Preliminary Loss Reports (PLRs)

A 31-year-old Staff Sergeant assigned to the Florida Army National Guard on Active-Duty Special Work (ADSW) orders died in a PMV-4 mishap 9 July 2022 in Clay County, Florida, at 2140 local. The Soldier lost control of his vehicle, which overturned after striking a tree. The Soldier was found partially ejected through the sunroof. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Clay County Fire and Rescue Department at 2153. It’s currently unknown if speed or alcohol were contributing factors to the mishap.

Since 2017, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the 30th PMV-4 fatality of FY22 and below the number of fatalities for the same time period last year.


Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 3,142 lives in 2020.

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.

Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.
You cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.

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 90.4% in 2021. Seat belt use in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,955 lives in 2017.

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.


The Top 5 Things You Should Know About Buckling Up

58% OF THOSE KILLED DURING THE NIGHTTIME IN 2020 WERE UNRESTRAINED

1. Buckling up is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash
Seat belts are the best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers. Being buckled up during a crash helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle; being completely ejected from a vehicle is almost always deadly.

2. Air bags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace them
If you don’t wear your seat belt, you could be thrown into a rapidly opening frontal air bag. Such force could injure or even kill you.

3. Guidelines to buckle up safely
-The lap and shoulder belts are secured across the pelvis and rib cage, which are better able to withstand crash forces than other parts of your body.
-Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
-The lap belt rests across your hips, not your stomach.
-NEVER put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.

4. Fit matters
-Before you buy a new car, check to see that its seat belts are a good fit for you.
-Ask your dealer about seat belt adjusters, which can help you get the best fit.
-If you need a roomier belt, contact your vehicle manufacturer to obtain seat belt extenders.
-If you drive an older or classic car with lap belts only, check with your vehicle manufacturer about how to retrofit your car with today’s safer lap/shoulder belts.

5. Seat belt safety for children and pregnant women
If you’re pregnant, make sure you know how to position your seat and wear a seat belt to maximize your safety and the safety of your unborn child. Read our recommendations below or view the instructional diagram version of our seat belt recommendations for pregnant drivers and passengers.


How Overcorrecting Leads to an Auto Accident

When a driver turns the steering wheel too hard it can cause the car to lose control. The driver then turns the over direction to correct the situation, but usually more than needed. This is known as overcorrecting. At slow speeds, this is not a problem. However, at highway speeds, a car has less tolerance for hard turns. The car is likely to spin out, rollover, or otherwise veer out of control.

An example of when a driver might overcorrect is swerving to avoid an object in the roadway such as a deer. Yanking the steering wheel hard and making the car veer off the road at high speeds leads to many car accidents.

How to Recover from Overcorrecting Before the Car Crashes
1. Firmly hold the steering wheel straight. If the ground of the shoulder of the road is soft, your car will pull to the right. Resist this pull by firmly holding onto the steering wheel while driving straight. Do not attempt to pull the vehicle to the left.
2. Take your foot off the accelerator while continuing straight. If necessary, you could also apply the brake some.
3. Slowly make your way back onto the road. Once you’ve allowed the car to slow down, ease your right wheels gently back onto the roadway. If the edge is too high, come to a complete stop before pulling back onto the road.

Tips from Parke/Gordon Personal Injury Attorneys and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
 

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A 24-year-old Sergeant assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, died in a PMV-4 mishap 16 July 2022 in Bell County, Texas, at 0200 local. The Soldier was drinking at a pool hall with four other Soldiers from his unit. As the Soldier attempted to leave, one of the other Soldiers tried to stop him but was unsuccessful. The intoxicated Soldier began driving eastbound in the westbound lane of the highway, when he collided head-on with a civilian vehicle. Texas Department of Public Safety (TPDS) State Troopers responded to the mishap. The Soldier and the two rear-seat passengers in the civilian vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. The civilian driver sustained non-fatal injuries and was transported to the local medical center. This mishap remains under investigation. The safety/unit points of contact are waiting for TDPS to release its final report.

Since 2017, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the 29th PMV-4 fatality of FY22 and below the number of fatalities for the same time period last year.


Every day, about 32 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that's one person every 45 minutes. In 2020, 11,654 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths — a 14% increase from 2019. These deaths were all preventable.


How alcohol affects driving ability

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 2020, there were 2,041 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.


BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION IN G/DL AND TYPICAL/PREDICTABLE EFFECTS ON DRIVING

0.02 - 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).


0.05 - 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.


0.08 - 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.


0.1 - Clear deterioration of reaction time and control, slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking.

Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately.


0.15 - 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.


Consequences
Driving a vehicle while impaired is a dangerous crime. Tough enforcement of drunk-driving laws has been a major factor in reducing drunk-driving deaths since the 1980s. Charges range from misdemeanors to felony offenses, and penalties for impaired driving can include driver’s license revocation, fines, and jail time. It’s also extremely expensive. A first-time offense can cost the driver upwards of $10,000 in fines and legal fees.

Many states require offenders to install ignition interlock devices at the driver’s own expense. An ignition interlock device is a breath test device connected to a vehicle’s ignition. The vehicle cannot be operated unless the driver blows into the interlock and has a BAC below a pre-set low limit, usually .02 g/dL. NHTSA strongly supports the expansion of ignition interlocks as a proven technology that keeps drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.

