PDA

View Full Version : Reporting bad drivers is just a click away



thedrifter
10-16-09, 08:40 AM
Reporting bad drivers is just a click away

10/15/2009 By Lance Cpl. Lucas G. Lowe , Marine Corps Base Quantico

Military police cannot be everywhere at once, so it helps when the occasional good Samaritan holds others accountable for their actions as any law enforcement officer would.

For many years, Security Battalion has encouraged this kind of vigilance by making written traffic citation forms available at the base provost marshal office to Marines and sailors E-6 or above. Now these same third-party citation forms can be accessed online at www.quantico.usmc.mil.

“People would rarely come into Security Battalion to fill out the old forms,” said Staff Sgt. Jowa S. Wildes, the accident investigations chief at SecBn. “Now it’s easier to go online and complete the traffic violation report.”

To submit a TVR online, the Marine or sailor has to have witnessed a traffic violation take place on base, be willing to testify in an administrative hearing in base traffic court, have the license plate information of the vehicle in question and be an E-6 or above.

Department of Defense decal information can be substituted for the license plate number, said Wildes.

Third-party citations have proven effective deterrents elsewhere in the Marine Corps, including Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Okinawa, Japan.

“The fact that others are able to report you for acting recklessly on the road stops a lot of people from doing dangerous things,” explained Wildes. Now that TVRs are readily available online, would-be traffic violators may think twice before disobeying the speed limit or ignoring a stop sign.

Those being reported as traffic violators can expect a call from the base traffic court liaison, Lisa L. Ford.

“People don’t like it when you call them to tell them when their next court appearance is,” Ford said. “I’ve had people get very emotional on me. I’ve even had a few criers, but they all had to go to court.”

Correspondent: lucas.lowe@usmc.mil

Ellie