News

Local law enforcement: Pay attention to reduce accidents

  • Published
  • By Angela Woolen
  • Robins Public Affairs
There are two classifications of accidents which happen at Robins - minor and major.

A minor accident, according to Staff Sgt. Justin Urey, 78th Security Forces Squadron Police Services NCOIC, is just a fender bender where a vehicle can still be driven. A major accident is when an injury or a fatality occurs, the vehicle cannot be moved or the damage is more than $10,000.

This year, the 78th SFS has handled nine major accidents. The causes of these crashes can be attributed to speeding, not paying attention to lights and even changing radio stations.

The majority of minor accidents occur in parking lots. The speed limit in parking lots is 10 mph, the same on base as off base.

On base, there is no speed limit over 35 mph. Speeding can cost a civilian anywhere between $75 and $250.

This year, a total of 166 speeding tickets have been issued by security forces.

People who drive above the speed limit in parking lots and those who back out of a parking space at a high rate of speed often cause accidents.

Urey suggested a few pointers to reduce the likelihood of being involved in an accident.

"Back out slowly and those who are driving need to pay attention to the area and surrounding drivers," he said of driving in parking lots.

Three major accidents this year occurred in parking lots.

Most major accidents happen around 4 p.m., which is when many employees are leaving work. Minor accidents occur throughout the day.

Regular vehicle maintenance is high on the list as if the brakes fail due to improper maintenance, it can cause a crash to take place. 

Base police officers issue tickets for texting and driving. It is a $75 fine.

"A lot of minor accidents happen due to inattentive driving," he said.

Accidents can be reported to the Base Defense Operations Center at DSN 468-2187 or (478)  926-2187.