MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Wearing reflective gear is one of the simplest things everyone aboard MCB Hawaii can do to prevent accidents and injuries involving vehicles and pedestrians.
While base regulations require everyone to wear reflective gear whenever they're outside walking or running during the hours of darkness, base residents are still getting caught outside at night without the proper equipment.
To help keep everyone safe, the Base Safety Center is encouraging everyone aboard the installation to abide by a policy where "hours of darkness" are from evening colors until morning colors.
"Part of the problem is that if someone leaves his house at 6 p.m., for example, and it gets dark while he's out, he may not have the proper reflective material to be seen by motorists," said Master Sgt. David Welker, traffic program manager at the Base Safety Center. "It's also difficult to distinguish exactly what time it gets 'light' in the morning."
The Base Safety Center, while working to encourage commands aboard the base to adopt the standard policy, is working with the commanding general and his staff to update the regulations.
In the mornings, when traffic on base is heavy because people are driving to work, reflective material helps keep Marines, Sailors and others safe as they walk or run. The early morning hours are more dangerous because there are more vehicles on the road, and people running or walking without reflective gear are less visible, even though it may be late enough to not be considered "the hours of darkness."
The Military Police Department is stepping up enforcement of the regulations, and the Base Safety Center is always looking for suggestions on how to keep base residents and employees safe.
In addition to wearing reflective material from evening colors until 8 a.m., following other regulations regarding walking or running on the roadways will also keep pedestrians safe.
Individuals, and small groups of runners, walkers or joggers, are required to run on the left side of the road, facing traffic, when there is no walkway adjacent the roadway. When there is a walkway, small groups, and individual runners, walkers and joggers, are required to use them, and not enter the roadways when vehicles are present.
Pedestrians, including those performing unit physical training in formations smaller than battalion-sized groups, have the right of way in crosswalks and walkways only, and should remain off of the road whenever possible. Base regulations specify other specific rules for formations running or walking aboard MCB Hawaii, and leaders of those formations are required to know the rules before stepping off.
Keeping everyone safe on the roads of MCB Hawaii requires residents and employees to put their risk management skills to work, according to Welker. In a situation involving vehicles and pedestrians, it's always better to use common sense and avoid a collision than to argue about whom was at fault after a tragic accident.