Returning troops find new enemy at home: Driving

Original link: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/17/returning-troops-find-new-enem...

The No. 1 killer of combat troops returning to the U.S. is not suicide. It’s car accidents, according to the Veterans Affairs Department.

Soldiers and Marines (and, to a lesser extent, sailors and airmen) learn to “drive to survive” in foreign battlegrounds. But those same driving skills don’t translate well to U.S. roads and are proving deadly for troops, MyFoxHouston.com reports.

"It was complete culture shock coming from the military back to Houston," explained Bryan Escobedo, a former sergeant with the U.S. Marine Corps.

'Anything that I saw on the side of the road, I'd swerve all the way.'

- Marine Sgt. Bryan Escobedo

"For a long time, when I was driving on the highway, I always thought that there was IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices]. Anything that I saw on the side of the road, I'd swerve all the way. I don't know, it would just overtake me with anxiety and I sometimes had to pull over and gather myself," Escobedo told FOX 26.

Escobedo survived four IED attacks overseas. But driving habits that once saved his life were now putting him at risk.

The problem is real, according to military insurer USAA.

According to FOX 26, USAA looked at 171,000-plus deployments, and saw "a 13 percent increase in at-fault accidents" among troops that had just returned stateside.
That's a 13 percent jump, overall, in wrecks caused by post-deployment personnel.

But the risk rises 22 percent among enlisted troops. And the increase was a startling 36 percent for individuals with three or more deployments under their belts.

The good news is: What is learned can be unlearned. It just takes time.

USAA tells FOX 26 News that the raised risk of wrecks for returning troops eventually drops back down again, after they've been home for six months or more.

"Looking back on it now, I just can't believe I was actually that paranoid," marveled Sgt. Escobedo.

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Transportation, along with the Department of Defense, are combining forces to reduce the risk of motor vehicle crashes among veterans, particularly those returning from the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.




Views: 105

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 18, 2012 at 2:11am

This must be particularly difficult for vets returning and driving here in Chicago.   The roads are littered with, well...litter and garbage EVERYWHERE, and large debris like rocks and old bricks laying at the side of the road is very common.  On a typical Chicago street a driver passes by something that could be an IED every few hundred feet, if not more often in some of the more run-down neighborhoods.  Some of the underpasses are even worse with garbage and rubble piled up on the sidewalks.  I can imagine this would be very stressful.

Also, Chicago drivers are the most aggressive and impatient speeders and passers and tailgaiters in the nation.  If you are not going AT LEAST 5-10MPH over the speed limit you darn near get run over from behind by traffic itching to get past you.  This type of pressure can only serve to turn up the stress level on a returning vet, used to driving in a combat zone where they have the right of way over every other object on the road. 

Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on June 18, 2012 at 2:12am

Interesting. And very timely. 

Car crashes are the leading cause of death of young people around the world. Driving is a public health crisis. And no one in the United States seems to be doing anything about it. 

We keep coming up with ways to teach bicyclists how to be safer, by promoting helmets, teaching them to ride outside the door zone, and about Vehicle Code laws that apply to motor vehicles as well as bicycles (like using lights at night). 

But we're not addressing what actually causes the danger: metal boxes on four wheels being driven on poorly designed roads, operated by people with divided attention and low levels of instruction, and sharing the road with incompatible users (people bicycling and walking). 

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service