Vol. 7 Protectors and Preparation
Contributing to the training regimen of an off-road disaster response motorcycle team with the skills and knowledge of the Yamaha Riding Academy (YRA)
SCOUT is Shizuoka City’s off-road disaster response motorcycle team established following the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995. SCOUT was deployed shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and after the series of severe earthquakes that hit Kumamoto in 2016 to help gather information from the ground, leveraging the mobility advantages innate to motorcycles. This squad of protectors is constantly training in order to always be prepared when emergency strikes.
To safely and surely reach a destination and successfully carry out a mission is an uneventful task on an ordinary day, but amidst emergencies like natural disasters, serious challenges can block the way. Navigating roads that have been cut off and traversing precarious road conditions while dealing with disrupted communications and more, SCOUT rides through disaster-hit areas themselves to collect and relay information from the ground to disaster response headquarters.
The Yamaha Riding Academy (YRA) is a riding safety program run worldwide by Yamaha Motor. The personnel and know-how acquired through the YRA’s many years in operation are put to use in providing regular instruction and joint training drills for SCOUT and other motorcycle units at fire departments and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
Everything is to help these protectors be prepared and ready to carry out their duties as first responders safely and confidently.
