Sport-bike deaths prompt military to offer training course
With a growing number of Navy and Marine personnel getting killed on the high-speed vehicles once they return from combat, the program targets driving techniques and the psychology of riding.
An active-duty Navy member was riding his Honda CBR600 sport bike near Barrett Lake last week when he added 30 mph to the 55-mph speed limit, locked up his brakes and skidded through a turn, losing control of his motorcycle, according to the California Highway Patrol in El Cajon.
The rider's body was found 140 feet down an embankment, his bike 75 feet away, the CHP said.
The 34-year-old was one of three Navy personnel who died in the San Diego area last week on sport bikes, deaths that brought into focus a disturbing military statistic:
Last year, 34 of the 37 motorcycle fatalities for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps were on sport bikes, according to the Naval Safety Center; that toll is on track to double this year. As of June, 30 of this year's 32 motorcycle fatalities for such military personnel took place on sport bikes -- race-derived motorcycles that are prized for their quick acceleration, high speed and nimble handling.
Sport bikes come with high accident rates in the civilian world as well, according to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. The machines, which can cost as little as a few thousand dollars, are often purchased by inexperienced riders.
Recognizing that a growing number of military personnel were surviving their deployments only to kill themselves on motorcycles when they returned home, the Naval Safety Center partnered with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation last year to develop a new Military Sportbike RiderCourse.
The course targeted the problem by focusing on the psychology of riding and specific sport-bike techniques. It debuted at Camp Pendleton in late May of this year and has since been adopted at 48 other military sites. More than 1,600 personnel so far have taken the course.
"As we were analyzing our mishaps last year, our team picked up on a new data point, which was the prevalence of sport bikes in those mishaps," said Rear Adm. Arthur J. Johnson, commander of the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, Va. The trend was not apparent in 2005 or 2006.
"The traditional motorcycle training we were providing wasn't developing the skills they needed to succeed riding high-speed, high-power sport bikes," Johnson said.
More than half of the 25,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel who ride motorcycles ride sport bikes, and "we suspect that number is rising," Johnson said. Most of those riders are 26 or younger.
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