MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- As of May 8, motorcycle riders Corps wide are no longer required to wear reflective vests according to the 21st Executive Safety Board’s message which amended the order for the equipment.

Dave Horn, the Combat Center’s safety director said the change did not come because it was a huge necessity, but because the vest did not make a huge impact on the rider’s safety.

“People are going to get into accidents either way,” he said. “While the vests do make the rider more visible, they were not really preventing accidents by being shiny.

“The equipment that really does the rider the most good is the protective gear,” he said. “Riders will benefit more from a helmet or other gear like that than a vest.”

All other proper protective gear, such as approved helmets, long-sleeve and long-legged clothing, full-fingered gloves, and hard-soled shoes must still be worn.

Even though they are given the choice, some riders, such as Lance Cpl. Pejhomme Williams, a maintenance management specialist with Exercise Support Division and a native of Worthington, Ohio, chose to wear the vest.

“The vest still helps me to feel safe,” Williams said. “The vest I have has places for me to put my license and other papers.”

Williams said he personally will continue to wear it, just because it gives him more than what he needs in terms of safety.

“ATGATT [all the gear all the time], it’s pretty simple,” he said. “I think I’m better off having everything with me if I need it, so I’m going to keep wearing the vest.”