General lists Air Force safety priorities Published Feb. 27, 2009 By Jillian Speake 377th Air Base Wing public affairs KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) -- Although Maj. Gen. Frederick Roggero, Air Force Safety Center commander, has several priorities concerning safety in the Air Force, it is no surprise that ground safety has now quickly made it to the forefront of his priority list. During the last 10 years, on average, the Air Force has lost about eight Airmen each year to mishaps that occur while on duty. "That's a tragic loss but what's worse is when we look at that same 10-year time period, we lose almost 60 Airmen each year to off-duty ground mishaps," General Roggero said. "If you're doing the math, that's almost 600 Airmen lost over the last 10 years." Of those 60 a year, almost 50 Airmen were lost in car and motorcycle accidents. In 2008, the Air Force experienced the fewest off-duty vehicle fatalities ever; however, the total loss was still 32 Airmen. "When our Airmen are inside the gate, on duty and doing some of the most dangerous work possible, enforcers like leadership, supervision, tech orders, and guidance help our Airmen think through the steps of operational risk management," General Roggero said. "When our Airmen are outside the gate is when they are probably in the most danger." For this reason, safety officials have placed heavy emphasis on automobile and motorcycle safety in an effort to create a culture of risk managers by educating and training Airmen to remain vigilant regarding on- and off-the-job safety. "If we can focus in on car and motorcycle accidents and save one Airman's life, then it's worth it," the general said. "We can't sit back and not take action; we're not going to walk past a problem." One way the safety center is trying to create a culture of risk managers is by educating Airmen about the most common risk factors associated with car and motorcycle mishaps. The four most common factors are referred to as "FAST" by those inside the safety world. The "F" stands for fatigue: "Our Airmen get off work and they want to make it some place for a three-day weekend. They get on the road and some are going to drive and drive and drive until they get to where they're going," General Roggero said. The "A" stands for alcohol: "We see that over again where alcohol is a factor in these fatal accidents," continued the general. The "S" stands for seatbelts: "It's surprising in this day and age that we still have to tell folks to wear a seatbelt. It's the law," the general said. "Several of our last fatalities have been rear passengers who were ejected from the vehicle because they didn't have a seatbelt on. So it's amazing that we have to put an emphasis on seatbelts, but we do. There are some people who are still obviously not getting the message." According to safety officials, the odds of a fatal outcome when not wearing a seatbelt are seven times greater than when a seatbelt is worn. And finally, the "T" stands for too fast or too much speed for the conditions. "So fatigue, alcohol, seatbelts and too fast," General Roggero said. "If we can attack those four things from a leadership standpoint, we can remind folks that those four things are killing our Airmen and we need to save their lives." One of several initiatives General Roggero is concentrating on is a focus on the spring spike in motorcycle fatalities which has occurred during March and April during the past three years. In the past, the Air Force has focused a lot of energy on its winter safety campaign and 101 Critical Days of Summer campaign, offering commanders tools such as talking points, briefings, videos, etc. via the Air Force Portal. In between those two campaigns; however, safety officials have been seeing a trend where there is a spike of accidents during March and April. During fiscal 2006 through 2008 this time period was the second most dangerous time for our Airmen riding motorcycles. The Spring Spike focus is the Air Force's first dedicated safety program to cover that timeframe. In the past three years during the spring months, the Air Force has lost 12 Airmen in motorcycle fatalities and has lost two others to permanent disabilities and two more to partial disabilities. Several studies have shown the spike in motorcycle accidents can be attributed to several vulnerabilities motorcycle riders face during the springtime. First, riders are not preflighting or inspecting their equipment as they should be so the condition of the bike is also in question, the general said. Second, the riders' skills have declined during the wintertime because they haven't been riding the bike in several months and often need a little time to shake off the rust, he continued. Safety officials recommend riders should practice riding skills in a safe environment before riding in heavy traffic or in other challenging situations. Finally, car drivers may not be used to seeing bikes on the road so the four-wheel drivers are often unaware or unsure how to operate safely around a motorcycle rider. Of the almost 50 Airmen the Air Force loses in a 10-year average, more than 30 of those were from car accidents and around 16 of those are the result of motorcycle accidents. Based on those numbers, it would seem that four-wheel accidents would be the primary focus for the safety center. However, when you compare the number of automobile drivers we have in the Air Force to the number of motorcycle riders we have, then it is no wonder why the Air Force Safety Center continues to focus on motorcycle safety. In fact, the experts at the safety center say when a person gets on a motorcycle, their chances for risk increases by 30 percent because there is less protection around the body and less stability on two wheels versus four. And then there's the issue of sports bikes, which made up more than 80 percent of motorcycle class A/B mishaps in fiscal 2008. "Sport bikes are a different class of bikes," said the general. "They are race-ready bikes with lights put on them and their thrust to weight ratio is tremendous. "You can go zero to 100 in less than nine seconds but it takes great skill to drive those bikes," he continued. "Just about anybody can do that going straight but when the road starts to turn --that's when skill comes in and unfortunately that's where we see a majority of our Airmen die on motorcycles is by a curve. Typically the visibility is not great, it's at night, and a lot of the time it's on a deserted road. They go into the corner too fast, there's something unexpected on the road or the road condition isn't exactly track perfect, and they lose control and impact something at a higher rate of speed and that's what causes them to die." In a proactive initiative to ensure riders are matched with an appropriate motorcycle for their level of skill, all of the service safety chiefs and service secretaries have begun working with motorcycle manufacturer CEOs on a Dealer Code of Ethics. The Dealer Code of Ethics will be presented to the motorcycle dealers around installations and asks the dealers to take the skills of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines into consideration when they're recommending a bike for that person. "We've got a lot of good motorcycle riders in the Air Force but there are some where the skill level doesn't quite match the capability of the bike," said the general. Along with the Spring Spike Focus and Dealer Code of Ethics, the Safety Center is focusing its efforts into preventive programs such as Alive at 25, Save-A-Life Tour and the Rider Coach Instructors and Trainers program. All of these programs focus on awareness and education to help Airmen protect and preserve combat capability through mishap prevention. In addition to these safety initiatives, the general also emphasizes the importance of thorough decision making skills. "One of things that we have to do to target that 18- to 26-year-old group is really explain to them that their decisions don't just affect them," said the general. "When they're doing their risk management, what they need to do is ask themselves 'Could my family accept the consequences of this? Could my friends accept the consequences? Could my unit accept the consequences?' A lot of them don't think through those questions. "What you're doing out there on the streets when you leave the gates doesn't just affect you," added the general. "Friends and family will be affected by your potential poor judgment." And although many of these decisions come down to personal choice and responsibility, the general also recognizes the need for a strong wingman culture where Airmen look out for Airmen and influence each other to make the best decisions. "Our studies show that 75 percent of the time wingmen can affect a decision of a fellow Airman," General Roggero said. "So don't walk past a problem and use the opportunity to save an Airmen's life today."