I just saw this article on Motorcycle USA about the Marine Corps' new motorcycle safety program. According to the article 22 marines died in Operation Iraqi Freedom last year while 25 died in motorcycle accidents. It's great that the military is taking notice of this and really making an effort to save these guys. The video is really good quality with interviews with many professional riders as well as Keith Code. I particulary like when Keith talks about the idea that safety depends on the rider and not on the type of bike that they're riding.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/2/3791...s-At-Home.aspx

http://www.semperride.com/movietrailer/

 

Being a Marine Motorcyclist, I personally am extremely irratated with the Marine Corps "anti-motorcycle" policies. True they are very saftey oriented, however the Marine Corps does a great job of singling out MC riders. The same stats also show there were 27 that were killed in standard vechicles, yet the Marine Corps does nothing to further enforce/teach safety to drivers.

Instead we have safety stand downs that tell us about the dangers of laser pointers and rip tides. There is however nothing reiterating the importance of driving defensively, check multiple times before entering intersection since MC are harder to spot etc.

As far as the MC programs though, they do everything they can to make it a hassle to ride. BRC (which is good) Exp Riders Crs (also good) Adv riders crs, sport bike crs, and for the lucky ones Kieth Code comes and does a week long super bike crs (haven't had an opportunity for that but hear it is awsome). Nothing is in place though for drivers that get in constant accidents, tickets, etc. Did I mention letting your command know 2 weeks prior to getting a bike, doing a jank *** MC simulator, BRC (a good thing) all before getting on the bike. On top of all the ppl that dont know a thing about riding telling you what a horrible idea it is. Along with anti-motorcycle mandatory "club" mtgs and rides.

Don't get me wrong I love the Marine Corps and almost every thing about it, but this is one thing I absolutely despise. The bottom line is while these classes may seem to help and for some they do, ultimately it is the rider that is going to make the dumb decision on his own. Retards will continue to die. We are told not to drink and drive or do drugs but it happens anyways. All this is is a way for the Marine Corps to say "they did something" when little Tommy or Mary splatter themselves all over the road.