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    773rd CST participates in drivers' safety training

    773rd CST participates in drivers' safety training

    Photo By Staff Sgt. Jason Weber | A member of the 773rd Civil Support Team, 7th Civil Support Command, advances through...... read more read more

    HOCKENHEIM, BW, GERMANY

    08.06.2013

    Story by Staff Sgt. Jason Weber 

    221st Public Affairs Detachment

    HOCKENHEIM, Germany – As part of the 7th Civil Support Command’s safety office accident prevention campaign, members of the 773rd Civil Support Team, 7th Civil Support Command, participated in drivers’ improvement training instructed by the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobile-Club, Aug. 6.

    The drivers’ improvement training allowed the participants to experience different situations with their vehicles in a safe, controlled environment at the Hockenheim-Ring ADAC Traffic Safety Center.

    “Where else can Soldiers conduct this type of training without endangering the public,” said Dante E. Azul, 7th CSC safety manager. “No other venue in Germany can duplicate this event.”

    The training allowed the drivers to understand how their vehicle reacts at different speeds and road conditions, and how to recognize the dangers present in order to avoid or react appropriately to minimize damage.

    “Most Soldiers received drivers’ training in high school and during initial licensing process, which is a long time ago,” said Azul. “[There is] no specialized training for driving different vehicles such as these Ford F-250 crew cabs.”

    Before the participants were allowed to begin the course they were given a safety briefing by Anitta Loeffler, ADAC safety course instructor. The Soldiers then loaded into their unit's Ford F-250/F-350 crew cab cargo trucks and were given a guided tour of the course before the training began.

    The course consisted of multiple driving areas consisting of both dry and wet surfaces. Drivers conducted slalom driving, emergency braking, obstacle avoidance and short notice reaction.

    Loeffler also discussed six areas of importance for proper positioning of the driver inside of the vehicle, to allow for a safer driving experience. The areas included proper seat height, distance from the pedals, distance from and positioning of the steering wheel, headrest positioning, proper seat belt height adjustment and hand placement on the steering wheel.

    “We tend to become complacent after years of driving and it was good to sharpen our skills and reemphasize the importance of even the small things, like hand and seat placement,” Sgt. 1st Class Folayan M. Parks, an operations non-commissioned officer from the 773rd CST, said.

    In the emergency braking course Soldiers learned that stopping distances increase with increased speeds. The stopping distance at 60kph (37 mph) is over double that of the 40kph (25 mph) stopping distance. On wet surfaces these stopping distances are increased greatly.

    “I really enjoyed emergency braking on a wet road at 80kph (50 mph),” Parks, a resident of Evanston, Ill., said. “Slamming on the brakes in those conditions was a good reminder of the importance of the proper wearing of your seatbelt.”

    After the training was conducted, the drivers put their skills to the test on a course that produced short notice water wall obstacles. Navigating this final course assisted the drivers in reacting at a seconds notice and allowed them to realize how their vehicle handled while dodging the obstacles.

    “The training assists our unit by showing the Soldiers that there are still counter options in a bad situation, while driving, to try and prevent an accident,” Sgt. 1st Class Garret H. Mitchell III, a 773rd CST logistics NCO, said.

    “The training is important because we drive our vehicles all throughout the European theater with different situations,” Mitchell, a resident from Summerville, S.C., added.

    When asked what he found most challenging, Mitchell said, “These F-250 and F-350 trucks are not easy to maneuver at high rates of speed and brake on a slippery surface and still avoid obstacles.”

    The importance of safe driving techniques were reinforced and “we gained a greater confidence in our vehicles as well as our driving abilities,” Parks said. “I think this is an excellent opportunity that should be afforded to all Soldiers in the Army, especially those here in Europe.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.06.2013
    Date Posted: 08.28.2013 10:54
    Story ID: 112734
    Location: HOCKENHEIM, BW, DE

    Web Views: 113
    Downloads: 0

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