Tips from NHST
 

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A Private First Class assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas died in a PMV-4 mishap 28 Aug 2022 in El Paso, Texas, at 2230 local. The Soldier’s vehicle struck a concrete barrier at a high rate of speed and caught fire, resulting in the remains of the Soldier being unrecognizable. It is unknown if alcohol was involved. This mishap is currently under investigation by local law enforcement.

Since 2017, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the 28th PMV-4 fatality of FY22 and below the number of fatalities for the same time period last year.


Speeding endangers everyone on the road. In 2020, speeding killed 11,258 people. We all know the frustrations of modern life and juggling a busy schedule, but speed limits are put in place to protect all road users.

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; and
•Increased fuel consumption/cost.

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, the observation is correct—if for no other reason than there are more drivers driving more miles on the same roads than ever before.


Speeding behavior and aggressive drivers may not only affect the speeder—it can also affect other drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Here are some tips for encountering speeders on the road:
•If you are in the left lane and someone wants to pass, move over and let them by.
•Give speeding drivers plenty of space. Speeding drivers may lose control of their vehicle more easily.
•Adjust your driving accordingly. Speeding is tied to aggressive driving. If a speeding driver is tailgating you or trying to engage you in risky driving, use judgment to safely steer your vehicle out of the way.
•Call the police if you believe a driver is following you or harassing you.

Tips provided from NHTSA.
 

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A Specialist assigned to Camp Humphreys, South Korea, died in a PMV-4 mishap 21 August 2022 in Pyeongtaek-Si, South Korea, at 0143 local. The USAG-Humphreys AP Provost Marshal Office was notified by traffic investigators of a possible drunk driving-related traffic accident resulting in a fatality. The driver failed to maintain their lane and struck a guardrail. The mishap Soldier (passenger) was ejected from the vehicle and found unresponsive at the scene of the accident and later declared dead.

Since 2017, the Army has lost an average of 35 Soldiers a year to PMV-4 mishaps. This mishap was the 27th PMV-4 fatality of FY22 and below the number of fatalities for the same time period last year.


Buckle-up

-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 90.3% in 2020. Seat belt use in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,955 lives in 2017.

-Of those killed during the nighttime in 2019, 55% were unrestrained. In the instant you buckle up when driving or riding in the front seat of a car or truck, you cut your risk of a fatal injury in a crash nearly in half. That’s a massive return on the investment of the brief moment it takes to put on a seat belt.

-Seat belts are the single-most effective safety technology in the history of the automobile. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study of lives saved by vehicle technologies found that, between 1960 and 2012, seat belts saved more lives — 329,715, to be exact — than all other vehicle technologies combined, including air bags, energy-absorbing steering assemblies and electronic stability control.

-Every day, about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that's one person every 52 minutes. In 2019, these deaths reached the lowest percentage since 1982 when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started reporting alcohol data — but still, 10,142 people lost their lives. These deaths were all preventable.


Drinking and driving is a serious offense in Korea

-Driving while intoxicated (this means a blood alcohol level of over 0.05%) is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of up to 3 million won.
-Driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05-0.35% is punishable by law, and those with over 0.36% are arrested and detained.
-Anyone who has been caught drinking and driving on three previous occasions is automatically detained, regardless of the degree of intoxication.
-Penalties:
*Drivers with a blood alcohol level of 0.05% to 0.09% will have their license suspended for 100 days.
*Those found with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.10% or more than 0.05% when involved in an accident resulting in loss of life will have their license revoked.
*Drivers who refuse an alcohol level test face cancellation of their license.

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A 21-year-old Specialist assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, died in a water-related mishap 8 August 2022 in Belton, Texas, at 1130 local. During a company organizational day at Temple Lake Park in Belton, Texas, the Soldier began swimming across a small cove. He started showing signs of distress approximately 100 meters from shore, submerged underwater and did not resurface. Soldiers from the company notified authorities and attempted to rescue him. Local authorities located the Soldier unresponsive at approximately 1330 and pronounced him dead at the scene. This mishap is still under investigation by local law enforcement.

Since FY17, the Army has lost an average of nine Soldiers a year to water-related mishaps. This was the sixth fatal water-related mishap of FY22.


Swimming in Lakes, Rivers, & Oceans

Swimming in open water (lakes, rivers, ponds and the ocean) is harder than in a pool. People tire faster and get into trouble more quickly. A person can go under water in a murky lake, making them very hard to find, or be swept away in currents.

·Swim in a lifeguarded area, especially if you are not a strong swimmer.

·Be cautious of sudden drop-offs in lakes and rivers. People who can't swim or aren't strong swimmers have slipped into deeper water and drowned.

·Stay sober when on or in the water. Alcohol and other drugs increase the effects of weather, temperature and wave action.


The Off-Duty Safety Awareness Presentation includes a section dedicated to water-related activities which contains statistics, contributing factors, prevention tips and other relevant information. You can download the full presentation or the Water-Related Activities breakout from the In the Spotlight Series at: https://safety.army.mil/OFF-DUTY/Home-and-Family/Off-Duty-Safety-Awareness-Presentation-2022

For additional information, visit: https://safety.army.mil/OFF-DUTY/Sports-and-Recreation/Water-Safety.