Fatal Joplin Road Crashes Cause Concern

By LANCE CPL. TABITHA BARTLEY
Quantico Sentry 

QUANTICO, Va. — Within the past few weeks there have been two fatal accidents, involving motorcycles on Joplin Road, not far outside of Quantico’ main gate. Neither accident involved base personnel. Joplin Road is one of the many narrow, curvy roads in the area can be dangerous to the many service members who ride motorcycles.

The Navy Safety Center annually publishes a motorcycle personal motor vehicle fatalities graph with the rates of the last 10 years. The annual average number of Navy personal who died in motorcycle accidents in each of the last 10 years is roughly 20.

“Not only is this part of Virginia one of the most congested areas for traffic in the nation,” said Ed Billig, the traffic safety branch manager, “There is also wildlife, curvy roads and other hazards on the road to worry about. It’s the adversity of being in this area.”

Even with a slower speed limit throughout base, there are still a number of curvy roads and hidden driveways that drivers have to be aware of. Not only should people operating motor vehicles be looking out for hazards, but make sure to listen and observe the area around.

“Riders especially need to stay attentive and not get complacent,” said Billig. “Riding is a mental thing; you need to continuously be scanning and looking around you. Be prepared for the unexpected and have a plan to avoid an accident.”

Courses and camps are offered both on base and in the civilian sector, to help riders get more comfortable on rider, and have the muscle memory to handle a potential accident.

Semper Ride hosted the American Super Camp course at Camp Upshur on April 18 to teach riders to regain control of an out-of-control motorcycle. Marines trained for two days on a motocross course.

“Purposely losing control is something in street riding you never do in your training,” said Jeff Tilton, the project manager for Semper Ride. “It is very valuable cross training for street riders. They are able to get out of control and experience how to regain control, building muscle memory.”

“We really emphasize body positions,” said Chris Carr, instructor for American Super Camp. “Specifically, where you sit on the motorcycle and how that will affect the handling of the bike.”

Body positioning is an important part of riding, especially during turns, and can help a rider to avoid an accident.

The Traffic Safety Branch aboard Quantico offers a number of courses for riders to improve their skills and practice riding in a controlled environment. To sign up for motorcycle courses visit www.quantico.usmc.mil, select the course and follow the prompts.

Semper ride also has events available for riders. Visit them at semperride.com for more information.

“I want students to be better, safer motorcycle riders, that are why we are doing this,” Carr said. “We want people leaving this course safer than when they got here. That’s the whole idea.”