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Show Hilltop HILLTOP TIMES TIMES May 9, 2013 Drive with care as smaller travelers, motorcycles join traffic on the road BY ALLAN WOODS Hill AFB Motorcycle Safety Program manager T he early summer months have finally arrived. With warmer weather, now is the time to make an extra effort to look closely for motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. Drivers will begin seeing many more of them on the roads in the next few weeks. PHOTO OP: All Team This time of year Hill motorcyclists are four-wheel vehicle requested for a group drivers are generally picture, May 15. not used to seeing page 10. the smaller traffic out there on the cornmute. Very soon there will be thousands of motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians on the roads with drivers everywhere they go. Please drive alert and be aware of the smaller traffic and pedestrians sharing the road with people each day. Utah has lost three riders to fatal motorcycle accidents this year, which is obviously three too many. The Air Force motorcycle accident rate has doubled from this time last year. This is an unacceptable increase. All of Team Hill needs to do their part to ensure these numbers do not affect Hill AFB. Here are a few safe driving and riding tips provided by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation: Safe driving and riding both rely on an array of good habits that can only become habits through constant practice. Use the following tactics while driving: Maintain a 360 degree awareness of surroundings by constantly scanning the road ahead, to the sides, and in the rear-view mirrors. Assume that any vehicle spotted can enter your path of travel 4 whether from an adjacent lane, a sidestreet or driveway, or approaching from the other side of an intersection 4 and drivers must be ready to brake, swerve or accelerate as required. Maintain a two- or three-second following distance to give a chance to react if the car in front of the drivers' vehicle stops unexpectedly. Drivers must communicate their intentions to other motorists by using turn signals for all turns and lane changes. Motorists must turn their heads to check the adjacent lane before making a lane change. Finally, drivers must pretend they are invisible and act as if all other traffic is operating without regard to their existence. When riding a motorcycle, riders need to be aware of inattentive car drivers and use the MSF SEE system 4 Search, Evaluate, Execute 4 to stay aware and minimize risk. A safe following distance ensures riders won't rear-end a car or motorcycle that stops suddenly, and won't hit a road hazard (pothole, debris) that is spotted after the car in front passes over it. Following distance must account for the three components of stopping distance: Perception distance 4 depends on how soon people notice a hazard in the riders' path that is likely to effect them. Reaction distance 4 depends on how quickly riders decide to take evasive action. depends on how skillfully Braking distance 4 riders apply the brakes. The MSF recommends a minimum 2-second following distance in most riding conditions. Some traffic safety organizations are now recommending a 3-second (or more) following distance to account for the fact that operators of all types of motor vehicles tend to be more distracted now than at any time in the past. Distraction lengthens perception distance. Some riders feel that too great a following distance may lead to people pulling into the gap, forcing them to decelerate. It also might lead to riders being lulled into a false sense of security and getting more distracted because they feel they're no longer within "striking distance" of another vehicle. (This is called "risk compensation," a phenomenon in which some individuals take additional risks when using additional safety measures or equipment, thereby diminishing the benefits of the safety measures/equipment.) In the following distance drivers balance the need for adequate spacing so they can react to a hazardous condition, and the need to protect their space. The more riders and drivers employ good street strategy (Search/Evaluate/Execute, keeping escape routes in mind, covering the brakes when in heavy traffic, etc.), the less they'll need to rely on their good maneuvering skills to extract themselves from a dangerous situation. All riders and drivers must do their part and share the road with everyone, no matter how large or small. Everyone has the right to live another day! STAFF SGT. RENAE SAYLOCK/U.S. Air Force Airmen participate in a 5K fun run as part of the Year of the Graduate, or YoGrad, campaign at Hill Air Force Base, on April 30. YoGrad is the last of a three-part educational series created by Air Force Material Command to inspire those considering or currently working on an education plan to start, continue or complete that plan. Running in the name of education BY STAFF SGT. RENAE SAYLOCK 2nd Combat Camera Squadron A s a chilly breeze swept through the air and the sun was beginning to rise, more than 40 Airmen gathered outside the Warrior Fitness Center to run and brave the winds on April 30 4 all in the name of education. The run 4 a 5-K (3.1-mile) run around the base's duck pond trail; the