Safety office spots way to improve road safety

by Gina Randall
100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

3/26/2015 - RAF MILDENHALL, England  -- Team Mildenhall leadership are asking its members to step up and step in if they see someone driving unsafely on or off base. If they see someone potentially putting people at risk, they should report it.

The 100th Air Refueling Wing Safety Office runs a program where people can get involved if they see something unsafe.

"The safe street spotter program allows individuals to report unsafe driving acts and behaviors, on or off the installation, to the safety office via our ground safety SharePoint page," said Staff Sgt. Koert Lyman, 100th ARW Safety Office occupational safety professional from Eastham, Massachusetts. "Once identified as an RAF Mildenhall member, the information is then sent to the individual's squadron leadership and they will face appropriate action under Mildenhall Instruction 31-218, Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or other lawful authority. This specifically may include revocation of their 3rd Air Force license."

The base population is spotting many areas of driving that are unsafe.

"Any unsafe act or behavior conducted in a motor vehicle by base personnel can be reported," said Lyman. "The most common things reported to our office are individuals overtaking on the no passing roads (as identified in Mildenhall Instruction 31-218), erratic driving behavior (such as tailgating, swerving or weaving through traffic), speeding, cell phone use and failure to obey traffic lights, signs and United Kingdom road rules."

This is not a new program, but with continuous incoming military members and their families, it's important everyone is informed.

"The program has been in effect for at least 10 years, going back to a string of fatalities occurring in 2003," said Master Sgt. Dominic Cilia, 100th ARW Ground Safety superintendent from Brooklyn, New York.

The reason behind the program implementation is clear -- the safety of the Air Force's most valuable assets: the people that make the mission happen each day.

"The program was set up in the hopes of curbing drivers from operating their vehicle in an unsafe manner and, more importantly, to save and protect lives while operating a vehicle in the U.K.," said Lyman.

The superintendent seconds the reason for the program.

"We are proud of the program as it identifies members with risky driving behaviors before they seriously injure or kill themselves or others on the U.K. roads," said Cilia.

The safety office can't be everywhere and hopes people get involved to be their eyes and ears.

"We'll never know what's happening on the roadways if people aren't reporting risky behavior they observe," said Lyman.

Everyone can help to potentially save a life. They can report offenders without a direct confrontation.

If someone spots an unsafe driving act or behavior from base personnel, they can go to the 100th ARW Ground Safety SharePoint Page and use the automated Safe Street Spotter link to report the individual. People will need to know the registration number (full or partial) and include a vehicle description and detail of the unsafe act. If they don't have access to the SharePoint site, they can call the safety office at DSN 238-2255, commercial at 01638 542255 or email 100arw.segv3@us.af.mil.