Motorcycle classes full of people wanting to save money

As the price to fill up gas tanks continues to get more and more painful, people all over the country are searching for ways to save on gas. One of the solutions is driving motorcycles instead of cars.

At Virginia Western Community College, Faye Hedrick is learning to ride a motorcycle.

“Save a little bit on gas because I’m furious about the gas prices. I’m furious,” Hedrick said.

She’s taking a motorcycle safety course. As many people are finding, it’s one way to fight back against the gas prices.

Carlton Mabe is the program coordinator for the course and says it’s full for the summer.

“I really never thought I’d see gas at four dollars a gallon. But, once we saw gas prices starting to rise, I tried to make arrangements this year to start increasing our enrollment,” Mabe said.

In fact, he made room for 250 more students than last year, and more still want to enroll.

“Every day we have folks calling to see if someone has dropped out of a class or if we’re putting on extra classes,” he said.

The demand for motorcycles is increasing across Virginia. According to Virginia DMV statistics, motorcycle registrations have gone up over 50% in six years. Statistics on gas price increases also correlate to the number of motorcycle registrations. The Energy Information Administration reports that in June 2005, gas increased 4% and motorcycle registrations increased 6%. In June 2006, gas rose 35% and registrations rose 11%. Then in June 2007, gas rose another 11%, while motorcycle registrations went up another 8%.

“I need to save money because it’s a lot about saving money,” said Hedrick, which the bottom line for her.