SecNav: Motorcycle makers must help with safety
SecNav: Motorcycle makers must help with safety
The secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force will meet this week with four major motorcycle manufacturers following a year in which a record number of Marines died in motorcycle accidents, Navy Secretary Donald Winter said.
The meeting will cover motorcycle safety and how the bikes are marketed to service members who buy them, Winter said in a meeting Monday with Military Times reporters and editors. He did not disclose which manufacturers would be present.
“We have so many cases these days with sailors and Marines who buy sport bikes that are really intended for racing purposes as their first motorcycle,” Winter said. “We’ve had cases with people who have crashed them causing disabling injuries and, in a few cases, death, just after a few hours on those motorcycles.
“People need to understand what they’re buying and that there are alternatives,” Winter said. “I believe that it is appropriate to expect that the manufacturers will help in explaining that and making clear the [full range] of products that they have available, and more appropriately, if you will, target the market that is represented by our young sailors and Marines.”
A Corps-record 25 Marines died in motorcycle accidents in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, breaking the Corps’ previous record for motorcycle fatalities by six and outpacing the number of Marine casualties in Iraq, 20, during the same period. Thirty-three sailors were killed in motorcycle accidents in fiscal 2008, 15 more than the previous fiscal year, according to statistics released by the Naval Safety Center.
In both services, a majority of the victims were killed on sport bikes, known for their high speeds and low-profile driving. Twenty-one of the 25 Marine deaths and 27 of the 33 sailor deaths in fiscal 2008 occurred on sport bikes, according to the Naval Safety Center.
Winter did not disclose when the meeting will occur. Some of the new rules and motorcycle safety classes put in place for Marines and sailors during the last few months originated in his office, Navy officials said.
