Ground Rules

By SGT. 1ST CLASS RAUL CEDENOFebruary 23, 2011

Ground guides are a vehicle operator's "eyes" when maneuvering equipment in areas of limited visibility. Therefore, ground guiding a vehicle is one task where training and coordination between the two is critical.

Recently, the Army experienced a fatal ground-guiding accident because this routine task wasn't executed properly. As a Soldier was ground guiding a truck to connect to a trailer, the driver lost sight of him. The Soldier was pinned between the truck and trailer and crushed. He died from his injuries later that day. Leaders and Soldiers can prevent these needless losses by following a few simple steps:

Aca,!Ac Ensure Soldiers are familiar with Army Regulation 385-10, Chapter 11, Prevention of Motor Vehicle Accidents, and Field Manual (FM) 21-305, Chapter 8, Manual for the Wheeled Vehicle Driver. Also, make sure everyone understands the basic signals to control vehicle drivers (don't forget about flashlight signals) from FM 21-60, Visual Signs.

Aca,!Ac Make sure ground guides use hand signals. Voice signals can be misunderstood or go unheard and should only be used in an emergency. Drivers and ground guides must coordinate hand signals before operations.

Aca,!Ac Position front ground guides to the left front (driver's side) and rear guides to the left rear of vehicles.

Aca,!Ac Never allow a ground guide to walk directly into the vehicle's path. Ground guides should also never walk backward or get between two vehicles.

Aca,!Ac Ensure drivers understand they immediately must stop if they lose sight of the ground guide or don't understand a signal.

Aca,!Ac When using two ground guides, they must maintain visual contact with each other. The front ground guide must stop the vehicle if he or she loses sight of the rear ground guide.

Aca,!Ac Ensure the ground guide, not the vehicle commander, is in charge of the vehicle.

Aca,!Ac Whenever the vehicle is under the control of a ground guide, the only command the vehicle commander should issue to the driver is "stop."

Aca,!Ac Always use ground guides when backing, in congested areas, when traveling cross-country during periods of limited visibility and in bivouac and assembly areas.

Aca,!Ac During periods of limited visibility or darkness, equip ground guides with suitable lights (two flashlights and extra batteries).

Aca,!Ac Ground guides must keep a proper distance from the vehicle (10 yards).

Aca,!Ac Ground guides should always clear themselves, clear the vehicle and, finally, give the command to move the vehicle.

Soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership and we must provide it. Many accidents are the result of Leaders failing to enforce standards. To fix this situation, Leaders must enforce training and ensure composite risk management is integrated into all phases of operations to mitigate hazards while conducting vehicle operations. If Leaders at all levels maximize their efforts to ensure Soldiers understand the ground-guiding standards, there's no doubt accidents will decrease and our combat power will be preserved.