Preliminary Loss Reports (PLRs)

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.

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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.

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A 29-year-old Active Guard Reserve Staff Sergeant assigned to the Army National Guard, Minden, Louisiana, died in a PMV-4 mishap 2 September 2023 in Monroe, Louisiana, at 0130 local. The Soldier was reportedly traveling in the wrong direction on an off ramp and struck an 18-wheeler. The Monroe Police Department (MPD) responded and pronounced the Soldier dead at the scene. The specific circumstances of the mishap, including the use of a seat belt, speed or the involvement of alcohol, are currently unknown. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting for MPD to release its final report.

Since FY18, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the 37th PMV-4 fatality of FY23 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

Safety tip

Wrong-Way Driving: What You Need to Know

Whether driving on the interstate, local or state roads, all drivers must do the following if they approach a WRONG WAY sign to help prevent a crash:

• Stop immediately.
• Pull over to the side of the road.
• Turn around when it is safe to do so.

If a driver encounters a wrong-way driver or sees an alert displayed on an electronic message board, they should take the following actions:

• Use caution.
• Reduce your speed.
• Pull over.
• Call 911 to report.

Review the information below to understand what each sign and marking means and how to respond as a driver.

Fatal wrong-way driving crashes on our nation’s highways are a persistent and devastating threat that is only getting worse. According to the latest data analysis from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there were 2,008 deaths from wrong-way driving crashes on divided highways between 2015 and 2018, an average of approximately 500 deaths a year. That is up 34 percent from the 375 deaths annually from 2010 to 2014. Researchers found that the odds of being a wrong-way driver increased with alcohol impairment, older age and driving without a passenger.

AAA works with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other traffic safety organizations to educate drivers on the deadly impact of wrong-way driving. In light of these latest research findings, AAA and the NTSB are urging state transportation agencies to adopt driver-based countermeasures that address these factors, such as alcohol ignition interlocks, strengthened deterrence strategies like sobriety checkpoints, driver refresher courses for older adults and the installation of more visible signs and signals.

Six in ten wrong-way crashes involved an alcohol-impaired driver. Those with blood alcohol concentrations over the legal limit of 0.08 percent were significantly more likely to be wrong-way drivers than non-alcohol-impaired drivers involved in the same crashes.

Tips provided by Florida DOT and NTSB  

 

 

A 27-year-old Specialist assigned to Okinawa, Japan, died in a PMV-4 mishap 23 September 2023 in Okinawa at 2154 local. A civilian witness reported that the Soldier drove over a median and struck a light pole. The civilian notified local law enforcement, and the Soldier was transported to the local hospital, where he later died. The specific circumstances of the mishap, including the use of a seat belt, speed or the involvement of alcohol, is currently unknown. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting for local law enforcement to release its final report.

Since FY18, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the 36th PMV-4 fatality of FY23 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

Safety tip

For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities. In 2021, speeding was a contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities.

Speed also affects your safety even when you are driving at the speed limit but too fast for road conditions, such as during bad weather, when a road is under repair or in an area at night that isn’t well lit.

Speeding endangers not only the life of the speeder, but all people on the road around them, including law enforcement officers.

Speeding is more than just breaking the law. The consequences are far-ranging:
 

• Greater potential for loss of vehicle control


• Reduced effectiveness of occupant protection equipment


• Increased stopping distance after the driver perceives a danger


• Increased degree of crash severity leading to more severe injuries


• Economic implications of a speed-related crash


• Increased fuel consumption/cost



 

What Drives Speeding?
Speeding is a type of aggressive driving behavior. Several factors have contributed to an overall rise in aggressive driving:

Traffic
Traffic congestion is one of the most frequently mentioned contributing factors to aggressive driving, such as speeding. Drivers may respond by using aggressive driving behaviors, including speeding, changing lanes frequently or becoming angry at anyone who they believe impedes their progress.

Running Late
Some people drive aggressively because they have too much to do and are “running late” for work, school, their next meeting, lesson, soccer game or other appointment.

Anonymity
A motor vehicle insulates the driver from the world. Shielded from the outside environment, a driver can develop a sense of detachment, as if an observer of their surroundings, rather than a participant. This can lead to some people feeling less constrained in their behavior when they cannot be seen by others and/or when it is unlikely that they will ever again see those who witness their behavior.

Disregard for Others and for the Law
Most motorists rarely drive aggressively, and some never do. For others, episodes of aggressive driving are frequent, and for a small proportion of motorists, it is their usual driving behavior. Occasional episodes of aggressive driving – such as speeding and changing lanes abruptly – might occur in response to specific situations, like when the driver is late for an important appointment but is not the driver’s normal behavior.

If it seems that there are more cases of rude and outrageous behavior on the road now than in the past, this observation is correct — if for no other reason than there are more drivers driving more miles on the same roads than ever before.

Information provided by Stars and Stripes and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
 

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A 22-year-old Specialist assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado, died in a PMV-4 mishap 17 September 2023 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at 0200 local. Three Soldiers were involved in a single-vehicle rollover. Soldier 1 (passenger) sustained fatal injuries and Soldier 2 (passenger) is currently on life support. The driver of the vehicle was treated for minor injuries. Alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor. The specific circumstances of the mishap, including the Soldiers’ use of seat belts or speed as a contributing factor, are currently unknown. The unit/safety points of contact are waiting law enforcement to release its final report.

Since FY18, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the 35th PMV-4 fatality of FY23 and above the number of fatalities for the same time last year.

Safety tip

One person is killed about every 39 minutes in a drunk-driving crash, totaling more than 13,000 lives lost each year.

By the Numbers

531 - PEOPLE DIED IN TRAFFIC CRASHES DURING 2021 LABOR DAY WEEKEND

41% - INVOLVED A DRUNK DRIVER

In 2021, two-thirds of drunk-driving crashes involved a driver who had a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of .15 g/dL or higher. A BAC of .08 or higher is considered drunk driving in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, except in Utah where the BAC limit is .05.

Have a Plan Whether You're Driving, Riding or Hosting

Before drinking, plan a safe and sober ride home.

• Don’t let someone get behind the wheel if they've been drinking.


• If you’re hosting a gathering, make sure all your guests have a sober ride home.


• If you see an impaired driver, call 911. And always wear your seat belt — it’s your best defense against impaired drivers.


• The Effects of Alcohol on Driving
  
  Just one drink before driving can put you and others in danger because alcohol impairs thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination.
  
  BAC - PREDICTABLE EFFECTS ON DRIVING
  .02 - Decline in visual functions, decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time
  .05 - Reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, reduced response to emergency driving situations
  .08 - Reduced concentration, short-term memory loss, lack of speed control, reduced information processing capability, impaired perception
  .10 - Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately
  .15 - Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing
  
  It's Illegal Everywhere to Drive Drunk
  
  A DUI can set you back, on average, $10,000, and there could be a crash — people could get hurt or killed.
  
  Tips provided by NHTSA

 

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