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Safety initiatives include ‘Shoe Leather Express’

  • Published
  • By Hickam Kukini staff
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Earlier this year, Security Forces personnel kicked off a safety campaign that focused on four areas of traffic safety concern and enhanced vehicular safety in four different ways. 

The first of these, according to Capt. Adrian Estrada, 15th Security Forces Squadron, is to ensure that base speed limits are well advertised. 

"Ignorance is not an excuse for speeding, so we will post appropriate signage wherever necessary," he said. "We will also place the digital speed cart in places where drivers have a tendency to speed in order to increase awareness." 

Capt. Estrada added that Security Forces' second initiative is an anti-speeding program called the "Shoe Leather Express." This program is designed to deter speeding on Hickam, especially in base housing, by imposing significant consequences on speeders. 

"Anyone caught speeding in base housing will automatically lose their base driving privileges for 30 days," said Capt. Estrada. "The second offense will cost them 60 days, and a third time will cost them their driving privileges for one year." 

For everywhere else on base, speeders will lose their privilege to drive one day for every mile they exceed the speed limit. Five miles over the speed limit will cost you five days of driving, 10 mph in excess will cost you 10 days, and so on. 

"We cannot afford to have any of our family members, especially our children, injured due to vehicle driver inattention to the posted speed limit," Capt. Estrada said. 

"Therefore, anyone who cannot obey the speed limit will simply have to walk to work."
To further enhance safety on base, Security Forces, Civil Engineers and the base Safety office will evaluate high-risk areas and explore redesign options for traffic congestion during the Quarterly Traffic Engineering Committee meeting. For example, for areas that have historically seen high rates of traffic accidents or speeding violations, we are looking at the addition of speed table crosswalks, speed bumps or rumble strips. 

Finally, in its pursuit to ensure attentive driving practices, Security Forces will continue to enforce the cell phone policy. By regulation, cell phone use is prohibited while driving unless you are using a hands free device. The Commander, Pacific Air Forces, has mandated a 30-day loss of base driving privileges for anyone caught violating the DoD policy. Since the start of December, Security Forces personnel have already cited more than 40 individuals for cell phone use, including text messaging. 

"In order for our roads to be safe, we need everyone's cooperation and attention to driving," said Capt. Estrada. "Let's be proactive in attacking this problem before any of our Team Hickam family gets hurt. Together, we can make Hickam AFB the safest place on Oahu."