X

Search for Knowledge!

Sort by Category

Categories

Sort by Date

«July 2025»
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
293012345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
272829303112
3456789

Latest Knowledge

Latest Knowledge

  • All
  • Mishap Reporting & Investigation
  • On-Duty
  • Aviation
  • Military Ops & Training
  • Government Vehicle
  • Workplace
  • DA Civilian
  • Explosives & Weapons
  • Off-Duty
  • Automobiles
  • Motorcycles
  • Recreational & Specialty Vehicle
  • Sports & Recreation
  • Privately Owned Weapons
  • Home & Family
    More
    When Cutting Corners Becomes the Norm 0 Workplace
    USACRC Editor

    When Cutting Corners Becomes the Norm

    The true danger of normalizing deviance lies in its subtlety. Initially, deviations might seem minor and inconsequential. Examples include skipping a procedural step due to a time crunch, deferring a minor maintenance procedure because...
    Staying in the Fight 0 Military Ops & Training
    USACRC Editor

    Staying in the Fight

    Combatives training is an important part of being a prepared Soldier. It provides the skills to help you protect yourself, as well as your battle buddies, in combat. Unfortunately, this training can sometimes take Soldiers out of the fight if...
    DITY Dumb or DITY Do? 0 Automobiles
    USACRC Editor

    DITY Dumb or DITY Do?

    Just like long checkout lines at the commissary on payday, the permanent change of station (PCS) move is a certainty for service members and their families. While many would prefer to let professionals handle the heavy lifting on Uncle...
    Light Up the Night Safely 0 Home & Family
    USACRC Editor

    Light Up the Night Safely

    Unfortunately, a lot of folks don’t take the major hazards related to fireworks seriously. Some people enjoy igniting firecrackers or cherry bombs and holding them in their hand as long as possible before throwing them — sometimes at...

    No content

    A problem occurred while loading content.

    Previous Next

    Painted into a Corner

    Painted into a Corner

    NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

    I was stationed near Stuttgart, Germany, when I bought my first real motorcycle — a Kawasaki GT 750. Back then, if you had a motorcycle endorsement on your stateside driver license, they just added it to your U.S. Army Europe license. There was no special training or safety courses required. I had an endorsement from my home state of Illinois. However, I “forgot” to mention I was limited to 150cc or smaller engines. Why bother the folks in USAREUR with such a minor detail?

    My Kawasaki was a big street bike with shaft drive, air suspension, electronic gauges and a mean-sounding exhaust. I quickly learned it was much faster than the 125cc Yamaha I’d previously owned. I could do 0-80 mph in a block, a big change from a top speed of 60 mph.

    One of my friends had a Suzuki 650 Katana and I was sure I could keep up with him because I had a bigger bike. We decided to ride at Solitude, a curvy road that ran through the hills to a castle. I’d like to say I got to see the castle, but I didn’t because about five minutes into the ride, I discovered I didn’t know how to corner.

    My more experienced friend could corner like a professional racer, hanging off the bike at speed. I didn’t want to be left behind when he accelerated to pass a car, so I tried passing while entering a blind right-left “S” curve. I was going 85 mph when I cleared the car. As I did, I saw a car in the oncoming lane and quickly swerved right to avoid it. Just then the road curved left, and I was shocked when I realized I couldn’t lean far enough to make the turn. I froze. I felt I couldn't move the bike. I didn't know how to countersteer in a turn.

    I ran off the road and into a ditch. I tried to keep the bike balanced and slow down on the grass, but it shook violently and I went over the handlebars onto an embankment. I landed on my hands and rolled forward, trying to control my fall. I then slid feet first for a short distance on my butt before my heels caught and I started flipping. Every time I hit the ground, it felt as if I stopped for a split second and then flipped again. Finally, I went up into the air and landed hard on my back. At last I’d stopped. I was wondering where the motorcycle was when I felt the license plate tap my left boot. The bike had tumbled to the bottom of the embankment and stopped just short of my leg.

    I was numb all over, but I wasn’t scared because everything happened so quickly. I moved my fingers, toes and head and realized my back wasn’t broken. I then sat up and realized I couldn’t breathe. I stood up to check the bike and became dizzy. The driver of the car I’d passed ran up and grabbed my arm and told me to sit. As best as I could understand his German, he chided me for riding too fast and told me I was lucky to be alive. I tried to agree, but I couldn’t get enough wind to talk.

    A German doctor who spoke English stopped and checked me. He explained my breathing problems could be due to a cracked rib and I should have X-rays taken. My friend then came back. He’d been waiting for me and wondering where I’d been.

    For about a half-hour I could barely breathe. Eventually, I was able to take deeper breaths, but it was very painful. For about a month afterward, my lower back would spasm painfully every time I moved. I couldn’t apply backward pressure to my wrists or thrust my arms out without pain, let alone do my job or pushups. We had a field training exercise the following weekend, so I just got some Tylenol and sucked it up.

    God must have saved me because I don't know why the bike didn't crush me during the accident. Solitude has a lot of trees, but, fortunately, there weren’t any where I crashed. I paid about 250 Deutsche marks (DM) to the towing service and, about a month later, was charged 450 DM by the polizei for the ambulance ride. I was also given a ticket and a few points for my license. But at least I was alive.

    Afterward, I spoke to other bikers and learned how to countersteer and corner better. I didn’t let the accident scare me away from riding. However, from then on, I rode with a great deal more respect for my machine.

    This accident was my fault. I was driving too fast for my level of experience and traffic conditions. I was passing on a blind curve — a very dangerous thing — and thought I knew how to ride when, in reality, I didn’t. I assumed a bike’s quicker acceleration compared to a car meant I could corner at higher speeds. I rode too big a bike too fast and too soon and almost died proving myself wrong.

    • 18 September 2022
    • Author: USACRC Editor
    • Number of views: 305
    • Comments: 0
    Tags:
    Print