Dear Editor,

People often say that motorcycles are more dangerous than cars and promote reckless driving. So you might assume, therefore, that a motorcycle permit should be harder to acquire than a permit for driving cars, right? Driving motorcycles is dangerous, and people who ride motorcycles are classified as “reckless or not good drivers”. But is that true? For all of you who said “yes,” I'm here to correct this assumption.

First, let's start with some basics: An M-class license is the permit that legally allows you to operate a motorcycle. A D-class allows you to drive and operate an automobile. Now, let's compare the process of what it takes to get your M and D class license and a permit. Everyone knows that you can start “driver's ed” at 15 and 9 months . But did you know you still can't drive until you're 16–for both a motorcycle and a car? In the state of Massachusetts, that’s the legal age you can get your permit for both a motorcycle and a car. Both M class and D class also have similar tests. For an M class license, you must pass the MREP or the motorcycle rider education program, which consists of a 25 to 30 question test, for which you have to get above a 75%, just like the automobile driving test. Both also require “driver's ed”. For both the M class and  D class licenses, you have to wait until you’re 16 1/2 to apply, and the tests both consist of a road test. This all shows that people with motorcycle licenses go through the same process as automobile drivers. This also emphasizes the point that anyone can be a bad driver; it doesn’t matter if you’re in a car or a motorcycle, anyone can get into or cause a accident and the a motorcycle rider can know road laws and how to drive better then am automatic driver.

There’s a common misconception that people who drive motorcycles have a higher tendency to crash or cause more accidents, but is that true? No. Did you know that most times in an accident between a car and a motorcycle, the car is at fault? Most of the time, from  Hardison & Cochran a law company that specializes in crashes, “70% of motorcycle accidents occur at intersections because drivers do not see the motorcycle or car drivers fail to yield the right of way to motorcycles” So since it's the same to get a motorcycle permit and license as it is to get one to drive a car pointing out that the education level is the same, and since most motorcycle crashes are likely to be the fault of other drivers are motorcycles all that bad?