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U.S. Military Motorcycle Deaths
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April 12, 2009 at 4:14 pm #2696alaaaaaaaaanParticipant
A spike in motorcycle deaths among service members is prompting a call to arms from the military.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102990179&ft=1&f=1001
Stay safe and remember ATGATT
April 12, 2009 at 4:29 pm #17694MunchParticipantGood post. However they did not dig deep enough. Here they actually took the time to ask Ft Bragg soldiers about what was going on with the ones that have wrecked to see if they could try and figure it out. Their answer was after their tours over in Iraq and Afghanistan a lot of the soldiers were just looking for an adrenaline rush again. In their mind after being on alert 100% of the time over there, they get state side and it seems to them everything is in slow motion. So some resort to motorcycle riding hoping to get that rush back.
Safety courses and closed track courses CAN help with that and will even lower the death rate. However though there are gonna be still a large number that don’t think to keep that on that track.
Refer to non military squids for your proof. It’s sad to see our Soldiers survive a war, experience what they have to go through just to come back home and get laid to rest over simple mistakes. Living as close to Ft. Bragg, Seymour Johnson AFB and Camp LeJeune I hear of these accidents more then anybody likely should.Ladies and Gentlemen… if you are military I personally thank you for what you have done for us in any part of the world. PLEASE, think things through just a little more so we may have time to thank you.
April 12, 2009 at 4:36 pm #17696alaaaaaaaaanParticipantI could not agree more, and yes the article is a little scarce on details but i thought it would be a great reminder to all of the importance of not only being safe but finding responsible ways to deal with your need for speed.
April 13, 2009 at 10:12 am #17708a beginnerParticipantThere doesn’t seem to be a statistical comparison of soldiers dying on motorcycles compared to the identical group who are not soldiers. May be the numbers aren’t much different.
Adults who want to start riding motorcycles are encouraged to do that without being advised properly. The military appears to believe a couple of days of training is enough. Considering their expertise is preparing people to work in hazardous environments they should know better.
It’s fool hardy to ride a motorcycle in traffic until you can maneuver the bike at least as well as a car in an emergency. That minimum level of skill is going to take at least several years of practice (I’m not there yet) and ongoing practice to maintain. The military is smart enough to assess the readiness requirements for all their battlefield specialties but when it comes to motorcycles they get stupid.
April 13, 2009 at 1:43 pm #17711MunchParticipantHmmmm spoken like a true nut that lives his life behind statistics that really have little to do with actual happenings. I am going to assume that you don’t live near a military base of any kind and have the luxury of wearing blinders as to endlessly do “figure-8’s” in your parking lot, hoping to achieve the illusion of control you think you may have behind the wheel of a car.
To be self righteous enough to call the military stupid because the soldiers odometers aren’t measured in PLP only is irritating enough.
Look into the military’s requirements for riding on base. I know a couple of soldiers and they had to go through more tests then I would likely be able to pass just to ride on base.
As far as you being “not their yet” get your butt off the bike in the parking lot and hit the streets. You can’t get there if you don’t go there.April 13, 2009 at 2:36 pm #17716Clay DowlingParticipantI think it’s a great program. Give guys a chance to play in a controlled environment, get them some training so they don’t have to learn hard lessons in less forgiving places. Looks like a win for everybody. Besides, who wouldn’t like the chance to open up a race bike when you’ve got a gorgeous riding surface like that?
You aren’t going to get them to forgo risky behavior. You’ve specifically selected a population that is not risk-averse. So showing them how to control the risk is a very good option. And fun.
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