purpose 4 promoting the importance of education. "These organized runs are meant to motivate and market the educational campaigns," explained Master Sgt. Chi Swanson, Hill Air Force Base career assistance advisor and Year of the Graduate representative. This was the third time base representatives put together a 5-K run for an education campaign. Master Sgt. James Doyle, the Detachment 1, 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron production superintendent, volunteered to organize the run. "It was set up to help raise awareness about the Year of the Graduate Campaign and what it's all about," said Doyle. The Year of the Graduate, also known as YoGrad, is the third and final part of a series started in 2011 to boost and promote Airmen advancing their off-duty education, according to an Air Force Materiel Command fact sheet. "In May, I will be receiving my Bachelor's of Science in Technical Management from Embry Riddle (Aeronautical University). It's nice to see a campaign that encourages all levels of educa- tion," noted one participant in the 5-K run, Staff Sgt. Rodolfo Garza, the Hill AFB First Term Airman Center NCO in charge. The goal of YoGrad is to inspire those considering or currently working on an education plan to start, continue or complete that plan according to AFMC. "AFMC's goal is to realize an overall 10 percent increase in the number of degrees earned at all levels," said Swanson. "Last year, AFMC had the largest amount of Community College of the Air Force graduates ever ... we are hoping to top what we accomplished last year." Despite the recent and potential changes to military tuition assistance, there is no reason someone cannot continue with school, stated Swanson. There are other avenues to help pay for college if Airmen know where to look. For more information, contact the education center at DSN 7772710 or visit https://www.facebook.com/EducationOffice. Hagel initiatives take aim against sexual assault BY JIM GARAMONE American Forces Press Service W ASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is vowing to change the culture that allows sexual assault to be a serious problem for the Defense Department. In a memo released May 7, Hagel announced a number of initiatives to eradicate sexual assault. "While the department is putting in place important new programs to combat this crime, it is clear that we must do much more to eliminate this threat to the safety and welfare of our men and women in uniform, and the health, reputation, and trust of this institution," he wrote. Army Maj. Gen. Gary S. Patton, the director of the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention and response office, discussed the secretary's initiatives in an interview ahead of the memo's release. Patton said the secretary's initiatives will work to change the culture in the armed forces. The first initiatives deal with the command climate and enhancing commander accountability, requiring that the results of command climate surveys will be provided to the next higher echelon of command. "Second, the service chiefs have been directed to develop methods to assess the performance of military commanders in incorporating sexual assault prevention and victim care principles into their commands," Patton said. "We've asked the service chiefs to look at methods to incorporate this into annual assessments 4 what would be appropriate ways to tie sexual assault prevention and response accomplishments into an evaluation or assessment system?" he added. "It's an open-ended task." The chiefs have to report back to Hagel with their conclusions Nov. 1. Hagel directed the services and defense agencies to conduct a comprehensive visual inspection of department work places, including the service academies, by July 1. This is similar to an inspection the Air Force conducted late last year to ensure workforces do not display "degrading, offensive materials." Another Hagel initiative looks at preventing sexual assault in the recruiting and early training process, Patton said. "This includes DoD-wide recruiting organizations, the military entrance processing centers (and) ROTC to assess them on their sexual assault prevention programs," he said. This follows recent assessments conducted by the services of their military academies and initial entry training programs. Another initiative looks to improve overall victim care and trust in the chain of command, to increase reporting of the crime, and "to reduce the feelings victims have of being ostracized," Patton said. On the military justice side, Hagel asked for the acting DoD general counsel to incorporate the rights afforded to victims through the Crime Victims' Rights Act into military justice practice. He also wants to evaluate the Air Force Special Victims Counsel pilot program "to ensure victims of sexual assault are provided the advice and counsel they need to understand their rights and to feel confident," Patton said. Finally, the defense secretary is asking a congressionally mandated panel to speed up its work on an independent review of the systems used to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate sexual assault crimes. The legislation gives the panel 18 months to finish its review. Hagel is asking them to finish in a year. 5 |