05/21/2014
Team
Army motorcycle fatalities are up 58 percent this fiscal year from 2013.
Nine of the 19 Army motorcycle fatalities reported to date were attributed to indiscipline.
Five of those accidents involved NCOs who drank alcohol before riding, were speeding or failed to wear a helmet. The remaining four were junior Soldiers who crashed while speeding or who had not attended required training. These statistics are unacceptable in a standards-based Army and could have been prevented through leader intervention or by a good battle-buddy. These statistics are a failure of leadership.
14 of the 19 motorcycle deaths this year were Non-Commissioned Officers. We must reverse the trend of our NCO's leading the Army's motorcycle fatality count. We expect our NCO Corps to enforce standards on and off duty, and setthe example of discipline and professionalism.
Disciplined leaders do not place themselves in unsafe situations. Whether commissioned or enlisted, leaders are not exempt from the standards and should not be excused for risky behavior based on rank. Leader indiscipline is a leader issue, so confront it swiftly and appropriately.
Engagement and standards enforcement are among the most effective risk mitigation tools in our Army's safety arsenal, and both will save the lives of our riders. Training is just as important, especially since this unusually long winter has delayed riding season across the United States. Skills will be rusty, so ensure riders are up to date on training and attend a refresher course as required.
Leadership is the key ingredient to an effective Motorcycle Mentorship Program (MMP), and the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center recently released a new guidebook outlining mentor selection criteria that can be found at https://safety.army.mil. Use this resource to evaluate your MMP leaders.
Finally, motorcycle safety is not a topic limited to spring and summer. Many are located in states that offer nearly year-round riding weather, so engaging riders is a 24/7 imperative. By doing all we can, all the time, we will lose far fewer Soldiers to preventable motorcycle accidents.
Leadership makes a difference!
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