A 35-year-old Active Guard Reserve Staff Sergeant assigned to the Army National Guard, Camp Shelby, Mississippi, died in a PMV-2 mishap in Saucier, Mississippi, at local. The Soldier was reportedly passing a vehicle and returning into the lane of travel when he ran off the road and struck an embankment. The motorcycle flipped and the Soldier was ejected. The Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) responded to the scene. The Soldier was wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment, had a valid motorcycle license and completed the required Motorcycle Safety Foundation training. Speed was reported as a contributing factor; however, it is unknown if alcohol was involved. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting for MHP to release its final report.
Since FY19, the Army has lost an average of 28 Soldiers a year to PMV-2 mishaps. This mishap was the sixth PMV-2 fatality of FY24 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.
Safety tip
Speeding is more prevalent in fatal crashes involving motorcycle operators than among other types of motor vehicle operators.
Thirty-one percent of all motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes in were speeding, compared to 18% of passenger car drivers (NCSA, ).
Motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes had worse prior driving records than other passenger vehicle drivers, including more driving while impaired (DWI) convictions, speeding convictions, and suspensions or revocations.
Additionally, 28% of the motorcycle operators involved in crashes in did not have valid motorcycle operator licenses.
In , 26% of the motorcycle operators killed in crashes had BACs of .08 g/dL or higher.
Nationally, 38% of fatally injured motorcyclists in known cases of helmet use were not helmeted.
Tips provided by NHTSA