By the Numbers Published Aug. 14, 2012 By Lt Col Tom Aranda 2nd Bomb Wing Chief of Safety BARKSDALE AIR FORCE, La. -- I remember it well. Our commander called us into the Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, auditorium late one evening to make an announcement. Back home, one of our comrades in arms had died in a tragic accident. JP had gone for a motorcycle ride with a friend, another Air Force officer and by all accounts, was a safe and experienced rider, but that did not prevent an unlicensed teenager from "borrowing" her parents' vehicle and pulling out in front of him. JP died from his injuries and his friend sustained a permanent disability which ended her Air Force career. In a split second, the Air Force lost two highly-trained aviators and many members of the Deuce lost a good friend. According to Dr. Bruce Burnham, Chief of Research and Epidemiology at the Air Force Safety Center, motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for people age three to 34. They account for 35,000 to 45,000 deaths per year and caused 2.2 million injuries in 2008. By far, the biggest threat to the Air Force's most valuable resource is private motor vehicle (PMV) accidents. So what can you do to avoid becoming a statistic? One way is to steer clear of mobile devices. Twenty-five percent of PMV accidents are caused by cell phone use. Studies show that talking on a cell phone reduces your reaction time and is equivalent to having a blood alcohol content of 0.08, which is the state and federal limit for being intoxicated. Hands-free devices do not make you any safer because the problem is not physical but cognitive. Your brain is not designed to simultaneously pay attention to a cell phone conversation and to the road. Passengers may be quiet in a dicey situation or may even warn the driver of impending danger, but the caller on the other end of phone conversation will continue to distract you regardless of the traffic. Finally, texting while driving makes you 23 times more likely to be in an accident, and you can be sure your phone records will end up in evidence if anyone gets hurt. Another way to stay safe on the road is to not ride a motorcycle. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, per mile traveled, motorcycle riders are 37 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than occupants of cars. Survival is highly unlikely if impact occurs above 50 miles per hour (MPH). Although helmets increase your chances of survival by 37 percent but do not eliminate the threat. Of all fatal motorcycle accidents in 2008, 59 percent of the riders wore helmets. Education is only marginally effective. According to one study, education has no statistically significant effect on fatalities for riders under 21. I suspect that is because education can give you knowledge, but it cannot make you act on that knowledge. A motorcycle safety course will not help you if you ignore what you learned by taking unnecessary risks or exceeding your limits. It will not stop a teenage driver from pulling out in front of you. So what do all of these numbers mean to you? If you do not want to become a statistic: 1) do not use mobile devices while driving; 2) consider not riding a motorcycle, but if you do, ride one with antilock brakes, wear a helmet and keep your speed below 50 miles per hour. The first is a no brainer. The second will require every rider to conduct their own personal risk assessment. The 2nd Bomb Wing Safety office is dedicated to eliminating fatal mishaps. We are available to answer any of your safety questions and to connect you with traffic safety training. These numbers provide unbiased evidence about how to stay safe, but only you can follow this advice. When you know someone who died in an accident, the numbers become very real. For the people left behind after a tragedy, no victim is just a statistic.