GOV accident surge

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cory W. Bush
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Airmen at the 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle maintenance flight are busy buffering dents and turning wrenches trying to keep up with the sudden increase in Government-Owned Vehicle accidents, here.

So far this fiscal year, there have been 33 GOV accidents. This is an increase from FY15, which had a total of 28 accidents. Of the 33 accidents, 30 were accidental and three were caused by abuse.

The sudden surge of accidents has created a backup of vehicles waiting for repairs by 31 LRS mechanics.

"Our mechanics are so busy, we are forwarding all further vehicles repairs to local contracted mechanics off base," said Staff Sgt. Andrew Berroth, 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron fleet management analyst. "This costs the base more money and time in the long run."

Throughout the past five years, the number of GOV accidents has varied tremendously year-to-year. In 2011, there were a total of 100 GOV accidents, compared to 2012, where there were only 26 accidents.

"2011 was a busy year for mechanics," mentioned Berroth. "At the rate we're at right now, we could possibly see numbers like that once again this year. Hopefully, individuals start paying more attention while driving to prevent that from happening."

Someone has to pick up the bill for the repairs, and it could be the individual or the unit.

"A lot of the time it's the Airmen within the unit who end up suffering from someone's mistake," said Master Sgt. Andre McDonald, 31 LRS flight chief. "The first thing being taken away for repairs are funds for training. The more GOV accidents that occur, the more training we aren't able to do or the less equipment we are authorized to buy."

Money isn't the only thing taken away from a unit. When an Airman is involved in an accident, the member's GOV license is suspended unless their unit commander reinstates it. This could cause a manning shortage and interfere with the ability to effectively accomplish the 31st Fighter Wing mission.

"Airmen are our number one asset," said Lt. Col. Shonry Webb, 31 LRS commander. "If an individual uses a GOV on a regular basis and were to get into an accident, they need to find someone to perform their duties while their license is suspended. Not having an adequate level of material handling equipment such as forklifts and loaders would negatively affect the ability to distribute mission critical cargo."

It's every Airman's responsibility to help put a halt to the rising number of GOV accidents.

"We can't prevent every accident," said Berroth. "But we can all hold one another accountable to drive more attentively. Ultimately, reducing the number of GOV accidents increases the amount of money units can spend on training and equipment to develop Aviano."