Tulsa Police Hold Motorcycle Safety Course

Motorcycle riders are getting a free safety course from the Tulsa Police Department.

This is the fifth Saturday this year the motorcycle unit has spent with riders teaching them the limits of their bikes and how to survive the streets.

More than a dozen riders turned the park at 61st Street and Peoria Avenue into a training ground.

TPD used grant money from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Department to put on the course.

Motorcyclists learned how to make tight turns and use the clutch properly.

Riders said the program is making them more aware of their bikes.

Officers in the police department's motorcycle unit believe they are making a difference by keeping riders safe.

“Right now tight turns [are] uncommon for me, but go ahead and trust the bike, let it do it's thing, let it roll on out," rider Ananias Carson said.

“That's exactly what this is designed for, not to be afraid of your bike and get better at it," Rider Jerry Hodges said.

TPD Officer Marshall Dunham said any motorcycle safety course can make you a better rider, and it's all a matter of learning and educating yourself on how you'll handle the bike during a dangerous situation.

"It's a really good feeling when you have people coming up later on and say, 'Hey I learned something' or several months later say, 'Hey I learned something that saved my life," he said.

Officers say one of the biggest things you can change is to start wearing a helmet.