Harper College Motorcycle Safety Program

05/18/2022 UPDATE - Harper College Motorcycle Safety Classes to Discontinue after June 30, 2022

Harper College has made the difficult decision to stop offering Motorcycle Safety classes at all training sites as of June 30. The college has been unable to secure the level of insurance necessary to continue offering these classes. This will affect training at the following locations:

  • Bridgeview
  • Chicago Heights
  • Cicero
  • Crestwood
  • Elgin
  • Freeport
  • Grayslake
  • Lake Villa
  • Palatine
  • Rockford North
  • Rockford South

While we are actively engaging with our elected officials to identify a long-term solution to the issue, currently we have examined all available options and determined the liability and associated risks outweigh the available insurance coverage.

The program will operate normally until the final classes take place June 30. Staff will continue to process course paperwork so that every student who successfully completes a class receives a completion card. These cards will be honored by the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.

Harper College and the Illinois Department of Transportation hold the highest regard for the Motorcycle Safety Program staff, RiderCoaches and aides, and the work they have done on behalf of students, our community, and our state.

We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please contact motorcycles@harpercollege.edu if you have questions. You may also explore options for safety classes in other parts of Illinois by visiting IDOT’s Cycle Rider Safety Training Program.

 

05/18/2022 Update - A very limited number of new course sections may be opened for registration as they become fully staffed.  Additionally, people do withdraw from their course on occasion and the seat will become immediately available for another person to register for. The quickest way to find an open spot is to use the "Search for Courses" function in the top navigation bar and enter "motorcycle" in the search box. Any course with at least one open seat will be returned as a search result (if no results are returned that means everything is registered full).

 

05/23/2022 Update - We will, unfortunately, not be conducting 3-Wheel Basic RiderCourses this year.

 

Almost all answers to your questions can be found on this website, or on this Fact Sheet.

Vaccine Mandate

Per the State of Illinois mandate, all students taking on-campus and all motorcycle students, as well as all employees, will be required to have the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccination series or a single-dose vaccination by Sunday, September 19, 2021. Second doses of the vaccine must be received within 30 days after the first dose. The mandate also states that anyone who is “unable or unwilling” to receive the vaccine will be required to get tested for COVID-19 at least weekly. View Vaccine/Testing Mandate – Student FAQs and additional CE Student FAQ.

 

At-home test results or antibody tests are not accepted. Test results must include your name, the date of the test and the test result. Walgreens also provides free testing (including rapid diagnostic tests, PCR diagnostic lab tests and rapid antigen tests) at many of its locations.

All Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Cycle Rider Safety Training Program (CRSTP) courses for the Northern Illinois region (see state regional center map here) are administered by Harper College. Aside from a refundable $20 deposit, there is no additional fee for any of our courses.

Courses are held at multiple locations throughout northern Illinois. Find the most convenient training site for you on the map near the bottom of this page and follow the enrollment instructions. Each training site offers the Basic Rider Course (BRC). In addition, some sites offer the Basic RiderCourse2 (BRC2), and Advanced RiderCourse (ARC).

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • You must be at least 16 years of age at the time of your first course session.
  • You must be an Illinois resident.
  • You must have a valid automobile learner's permit or full driver's license.
    • You will not be allowed into class without one of those documents. A photo is not acceptable, you must have a physical driver's license with you.
    • Non-Illinois driver's licenses are acceptable.
    • A motorcycle learner's permit is not required to take one of our courses.
  • You must be on time for all course sessions including the first one.
  • Motorcycles are provided for BRC and BRC2.

Completion Card Information

Course completion cards can take up to four weeks to process and mail out and are valid as a testing waiver with the Illinois Secretary of State's office for up to one year from the original date of issue (last day of your class). Course completion cards are not a license to ride, you must go to your local Secretary of State's office to have the motorcycle classification added to your driver's license.

Please see this document (updated 06/21/22) for completion card mailing date information.

COURSE WAIVERS:

Please view each of the waivers you will be required to sign in order to participate in any Harper College administered RiderCourse. The waivers will be signed during the first course session. If you are a minor, 16 or 17 years of age, the IDOT and MSF RiderCourse waivers must be signed by a parent or legal guardian in the precense of a course instructor, or they must be notarized if a parent or guardian cannot be present at the first course session.

REQUIRED RIDING GEAR

All students must comply with the Required Riding Gear requirements and will also be required to wear a mask while inside any building or classroom trailer. If you are fully vaccinated a mask is not required outdoors unless social distancing cannot be maintained. It is suggested that you bring your own 3/4 or full-face helmet if possible however, helmets will be issued, for the duration of the class, to students who do not have their own helmet.
All items are required for all on-cycle instruction and are non-negotiable. Failure to bring these items will result in your dismissal from class.
  • Helmet - a DOT certified 3/4 or full-face helmet (a 3/4 helmet will be provided if you do not have a helmet of your own, DOT half shell helmets will be allowed only in the Advanced RiderCourse)
    • We recommend bringing a bandana or some other thin fabric head covering to wear if you borrow a program helmet
  • Protective eyewear - prescription or sunglasses, goggles, face shield
  • Long sleeve jacket or shirt - no holes
  • Long pants - denim or other sturdy material (no sweat pants, no yoga pants, no hospital scrubs, no holes)
  • Full-fingered gloves - leather preferred
  • Over-the-ankle footwear - sturdy material (not cloth), must completely cover ankle
Please see this document for examples of acceptable and unacceptable riding gear.

TRAINING SITE LOCATION MAP

  • Each training site location is marked with a motorcycle map marker.
  • The markers are placed either at the building entrance closest to the classroom or where the class meets on the first day.
  • Classroom locations, as well as a campus map (if available), can be found by clicking the marker at the location where you wish to take your RiderCourse.
  • Classrooms may change due to changes in the needs of our training site partners, this is particularly true for classes taking place at our Palatine location.

 

REMEMBER!

  • Be on time! All classes start on time. If you are late, even if you are a registered student, you can be turned away. Don't be left out.

  • Refund requests: When you complete your class, you may request a refund of your $20 deposit or you may choose to forfeit your deposit and help make it possible for the program to improve or purchase new equipment. Click THIS link to submit a refund request form.

For best results when registering for a course, please use a desktop or laptop computer when you register. Some people have had issues when trying to register using a mobile device.

ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTIONS

All course registration is done online. If you call our office to register, you will be redirected back here.

  • Get ready: Select and left-click a location from the list under Courses near the bottom of this page. You will see brief descriptions of which course types are offered at that site. Click on the course type you want.
  • Get set: Review the dates and times of the sections that are available and select a section. If no sections are currently available, check back for updates using the “Search for Courses” function at the top of most webpages. Requesting to be notified when the next section opens may result in missing out on registering for a course due to the timing of when the system sends those notifications.
  • Go: Follow the steps to create an account, enroll, and pay the refundable $20 registration fee with your credit/debit card. That's it!

A transaction receipt and acknowledgment of your enrollment will be sent to the email address you provide when creating your account. Be sure to check your spam folder if you do not see those emails.

For best results when registering for a course, please use a desktop or laptop computer when you register. Some people, particularly those on Apple devices, have had issues when trying to register using a mobile device. Please check THIS link for instructions on how to allow/block pop-ups in Safari.

Courses

Freeport
Palatine
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