Military fatalities...

[Shift]

Originally Posted by t-rock

I just saw this and was getting ready to post it. Its sad really. 25 in the Marines and 33 in the navy, just in the last year.

The Marines number is worse for the number of riders. 25 out of 18,000 in one year. Last year in 07 the average for all riders in the US was only near 8 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles.

[smileyman]

Maybe the statistics just speak highly of our military prowess...I mean if it is safer to be deployed in a a hostile country with suicidal terrorists bent on your destruction than ride a motorcycle in your own country

Perhaps the media blows our combat caualties out of proportion

Either way one death is just too many if anyone, govt, insurance co, friends, can do anything to avoid it!

[No Worries]

Not just the Navy and Marines, but the Army also has a training program. From the Denver Post: "The Army, which also has a training program, lost 36 soldiers in sport-bike accidents in the same time period (as the Navy and Marine study). The accidents follow a pattern: excessive speed, poor cornering and insufficient braking." Full article: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_10816770.

Cornering and braking can be taught. As for the excessive speed thing, I'm still trying to learn that myself.

[PhiSig1071]

I think a lot of it has to do with mindset. Once you've dealt with insurgents, IED's, and ambushes your perception of "dangerous" is somewhat skewed. I would imagine it would take some time for the soldiers to readjust and realize that a motorcycle will kill you just as quickly as a bullet if you do not respect it.

[PT996S]

This story is based from the annual DOD report that was recently pulished. The only branch of the military to have a positive trend (less accidents) was the Air Force.

That being said, I am not saying the Air Force is any better just that this year we had better numbers. Air Mobility Command in the Air Force has been teaching a Sportbike Safety course for about 2 years now and it is a quality course but it is not enough. IMO mentorship is the real answer for the military issue. Teaching the "young-uns" and "newbies" the respect that these bikes require is the best solution. Regardless of their age.

[tallywacker]

I'm not about making more laws to protect the stupid and make the rest of our lives a headache. Already too much government involvement in matters across the spectrum as it is.

[the chi]

Originally Posted by PhiSig1071

I think a lot of it has to do with mindset. Once you've dealt with insurgents, IED's, and ambushes your perception of "dangerous" is somewhat skewed. I would imagine it would take some time for the soldiers to readjust and realize that a motorcycle will kill you just as quickly as a bullet if you do not respect it.

I think there was actually an article published reflecting this very opinion. there was a large rash of young military men that died last year almost immediately upon returning to the states. I think the interviews conducted were basically the guys trying to get the adrenaline rush they didnt have back in the states, and with the skewed perception after spending so much time on the front line, they were basically trying to find some other way to retain what they viewed as "normal" after their wartime experiences.

[PhiSig1071]

Originally Posted by The Chi

I think there was actually an article published reflecting this very opinion. there was a large rash of young military men that died last year almost immediately upon returning to the states. I think the interviews conducted were basically the guys trying to get the adrenaline rush they didnt have back in the states, and with the skewed perception after spending so much time on the front line, they were basically trying to find some other way to retain what they viewed as "normal" after their wartime experiences.

It's a shame, but it's true. One of my ex girlfriends was an MP that had done a tour in Iraq, and she had issues with PTSD, and I think this is almost a form of that.

Personally, I think the main reason that we have problems like this and PTSD is because of the rapid transition soldiers have now that they didn't in the past. Now, and in Vietnam, soldiers go rather quickly from the front line home without adequate time to adjust. In WWII it took months for soldiers to get home, instead of going right from combat to a helicopter ride to a rear base and immediately onto a jet home they had to march back from the front line, wait to get billeted on a ship, then spend a few weeks on a ship coming home. That gave them time to readjust from a combat mindset to a non-combat mindset, instead of having to do it almost virtually overnight.

[jeeps84]

Originally Posted by smileyman

Maybe the statistics just speak highly of our military prowess...I mean if it is safer to be deployed in a a hostile country with suicidal terrorists bent on your destruction than ride a motorcycle in your own country

Perhaps the media blows our combat caualties out of proportion

Either way one death is just too many if anyone, govt, insurance co, friends, can do anything to avoid it!

[Nico]

Originally Posted by tallywacker

I'm not about making more laws to protect the stupid and make the rest of our lives a headache. Already too much government involvement in matters across the spectrum as it is.

Indeed! I'm all for the mentorship program (I happen to be a mentor) and I'd hate to see more rules placed on motorcyclists. Sadly, I have no say in the matter since the military is essentially a socialist dictatorship.

Thankfully, the average American has the Republic to protect them from folks picking up a pen and suddenly making a new rule just because they think it might help out in the smallest amount.