thedrifter
08-04-08, 06:28 AM
Number of Marines dying in motorcycle crashes sets record
Published Sat, Aug 2, 2008 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Since the start of the fiscal year Oct. 1, 22 Marines, including a corporal at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, have died in motorcycle accidents, making this year the deadliest in Corps history, according to the Naval Safety Center.
Despite requiring Marines to wear helmets and reflective vests and mandatory participationin several safety courses, the number of Marines killed in motorcycle wrecks has hit record highs over the last four years.
The Corps has sought to provide Marine riders with safety training and instruction, including basic and experienced rider courses and a new sport bike safety course this year.
Enrollment in the sport bike course will be mandatory for all active-duty Marines to maintain a base-access sticker for their bikes and will begin in Beaufort later this month, said retired Gunnery Sgt. Adam Gray, tactical safety specialist at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and Parris Island.
Gray said there isn't much the Corps can do to keep Marines safe if they aren't going to protect themselves.
"The biggest problem I see with military members is that the regulation and training are more than adequate; it's the choices they are making mentally," he said. "They are choosing to drink and ride, speed, and buy a motorcycle that is way beyond their capability to control.
"The Marine Corps had eight Marines die in the month of July already -- all of them were preventable if they had made better choices and decisions about riding," he said. "They don't realize how lightning-quick making the wrong decision will hurt or kill them."
Two S.C. Marines have been killed in motorcycle accidents so far this fiscal year, the same number that were killed in the state in all of 2007, according to the Naval Safety Center.
One of those killed was Cpl. Jason L. Davis, a 21-year-old Marine in the Weapons and Field Training Battalion at Parris Island.
Davis died July 5 while riding his motorcycle on Sams Point Road on Lady's Island.
The other was a sergeant who died July 17 in Columbia when the motorcycle he was riding struck a telephone police and a fence.
The Corps' Lowcountry installations will continue to try to educate their Marines, said Col. John R. Snider, MCAS Beaufort commanding officer.
"Any loss of life is unacceptable," he said. "Our first priority is to eliminate unnecessary risks in a manner that creates a positive cultural change regarding Marine Corps motorcycle riding. Ninety-nine percent of our riders do the right thing, I believe, and our goal is to try to teach that 1 percent about the dangers and how to avoid them."
MCAS Beaufort has not had a motorcycle fatality since 2001.
Snider said high gas prices mean that more Marines, in Beaufort and across the country, will be riding their bikes to base, which means the Corps must continue to stress a message of safety, education and responsibility.
"Today's economic conditions are driving up the purchase and use of motorcycles, which has been highlighted through the increased number of mishaps," he said. "(Headquarters Marine Corps) has instituted a number of high-energy, attitude-changing programs in an engineering effort to combat this disturbing trend and I am confident that we will turn this around. We have to -- they're our Marines."
The spike in Marine motorcycle deaths follows state and national trends. Since 1997, motorcycle sales have quadrupled nationally, according to a recent study by AAA.
Motorcycle fatalities, both in South Carolina and across the country, have nearly doubled since 1997, according to statistics from Gov. Mark Sanford's Highway Safety Association.
Ellie
Published Sat, Aug 2, 2008 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Since the start of the fiscal year Oct. 1, 22 Marines, including a corporal at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, have died in motorcycle accidents, making this year the deadliest in Corps history, according to the Naval Safety Center.
Despite requiring Marines to wear helmets and reflective vests and mandatory participationin several safety courses, the number of Marines killed in motorcycle wrecks has hit record highs over the last four years.
The Corps has sought to provide Marine riders with safety training and instruction, including basic and experienced rider courses and a new sport bike safety course this year.
Enrollment in the sport bike course will be mandatory for all active-duty Marines to maintain a base-access sticker for their bikes and will begin in Beaufort later this month, said retired Gunnery Sgt. Adam Gray, tactical safety specialist at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and Parris Island.
Gray said there isn't much the Corps can do to keep Marines safe if they aren't going to protect themselves.
"The biggest problem I see with military members is that the regulation and training are more than adequate; it's the choices they are making mentally," he said. "They are choosing to drink and ride, speed, and buy a motorcycle that is way beyond their capability to control.
"The Marine Corps had eight Marines die in the month of July already -- all of them were preventable if they had made better choices and decisions about riding," he said. "They don't realize how lightning-quick making the wrong decision will hurt or kill them."
Two S.C. Marines have been killed in motorcycle accidents so far this fiscal year, the same number that were killed in the state in all of 2007, according to the Naval Safety Center.
One of those killed was Cpl. Jason L. Davis, a 21-year-old Marine in the Weapons and Field Training Battalion at Parris Island.
Davis died July 5 while riding his motorcycle on Sams Point Road on Lady's Island.
The other was a sergeant who died July 17 in Columbia when the motorcycle he was riding struck a telephone police and a fence.
The Corps' Lowcountry installations will continue to try to educate their Marines, said Col. John R. Snider, MCAS Beaufort commanding officer.
"Any loss of life is unacceptable," he said. "Our first priority is to eliminate unnecessary risks in a manner that creates a positive cultural change regarding Marine Corps motorcycle riding. Ninety-nine percent of our riders do the right thing, I believe, and our goal is to try to teach that 1 percent about the dangers and how to avoid them."
MCAS Beaufort has not had a motorcycle fatality since 2001.
Snider said high gas prices mean that more Marines, in Beaufort and across the country, will be riding their bikes to base, which means the Corps must continue to stress a message of safety, education and responsibility.
"Today's economic conditions are driving up the purchase and use of motorcycles, which has been highlighted through the increased number of mishaps," he said. "(Headquarters Marine Corps) has instituted a number of high-energy, attitude-changing programs in an engineering effort to combat this disturbing trend and I am confident that we will turn this around. We have to -- they're our Marines."
The spike in Marine motorcycle deaths follows state and national trends. Since 1997, motorcycle sales have quadrupled nationally, according to a recent study by AAA.
Motorcycle fatalities, both in South Carolina and across the country, have nearly doubled since 1997, according to statistics from Gov. Mark Sanford's Highway Safety Association.
Ellie