A Staff Sergeant assigned to Fort Drum, New York, died in a motorcycle mishap 12 July 2025 in Macomb, New York, at 1900 local. The Soldier was operating his motorcycle when he lost control while navigating a curve and struck a guardrail. New York State Police responded and attempted lifesaving measures, but the Soldier died from his injuries. Additional information is currently unavailable.

Since FY20, the Army has lost an average of 30 Soldiers a year to motorcycle mishaps. This mishap was the 23rd motorcycle fatality of FY25 and below the number of fatalities for this same time last year.

Safety Tips

A whopping 77% of single-vehicle motorcycle accidents are the result of the rider failing to negotiate a curve. Here are some tips:

1. Think outside the curve, inside the curve, outside the curve. Whenever you approach a sweeping, decelerating or blind curve, always attack it from the yellow line if you are curving right, or from the white line if you are curving left.
2. You must never grab the front brake in a panic when the bike is leaning in a curve.
3. Your wheel speed should always be in direct correlation with your site distance, meaning that if you can only see three seconds ahead, your top speed should be no more than 30 mph. (Two seconds = 20 mph. Five seconds = 50 mph. Eight seconds = 80 mph, etc.) Make sure to throttle/gear down and up accordingly.
4. Learn how to use the rear brake! It is essential when leaning over, or at speeds of 5 mph or below. Often, when leaning over and traveling downhill, you don't want to slow down as much, as you want to get some "speed" out of the motorcycle. This can be done by "chopping" the throttle or by applying a bit of rear brake. The next time you have some free time, go to an empty parking lot and practice riding at, say, 5 mph with your right foot on the rear brake pedal but not applying any pressure — term known as feathering. This is best done with a partner. Have your partner walk at a normal pace slightly in front of the motorcycle as you ride and see if you can keep up. Then do a role reversal. At no time should your partner see the brake light come on.
5. Don't just brake — brake and downshift! When your site distance compresses from six seconds to five seconds, and you begin to brake from 60 mph to 50 mph, you should also downshift from sixth gear to fifth. (Five seconds to four seconds means 50 mph to 40 mph and fifth to fourth gear. Four seconds to three seconds means 40 mph to 30 mph and fourth to third gear, etc.)
6. When you find yourself in a curve, make sure that you also turn your head in the direction you want the motorcycle to go! Don't target fixate.
7. Don't ever stop riding the motorcycle. A motorcycle is capable of leaning over far more than you can imagine. Thus, the proper technique is to push even harder on the handlebar as the curve begins to tighten. This is very counterintuitive for most people, so do yourself a favor and take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Basic RiderCourse or Advanced RiderCourse if you have not done so.

Tips provided from V-Twin forum