American soldiers have trouble driving properly post-deployment, according to the USAA's "Returning Warriors" study.
The survey showed that in the 6 months immediately after returning from deployment, soldiers had 13 percent more at-fault accidents than in the 6 months immediately before deployment. Specifically, enlisted personnel (E1 to E4) had 22 percent more at-fault accidents, noncommissioned officers (E5 to E9) had 10 percent more and officers committed 3.5 percent more accidents. Those in the Army and Marines also had much higher crash rates than those in the Navy or Air Force.
Multiple deployments led to higher crash rates and people with longer deployments had more at-fault accidents.
Potential negative driving behaviors that soldiers typically carry home from deployment include:
- Reluctance to stop at intersections
- Driving at inappropriate speeds (either too fast or too slow)
- Changing lanes while traveling under bridges
- Reluctance to use seat belts
- Driving in the center of the road.
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