Cycle News Staff | February 19, 2018

Hawthorne Police Department Ride to Live Program | Class Dates Announced for 2018

From Hawthorne PD…

Ride to Live is a Hawthorne, CA Police Department-sponsored training class for any motorcycle rider seeking to improve his/her riding skills, enhance their safety and control, and learn the techniques taught at law-enforcement motor schools.

Photos Courtesy Hawthorne Police Department…

The course is taught by certified Police Motorcycle instructors and motor officers from the Hawthorne Police Department in an atmosphere that facilitates open communication, lots of interaction, and an easy-going vibe that is at the heart of motorcycle riding.

The Hawthorne Police Department “Ride to Live” program came about out of two of the department’s saddest days. Two officers were killed in line-of-duty motorcycle crashes: Motor Officer Andrew Garton on On May 26, 2011 and Motor Sergeant Leonard Luna on July 8, 2013. Those losses highlighted not only the inherent dangers involved with motorcycle riding, but also the terrible cost families must pay when a loved one is taken from them. Out of the heartache and loss, the Hawthorne Police Department created the Ride to Live program.

Instead of just encouraging safe motorcycle riding, they teach the riding community better riding skills, which may help keep another family somewhere from having to experience the grief that the Garton and Luna families, and other families in our community, have had to endure.

The course includes a variety of challenging cone drills, field exercises, and for 2018, Ride to Live has added a Canyon Course.

Upcoming 2018 Classes

April 21

May 19

August 11

September 8

This one-day training course is offered free to the community as a public service. The Ride to Live motorcycle program has been funded, in part, through donations from some very generous contributors, including the Crown-Robinson family and the parents of fallen officer, Sgt. Leonard Luna. For 2018, the California Office of Traffic Safety has generously funded this class for the entire year.

Hawthorne PD: “We are very proud of the Ride to Live program, and not just for its innovative nature and the positive reaction we have received. We are proud of it because we truly believe that it makes a difference in people’s lives. If we can save one rider from injury or death, if we can spare one family the pain and suffering that comes with losing a loved one, than we have accomplished our goal and have done something positive and worthwhile for the community”

To participate in a course or to donate to the program, contact Hawthorne Police at 310-349-2700 or visit ridetolive.com