It is a great solution for many people. Base rules can suck. I am just stating that some bases do enforce some of the rules.

Rules are just for those that get caught doing wrong.

Problem is no one plans on a wreck, and some people can get burned more than others.

If they made it in safety orange I might pick it up (I bet they will have safety orange soon).

 

That is good news. From a force protection standpoint, it is not smart having our military riding around with reflective vests on overseas. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks the vest rules were rescinded for a while because its easy to spot an American wearing a goofy orange vest. Then, they brought them back.

 

Active duty personnel are required to wear proper PPE ANYTIME!! If they are injured, it could lead to a line of duty determination being made and one losing future benefits. Any injuries sustained would be noncompensable after separation.

You do not have to ride with anything on after you retire if you don't want to. Neither do you HAVE to ride on a military installation. It is the discretion of the installation commander as to his safety requirements for personnel. They can be more restrictive than DoD policies if he desires. Riding on base for anyone is a priviledge, not a right.

One poster said the Marines no longer enforce the DoD policy. I doubt the Commandant of the MC really has made that call. And "no" to the posters asking about the AF policy. AF was misinterpreting the DoD policy and someone in Air Staff had come up with a goofy computation of the square inches of bright color and reflective material that was required. That did change. When DoD policy changes, the services will have the ability to change. Until then, DoD directives take precedent. Even for you, Marines. Again, some bases have made the requirement more restrictive.

I like the iCon vest. Fits snug over the leather jacket. Easy access window for the ID card, as well.

 

Jeez Vins, Did not mean to offend. I've never seen anyone wear a road guard vest in their sig pic before.

 

Incidentally, retirees are subject to the ucmj, to some degree.

 

You can doubt the poster about Marine Corps regulations all you want to but they have removed the reflective vest requirement. I rode on base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, for the last year before I deployed to Afghanistan, going on base nearly every day with no problems. It might seem shocking that the Marine Corps would be the first service to have an attack of common sense and remove the vest requirement but it did happen. Maybe other services will soon realize that the moron who has their head buried in their cell phone or otherwise up their butt will not see you regardless of how reflective your clothing, vest, and bike are.

 

The military has gone to great lengths for us to tell us to "blend in" with the local populace. They have given us license plates that no longer identify us as military. Air informercials about removing base decals from our vehicles. Not to wear USA specific clothing. Try to look like the locals. Then they make us wear a reflective vest (during hours of limited visibility) for our safety. But it identifies us as US Military and we are most vulnerable riding on a bike. The only locals that wear the vest are actually in a motorcycle riding school being followed be their instructor in a car. But then their vest also has letters on it stating that they are student riders.

Back when we could roll up our sleeves I had some custom BDU sleeves made so I could just slip them on over my rolled up sleeves, satisfying the long sleeve requirement. I just carry the Hi-Vis green or orange HD vest in my saddle bags for limited visibility. Only reason I have saddle bags is to have a place to put my PPE when I reach my destination.

And what good is the ID carrier for? Got to take it out for them to scan it when coming on post. Not to mention that it is not good security practices to be riding with your badge/ID exposed all the time.

 

All 100% valid points. You are lucky you only have to wear it during low visibility--at my base its 24/7. But, as I said in my original post, I don't believe its about safety or common sense. A big part of it is de-glamorization of riding -- Making motorcycles appear uncool so new troops won't want to ride. And it works. Over the years, many people have told me they won't ride or won't ride on base because of vests.

 

Sorry but Fatbob USMC eod is correct. None of the other PPE requirements changed but the vest is no longer mandatory. The following is from MCO 5100.19E W CH 1-3

(c) A brightly colored outer upper garment during the day
and a reflective upper garment at night or a commercially available mesh/fabric vest that is bright yellow, international orange or lime green with two 1 1/2" to 2" wide vertical or horizontal retroeflective strips front and back. The vest is authorized for wear by Marines in uniform, and should be removed as soon as the Marine gets off the motorcycle. The garment must not be covered or concealed,

such as by a backpack.

