Safety officials offer advice to remedy vehicle risks

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Allen Puckett
  • 30th Space Wing Public Affairs
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) --  Vehicle rollovers comprised 3 percent of nearly 11 million reported traffic accidents in 2002, yet accounted for 33 percent of highway fatalities that year, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

The danger of rollover accidents is well known here. Since January 2004, the 30th Space Wing’s safety office has investigated seven vehicle rollovers involving its people.

“Fortunately, none resulted in fatalities,” said Donnell Brown of the safety office here.

The base is situated within the hilly countryside of central California. Being near the ocean with steep embankments and without guardrails makes the roads especially susceptible to accidents, safety officials said.

“Students, permanent party Airmen, a reservist and a civilian contractor have all been involved in vehicle rollovers the past 15 months, proving rollovers don’t discriminate,” said Master Sgt. Marie George of the safety office.

Understanding what rollovers are and how to avoid them reduces the risk of becoming a statistic. Rollover accidents involve driver, road, vehicle and environmental factors, Mr. Brown said.

“Poor driver judgment, including distraction, inattentiveness, speeding and impairment can lead to fatal consequences,” Sergeant George said. “Speed, inattentiveness and weather contributed to the rollover accidents involving members here.”

Talking on a cell phone, eating or tending to children in the back seat take a driver’s full attention away from the road, decreases response time and increase likelihood of losing control of a vehicle, she said.

Statistics show the odds of surviving an accident improve significantly with seat belt use. The transportation safety administration reported 10,000 people died in rollover crashes in 2002. Seventy-two percent were not wearing seat belts. All people here involved in rollover accidents since January 2004 wore seatbelts and survived.

As speed increases, so do fatalities. Forty percent of fatal rollover accidents reported to the transportation safety administration in 2002 involved excessive speed, and 75 percent of those incidents occurred where the posted speed limit was 55 mph or greater.

Using controlled substances wisely and not driving while impaired also helps prevent accidents. Many prescription drugs warn against operating heavy machinery or driving while medicated. Safety administration officials advise any blood alcohol concentration level above .00 negatively affects judgment, coordination and vision.

Almost 85 percent of fatal rollover crashes are single-vehicle accidents. All seven rollovers reported to the safety office here in the past 15 months involved one vehicle.

Vehicle types also factor into risk of rollover incidents. Tall, narrow sport utility vehicles, vans and pickup trucks with a high center of gravity are more likely to be involved in a rollover accident, according to safety administration data.

Most vehicles involved in a rollover accident, run off the road, slide sideways and are tripped when tires sink into soft soil or run up a curb or guardrail. The safety administration has developed an evaluation system to determine the likelihood of a particular vehicle’s susceptibility to roll in a one-vehicle accident. Each score is reflected as a percentage and a one- to five-star rating. Vehicles given one star have a rollover risk greater than 40 percent; five-star vehicles have a rollover risk less than 10 percent.

The NHTSA Web site also advises excellent ratings may not guarantee vehicle stability in severe weather. Driving speed should be adjusted accordingly for rain, hail, ice and fog.

Additionally, well-maintained tires rated for multiple driving conditions increase traction and vehicle control while channeling water away from the tread. Tires with less than 1/16-inch of tread remaining, as measured by a tire tread depth gauge, should be replaced, safety officials said. (Courtesy of Air Force Space Command News Service)