Do you believe the Army should do away with having to wear a PT belt/vest on a motorcycle?

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 22:43:48 -0400

I've heard people say that wearing reflective gear will help driver's see motorcyclists more easily on the road, but if a vehicle driver is on their cell or not paying attention they won't see them at all. What are your thoughts?

Response by Capt Jeff S. made May 21 at 2015 5:18 AM

Capt Jeff S. — Thu, 21 May 2015 05:18:01 -0400

They should go by whatever the State laws are. If the State doesn't require it, then don't subject your people to having to deal with more rules and regulations to follow.

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made May 21 at 2015 5:41 AM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 May 2015 05:41:56 -0400

Before answering the thread question, I'll say I would still wear my yellow reflective vest regardless of whether it's mandated. A driver who's texting or something may not see you at all, but a vest increases the chances that they may notice you out of the corner of their eye, and that others will notice you. Most people are scanning for cars, and so even when they lay eyes on a motorcyclist, they may not "see" you. But a brightly colored and reflective vest is more visually stimulating, increasing the chances that when such a person looks at you, even though their brain is subconsciously searching only for cars, enough of their attention will be grabbed for them to see you. Basically, I'll do whatever I reasonably can to increase the likelihood that I'll be seen.

Now, should the military do away with mandates on wearing such vests/belts? Personally, I am of the opinion that we should let natural selection function; and that if someone doesn't want to wear a helmet or vest, that they should be allowed to experience the full consequences of those choices, lol. However, we signed our bodies over to Uncle Sam when we entered the military, and the gov't has the right to safeguard its property. This can include making us wear certain gear when we ride. Honestly, I feel lucky that the military even allows us to ride.

Response by SSG Paul Ellis made Jul 5 at 2015 11:23 AM

SSG Paul Ellis — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 11:23:39 -0400

Let me tell you what happened at Ft. Hood. In 2009,we had a CG who rode. He enstated Phantom Thunder and set a PPE policy of full PPE and a long sleeve, bright shirt (at least) during the day. We wore reflective vests at night. He understood that reflective vests work through light differential. (That is: they reflect in the dark when a bright light - like a headlight - is shined on them. In a bright Texas day, vests don't reflect. You might as well just wear a bright red jacket.)

So he left and we got a new CG. Suddenly, reflective vests were mandatory in the day as well. Interestingly, this CG didn't ride. Even more interesting was the explanation (actually given) for the change: "The gate guards couldn't determine a brightly-colored long sleeve shirt"...after having done so for 2-3 years

Now, reflective vests are only" encouraged" due to safety stats that they don't affect daytime accidents (and because someone raised a stink about having to buy required equipment.

Response by SSG Paul Ellis made Jul 5 at 2015 11:26 AM

SSG Paul Ellis — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 11:26:43 -0400

Wearing them during the night makes sense, but not during the day. Reflective vests don't reflect in daylight. There's no light differential.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 5:19 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 17:19:58 -0400

AR says you only need the reflective vest at night, and that makes sense. That being said, almost every post I have been to, the vest is treated like the PT belt, and it is supposed to be on you all the time. I say the reflective material is good at night (it would be nice to get some data from NTSB or DOT to show if it statistically helps).

Response by SP5 Tom Manning made May 21 at 2020 10:35 AM

SP5 Tom Manning — Thu, 21 May 2020 10:35:20 -0400

Agree with your thoughts but I have as many lights and reflective devices I can get on my trike as possible as WWR runs so many escorts it make an extra effort to be seen