worth his time since there's a "reasonable" workaround.

Sec. 662.006. UNAUTHORIZED TRAINING PROHIBITED. A person may not offer training in motorcycle operation for a consideration unless the person is licensed by or contracts with the designated state agency. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.u...htm/TN.662.htm

[Jim Dugger]

Everyone,

Go find out your state representatives:

http://www.house.state.tx.us/resourc...tions/#who_rep

WRITE THEM A LETTER OR CALL THEM.

[Dennis King]

Everyone,

Go find out your state representatives:

http://www.house.state.tx.us/resourc...tions/#who_rep

WRITE THEM A LETTER OR CALL THEM.

Already done that.

[Peyton Inge]

The CMRA was given an exemption from having to be certified in the eyes of DPS.

I would hope so! Licensing instruction is done by LSTD folks on Friday, right? DPS doesn't claim that the rules apply to track days or races, they only claim you can't charge for "instruction." For example, Ride Smart doesn't charge for its L1/2 classes - they're free and DPS can't do a damn thing about it.

Now, as will become painfully obvious a few months from now, DPS' authority to require a race school instructor, much less a track day instructor, to be certified before he charges for that instruction is exactly zero. Even if you decide to ignore the Code's "member" distinction, which LSTD, the CMRA, Fastline, and Ride Smart all did, the Code was drafted to ensure that road going motorcyclists were properly prepared to ride the streets - not race in a controlled environment.

But who cares about a little extra DPS oversight. Its not like DPS is gonna require you to record crashes on a daily basis and use that info down the road to determine if you or a location is safe enough to be to be qualify as an instructor... Right?

[Brandt Dillon]

I just wanted to thank Peyton Inge for actually doing something about all this BS. Peyton, single handedly, accomplished what all that "working closely with the DPS" and turning folks in couldn't accomplish. It kind of makes me wonder if those folks "working closely with the DPS" really cared about the motorcycle community or only cared about what they thought was best for their pocketbooks.

So, BoD, you DON'T need to be certified by the DPS to teach the CMRA class. Not because you teach procedures and policies but because nothing you teach applies to public highways, it's not advertised to teach public roadway skills and of course race bikes aren't street legal.

Does the CMRA have legal counsel readily available? I'm just curious where the club gets its interpretations of the law from.