THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610290437
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 80 lines
The military has just finished its safest-ever year in the air, thanks at least in part to its new emphasis on minimizing the risks faced by soldiers and sailors.
But of all the successes the armed forces have had reducing life-threatening accidents, none has been more dramatic than the drop in off-duty traffic fatalities - their biggest killer.
The Navy lost 71 sailors in traffic accidents in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, fewer than half of the sailors who died in 1990 and a vast improvement over 1988's toll of 236 dead.
Likewise, the Air Force lost 51 people during the past year - 28 fewer than the year before.
Stiff penalities for drunken driving in the civilian community, along with better use of seat belts, are considered major contributors to the improvement.
The threat of being booted out of uniform plays an even greater role: Any senior officer aboard ship, including the captain, would see his or her career ruined by a drunken driving arrest.
``I'd be grounded forever as a pilot if I ever got a DUI,'' said one Navy officer.
The services are taking some innovative steps, as well.
There's a Navy chief petty officer aboard one ship that Rear Adm. Frank M. Dirren Jr., commander of the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk, likes to cite as an example of how to keep sailors and Marines safer on the highways.
``Every time one of his (sailors) goes on leave and is driving, that kid has to bring the car to the pier and the chief inspects it,'' Dirren said.
``Now, the chief never found any car that wasn't safe to drive. But the point is that he got 20 minutes with him, one-on-one, to tell him not to drink and drive, and to call (the ship) when he got home.
``He hasn't lost a kid in two years.''
Several squadrons in the Navy make their members fill out something like a flight plan, listing destinations, stops and points of contact - plus a pledge that they will not try to drive more than 350 miles a day and will do their driving in daylight, if at all possible.
Other commands, especially during an upcoming three-day holiday, will let their personnel off work at noon on Friday and not expect them back until mid-day on Tuesday, thus enabling them to avoid the heaviest traffic.
Motorcycle fatalities in the Navy have dropped from almost 100 in 1984 to 10 last year, Dirren said, calling it ``a great success story.'' That's at least partly because military personnel cannot now drive motorcycles on federal property without all the protective gear - gloves, reflective vests, long trousers, helmets - and without completing the service's safe driving course.
``That's part of our risk management plan,'' said Dirren. ``We were killing too many.''
While the steps may have saved scores of lives, Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, Air Force Chief of Staff, suggested in a message to his personnel that the service can do better.
``It's hard to say `congratulations,' '' Fogleman said of the two-dozen fewer traffic fatalities his service branch recorded during the year. ``We can ill afford to lose anyone.'' ILLUSTRATION: RISK MANAGEMENT - ON AND OFF THE JOB
VP Graphic
SOURCE: Department of Defense
[Complete text of graphic can be found on the microfilm for this
date.]
PLAYING IT SAFE
The Navy's concern about safety extends to its sailors' off-duty
recreational activities, as well as their driving habits.
Too many sailors were breaking legs during softball games, trying
to slide into bases, said Rear Adm. Frank M. Dirren Jr., commander
of the Naval Safety Center in Norfolk.
Not any more: The service now prohibits sliding and other
dangerous play.
``Some may think, `Well, you are getting involved in the private
lives of young men and women,' '' said Dirren.
``Well, we have done that for more than 200 years in the
military. We think it works.'' by CNB