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386th Airmen get a grip at the wheel

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Airmen from the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing are getting a better grip on the wheel thanks to a course designed to teach defensive-driving techniques that could save servicemembers' lives.

The Army Safe Driver Training has trained more than 15,500 U.S. and host-nation military members since opening here in late 2005, said Mr. Henry Handler, ASDT supervisor. With approximately nine instructors and a full-time mechanic, the program offers classes twice a day, seven days a week, and is the only course of its kind in Southwest Asia.

Mr. Handler said it teaches techniques all drivers should know to stay safe on the road and help prevent motor-vehicle accidents, which claimed 29 lives across the Air Force in fiscal 2010. But safer driving is not the only benefit.

"We train on the airfield with a series of seven exercises," he explained. "It takes approximately three and a half hours to complete the course, after which the student gets a certificate that a lot of insurance companies stateside are accepting to provide an additional safe-driving discount on auto insurance."

Airmen from the 386th AEW said the course, which offers instruction in such areas as skid-control and emergency braking, was highly beneficial.

"This class definitely made me a safer driver," said Maj. Christine Kilian, 386th AEW executive officer. "I recommend attending because of all the new skills you can learn. The skid-control technique is a lot of fun to do."

"Skid control is unique because airplane wheels are put on the back of one of the vehicles that are air activated, so they actually spin 360 degrees," Mr. Handler said. "The instructor will flip a switch that will cause the wheels to start spinning freely, which will cause the rear end to slide out. That simulates a skid on a dirt- or sand-covered road."
Other exercises presented during the course include controlled-braking with vehicles that have standard and anti-lock braking systems; evasive maneuvering; navigation of a serpentine course that requires steering between cones in both forward and reverse; straight-line backing; and off-road recovery techniques.

Mr. Handler believes the off-road recovery portion is the most useful to drivers in Southwest Asia.

"The roadways out here have no definite edges to them, and a lot of the times people will drive off-road and panic. The best thing to do is not to panic," he said. "This class will teach you exactly what you need to do to get back on track."

The course has been so successful here, Mr. Handler said instructors would like to offer similar training to servicemembers in the United States.

"We would like to expand the program because it has proven necessary to keep people safe out here," he said.