JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – The Marine Corps has recognized the risks involved with Marines riding motorcycles and has implemented several measures to keep them safe from the dangerous hobby, but now the Jacksonville Police Department has extended an additional course, free of charge, to civilians and Marines in the area.
Bike Safe North Carolina is a course adopted from a program in London that was developed to combat a rising number of motorcycle accidents in the area. It has gained the attention of the Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Highway Administration, and received a letter of commendation from the FHTSA regarding to their Bike Safe program.
“The goal is not to teach people how to drive their bikes, but how to get out of situations they might not have previously thought how to get out of,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Frazier, a site coordinator with Bike Safe N.C.
The free program focuses on educating the riders through eight informational classes and evaluates the lessons learned with two supervised rides. A police officer evaluates two students on a short course and then reevaluates them on a second, longer course, observing the students’ hands on application of the new lessons learned.
The program, which has been implemented by the Jacksonville Police Department since 2007, works closely with Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and has established a class every third Friday of the month for military personnel. The courses fill up quickly with an average of 10-12 students accepted to keep an appropriate student-to-instructor ratio.
“Those guys are already set up and offer a great course for the Marines,” said Ronald Farris, the aviation safety manager for Marine Corps Installation East, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. “The Jacksonville Police Department does a lot for Camp Lejeune.”
For more information on Bike Safe North Carolina, visit the program’s website, http://www.bikesafenc.com, for more details.
Date Taken: | 07.17.2012 |
Date Posted: | 07.17.2012 09:06 |
Story ID: | 91664 |
Location: | JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Web Views: | 97 |
Downloads: | 3 |
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