A motorcyclist weaves around cones during a motorcycle safety class conducted by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026..
Published on February 10, 2026 at 4:36 pm
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Prompted by rising motorcycle-related deaths, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office hopes to make a difference with its 7-year-old safety training course for people riding the bikes.
Five motorcyclists had died on Jacksonville roads as of Thursday. Police say there were 44 deaths last year.
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At the Northeast Florida Criminal Justice Center (the Police Academy on Capper Road), training officers alarmed by the number of deaths voluntarily teach the S.M.A.R.T. class — short for Safe Motorcycle And Rider Techniques.
Officer Jason Corse says the 21 students present Saturday were not all Harley guys. There were two adventure bikes, two enduros and four sport bikes.
Corse says the department wants more sport bike riders to come.
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“I hate to say that the demographic that’s getting into a lot of these crashes are sport bike riders, but we want sport bikes out here for this training,” he said.
Raymund Alcobendas, 27, was there to learn. He stood next to his sport bike, a 2025 Honda CVR 650R, on which he admits he’s had some close calls — sometimes his fault, sometimes other drivers’.
“That’s why I think it’s important to take these courses to become proficient with your motorcycle because you sometimes never know when it’s going to happen,” Alcobendas said. “And then, in that instance, you’re going to react based on instinct and what you’ve been trained for, versus you don’t have much time to think.”
Alcobendas considers himself a conservative rider. He’s completed the basic rider course and the follow-up, Basic Rider Course 2.
“I think this JSO course definitely does a very good job of, instead of just knowing how to ride the bike, but how to ride it effectively and safely,” he said.
Motorcycle safety drills
The students practice on a driving pad using their own motorcycles, maneuvering around safety cones. At one point, half the class peeled off toward a paved area in what’s called a “Brake and escape” exercise.
“You know, we do a lot of braking exercises, front brake, rear brake, both brakes together,” Corse said. “And then we add an escape element where they have to contend with a figurative object in the road to get away from it. We help you realize just how good and bad your brakes are.”
Instructors demonstrate at 30 mph, using their rear brake only. They repeat it at 30 mph, using their front brake only.
“And the reason we do that,” Corse said, “is to show you how much better the front brake is than the rear brake. They’ll do it a third time, at 30 miles an hour, with their front, rear and rear brake together, and a downshift, just to show you how good the brakes are when they’re used properly together.”
The six-hour class is designed to cover essential riding techniques, including proper head and eye positioning during turns, bike leaning for tighter turns and effective manipulation of the clutch, throttle and brake.
A facebook video about the JSO Motorcycle Safety Course informs riders that they will learn important techniques to stay safe while riding with Motor Unit officers who work one on one with them.
Despite all the training, Corse pinpoints speed as the cause of the majority of traffic fatalities in the city.
“We see a lot of guys running red lights at high speed,” he said. “The problem we are finding with that is, most average drivers making a turn cannot judge a motorcycle coming at them at a high rate of speed. So that’s why we’re saying, please slow down.”
The free course is funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. Upcoming classes are Feb. 28, March 14 and March 28.
