Citation

Smith DA. Proc. Am. Assoc. Automot. Med. Annu. Conf. 1962; 6: 5-8.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1962, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

When the citizen thinks of the Air Force today they probably do not think about the need of our personnel for motor vehicle transportation. Probably the mental image is either of an individual before a radar screen or a pilot dressed in a pressurized suit preparing to climb into a jet aircraft. Therefore, most Americans are surprised to learn that each year the Air Force loses more of its men in automobile accidents than in aircraft accidents or accidents resulting from explosions of weapons or to put it another way, the motor vehicle is the greatest enemy the Air Force has. Travel of Air Force personnel on public highways during the 7-year period, 1955-1961, resulted in these staggering statistics -- losses that any branch of the service can ill afford, particularly in times of stress. Before reviewing measures that are employed by commanders in curtailing the frequency of such losses, we thought you would be interested in knowing the exposures involved in our day-to-day operations and some of the limitations to which we are subjected. A commander cannot prevent ownership of private vehicles by his assigned personnel He cannot require that they have liability insurance, and their vehicles inspected regularly, he cannot issue or revoke driver licenses, enforce speed laws or other safety regulations off of the installation. It should also be clearly understood that the commanders have people that are taken from the city to the country and from the country to the city depending on where the duty station is located. In most instances the personnel are exposed to increased driving distances and greater high speed turnpike or freeway driving. A recent survey indicated that Air Force military personnel own better than 3/4 of a million motor vehicles and drive approximately 7 billion miles annually which includes an average of 15 miles daily to and from work. 83% of our personnel own vehicles. 88% have driver licenses. 77% possess the proper type of liability and property damage insurance but only 8% learned to drive in formal classes. Approximately 50% of our personnel strength is in the age group 18 to 24 as compared with the civilian population where the exposure represents 9%.