imported post
It's a good point, but I doubt you'd convert most "disbelievers". Most "disbelievers" have already been riding for some time without taking a course. Non-riders wanting to become riders are fairly easily convinced they need to take a course.
Case in point - I was diving the Florida Keys and was chatting with my assigned dive buddy. In casual conversation I found out he was not certified andhad never had a dive training class. He said, "What do I need a certification for? I've been diving since I was a kid". His training? According to him he was out on the water with his uncle. His uncle strapped a tank to him, put on goggles, fins & a weight belt and threw him in the water.:shock: The guy was a decent dive buddy, stayed with me the whole time I was down, but he must of had gills. I was running low on air about 50 minutes into the dive and let him know I needed to return to the boat. He said OK, but he was staying down. He was down for at least another 50 minutes and the dive master was getting quite worried. When he surfaced the dive master asked him if he knew anything about dive tables? He shrugged it off and said he'd been diving that way for many years. Would he have been able to handle it if there was an emergency, I don't know, but that is the issue I see with riders that have not had any formal training. If they have not practiced emergency maneuvers, then they probably won't react to an emergency in the proper fashion, and may not have the skills necessary to avoid that emergency situation in the first place. Are you going to convince someonewho's been riding for any length of time but has no formal training? Probably not. JMHO
John
It's a good point, but I doubt you'd convert most "disbelievers". Most "disbelievers" have already been riding for some time without taking a course. Non-riders wanting to become riders are fairly easily convinced they need to take a course.
Case in point - I was diving the Florida Keys and was chatting with my assigned dive buddy. In casual conversation I found out he was not certified andhad never had a dive training class. He said, "What do I need a certification for? I've been diving since I was a kid". His training? According to him he was out on the water with his uncle. His uncle strapped a tank to him, put on goggles, fins & a weight belt and threw him in the water.:shock: The guy was a decent dive buddy, stayed with me the whole time I was down, but he must of had gills. I was running low on air about 50 minutes into the dive and let him know I needed to return to the boat. He said OK, but he was staying down. He was down for at least another 50 minutes and the dive master was getting quite worried. When he surfaced the dive master asked him if he knew anything about dive tables? He shrugged it off and said he'd been diving that way for many years. Would he have been able to handle it if there was an emergency, I don't know, but that is the issue I see with riders that have not had any formal training. If they have not practiced emergency maneuvers, then they probably won't react to an emergency in the proper fashion, and may not have the skills necessary to avoid that emergency situation in the first place. Are you going to convince someonewho's been riding for any length of time but has no formal training? Probably not. JMHO
John