This is the second 2010 issue of the 341 MW chief of safety motorcycle newsletter.  

This issue:  Wing Commander Comments, Green Knights (base motorcycle mentorship club),  Perception you have to SEE to avoid mishaps,  Rolling Thunder preview.

WING COMMANDER COMMENTS:  First a word from our Wing Commander, Colonel Fortney.

“Fellow Malmstrom riders -- It's been a long winter and like you I'm getting the itch to dust off the bike and get back on the road.  Just like we need to make sure the hardware is ready to roll (good safety check of the bike after months sitting in the garage), we need to dust off our skills as well -- don't assume you and your bike will take up where you left off last fall.  Even decades-long riders need to be cautious out of the blocks and remember spring riding brings a unique set of challenges:  drivers aren't used to seeing us on the roads, our skills are rusty, and the roads are still lined with sand and gravel from the winter road crews.  So take it slow and take some time to get your gear and skills back in shape before taking to the road.  I also encourage you to seek out a good experienced mentor if you're a new rider like I am and link-up with your motorcycle safety representative and our Green Knights motorcycle mentorship club.  And be looking for our base spring motorcycle safety fair.  We'll have vendors in from town, sponsor a bike show, and conclude the day's events with a group ride sponsored by our base bike club and led by Colonel Cotton and I.  Let's pledge to get off to a good, safe start and make this another safe riding season here in Montana.  Remember, as riders we don't let the environment or others dictate our fate, we control the outcome through the decisions we make.  Let's make good decisions as we get back on the road.  See you at the motorcycle safety fair and out on the road”  -- Colonel Fortney

GREEN KNIGHTS:  About the Green Knights (GKMMC) (from their website)

The Green Knights motorcycle club (TM) is a military motorcycle club (MMC) (TM) that was formed back in late 1999 and formally recognized in early 2000 at McGuire AFB, New Jersey. It was the idea of Adam Buehler to organize base motorcyclists for activities and to bring awareness to DoD riders and to individuals who do not ride.  With the aid of the base MSF instructor, Jeff Richards they were about to embark on a journey that they could have never imagined.  The two set out to organize and create a club where riders can get together, discuss issues of the base, fight for biker rights, help each other, participate in charity events, and enjoy going on rides. Most of all, enjoy the ride and the shared common interest.  After gathering up a handful of riders from the base, they were able to form the first chapter of the Green Knights at McGuire AFB, NJ. It was a start of a slowly growing trend that has erupted into not just the Air Force but across the board of the military.  Their by-laws, policies, and mentorship outlines have become the basis of the AF current policy to have a motorcycle club on every base. Currently there are over 70 chapters in the US AF, Army, and even the Royal Air Force, Irish Defense Force, and now the Canadian Forces of Canada.   The club was designed and maintained for all Military/DoD riders.  They accept, and their members range from, active duty, retirees, dependants, and DoD civilians. Members are just required to ride safe and have fun. 

The Green Knights work hand and hand with the Wing Safety Office and Security Forces to help riders retain their rights and still follow the regulations set forth by the Federal, State, and local bases regulations.  First and foremost the Green Knights stand for SAFETY. Their Safety Director keeps the club updated on Department Of Defense, Department Of Transportation, and local changes to traffic regulations. The Executive Board also disseminates these changes to non-club members.

Interested?  Local POC for the green knights is TSgt Keith Hittler, x4203 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , their website is at www.greenknights.us.

PERCEPTION:  You have to SEE to avoid mishaps.

Search, Evaluate, Execute (SEE) is one of the acronyms we all learned in the Basic Rider Course (BRC).  Your eyes are a great perception device, however, they do have some limitations.  If you look at an object across the room, and, without moving your point of focus, try to read something several degrees to the side, you will notice that your acute vision drops off dramatically the farther away something is from your centerline of focus.  We have the perception that we see everything in front of us all at once, however, our eyes tend to scan the image in front of us, and our brain puts together the perception of the image in front of us through that scanning.  Scan your eyes from right to left across the room and see how long it takes you to take all the information in.  Now consider how fast things come up to you when you are riding.  In order to use your eyes effectively you have to actively search the area in front of you.  If you relax and let your eyes fixate you are much less likely to spot hazards as you are riding.  If you haven’t been riding for a while you may have lost the habit of searching, the first S in SEE.  To help you regain that habit the Motorcycle Safety Foundation has a perception exercise you can do online.  Go to http://www.msf-usa.org/riderperception/ to try it out.

In fact there is a body of scientific research on something called Useful Field of View (UFOV).  The UFOV is “the visual field area over which information can be acquired in a brief glance without eye or head movements”.  Some research suggests people with a better UFOV are less likely to have driving mishaps (for an overview and the reference for the definition of UFOV see http://138.26.36.150/VAI/PDF%20Pubs/Reliability%20and%20validity%20of%20UFOV%20Clin%20and%20Exp%20Neuropsych%20Main%20Text.pdf) . 

ROLLING THUNDER:  The base annual motorcycle event will take place again this year.  The Green Knights will organize the event this year and are still in the process of planning the event which is likely to occur late April.  If you would like to help or have some ideas for the event please contact the Green Knights, TSgt Keith Hitler at x4203 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

MOTORCYCLE COURSES:  Registration is open for motorcycle courses.  Basic Rider Course (BRC), Experienced Rider Course (ERC) and Advanced Rider Courses (ARC) are now available.  We have streamlined the registration process.  Your unit Motorcycle Safety Rep (MSR) can now sign you up directly.  Once you complete the course, the safety office then will pay for it (note:  we only pay for completed courses or absences with legitimate reasons).  We highly recommend all riders complete the ERC and/or the ARC 6 months to a year after completing the BRC.  Contact your unit motorcycle safety rep (MSR) for more information and to sign up. 

