MOTORCYCLE MOUNTIES
Annual recertification of skills
They moved slowly.
It wasn’t the speed you’d often associate with a motorcycle, but the drivers’ precision as they moved in and around dozens of bright little orange cones was too impressive to stay disappointed for long.
The slow, yet incredibly specific movements were those of the RCMP’s traffic services motorcycle members practising for their recertification Saturday afternoon.
Every year, members from all over the province go to the RCMP Depot in Regina to work on skills that may have gotten a little rusty over the winter.
“A lot of the stuff we do is slowspeed riding. You have to slow down, do a quick turn and initiate a traffic stop with a violator,” said Const. JP Martin of Lanigan traffic services. “A lot of that is focused on ... getting a quick, safe turnaround in traffic, all while maintaining control of that motorcycle.”
Martin is one of two motorcycle instructors for the Saskatchewan RCMP and was at the depot to handle the training and recertification session on Mother’s Day weekend.
All motorcycle officers have undergone at least two weeks of initial training. Martin said some go on to take advanced training and then potentially instructor training, like he did.
Officers must recertify annually. “The trickiest part is essentially bringing all the elements together, ensuring they ’re safe,” said Martin, “so looking where they want to go. If you’re going to look at a pylon, you’re going to hit a pylon.”
It also means getting familiar with the motorcycle, which Martin said is tailored to the individual rider.
“Further to that, some of the equipment that we add adds tremendous weight in excess of 150 to 200 pounds to the motorcycle,” he said. “They’ve got to be able to adjust for that and ride safely in traffic.”
There are four mandatory skills the officers have to demonstrate for their recertification.
The “intersection” skill requires the officers to ride around an intersection in a particular way without hitting any cones.
A 180-degree U-turn is done in a small box sectioned off with cones. The officer must enter the box, do a U-turn and then exit the box without hitting any cones.
An offset requires officers to weave in and out of cones in a big ‘S’ pattern.
The final skill is a slow cone weave. Martin said this is the simplest of the four. It requires the officers to move around cones, which represent a tight space with people and objects they must manoeuvre around.
Officers get four tries to complete two clean attempts. If they are unsuccessful, they must take eight hours of remedial training and try again.
“(The trickiest) of those four, it’s likely the intersection because you’ve got to tie all those elements together,” said Martin. “It’s essentially four U-turns, but with very minimal room for error.”
Martin said the advantages of using motorcycles over cars is that people don’t often see them coming or expect an officer on a motorcycle and it’s easier to manoeuvre in small spaces.
As an example, he said an officer may see someone in traffic up ahead with their head down and suspect they are using a cellphone.
“That motorcycle offers you an advantage to potentially sneak up beside, have a look at that violator, confirm that it is in fact a cellphone that they might be using. You may have to manoeuvre between a sidewalk and a vehicle to get in a little closer and have a look.”
There are nine RCMP traffic services motorcycle members. Only officers in the traffic section can apply for training. Martin said about 12 train each year with only about nine finishing successfully.
“The funnest part is they pay me to do this job,” said Martin. “I get paid to ride a motorcycle and I’m a motorcycle fan, so it’s an excellent fit for me.”