Perhaps your day was still better than mine. I have to ride on a USAF base to get to work. I wrote the following e-mail to my contacts over at the Safety Office and Security Forces (the local police force). Both are Green Knights (Google it please) and I'm hoping this will be part of the solution. I'm just hoping your commute is less "interesting" than mine. Ironically I joined this forum to clairify the rules of proper PPE to ride on DoD installation. :shrug:
"Well here it is Saturday morning, 27 August 2011. I just dropped my wife off at work. Ordinarily I would be enjoying a ride on a long scenic route back home. Unfortunately I am stuck here at my work computer typing this e-mail. For the record we came on base at 0940 hours on a very bright sunny day so my interpretation of AFI 91-207 (or DODI 6055.4, choose either instruction they finally have the same verbiage) is that the brightly colored portion of either instruction is what should be in force rather than the reflective verbiage.
Once again we were questioned at the gate about our choice of PPE (note; it was Mr. Smiles again) That is the second time in 8 days (also last Friday, 19 August 2011) either my wife or myself has been questioned. We were wearing our matching, red jackets. Please keep in mind that this is also on a white and chrome Goldwing that has a pair of headlights, a pair of fog lights, a pair of turn signal running lights and a pair of lit up floorboards (that is from the front and side) plus no less than four red taillights lit up from the rear. All these lights are on at any time the ignition is on.
I’m not exactly sure what the guard was upset about. He mentioned something about not being able to see my wife from the rear, possibly due to the smoked rear air shield. If given a direct order to remove it I will of course object and push the matter up the chain of command and through the IG process if necessary. I will also stick white reflector tape all over it if necessary. I won’t be able to see directly behind me as well but that is not what we are talking about; we are talking about being seen.
I feel that we are able to be seen orders of magnitude better than the sport bikes who only have one headlight from the front and one taillight from the rear and a rider wearing only a blue reflective belt strung about 4 linear inches between backpack loops in the middle of the afternoon while wearing ABUs (a uniform that is inherently designed to blend into any background).
Here is something to ponder. What if we were wearing our lime green reflective vests? Would we still be pulled over for not being able to be seen? Let’s face it, they are vests and do not extend to the arms. Here is something else to ponder; how many Goldwings, HD Ultras, BMW K100LT and BMW 1600GTL, Kawasaki Voyagers, Yamaha Ventures, Victory Visions and other bikes that have a trunk regularly ride on the installation? Does that mean that each and every one of them riders has to have brightly colored or reflective sleeves since in theory the trunk hides their back (and thus hides the rider’s brightly shinning reflective vest)?
Perhaps we need to bump up enforcement to everyone having a brightly colored reflective vest 24/7 while riding on the installation? I still don’t know how the enforcement of that would bump up against those who choose to ride a motorcycle that has a trunk?
I argue that probably no one cares more about motorcycle safety on this installation than myself, with the possible exception of MSgt Williams. That is why I have chosen a motorcycle that is white, has all the lighting it does (much of which is aftermarket items I have carefully chosen). That is why I ride a motorcycle that has an airbag and has anti lock brakes, and linked brakes, and crash bars. That is why my wife and I ride with ATGATT (all the gear, all the time), even when we ride off the installation into other states. In cooler weather we both wear heavily armored Joe Rocket jackets, (I’ll admit mine is black but my wife’s is white). I have many pictures of us riding across many state lines together all geared up so yes, we “walk the walk”. I will admit that next weekend when we (hopefully) ride the ring around Orlando we will be wearing the (Wing Safety issued and approved) mentorship long sleeve T-Shirts. There is a slight chance we will go down and get some extra abrasions as a result of our poor choice of PPE but there is a near 100% chance it will be a hot day; call it an ORM decision still in compliance with the official guidance (which we voluntarily follow). As I type this I wonder how many Patrick AFB employees, military and civilian alike, will also be riding next weekend without so much as a helmet during the last few hours of the 101 critical days? I can get some pictures for you of how many people ride all the way to the gate without PPE, or take off the PPE as soon as they leave.
Please understand that the reason I type this is for clarification. I’m not upset with anyone who this e-mail is going to. I hope that there is uniformity in enforcement of the rules (and of course I hope that there is also room for common sense in the enforcement of instructions…but that may be too much to ask for). Does the installation need to make a separate rule for motorcycles with trunks? Would the same regulation have to go into force for anyone who also has a windshield (that would really be a large percentage of the population)? Should the installation go to everyone having to have a brightly colored reflective vest? If so does the motorcycle bagger crowd still need brightly colored reflective cuffs on their sleeves? Please help clarify. I really don’t want to lodge an IG complaint but if 100% impartial interpretation and enforcement of AFI 91-207 or DODI 6055.4 does not occur than I will have to. I’m very sorry that I have to write this e-mail. It is time for a ride now.
Please consider forwarding this through the respective Wing Safety and Security Forces channels. Let’s try and get this fix at this level.
...But as Billy Mays would say...Wait there's more! I rode a very long ride home. I was southbound on I-95 when a gold Corvette two lanes to my left passed me. OK no big deal except I thought she would at least know that I was there. Lady Corvette than decides to go from the far left lane to the far right lane and cut me off (thank god for Anti Lock Brakes). After cutting me off she just waves. I decide to wave back rather than the one finger salute (gosh I'm a soft guy). I will admit that my speedometer may have been a little to the right of the 70 mph posted speed limit so it would have been a real colorful accident!
I hope your day was less "interesting" and that your commute is involves less problems. Good night.
Sunday Morning update:I just read my message again after a good night sleep and realize that in my effort to keep my story in chronological order it doesn't match the context of the thread until I get to my episode on the freeway but it was a good catharsis. Thank you for understanding. I will face the music of my e-mail tomorrow morning.
For the record many of my friends ride HD. If we could afford a second bike it might be a HD or Kawasaki Voyager. There is a diverse crowd of HD riders. Anywhere from the church going temperate crowd to all the Outlaw bikers. It is difficult to lump them all into one stereotype.
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