LOUISIANA: Helping Marines stay safe stateside:

OFF THE WIRE
http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2011/06/helping_marines_stay_safe_stat.html
Helping Marines stay safe stateside:

An editorial Published: Tuesday, June 07, 2011, 8:44 AM Updated: Tuesday, June 07, 2011, 10:51 AM By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune

When the number of Marines killed in motorcycle accidents in the United States began rising in 2008, top brass responded by requiring Marines with motorcycles to undergo training.
The Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse is one of the places where they can go to learn to drive safely. The Marine Forces Reserve created a $1 million training facility that began providing classes in April. They're available to Marines and to all military personnel stationed in the New Orleans area.
The Marine Forces Reserve has 7,000 active-duty Marines at 183 sites nationwide, and a large concentration of them are in New Orleans. There are also a lot of traditional reservists who report for monthly duty -- and they must have training in order to ride their motorcycles onto military installations.
Training has already had a positive effect. While 25 Marines and 33 sailors died in motorcycle accidents in fiscal 2008, only nine Marines and 13 sailors were killed in fiscal 2010.
Jeffrey Peters, safety director for Marine Forces Reserve, said that Marines tend to be risk-takers. "They like that adrenaline," he said. Training them on how to ride safely was a smart, proactive response that should mean a safer homecoming.