Traffic safety checkpoints help educate motorists Published June 25, 2009 Mary Lou Gorny HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- The 75th Security Forces Squadron issued 22 tickets for various motorist and safety violations at its first 2009 traffic safety checkpoint held June 20 and into the early hours of the next day. Sam Ingram, 75th SFS assistant, called the effort "pretty awesome," and noted that quite a few of the motorists thanked the officers and civilians involved in the educational aspect of the exercise. The safety event, held at the Roy Gate and near the South Gate, began at about 9 p.m. and ultimately involved some 350 vehicles, although approximately 560 drove through the checkpoint areas, Ingram said. "We focused mainly on vehicle safety to start. We made sure of properly working lights, everyone had their seat belts on and that everyone was operating their vehicles according to traffic laws," he said as he began describing the focus of the 25 officers and 3 civilians involved in the operation. "We did check child safety -- that was a big thing," Ingram said. "We were able to correct that on the spot and assist parents in getting their children into the right safety equipment." "A lot of times people aren't aware that their vehicle can't be a certain height or that they can't have a certain type of wheels mounted on it," Ingram said. So officers spent some time educating a few motorists on those aspects. But the focus was on child safety and motorist safety issues, and that the vehicles were in proper operating condition. Verifying licenses, registration and insurance were also among the first questions asked of drivers and verified by personnel. "We figure if we were out there and prevented one person from operating an unsafe vehicle, then we were successful, especially when they were intoxicated," Ingram said. There were no DUIs issued. The motor vehicle checkpoint, organized under the efforts of Tech. Sgt. Justin Forsgren, is just one part of the 75th SFS overall community policing efforts. "We will hold one a quarter -- four times a year -- and some at different times of the day," Ingram said. The squadron is also looking into some future prevention efforts through using portable breath tests at some events adjacent to where alcohol is served on base in some limited demonstrations to show potential drivers who have imbibed that the amount of alcohol consumed, size of the person or whether or not they have eaten does not necessarily help alleviate potential problems for motorists. "There are a lot of myths out there," Ingram says in regards to some of these issues. The educational exercise has not yet received official approval but could help spread the message. "The consequences for a DUI can be very serious for a military person -- including suspended driving privileges for a year, not to mention the normal consequences a driver faces through the Utah civil DUI process after being caught violating the law on base. Fines can range into the thousands of dollars, downtown," Ingram said. Insurance rates also rise substantially. "We assimilate Utah law, so people have to deal with that first," he said. "There are other avenues for people to take rather than driving after drinking," Ingram said as he talked about the services such as that offered by Airmen Against Drinking and Driving or else calling their first sergeant. In other reports that the 75th SFS receives from other bases, a majority of the time alcohol or drug use plays a significant role in a majority of accidents. "Safety is paramount as far as operating a motor vehicle," Ingram said. As far as the base is concerned? "Slow down, obey the traffic laws. This is a confined space in confined areas with a large variety in the type of vehicles being operated on base -- military vehicles, sizes and shapes -- and it can be a challenge," Ingram said as he urged motorists to be safe and be aware of their surroundings.