Look, look, and look again for motorcyclists on roads

  • Published
  • By Gina Randall
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  The summer is a time when many motorcycle riders make the most of the better weather and longer evenings by getting out on the roads.

Many Airmen and families assigned to RAF Mildenhall are new to the British roads so need to take extra care. Motorcycle riders are even more at risk than vehicle drivers.

"Bikes are smaller and harder to see and require more attentiveness to notice," said Staff Sgt. Koert Lyman, 100th Air Refueling Wing Occupational Safety professional from Eastham, Massachusetts. "Complacency by road users puts motorcyclists at risk. In any mishap, they have much less protection than someone in an automobile."

Those in vehicles can help protect others on the road who are more at risk than themselves. 

"Other road users need to stay constantly vigilant for motorcycles sharing the roadways," added Lyman. "They need to look, look, and look again at all junctions before pulling into the road."

The safety office does all it can to keep Airmen and their families safe.

"The wing follows all Department of Defense, Air Force, and U.S. Air Forces in Europe guidelines on ensuring riders are in compliance with all mandatory training and proper riding personal protective equipment," explained Lyman. "In addition, this is the unit commander's program and is managed by units' motorcycle safety representatives, who have direct control over their personnel."

The safety representatives believe a community of like-minded motorcycle enthusiasts can help one another keep safe.

"I feel there are two fundamental things which help keep riders safe while on the road," said Master Sgt. Kevin DeYoung, 100th Maintenance Squadron Aircraft Fuel Systems section chief from Cairo, Egypt. "The first is to get involved in a mentorship relationship with other riders. We, as riders, can always learn something from other riders, whether it's riding habits not to emulate, or tips that improve our riding skills.

"Always riding alone can develop and reinforce bad habits," he added, explaining that a good group to get involved with is the Green Knights Military Motorcycle Club, that address the needs and concerns of military and DOD civilian riders through education, safety knowledge and the shared joy of riding.

The representative said he believes it's not just the motorcyclists themselves, but other factors which could lead to the death of someone's family member on the roads.

DeYoung reiterated that everyone on the roads should remain alert and look out for one another.

"The second key factor in keeping riders safe is a change in perspective, and this change is needed for not only motorcycle riders, but all drivers," DeYoung added. "The mind sees what the brain tells it to see. When approaching an intersection, most people have been taught to look both ways to see if any cars are coming, so their mind focuses on cars and they tend to miss anything that is not a car, such as a lorry, tractor, pedestrian, motorcycle, bicycle or dog. I tell my riders to look to see if the road is empty, at that point, anything that's not an empty road will stand out."

Even a single death is one too many, but the 100th ARW's efforts have paid off.

"RAF Mildenhall only had two minor mishaps in the last year, and no fatalities going back at least 10 years," said Lyman. "The last riders the (USAFE-U.K.) bases as a whole lost were back in May 2012 and October 2011. The Air Force-wide statistics for motorcycles in fiscal year 2015 is 11 fatalities, so far. Riders make up only 10 percent of the force, but 50 percent of the vehicle fatalities annually." 

The 100th ARW Safety Office works closely with RAF Lakenheath and RAF Alconbury to ensure a uniform program. Some base policies will differ, for example, RAF Lakenheath requires riders to wear brightly colored clothing during the day and retro-reflective at night. So when RAF Mildenhall riders travel onto either of those installations, they must adhere to that policy. To bridge the gap between the bases, the USAFE-U.K. utilizes a common program manager to coordinate training, which includes class scheduling, ensuring the riding range at RAF Feltwell meets Motorcycle Safety Foundation criteria, and getting instructors assigned to classes.

In order to keep up the good work on the local area roads, the safety office has advice if anyone is looking to ride a motorcycle.

"The first person a rider should contact with questions is their unit motorcycle safety representatives," Lyman explained. "Each unit is required to have at least one appointed at all times. If there are still questions, then the rider can contact their wing safety office. Each wing safety office has its own program manager assigned."