Slow down and get off the phone!
By Capt. David A. Owen, Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka

Speeding has become rampant on this base and is a continuous safety issue. The posted limits are there for reasons and are required to be observed. With the number of personnel on this base walking and riding bicycles, it is wholly inappropriate for motor vehicles to be traveling at twice the posted speed. It happens everywhere including residential areas where the limits are 20 kilometers per hour (kph), thus endangering families and children.

The most common comment when pulled over by base security is “I was not speeding,” even when they were clocked at 45 kph in a 20 kph zone on a radar gun. One of my options is to direct a 20 kph speed limit basewide, which I am seriously considering implementing.

Additionally, I frequently see drivers talking on cell phones. This is also against base regulations and dangerous. One afternoon, I noticed a woman doing it and I shouted out to her to get off the cell phone. In return, she yelled back “who do you think you’re talking to?” Note that I was in uniform.

Keep in mind, there is an attitude that security needs to enforce these two areas more. The problem is that they cannot be everywhere all the time. Plus, it is not their primary job. The reason we have security is to keep the bad guys on the outside of the fence lines, not to chase down speeders and those talking on cell phones.

Yokosuka base is supposed to be a safe place to live, and inappropriate driving habits are inconsistent with that goal. I ask all those who operate motor vehicles on and off base to SLOW DOWN AND GET OFF THE PHONE!

The tone of this surprised me at first.

I understand there's a speed limit. I understand it's being ignored.

But at the same time, people all over the world drive faster than 12 mph and for the most part, pedestrians aren't killed off an alarming rate. Heck, the UK Government says you can hit people at 30 mph and there's an 80% chance they'll live!

I once got a speeding ticket on this base for doing 22kph in a 15kph zone. Your car goes 20kph all by itself, you know? I cant believe to this day I got a speeding ticket for driving 13.75 miles per hour, some people can RUN faster than that...haha

My personal favorite is the guy who hides behind the bushes by the car lot and gets people who are coming down the Weather station hill. So you have to ride the brake all the way down to make sure you dont ROLL down the hill at more than 30kph.

Posted By Blacklabel on 19 Nov 2010 11:15 AM
 I cant believe to this day I got a speeding ticket for driving 13.75 miles per hour

LOL!  That is pretty funny you speed demon, you! 

Yeah Im thinking you should get your ticket rescinded if you can prove you can at least run that fast over the course of an hour :-) Some lady ran by me pushing one of those double strollers on the sidewalk, should have got her instead. LOL

But seriously, I see his point about safety and all, but 20kph?? Are we sure everyone here knows the metric system and realizes how slow that is? and that it is impossible to do 20kph going up or down a hill?

Posted By Blacklabel on 19 Nov 2010 11:15 AM
My personal favorite is the guy who hides behind the bushes by the car lot and gets people who are coming down the Weather station hill. So you have to ride the brake all the way down to make sure you dont ROLL down the hill at more than 30kph.

Oh man, I didn't know this. I'm a speed demon down that hill since I have a manual. Thanks for the heads up!

And before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, I'm totally that wife that tells her husband to slow down because there are children EVERYWHERE on this base (because seriously, there are. People are jerks that excessively speed on base). I'm a granny driver everywhere else... but that hill is so fun, ha ha.

I only see his point about the cell phone...I never, never talk on my phone while driving...and the nerve of that lady to holler at him....doesn't she know who he is? I would be embarrassed...I do the speed limit but it is hard to go only 20kph but in my husband's clunker it's easier. how can one speed with all the people walking and biking....when a cyclist can past you on the road and beat you home you know you are driving slow, lol

Maybe it's because I take my bike to base almost every day, but I agree with him on this one. With the fleet in there a lot of people walking/biking/jogging/driving on CFAY, almost 30K, so he has to put his foot down and mitigate the risks before somebody gets seriously hurt.

I also have to agree with the cell phone thing.....clearly, there are a lot of people that simply are NOT multitaskers, even though they think they are. In this country, there's just too much going on around you to be busy yapping away on your cell phone.

Buuuut, I do think some of the posted speed limits on the base are a bit over the top. The speed limit in my neighborhood is 30kph, and there aren't any sidewalks. You have people on bicycles and pedestrians walking all over the place. Yet, on base, there are places that have a speed limit of 15 kph......like that road right in between the library and the commissary. It's only 15 there. The base has sidewalks and the roads are MUCH wider, so you don't run the risk of hitting people like you would off base. Yet, the speed limits seem to be much slower on base than off. Perhaps it's just being overly cautious. Or, maybe American drivers are just worse drivers than Japanese drivers.....I don't know. But, I know that when I drive between the library and commissary, I get irked at how ridiculously slow I'm going. That's 9 mph!

Yes, overly cautious is the right word. It gets built in to the Navy ethos, where a single mistake (accident, liberty incident, whatever) can destroy an officer's career. Therefore, they are afraid to take risks. So you set the speed limit at 9 mph in a fit of caution and naturally, that speed limit being so ridiculous, it gets promptly ignored by everybody.

Here's a thought... set a reasonable speed limit, then enforce it. Maybe people would get used to following the rules for a change.

Ok, back to our regularly scheduled program...

I don't necessarily disagree with him, the tone of the letter just surprised me.

If the base did raise the speed limit to a normal 25mph like it is back in US residential neighborhoods, people would drive 40mph all the time- and that's way too fast.

I still think 12.43mph is soooo super slow though. It takes me 20 minutes to drive the 3 miles to base from my house. And another 20 minutes to get from the front gate to where ever I'm going.

Dangers of Cell Phone Use While Driving

Crashes from cell phone use are on the rise.

An estimated 28 percent of all traffic crashes – or 1.6 million each year – are caused by drivers using cell phones and texting.

Cell phone use has increased dramatically during the last 15 years. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an estimated 11 percent of drivers are talking on cell phones at any point of the day.

Both handheld and hands-free devices increase driver reaction time and are equally as dangerous.

As of Jan. 1, seven states have implemented handheld cell phone bans and 19 have text messaging bans for all drivers.

Don’t wait for legislation to drive safely. We need to reverse this alarming trend.

Even if you aren’t using your phone while driving, it’s important to be aware of others who are and to drive defensively.

While driving, it is important to:

• Silence your phone before you begin your drive.

• Set up a voice mail message that explains you’re on the road, practicing safety to protect yourself and fellow drivers.

• Stop texting while driving. Research shows drivers who text are 8 to 23 times as likely to be involved in a collision.

• Pull over and park if a call is absolutely necessary.

• Encourage your friends and family to leave their phones out of reach while driving.

I agree 1000% with not talking on the phone while driving. Some people cannot multi task and they do get distracted. When I took my drivers test, the instructor kept telling me to slow down as I kept getting up to 25kph...I wasn't used to driving that slow since I'm new on base. I thought I had failed the test. Perhaps it's more of getting us used to driving slower on base where we have more control so when we are off base it will be easier to follow the slower limits on Japanese roads as opposed to American roads. I agree that it's difficult at times to drive that slow.