Drive to Survive - U.S. Army - South Korea - 1985 transcript

we were on a cable recovery Mission when the order came to move Spec 4 Brown started to back down the hill but the chalks were still in place the farmer turned right in front of me I slammed on the brakes and tried to avoid hitting him but my path was BL I can't help but wonder how many of our guys are going to get killed like this before the drinking and driving stops without warning the car sped up and tried to get in front of our vehicle pulling out without signaling I never thought driving a Jeep would cause so much trouble a speed limit sign means don't drive any faster under any circumstances it's okay though to drive slower if the conditions [Music] warrant you have to be prepared for the unexpected over here the Koreans not as familiar with Motor Vehicles as we Americans are and let's face it kids everywhere rush into traffic without looking I knew that but I never saw a child run from his mother's grass [Music] before fortunately we were going slow enough to be able to stop defensive driving is the key to Hing the unexpected I think ahead so I'm prepared to react quickly most importantly I keep my speed under control this allows C me even more time to react when the unexpected [Music] occurs driving too fast for the conditions is so easy to do here because the conditions can change so quickly the conditions are many and Vary from pedestrians to dust storms Road surfaces and other vehicles whatever conditions Prevail it is important to keep your speed under control [Music] we were out on maneuvers the call to move came from the range ncoic Spec 4 Brown was the driver he climbed in the cab and began to back down the hill he wanted to be able to turn the vehicle around on a level area the chocks were still in place under the wheels I don't think he realized that he gunned the engine and the wheels started to spin on the chocks I guess the chocks caused a loss of traction throwing the vehicle out of control Brown tried to regain control but there was no response from the wheel the recovery team scattered as the vehicle slid downhill it just happened so fast no one could do anything to help the truck was stable one moment and out of control a second later woodcot couldn't get get out of the way he he was run over it all happened so quickly he was in pretty bad shape he was Evac to the hospital but but it was too late I'll never forget what happened you can't let your guard down for a moment when the order came to move we moved but didn't think Woodcock paid the price [Music] I've been to Soul Many Times so it wasn't the first time I've been on the road from Casey to wambu driving through T shine is always an adventure soon I was out on the open road I saw the farmer moving slowly on what we call a one our buffalo he probably had one of the smallest loads I've seen since being here in Korea 9 months ago I decided to pass I know how unpredictable some drivers can be here in Korea so I moved to the center of the lane to pass I BW my horn so he' know I was there without looking the farmer suddenly turned in front of me I hit the brakes but my path was [Music] blocked it all happened so fast the little girl was thrown from the cultivator and seriously injured the farmer's leg was broken and I was hurt but the deuce in the half was barely scratched I tried to anticipate what could happen before approaching the cultivator I slowed down I tried to take evasive action what more could I do I work harded being a good driver but after this accident the safety officer when he told us to always expect the unexpected sure knew what he was talking about