 

I did not think this thread would bring up so much inaccurate information on USMC regulations.
For those that think you must wear a reflective vest on a USMC installation, you are way out of touch.
The Marine Corps did away with the vest crap two years ago.
I recommend doing your homework before posting outdated info.

NOTE: The ACMC at the time was Gen Amos.
He is now Commandant....


S/F
Freefall





Subject: CHANGE TO MOTORCYCLE PPE REQUIREMENTS
Originator: CMC WASHINGTON DC SD(UC)
DTG: 071442Z May 09

--------------------------------------------------

UNCLASSIFIED//
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC SD//
SUBJ/CHANGE TO MOTORCYCLE PPE REQUIREMENTS//
REF/A/21ST ESB 06MAY09//
REF/B/MCO/MCO 5100.19E MARINE CORPS TRAFFIC SAFETY PROGRAM //
POC/GRACE J.D./COL/CMC SD/-/TELSN 224-1202/COMM (703)
614-1202/EMAIL: JAMES.D.GRACE@USMC.MIL//
RMRKS/1. PER REF A, ACMC HAS DIRECTED THE ELIMINATION OF COLOR AND REFLECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO MOTORCYCLE OUTERWEAR AS SPECIFIED IN REFERENCE B. THIS EFFECTIVELY ELIMINATES THE REQUIREMENT TO WEAR A "MOTORCYCLE VEST" DURING DAY OR NIGHT AS WELL AS ANY QUANTIFICATION OF COLOR OR REFLECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO MOTORCYCLE OUTERWEAR. CORRESPONDING CHANGES TO REF B ARE FORTHCOMING AND WILL CODIFY THE FOLLOWING:

A. SECTION 2007.C(1)(F) WILL BE REWRITTEN TO STRONGLY RECOMMEND THE WEARING OF ABRASION PROTECTIVE OUTERWEAR AND ENCOURAGE THE USE OF FLUORESCENT COLORS AND RETRO-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL APPROPRIATE TO RIDING CONDITIONS.

B. SECTION 1002.B. WILL BE REWRITTEN TO PROMOTE STANDARDIZATION OF MOTORCYCLE PPE REQUIREMENTS FOR MARINE RIDERS ACROSS MARINE INSTALLATIONS. SUBORDINATE COMMANDS SHOULD REVIEW THEIR ORDERS TO ENSURE CONSISTENCY WITH THE CHANGES TO REF B AND CONSIDER ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE EXCESSIVE OR UNPROVEN IN THEIR EFFECTIVENESS. LOCAL REQUIREMENT VARIANCES SHALL NOT EXCLUDE MARINE RIDERS FROM BASE ACCESS WHEN THE RIDER'S TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT COMPLIANCE MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF REF B (AS MODIFIED).

C. REQUIREMENTS FOR HELMETS, GLOVES, EYE PROTECTION, LONG SLEEVES, LONG TROUSERS, AND OVER ANKLE FOOTWEAR REMAIN IN EFFECT. THESE CHANGES ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO COLOR OR REFLECTIVITY REQUIREMENTS THAT MAY APPLY TO PEDESTRIANS, JOGGERS, BICYCLISTS, ETC.

2. ADDITIONALLY REF A TASKS ESB MEMBERS WITH REPORTING TO ACMC (VIA CMC-SD) REGARDING A POTENTIAL CHANGE TO REF B THAT WOULD MANDATE PROTECTIVE JACKETS FOR MOTORCYCLE RIDERS. THIS INPUT SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO CMC SD BY 07 JUNE 2009.

3. THESE CHANGES ARE THE DIRECT RESULT OF RECOGNITION OF MARINE RIDER'S INPUT AND THE OPINIONS OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON MULTIPLE FRONTS, AND PLACE GREATER RESPONSIBILITY ON OUR MARINE MOTORCYCLE RIDERS TO APPROPRIATELY MANAGE RISK IN THEIR SELECTION AND WEARING OF PPE.

4. QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS MATTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO CMC SD.//