In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's motorcycle rider course, responses to a questionnaire were obtained from a sample of persons who had taken the course at least twelve months previously and a control group who had not taken the course. A total of 516 persons who had ridden at least some miles during the previous twelve months responded to the questionnaire.

The survey indicated some differences in exposure variables among the groups. The control group had held a motorcycle operators license longer, rode more miles, rode more miles at night and on limited access highways, made less use of seatbelts, and had fewer aged eighteen or less.

The major findings of the analysis indicated that:​ (a) when controlling for age and years licensed, those who took the course did not have a lower accident rate per million miles than the control group;​ (b) there were no differences in the violation rates per million miles between the groups;​ (c) the cost of damage to the motorcycles per million miles was not different in the groups;​ (d) the estimated cost of medical treatment of injuries per million miles was quite similar in the two groups;​ but (e) the mean medical cost per accident was less among those who took the course than the control group, which may have been partly attributable to the findings that (f) those who took the course made significantly more use of protective clothing consisting of helmets;​ eye glasses, goggles or faceshields;​ long pants;​ longsleeved shirts or jackets than the control group.