101 Critical Days of Summer: Traffic Safety still important at Osan

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chris Cantrill
  • 51st Security Forces Squadron
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Ever see those pretty white speed signs on base? Ever wonder why it's flashing your
speed back at you when you are driving? Well it's simple - you are violating the posted speed limit. 

Well you may wonder to yourself, why does it matter if I'm driving 5-10 miles over the speed limit, I'm going slow anyways right? 

According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, if you take speed in MPH and multiply by 1.5 to get the approximate feet traveled per second. Drivers typically require about 2.5 seconds to react to a hazard, meaning if you are travelling at 15 mph it will take you 56.25 feet to come to a complete stop as opposed to nearly 75 feet at 20 mph. Each 1-mph traffic speed reduction typically reduces vehicle collisions by five percent, and fatalities by an even greater amount.
 
To break it down even further, as described by the U.S. Department of Transportation, a pedestrian struck at 65 km/h (40 mph) has an 85 percent chance of being killed, at 48 km/h (30 mph) the probability of fatality is 45 percent, at 30 km/h (20 mph) the probability of fatality drops to five percent, and at 24 KM/h (15 mph) is just 3.5 percent.
 
Most insurance companies report that a staggering 52% of accidents happen within 5 miles from home. How many of you live within 5 miles of Osan's roads? One more equally important issue -- with normalization just around the corner our student population will go from just over 600 to nearly 1000, is it really worth striking down a child just so you can get to work or the BX quicker?
 
The slower you drive, the faster you can react to stop signs and pedestrians in crosswalks, which are both MANDATORY stopping points, not a slow roll through, or a "I didn't see you there" moment - it is your responsibility as a motorist to always be vigilant and to watch for hazards in your path.
 
Remember you are driving something that has the capability of deadly force -- Kill your speed, not pedestrians!
 
For more information you can contact the 51 SFS at 784-2771 or go online at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.