Air Force Community - Air Force Times

Toughen biker training

Twice as many airmen died in motorcycle accidents in the past two years as in combat. That’s senseless.

Most of the drivers had little or no experience with motorcycles. They were men, ranging from airman first class to staff sergeant, averaging 28 years old, and driving too fast. The fatal wrecks typically came in the spring, during daytime hours.

The lure of speed and power is part of what makes the Air Force attractive. So it’s not surprising that airmen are attracted to sport bikes. Learning to ride and enjoy them safely, though, is critical.

The Air Force is adding three servicewide training courses to the two it already offers. And officials have installed motorcycle simulators on two bases, Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and Misawa Air Base, Japan.

In addition to the Air Force-wide course, bases can establish their own programs.

At Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., first sergeants watch for riders who take risks and notify them.

All of the services are dealing with this problem. Combined, the military lost 124 of its members to motorcycle accidents in fiscal 2008 — 51 soldiers, 33 sailors, 25 Marines and 15 airmen.

The services are working together and individually to take aim at the problem. The secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force met with motorcycle makers earlier this year in an attempt to get the manufacturers to do their part to reduce the fatalities.

Encouraging and enforcing safety is a delicate issue. Airmen deserve to be treated as adults, free to make their own choices about both recreation and transportation. But that doesn’t mean the services don’t have an obligation to look after their people.

It is well within reason, for example, to bar airmen from riding on base until they have completed mandatory motorcycle safety training, as both the Marines and the Air Force do.

Now, the Air Force should go one step further and require — not simply encourage — each of its bases to establish its own program like at Tinker.