Aug 24, 2026 · 25 min
Motorcycle educator turns customer care into a safety system
How a Motorcycle Educator Built a Safety Empire
Chris Johnson argues that better motorcycle safety depends on both evidence-based riding technique and an educational culture that makes students feel responsible for saving their own lives.
- 1Chris Johnson built Washington Motorcycle Safety Training from a storage unit into a school serving about 12,000 students annually.
- 2The school treats respect, customer care, mindset training, and technical control as interconnected parts of crash prevention.
- 3Johnson wants to modernize motorcycle education nationwide with evidence-based instruction developed alongside the Yamaha Champions Riding School.
Don't miss
Johnson explains why remaining on the brakes while beginning a turn can reduce the risk created by entering corners too fast.
The brief
Chris Johnson describes building Washington Motorcycle Safety Training from a 2009 storage unit into an operation serving about 12,000 students each year, with preventing motorcycle deaths as its central mission.
The school’s safety philosophy extends beyond riding technique: after an instructor mistreated a customer, Johnson made respect, acknowledgment, and employee self-policing part of the training culture.
Johnson identifies knowledge gaps, complacency, and fear as crash risks, arguing that riders should learn to respond rather than react through mental preparation and precise vehicle control.
His clearest technical example concerns cornering: riders should remain on the brakes while beginning a turn, then release them as speed and direction become appropriate.
Johnson now wants to help fix motorcycle training across the United States by spreading evidence-based methods developed with the Yamaha Champions Riding School.
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