Understanding and reducing off-duty vehicle crashes among military personnel / Liisa Ecola, Rebecca L. Collins, Elisa Eiseman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ecola, Liisa.

Contributor:

National Defense Research Institute (U.S.)

Collins, Rebecca L.

Eiseman, Elisa.

Series:

Technical report (Rand Corporation).

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motor vehicle driving--United States.

Motor vehicle driving.

Traffic safety--United States.

Traffic safety.

Traffic fatalities--United States.

Traffic fatalities.

Traffic accidents--United States.

Traffic accidents.

United States--Armed Forces--Safety measures.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xx, 99 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : RAND Corporation, 2010.

Summary:

The authors review traffic safety in the United States, with specific reference to military personnel, focusing on safety interventions and attempts to change driver behavior and decisions. Overall, driving has become safer over the last 20 years: A variety of factors seem to have contributed to this increased safety--better vehicle safety features, better road safety features, decreases in teenage drunk driving, more seat belt use, and at least recently, fewer vehicle miles traveled. In contrast, motorcycle riding, a topic of particular interest to the military, is becoming more dangerous. The main difference between the military and civilian population is the proportion of military crash fatalities on motorcycles--the U.S. rate is currently about 15 percent of fatalities, while in some military branches the rate is on average 35-40 percent. This review shows that the following safety interventions tend to help in the reduction of vehicle crashes and that some in particular may be useful in the military setting: (1) better enforcement of underage drinking laws and continuation of alcohol deglamorization campaigns (DoD regulations exist, but underage drinking seems to be relatively common); (2) high-visibility enforcement techniques for sobriety checkpoints; (3) high-visibility enforcement techniques for seat belt use; (4) adoption of a lower blood alcohol concentration level (such as 0.05) for motorcyclists, since the evidence shows that motorcyclists' ability to drive safely begins declining at lower levels than those for car drivers; (5) screening--perhaps as part of military medical assessment--and brief intervention with a trained counselor for at-risk drinkers, since they are at higher risk for drinking and driving; (6) media campaigns that are paired with community activities that also emphasize driver safety, such as workshops or fairs and with enforcement of driving regulations, and targeted at the drivers at highest risk (men in their teens and early 20s); (7) requirements that motorcyclists be licensed and own their vehicles.

Contents:

Introduction Deaths from Motor Vehicle Crashes Factors Influencing Crash Rates for All Vehicles Factors Influencing Motorcycle Crash Rates Predicting Risky Driving Effectiveness of Safety Interventions Effectiveness of Motorcycle Training and Other Policies Findings and Further Research Needs Appendix: Military Crash Deaths

Notes:

"RAND National Defense Research Institute."