Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"June 7, 2002
Return
to the "POINTER VIEW"
June
7, 2002
WASHINGTON (Army News Service) --With more Army motor-vehicle and aircraft accidents this fiscal year than last, safety officials say it’s critical that soldiers completely understand the hazards associated with summer’s fast-paced, high-energy activities.
As of May 31, the Army had 107 "Class A" ground accidents-- 25 on-duty accidents and 82 off-duty accidents.
A "Class A" accident is one which involves a fatality, a permanent disability, or more than $1 million damage in equipment, Army safety officials explained.
Compared to the same time period last year, the number of on-duty ground Class A accidents has increased by one, and off duty-accidents have increased by 8 percent. One hundred and nine people died in those 107 accidents, compared to 101 fatalities last year.
Of those 109 deaths, 25 occurred on duty and 84 off duty, safety officials said. Seventy-one of the ground fatalities resulted from privately-owned-vehicle accidents.
"Young soldiers think they are invincible and tend to underestimate their personal risk and overestimate their personal ability," said Jane Wise, public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Safety Center at Fort Rucker, Ala. "They often do not recognize hazards and high-risk situations, especially on our nation’s highways."
The Army has also seen a 56 percent increase in Class A aircraft accidents. Fourteen aviation Class A accidents have been reported as of May 31, compared to 9 for the same time period last year. Thirteen people have died in those 14 accidents compared to 11 last year.
Data show that during the summer season, the overall number of accidents increases significantly.
There are a variety of causes linked to these types of accidents, Wise said. She said factors include young, inexperienced leaders; accelerating OPTEMPO, continuous deployments; complex systems; lack of discipline to maintain and enforce standards, and failure to effectively manage risks.
"A real accident sequence often starts days, weeks, and sometimes months before the impact or crash," said Col. John Warren, deputy commander, U.S. Army Safety Center. "The accident really occurs much earlier with a breakdown in leadership, standards, or discipline."
Army Safety Center officials urge leaders to constantly remind soldiers of the hazards when executing on-duty missions and to keep soldiers aware of off-duty hazards as well, particularly when driving their POVs.
Leader involvement in helping soldiers learn to better identify, assess, and make sound risk decisions and, most importantly, control hazards as conditions change is critical to accident prevention, safety officials say.
For more information about ways to manage risks and reduce accidents, as well as risk management tools such as the new POV "Drive to Arrive" videos, visit the Safety Center’s Web site at safety.army.mil.