Military Vehicle accidents

[USMCGrunt]

I don't want to take away from the West Point story (which is still developing) so I am starting a new thread.

I just don't understand the high frequency of military vehicles that are overturning. Fatalities across all branches seem to be reported every month.

I know full well that the military is a hazardous work environment in both peacetime and in combat. i get it. But what the heck is going on with all these crashes? Training issues? Safety violations? Design flaws (top heavy or wheelbase too narrow for instance)? Speed? I have searched for some investigation into root cause but haven't been able to find anything.

Back in my day, the Jeep was the "standard" vehicle along with 2.5 tons, etc. Supposedly, the Humvee was an upgrade with the goal of preventing the common rollover accidents Jeeps faced. I know we have lots of new vehicles since the early 80's and I am aware that more personnel are carried into action than before but gosh, the frequency of rollover/ fatalities is alarming.

 

[Tex232]

https://news3lv.com/news/local/nevada-army-guard-soldier-killed-in-tank-rollover-in-california

I didn’t even know it was possible to roll a tank over.

 

[AROTC-dad]

https://news3lv.com/news/local/nevada-army-guard-soldier-killed-in-tank-rollover-in-california

I didn’t even know it was possible to roll a tank over.

This is a tragedy that hits close to home as my DS spent a lot of time in ROTC training with the Nevada Guard.

 

[Devil Doc]

I know of a handful of similar incidents that weren’t in the news and thankfully didn’t involve fatalities. One of my son’s MRAPs rolled over and the only thing that salvaged the situation was the driver and A-driver were belted, no injuries, and there was no gear adrift. He thought for sure he would be fired.

His and others didn’t simply roll over but either left the road or a tire got caught in a gully or washed out area that was once the road. The terrain at Camp Lejeune seemed to never change. A road in the desert and mountain training areas of Southern California can change with just a strong rain which has been the case there recently.

I obviously don’t know what happened at West Point but hope that driver training, physical qualifications, and operating procedures is not the cause. Those are easy fixes but a symptom of a larger problem.

 

[Wishful]

Do these vehicles have some type of spirit level which tells the operator that the angle of the terrain is too steep?

 

[AROTC-dad]

Mod Note:
Moving this thread from "off-topic" to the Academy/Military News Forum. It is a better fit there and I don't believe it disrespects or detracts from the other thread on the West Point tragedy.