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Navy Joins Army in Safe Driving Course in Kuwait

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080108-06
Release Date: 1/8/2008 1:57:00 PM

By Lt. Penny Cockerell and Lt. Cmdr. Aaron Greene, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group Public Affairs

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (NNS) -- One of the most dangerous duty hazards in Kuwait comes not from bullets flying, but from unpredictable driving practices along Kuwaiti roads and highways.

Typical driving practices in Kuwait are different than in the United States, and U.S. troops need to be extremely vigilant when traveling between camps.

Because of this, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group (Forward) Sailors at Camp Arifjan and Camp Patriot are participating in the Army Safe Driver course, where drivers learn how to evade errant vehicles, to properly change lanes and to safely return to the road after leaving the roadway.

The Army Safe Driver Course was prompted by the high accident rates in military Humvees. Developed by General Motors and sponsored by Area Support Group - Kuwait, the course trains with passenger cars and SUVs, as well as Humvees, ambulances and armored support vehicles.

During the half-day course at Camp Arifjan, student drivers learn evasive exercises to show that less time is needed to steer a vehicle around an object than is required to stop before striking it. The lane changing, or "serpentine," exercises teach drivers the proper timing of steering inputs, coordination of throttle and steering, as well as judging how the vehicle relates to fixed objects.

Skid control, off-road recovery and backing a vehicle in a straight line are also course tactics.

"We aren't going to take you to your comfort level," one course instructor said. "We're going to take you beyond it."

Chief Postal Clerk Neil Kolling recently took the course and said it boosted his confidence.

"The class made me more aware of the capabilities of the vehicle I'm driving and taught me what not to do as well as what to do in an emergency situation," Kolling said.

For more news from Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, visit www.navy.mil/local/nelsf/.