What is this?  The purpose of this newsletter is to provide 341 MW motorcycle riders safety as well as other motorcycle related information.  I draw from your unit’s motorcycle rosters to develop our email list.  Hopefully you will find the information provided both interesting as well as educational.  I’m also very interested in sending out information Malmstrom Riders may provide me.  So if you have a motorcycle article, information on an upcoming event or anything else that you think may be of interest to other riders feel free to e-mail me directly.  I like hearing from you and am very interested in this being a shared effort.

This is the first 2010 issue of the 341 MW chief of safety motorcycle newsletter.  The purpose of this newsletter is to provide 341 MW motorcycle riders safety as well as other motorcycle related information.  I draw from your unit’s motorcycle rosters to develop our email list.  Hopefully you will find the information provided both interesting as well as educational.  I’m also very interested in sending out information Malmstrom Riders may provide me.  So if you have a motorcycle article, information on an upcoming event or anything else that you think may be of interest to other riders feel free to e-mail me directly.  I like hearing from you and am very interested in this being a shared effort.

This issue:  Early season hazards, Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) training material from their website, Motorcycle Policy, Motorcycle Classes, TCLOCS checklist, the “Spring Spike”

Early season hazards: 

Gravel:  Those of you who rode last year or in previous years will likely remember Great Falls has a fairly severe gravel problem early in spring.  Gravel is used in the city instead of salt to provide traction for cars when it snows.  Unfortunately, unlike salt, it doesn’t dissolve away when the snow melts.  Instead, we get fairly significant collections of gravel on the road.  This can create a traction problem as the gravel tends to have a somewhat ball bearing effect on the pavement.  You will find it collecting quite a bit where cars tend to sweep it out of their main path of travel into piles at the sides of the road or in the middle of intersections.  If you ride early spring, use the SEE concept (Search, Evaluate and Execute) to avoid executing a turn on these piles of gravel.

Weather:  As days become clearer some people will try riding early spring.  Remember we can still get snow.  Even if the roads look clear in the morning, ice may form overnight as temperatures rise and fall above and below freezing.

Skills:  If you are a year round rider you probably maintained your motorcycle riding skills to some extent.  However, if you stopped riding in the winter, the habits you used to survive last year’s riding season have probably deteriorated.  Before riding again go to the MSF website and read their motorcycle operator manual.  It will remind you of many things you may have forgotten over the winter. The manual can be found at http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/Library_Motorcycle_Operator_Manual.pdf. 

Motorcycle policy (especially Personal Protective Equipment):  In addition to reviewing MSF material we also recommend reviewing air force policy at the following links:

AFI 91-207 at  http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFI91-207.pdf, 

AFGSC sup at http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFI91-207_AFGSCSUP.pdf

Wing PPE policy at https://www.my.af.mil/gcss-af/USAF/AFP40/d/s6925EC134BFD0FB5E044080020E329A9/Files/editorial/Motor%20Vehicle%20PPE%20Policy%20Letter.pdf?channelPageId=s6925EC134BFD0FB5E044080020E329A9&programId=t6925EC308C4F0FB5E044080020E329A9 . 

Motorcycle Classes:  In coming weeks we will use this newsletter to advertise upcoming classes.  In addition to the Basic Rider Course (BRC), the 341 MW safety office also offers the Experienced Rider Course (ERC) as well as the Advanced Rider Course (ARC).  The Advanced Rider Course is our most challenging course designed with sports bike riders in mind but can be taken by anyone who has ridden long enough to have mastered the basic riding skills.  ARC riders can expect to learn more advanced skills and the course can be done on any motorcycle (yes I witnessed even a large cruiser set up for touring being used, it was a beautiful thing).  More information will follow.

Motorcycle inspection:  If your motorcycle hasn’t been used for a while you will want to do a thorough inspection before using it.  A good option is to have a mechanic do a safety inspection of your motorcycle.  The MSF also has the T-CLOCS inspection checklist you should use each time before riding.  The T-CLOCS checklist can be found at http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/T-CLOCSInspectionChecklist.pdf.

Spring Spike:

Historically, we see a sharp rise in off-duty motorcycle fatalities as winter transitions into spring (0.8 average fatalities in the winter vs. 5.8 average fatalities in the spring).  Specifically, looking over the past 10 years of data it's obvious that April is the month the AF suffers the most PMV-2 fatalities.  We need your help.  If you’re a good safe rider, we need you to help mentor the newer riders around you.  You know the people in your office.  You know who’s at risk.  You are in the best position to initiate actions to prevent a mishap.  Help them out, work with your Motorcycle Safety Representative (MSR).  Talk to new riders about motorcycle safety, ride with them.  With motorcycle riding in the USAF, what happens to one of us happens to all of us.  When there’s a mishap we all pay a price.  First through the loss or injury of one of our fellow wingmen, but also through the perception it makes on motorcycle riding itself.  To continue enjoying this activity the way we have come to enjoy it, we all need to strive to make it as safe as we possibly can.

Thank you,

ROBERT J GARNER, Lt Col, USAF

Chief of Safety