Neon motorcycle vests may get the boot - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Neon motorcycle vests may get the boot

Marine officials are considering an end to “silly” requirements in the motorcycle regulations as part of a broader effort to change the Corps’ culture on two wheels, a top Marine safety official said.

The proposal could be rolled out after the Marine Corps Executive Safety Board meets May 6-7, said Peter Hill, the Corps’ senior safety engineer. Changes will require approval from the board and Commandant Gen. James Conway.

Since the safety board last convened in November, the Corps has been examining which personal protective equipment requirements in the Marine Corps Traffic Safety Program have been proven to save lives, Hill said. Those that don’t may be weeded out in an attempt to emphasize what the Corps considers most important.

“If the science doesn’t support it, we need to go back and revisit the [rules] and make sure that what we are creating is an environment where what we are requiring works,” Hill said.

Hill declined to release the board’s agenda, but he acknowledged the Corps is aware that many Marines consider the fluorescent vest with reflective stripes for night riding to be pointless, especially when the requirements for what the vest must look like vary from base to base.

“That’s crazy, and these riders know that stuff is crazy,” Hill said of the enforcement differences. “It’s silly, and [those rules] cause the rider to just disrespect the whole process and whole body of regulations.”

Among the items required in the Corps’ “Drive Safe” order for motorcycles are a helmet, shatter-resistant goggles or a face shield, a brightly colored upper garment for use during the day, and a garment or vest with reflective strips for use at night.

“We’re not going to give up on requiring a helmet,” Hill said. “But ... we require the vest when we know that scientifically, the vest hasn’t really proven itself in the numbers the way, say, durable motorcycle jackets have.”

Changing the culture

The move to overhaul PPE requirements is part of a broad effort to change the culture of motorcycle riding in the Corps, which saw a record 25 Marines killed in motorcycle crashes in fiscal 2008. Eight more Marines have been killed since then, from Oct. 1 through April 16, and six of those held ranks of corporal and above, according to the Naval Safety Center.

Last spring, the Corps ordered all Marines to register their motorcycles with their commands and to seek permission if they wanted to buy new ones. But Marine officials suspect there are still an undetermined number of “underground” motorcycle riders in the Corps — who own bikes, but keep them off base, risking punishment to avoid perceived hassles, Hill said.

One solution could be “track days,” a plan called for by the safety board in the fall. Organized by outside organizations such as the California Superbike School, they are designed to encourage Marines to bring their bikes on base to tackle high-speed tracks, but in a controlled environment where there are no automobiles to dodge.

Additionally, there are ambulances on site and spotters who flag other riders if a Marine dumps his bike.

Marine officials hope that by offering the events frequently enough, motorcycle enthusiasts will eventually seek out track days rather than speed and stunt on their bikes on back roads and city streets.

“Sport bikes are trickle-down technology from racing, and anyone who is trying to use them anywhere near their ability is going to get themselves in trouble. They’re built to go fast,” Hill said. “On the track, all the traffic is just motorcycles, and they’re all going in the same direction. You have a real ability to ride it the way it’s designed to be ridden.”

So far, about 140 Marines each have attended initial track days at installations ranging from Marine Corps Base Hawaii to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. Another event was planned for April 18 at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Hill said.

At the Cherry Point event in March, riding coaches signaled Marines to pull off the track when they spotted an error but quickly allowed them to return to action.

“We’re not into talking to them for hours on end,” said California Superbike School founder Keith Code, who attended the event and is considered among the most widely recognized motorcycle instructors in the country. “We are mainly hands-on, and the riders need to get as much experience as they can.”

Eventually, the Corps would like to firmly define what is involved in a track day and turn over event planning to organizations such as Marine Corps Community Services, Hill said. That will take time, however, because it requires coordination with the Corps’ aviation community on many bases. Generally, the most practical place to hold a track day is a runway or landing zone.

Other safety efforts

The Corps also launched the Military Sport Bike Rider Course in December. A specialized version of the Corps’ Experienced Rider Course, it is designed for those who have gone through the 15-hour-plus Basic Rider Course, but it takes place exclusively on the track and focuses on the use of sport bikes, which were used in 21 of the 25 accidents that killed Marines last year.

In the coming months, the Corps will offer additional motorcycle courses for Marines in positions of leadership within their unit’s motorcycle clubs.

On the West Coast, a few hundred Marines will take Lee Parks’ Total Control Riding Clinic. On the East Coast, II Marine Expeditionary Force will offer 10, 30-Marine sections of the Advanced Motorcycle Operator School that was designed by Code and launched last year.

Both classes include classroom portions and time at the track, focusing on everything from maintaining better balance on curves to stopping in an emergency.

“The idea is that [those who attend] would have some skills and understanding and maybe be able to help other Marines in their [motorcycle] clubs,” Hill said.

Third Marine Aircraft Wing also unveiled a motorcycle simulator at MCAS Miramar, Calif., in March. Consisting of trainers for four sport bikes and one cruising bike, the equipment teaches inexperienced riders how to operate a motorcycle before they try it on a road, base officials said.

The simulator resembles a full motorcycle but does not have an engine or wheels. It pitches forward and rolls from side to side as it is guided and can be used to teach Marines how to handle a bike’s clutch and throttle correctly.