Bob
8th May 2009, 00:28
The US military has made training mandatory for troops who ride motorcycles.
Pentagon top brass were shocked to find that in 2008, more marines died on motorcycles back in the US than were killed in Iraq or Afganistan. "That was a wake-up call," says Rear Adm. Arthur Johnson, commander of the Naval Safety Center. "It focuses your attention on what your real issues are." New Pentagon directives now require ‘servicemembers’ who ride to undergo training, including a course on advanced sportsbike techniques.
The training also includes psychological self-assessments aimed at identifying and stopping high-risk practices. As one fighter pilot who undertook training said "It's a huge problem that we have… the Superman complex. I survived IEDs (improvised explosive devices), bazookas, whatever."
Marines can't register their motorcycles on base and are subject to discipline if they ride without training. So far, 700 of the estimated 18,000 motorcycle-riding Marines have taken the course, said Peter Hill, the Marine Corps' senior safety engineer, who confirmed that since training began, accident rates have fallen.
Pentagon top brass were shocked to find that in 2008, more marines died on motorcycles back in the US than were killed in Iraq or Afganistan. "That was a wake-up call," says Rear Adm. Arthur Johnson, commander of the Naval Safety Center. "It focuses your attention on what your real issues are." New Pentagon directives now require ‘servicemembers’ who ride to undergo training, including a course on advanced sportsbike techniques.
The training also includes psychological self-assessments aimed at identifying and stopping high-risk practices. As one fighter pilot who undertook training said "It's a huge problem that we have… the Superman complex. I survived IEDs (improvised explosive devices), bazookas, whatever."
Marines can't register their motorcycles on base and are subject to discipline if they ride without training. So far, 700 of the estimated 18,000 motorcycle-riding Marines have taken the course, said Peter Hill, the Marine Corps' senior safety engineer, who confirmed that since training began, accident rates have fallen.