1ST LT. WAYLAN J. GREEN
Headquarters, 113th Sustainment Brigade
North Carolina Army National Guard
Greensboro, North Carolina

In my younger years, I possessed all the qualities of an effective warfighter — strength, tenacity, energy, speed and fearlessness. I quickly discovered, however, that those combat traits did not necessarily translate to safe motorcycle riding.

I bought my first motorcycle after my initial deployment, eager to get it on the road to test its capabilities. I was entirely focused on pushing my physical abilities and throwing myself into unfamiliar and frightening territory. I lived to beat fear and consistently won. It was not until I purchased my new motorcycle and — shortly thereafter — surrendered it to a scrap yard that I learned a harsh lesson: without maturity, I was establishing the foundation for my own failure.

My dream bike at the time was a Yamaha Seca II 600 cc rocket, and I bought one with just 3 miles on the odometer straight off the showroom floor. It featured a stunning deep-green paint job, and I purchased an equally beautiful helmet to match. This represented my first big purchase as a 20-year-old adult, and it made me feel as if I had truly moved up in the world. I believed I could do anything now that I possessed my own transportation, feeling as free as could be on the open road.

For the first three months, I pushed my new machine’s capabilities at every opportunity. I kept the speedometer at roughly 100 mph on long trips and 50 to 60 mph in town, shooting the gaps down the traffic lanes and zipping between cars to travel from Point A to Point B in the most efficient manner possible. What a rush! There was nothing I could not do on this bike. It felt as much a part of me as I felt a part of it. The machine responded to the slightest shift of my weight and the lightest twitch of my hand. I could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in no time flat and stop on a dime.

I was mobilized again after those three glorious months, forcing me to place my beauty into long-term storage. While deployed, I harbored wonderful dreams of once again hitting the open road at top speed, leaving all my cares and worries far behind. Visions of slipping through traffic gaps and pushing my speed past the point of sanity filled my head and occupied a significant amount of mental downtime. My deployment seemed to last for an eternity before I finally headed back home to reunite with my 600 cc queen.

That first day I was home and released on a 96-hour pass, I rushed to be reunited with my bike. Dressed in nothing but a T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes, I grabbed my helmet and had a buddy drive me to the storage unit. When I pulled her out, the motorcycle was dusty but still retained that new-bike smell. I must have spent an hour washing every nook and cranny, taking great care around the rims and the sleek tank.

Once inspection ready, I topped her off with fuel and opened her up on the road. It felt like two lifelong friends reuniting after years of separation. I took the bike onto the interstate and kicked her into top gear. I topped the speedometer at about 120 mph before I began to feel a wobble in the handlebars. Unsure of what was happening, I figured the vibration would work itself out if I simply tried harder to steady the steering.

I maintained my speed and moved over to the slow lane. Before I knew it, the shaking became uncontrollable, and I attempted to hit the brakes. What I failed to realize was the presence of a patch of loose gravel in the center of the lane I now occupied. As I hit the brakes, both tires locked, and I laid the bike down on its left side. The left foot peg caught on the asphalt, causing the motorcycle to flip sideways and sending me hurtling through the air.

Even at 120 mph, I felt as if I were moving in slow motion. To my immediate right ran a deep ditch filled with very tall grass that paralleled the road, and my trajectory pointed directly toward it. I had just enough time to mumble, "This is going to hurt." I closed my eyes just before the impact.

I slammed to the ground face-down, the impact knocking the wind from my lungs, and slid through the tall grass with my arms outstretched for what felt like 100 yards. When my body finally came to a complete stop, I thought for sure I had left a limb or two back on the pavement, but I remained in too much shock to feel the pain. To my utter amazement, I emerged uninjured minus some grass burns on my arms, a miraculous outcome considering I wore only a T-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes and a helmet.

As for my beautiful bike, it had flipped end over end another 75 meters, leaving a debris field down the road. I was grateful to be alive, but the feeling was bittersweet once I saw my beautiful motorcycle strewn in hundreds of pieces along the highway. At that moment, I realized I had set myself up for failure from the very beginning. While I was combat ready, I was road reckless.

It does not matter how physically capable you are or how quick your reflexes may be. If you fail to temper those abilities with maturity, your time will eventually come, and luck will fail to remain on your side. Furthermore, rider training, such as the Motorcycle Safety Foundation courses required by the Army, is an absolute must. Today, I operate as a responsible motorcyclist and have enjoyed riding over the past 20 years without another mishap.

FYI

This Soldier’s dramatic crash and the subsequent realization of his own reckless behavior highlight several vital takeaways for motorcycle safety:

• Temper skill with maturity: Physical strength, quick reflexes and fearlessness do not equate to safe riding. Operating a powerful motorcycle requires a mature mindset to prevent indisciplined riding and overconfidence.
• Wear appropriate protective gear: Riding at high speeds in a T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes is extremely dangerous. While a helmet is essential, full protective gear is necessary to mitigate severe injuries in the event of a crash.
• Understand your bike’s feedback: Riders must know how to react when a motorcycle exhibits mechanical warning signs, such as a high-speed wobble. Attempting to force the handlebars steady at 120 mph rather than safely decelerating can lead to catastrophic loss of control.
• Maintain situational awareness: High speeds drastically reduce the time a rider has to react to road hazards.
• Seek professional training: Relying on raw instinct is a recipe for disaster. Formal instruction, such as the courses provided by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, is essential for developing safe and lifelong riding habits. Army Regulation 385-10 requires Soldiers to successfully complete the MSF’s Basic RiderCourse (BRC) before operating a motorcycle. Within 12 months of completing the BRC, Soldiers must undergo a second round of training in the Advanced RiderCourse (ARC). Sustainment training in the form of the ARC is mandatory every five years after initial completion. For individuals who have been deployed for 180 days or longer, there is now an additional requirement to attend the Motorcycle Refresher Training course. This course can be taught at the local level without a certified MSF RiderCoach. These classes are free to Soldiers.