Preliminary Loss Reports (PLRs)

A 32-year-old Sergeant First Class assigned to Fort Cavazos, Texas, died in a PMV-4 mishap 7 November 2023 in Kileen, Texas, at 1910 local. Soldier No. 1 was operating his vehicle at speeds more than 100 mph with Soldier No. 2 riding as a passenger. Soldier No. 1's vehicle collided with another vehicle at an intersection, driven by Soldier No. 3. Kileen Police Department (KPD) responded to the scene and all Soldiers were transported to the local hospital, where Soldier No. 3 died from his injuries. Currently, Soldier No. 1 is in critical condition and Soldier No. 2 is in stable condition. The specific circumstances of the mishap, including use of alcohol, narcotics, seat belts or who notified emergency medical services, are currently unknown. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting for KPD to release its final report.

Since FY19, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the seventh fatality of FY24 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

Safety tip

Dangers of Speeding

For more than two decades, speeding has been a factor in nearly 10,000 fatal crashes every year and is the leading cause of most serious motor vehicle accidents. But despite this apparent danger, speeding can easily be avoided.

Don't Fight Traffic. Traffic congestion is among the most frequently contributing factors to aggressive driving, leading to speeding. Drivers may respond by using aggressive driving behaviors, including speeding, changing lanes frequently or becoming angry at anyone they believe impedes their progress.

Avoid the Fear of Running Late. Never become that aggressive driver because you have too much to do and are "running late" for work, school, your next meeting, lesson, soccer game or other appointments. The fear of being late encourages the impulse to speed. Instead, try getting in the habit of leaving a bit earlier. You can start by adding a couple of minutes. As you form this new habit, you can start adding extra time based on where you're going, how far it is and what the traffic is like.

Identify Your Speeding Triggers. Speeding doesn’t always happen because you’re late. Other factors like stress, anger and complacency can cause you to drive too fast. Learning your personal triggers and staying aware of your speed can help you learn how to stop speeding altogether.

Consider the Consequences. If you're unable to get yourself into a calm headspace where you don't feel the need for speed, remind yourself why speed limits are in place. The potential consequences range from bad to fatal. Driving too fast means you have less time to respond to unexpected hazards. Furthermore, if you're involved in a collision, the faster you're traveling, the more severe the impact is going to be.

Don't Let Others Influence Your Driving. It's not uncommon for other drivers to pressure you into going faster. Another driver might travel very closely behind you, wave their hands in frustration or repeatedly try to overtake you. Try your best to ignore them and stick to the rules. If their behavior is making you feel threatened, let them overtake you as soon as there is a safe opportunity for them to do so.

The same goes for passengers within the car. If passengers don't like your speed, try to ignore them and remember that you are behind the wheel; you're in charge of that vehicle's safety. The limits are in place for a reason — don't just follow the pack.

A 36-year-old Active Guard Reserve Sergeant First Class assigned to the Army National Guard, Teaneck, New Jersey, died in a PMV-4 mishap 1 November 2023 in Chatsworth, New Jersey, at 1726 local. The Soldier was traveling home and was involved in an accident. He was transported to the local medical center, where he was pronounced dead. The specific circumstances of the mishap, including use of seat belt, speed or alcohol, is currently unknown. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting for law enforcement to release its final report.

Since FY19, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the fifth PMV-4 fatality of FY24 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

A 56-year-old Sergeant First Class assigned to the Army National Guard, Union Springs, Alabama, died in a PMV-4 mishap that occurred 14 October 2023 in Montgomery, Alabama, at 0700 local. The Soldier was enroute to weekend drill when he was involved in a single-vehicle accident. The Montgomery Police Department (MPD) responded and transported him to the local medical center. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was placed in a medically induced coma and died 17 days later. The specific circumstances of the mishap, including details about the mishap sequence, use of a seat belt or alcohol use is currently unknown. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting for MPD to release its final report.

