WEST FORT HOOD,
Texas -- About 17 military and civilian bikers met with
their commanding general March 2 for his Motorcycle
Mentorship Program lunch at the West Fort Hood dining
facility.
"I want to let all of you know
that I care," said Brig. Gen. Kenneth L. Kamper,
commander of U.S. Army Operational Test Command. "Most
commands have figured out that motorcycle mentorship
really works."
Kamper said part of keeping
motorcyclists alive is to help make them aware they are
all motorcycle mentors, and their direct involvement in
effective training is the edge they need. "We're just
trying to do the thousand little things routinely, and
our motorcycle safety requirements are something that
should also be routine," he said.
Stressing that leaders have to
come up with new ways to improve motorcycle safety, OTC
Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Schmidt told the group, "I don't
ride, but I do feel strongly about the motorcycle
mentorship program.
"Just because I don't ride, don't
think that I'm not interested. The safety of all our
green-suiters and civilians is paramount to what we do
at OTC, and if you need help or emphasis from me, my
door is always open to all riders."
Most riders at the lunch were
seasoned, with 10 or more years' experience on various
bikes, such as Super Sport, Touring, and Cruiser styles.
One has ridden 35 years, starting out on dirt bikes as a
teen. A few own several bikes, with dreams of owning
even more.
Kamper asked if any of his riders
have experienced bike accidents, so a few owned up to
their encounters. Instances such as being rear-ended at
stoplights, going a little too fast in a curve, and
inattentive automobile drivers switching lanes on them
were common threads.
One rider at the lunch, Sgt. 1st
Class Joseph Diaz, OTC's Sexual Harassment/Assault
Response and Prevention manager, rides 20 to 25,000
miles each year, and has ridden in Okinawa, Japan,
Hawaii, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Spain, Germany, Italy,
Alaska, and all over both American east and west coasts.
"Practice, practice, and more
practice makes perfection," said Diaz. "I've met
motorcyclists who love to imitate other people. Like, if
I have a friend who rides a motorcycle that is faster
than mine, I might want to ride like he does, but I have
to ride within my own abilities. So, riders need to
avoid peer pressure."
As a motorcycle mentor for several
years, Diaz said all riders must be able to anticipate
what could happen ahead. "You have to expect the
unexpected, and always drive in the defensive mode," he
said. "It is easy to catch yourself sightseeing and
daydreaming, so you have to pay attention to everything
going on around you, because it can be that one split
second that makes a difference."
Statistics show all Army
installations worldwide having nearly 33,500 motorcycles
registered.
The National Highway Safety
Administration says there are over 4 million registered
motorcycles in America, or just two percent of all
registered vehicles.
While about five percent of all
roadway fatalities involve motorcycles each year, 80
percent of those crashes result in injury or death. For
automobiles, those figures lower to only 20 percent.
Across America during 2013,
NHTSA's motorcycle fact sheet says 4,668 motorcyclists
were killed -- 26 times more frequently than passenger
car occupant deaths.