Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Returning Military Personnel Have High Accident Risks


Veterans, who are returning back home after active combat duty, have enhanced risks of being involved in accidents.  According to a study by the USCA, returning service members, especially those who served in the Army and Marines, are much more likely to be involved in accidents.
Enlisted ranks had a 22% higher likelihood of being involved in at-fault accidents.  Non-commissioned officers had a risk of being involved in accidents that was about 10% higher, and in the case of officers, the risk of being involved in at-fault accidents was about 3.5% higher.
The most common cause of accidents reported by veterans returning home from combat was accidents involving objects on the road.  Younger service members below the age of 22 were approximately 3 times as likely to be involved in accidents, compared to older vets.
California veterans benefits lawyers believe that the increased stress brought on by multiple deployments is also a possible reason for the high numbers of car accidents involving service members.  Multiple deployments were linked to a higher risk of accidents, while persons who had longer durations of deployments were also found to be much more likely to have high accident risks.
According to the study analysts, the reasons for this high susceptibility to accidents after veterans return home are manifold.  It could have something to do with failure to drive at posted speed limits when they return home. 
Some veterans also likely suffer from an inability to discard some of the driving practices that they used during combat.  For instance, veterans may be reluctant to wear seat belts when they get back home, or may be reluctant to stop at intersections.  Both of these are behaviors that dramatically increase a person's risk of being involved in an accident and the risk of being injured in an accident.

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