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Leaders look for help to lessen bike deaths

A rise in motorcycle deaths among service members, particularly those riding superfast sport bikes, has military leaders turning to the manufacturers for answers.

The secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force met with four major motorcycle makers Jan. 15. The discussion focused on motorcycle safety and how sport bikes are marketed to service members.

“We have so many cases these days with sailors and Marines who buy sport bikes that are really intended for racing purposes as their first motorcycle,” Navy Secretary Donald Winter said in a Jan. 12 interview with Military Times reporters and editors. “We’ve had cases with people who have crashed them causing disabling injuries and in a few cases, death, just after a few hours on those motorcycles.

“People need to understand what they’re buying and that there are alternatives,” Winter said.

“I believe that it is appropriate to expect that the manufacturers will help in explaining that and making clear the [full range] of products that they have available, and more appropriately, if you will, target the market that is represented by our young sailors and Marines.”

A statement released by Winter’s spokeswoman after the meeting said the service secretaries, motorcycle executives and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation discussed “the responsible marketing of sports bikes to military members, as well as ways to educate riders about safe riding.”

“We anticipate additional meetings to further explore ways to reduce sports bike injuries and protect the lives of our service members,” it said.

The spokeswoman, Capt. Beci Brenton, said she did not know which manufacturers were present at the meeting.

Growing trend

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among combat veterans during the first years after they return home, according to three government agencies that have teamed up on an initiative to reduce these deaths.

Across the services, motorcycle fatalities increased from 71 in 2002 to 124 in 2008.

During fiscal 2008, motorcycle accidents killed 19 airmen, according to Air Force Safety Center. All were off-duty and off base when the accidents occurred; all but one were enlisted airmen.

Of the accidents about which the Air Force had motorcycle model information, 10 involved high-performance sports cycles. Five others were cruisers.

At a Jan. 12 briefing, the Veterans Affairs, Transportation and Defense departments announced a new program to identify research needed to tackle the problem of motor vehicle accidents among returning veterans and to increase awareness of the importance of safe driving among these veterans.

Experts will address fields ranging from epidemiology to psychology and biomechanics. Meanwhile, VA is creating a national safe-driving educational program for veterans and their families through its network of medical centers, community clinics, counseling centers and veterans’ benefits offices.

The services have taken their own steps to varying degrees, and in some cases, require service members to take sport bike safety courses even if they’re not riding the bike on base.

For example, the Marine Corps requires Marines to notify their command before buying a motorcycle; register their motorcycles with their command; take a basic safety course; and take a specialized safety course for sport bikes. Those who violate the regulations can be prosecuted under military law.

The Army has a mandatory Traffic Safety Training Program, which includes eight safety courses for all levels. And many soldiers ride together in the Motorcycle Mentorship Program, which has clubs at more than 60 posts that are designed to foster camaraderie and promote safety.

Their newest course is a sport bike course because of the rise in soldiers riding and dying on sport bikes. The course began in August and is expanding to several Army posts.

Since at least 2004, the Air Force has required airmen and civil service workers who ride motorcycles on base to attend a safety course focused on how to handle a motorcycle. Airmen who are experienced riders usually teach the course, developed by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation.

Backing for the course came from the service’s highest level — then-Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper was a rider himself and owned a Honda Magnum cruiser.

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

At Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., first sergeants oversee “Operation We Care.”

The effort encourages first sergeants to keep a watch for signs that a rider may be taking risks, such as damage to a bike from the airman laying the motorcycle down, or having faulty equipment such as bald tires.

A rider who finds a notification card left on his bike has 24 hours or the next duty day to see his first sergeant.

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Staff writers Karen Jowers, Gina Cavallaro, Bruce Rolfsen and Philip Ewing contributed to this report.