Sport-bike fatalities spur U.S. military into action

WASHINGTON — Whether Seaman Greg Harm knows it or not, the military is worried about him, and it is not because of what he does as an aviation technician stationed at Andrews Air Force Base.

It is what he is doing when he is not at work: riding a 2003 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle that can reach 160 mph.

So many members of the armed forces have been dying on sport bikes like the Ninja that the Navy and Marines made special training mandatory for sport-bike riders this year. In one weekend last month, the Navy lost four men in sport-bike accidents.

Some military officials are concerned that industry pressure to sell motorcycles and lax state licensing are allowing riders with poor skills on the road.

Dale Wisnieski, a former motorcycle police officer in Virginia who manages the Navy program, began developing it last year with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, an industry-financed nonprofit group.

"We've got machines right now that are governed at 187 mph that you can buy on a showroom floor in our country and not even have a motorcycle license to buy it," he said.

Licenses easy to get

Motorcycle licenses are relatively easy to obtain in the U.S. In other countries, including Britain, beginning riders are generally restricted to smaller, less-powerful motorcycles.

Ray Ochs, director of training systems at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, is doubtful that stricter licensing would reduce deaths. "[Other countries] don't have any better record — at least it's not documented — than we do in this country," he said.

Wayne Miller, a retired Marine who ran motorcycle safety at Camp Pendleton, said he was wary of government intervention but thought limiting beginners to smaller motorcycles might help reduce deaths. "What that does is allow riders to stay alive long enough to buy a third, fourth and fifth bike," Miller said.

Harm, 23, who returned in March from four months in Afghanistan, paid $2,900 for his motorcycle.

"I always wanted one, and my friend was selling it for cheap, so I bought it," he said. "I love the rush, having it."

He was participating in the new program, held at the Anacostia Naval Station.

In the past 12 months, 50 of the 58 sailors and Marines killed on motorcycles were on sport bikes, which are faster and easier to maneuver than their cruiser counterparts.

The Army, which also has a training program, lost 36 soldiers in sport-bike accidents in the same period. The accidents follow a pattern: excessive speed, poor cornering and insufficient braking.

Sad prediction

Tracy Martin, who runs a private riding program aimed at high-performance motorcycles, said an Air Force safety official told him he could predict who was going to die next.

"He said it would be a guy under 25, working in maintenance, he'd have a sport bike, and he'd own it for about a month," Martin said. "He said, 'The only thing I don't know is his name.' "

Concern grew so great that Navy officials went to Irvine, Calif., last November to meet with members of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Collaboration among Navy, Army and safety-foundation officials led to the creation of the Military Sportbike Rider Course.

Military personnel already have stricter motorcycle regulations than civilians. To take a motorcycle on base, riders must have at least passed the beginners' course offered by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. They also must wear helmets, regardless of state law.

Nevertheless, officials said, many military personnel ride without a motorcycle license when they are off duty.

During the recent sport-bike class at Anacostia, two trainers stood in the middle of a large concrete lot. The 12 students were either military personnel or civilians working for the Navy.

"We're really trying to find a way to touch these soldiers and sailors and get a handle on this because it's a shame," said Bridget Hunke, one of the instructors. "They go overseas, go into combat, come back, and they get killed on a motorcycle."

Of the 17,000 estimated sport-bike riders in the Navy and Marines, roughly 1,600 have taken the new course. One of the four sailors killed last month was a recent graduate. "The military sport-bike course is not the silver bullet to our problem," Wisnieski said.