Since FY19, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the fourth fatality of FY24 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

A 19-year-old Private assigned to Fort Liberty, North Carolina, died in a PMV-4 mishap 15 October 2023 on the installation at 0914 local. The Soldier was reportedly driving when a vehicle operated by another Soldier crossed into his lane and struck him head-on. He was transported to the local medical center, where he died. The other Soldier remains hospitalized in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. The specific circumstances of the mishap, including the use of a seat belt and speed or alcohol as contributing factors, are currently unknown.

Since FY19, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the third fatality of FY24 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

A 20-year-old Specialist and a 22-year-old Specialist assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, died in a PMV-4 mishap 13 October 2023 in Florence, Kentucky, at 2358 local. The Soldiers reportedly were traveling on the interstate and were involved in a vehicle accident. The Kentucky State Police (KSP) responded and pronounced the driver dead at the scene. The other Soldier was ejected from the vehicle and transported to the local hospital, where she died from her injuries. Alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor and seat belts were not used. It is currently unknown if speed was a factor. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting for KSP to release its final report.

Since FY19, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the first and second fatalities of FY24 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

Safety tip

One of the safest choices drivers and passengers can make is to buckle up. Many Americans understand the lifesaving value of the seat belt – the national use rate was at 91.6% in 2022. Of those killed at night in 2021, 57% were unrestrained. Understand the potentially fatal consequences of not wearing a seat belt and learn what you can do to make sure you and your family are properly buckled up every time.

In 2021, 26,325 passenger vehicle occupants were killed. About 50% of those killed were not buckled (based on known seat belt use.)

1. Buckling up helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle, whereas not buckling up can result in being ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly.
2. Air bags are not enough to protect you; in fact, the force of an air bag can seriously injure or even kill you if you’re not buckled up.
3. Improperly wearing a seat belt, such as putting the strap below your arm, puts you and your children at risk in a crash.

The benefits of buckling up are equally clear:

If you buckle up in the front seat of a passenger car, you can reduce your risk of:

• Fatal injury by 45% (Kahane, 2015)
• Moderate to critical injury by 50%

If you buckle up in a light truck, you can reduce your risk of:

• Fatal injury by 60% (Kahane, 2015)
• Moderate to critical injury by 65% (NHTSA, 1984)

Every day, about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that's one person every 39 minutes. In 2021, 13,384 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths — a 14% increase from 2020. These deaths were all preventable.

Alcohol is a substance that reduces the function of the brain, impairing thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination. All these abilities are essential to operating a vehicle safely.

As alcohol levels rise in a person’s system, the negative effects on the central nervous system increase. Alcohol is absorbed directly through the walls of the stomach and small intestine. Then it passes into the bloodstream, where it accumulates until it is metabolized by the liver. A person's alcohol level is measured by the weight of the alcohol in a certain volume of blood. This is called blood alcohol concentration, or BAC. At a BAC of .08 grams of alcohol per deciliter (g/dL) of blood, crash risk increases exponentially. Because of this risk, it’s illegal in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, except in Utah where the BAC limit is .05.

However, even a small amount of alcohol can affect driving ability. In 2021, there were 2,266 people killed in alcohol-related crashes where a driver had a BAC of .01 to .07 g/dL.

BAC is measured with a breathalyzer, a device that measures the amount of alcohol in a driver’s breath, or by a blood test.

The Effects of Blood Alcohol Concentration

BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION (BAC) IN G/DL, TYPICAL EFFECTS, PREDICTABLE EFFECTS ON DRIVING

.02, Some loss of judgment; relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood. Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target), decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention).

.05, Exaggerated behavior, may have loss of small-muscle control (e.g., focusing your eyes), impaired judgment, usually good feeling, lowered alertness, release of inhibition. Reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, reduced response to emergency driving situations.

.08, Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g., balance, speech, vision, reaction time and hearing), harder to detect danger; judgment, self-control, reasoning and memory are impaired. Concentration, short-term memory loss, speed control, reduced information processing capability (e.g., signal detection, visual search), impaired perception.

.10, Clear deterioration of reaction time and control, slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking. Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately.

.15, Far less muscle control than normal, vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol), major loss of balance. Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing.