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Safety notices negative trend at Vandenberg
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE, Calif. -- The 30th Space Wing Safety Office issued a plea today reminding base personnel that improper safety considerations are not just a personal decision, but can affect everyone on base.
"The safety office has observed a disturbing trend across the base," said Tech. Sgt. Hyrum Lowder, 3Oth SW ground safety noncommissioned officer in charge. "In the event of poor weather, such as fog and rain, drivers are not turning on their headlights when operating a vehicle."
According to 30 SW instruction 31-204 Motor Vehicle Traffic Supervision, having headlights turned on is mandatory during any inclement weather.
"During daylight hours, drivers are to leave their headlights on low beam during periods of reduced visibility due to weather conditions like rain or fog," according to paragraph 4.4.4. Since 2005, it is also California state law that headlights are turned on during inclement weather.
Not only can Vandenberg security forces patrolmen can issue citations for failure to turn headlights on, but an offending driver is also putting other drivers and base families at risk.
"Unfortunately the 'foggy' times of the day are normally when kids are headed to school and people are driving to and from work," Lowder said. "If a vehicle is traveling with headlights off during inclement weather, this can greatly increase the chances of hitting another vehicle or a pedestrian, or being hit yourself. We need to be as safe as possible and the way to do that during poor weather conditions is make yourself visible."
Please contact your unit safety representative or the 30 SW ground safety office at 605-5302 for additional information.