LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA –
The 633d Air Base Wing Ground Safety Office is hosting a Street Smart Workshop at the Langley Base Theater Dec. 9 from 7 to 8 a.m., 10 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m., and is open to all base personnel, civilians and family members.
The Street Smart Workshop will take the audience into the realistic encounters of firefighters and paramedics as they work at an accident scene to save the lives of those who have made unfortunate choices, such as driving under the influence, being distracted while driving or those who aren't wearing a seat belt.
This simulated crisis will have real-life paramedics display step-by-step procedures used at the scene of an accident, such as checking a victim's pulse, loading them onto a backboard, and simulating an IV.
This demonstration is more than the average safety briefing as the audience will hear the stories behind the crashes, the choices that individuals was given, and see how their decisions ended. During this real-time scenario, the audience has the ability to observe and consider what it's like to try and save a life. Perhaps most importantly, throughout the presentation audience members will be able to consider what it's like to be the victim.
Statistics can be sobering and for some they don't really hit home until they are made personal. According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System Encyclopedia, 2009 ended with 33,808 people killed by a vehicle accident in the United States. Of that number approximately one-third or 32 percent of these people were killed in accidents that the driver's blood alcohol content was greater than .08. That is at least 10,809 loved ones that may have been saved had the driver of the vehicles decided not to drive under the influence.
In Virginia alone, 278 lives were taken because the driver of the vehicle was under the influence. Of the total people killed 11,512 or 34 percent of people killed in these crashes across the U.S. were not using vehicle restraints, 322 of these people were in Virginia.
Driving under the influence and driving without seatbelts aren't the only concerns for safe driving.
According to Ray LaHood, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's secretary of transportation, in a Faces of Distracted Driving Video, in 2009 distracted drivers killed 5,500 people and injured 500,000 more. His message emphasizes that families are torn apart by needless accidents and lives are forever changed because of distracted drivers, and he reminds us that no message or call is worth the risk. Being a safe driver in today's modern traffic environment is more than driving unimpaired and with seatbelts; it now includes ensuring we make our vehicles a distraction free zone.
The Street Smart Workshop presentation will fortify the message of making good choices before driving. By interacting with the audience this workshop will make sure that each individual walks away more mindful of the increased safety concerns on the roads today. The timeliness of the workshop will ensure these messages stay at the forefront of the JBLE community mindset throughout the holidays and their lifetime.