DES official, police Lt. E.Q. Wilhoit, Supervisory Traffic Collision Investigator and Community Outreach Coordinator for the White Sands Missile Range Police Department, speeding is a significant traffic concern.

Speeding remains a significant safety issue at WSMR

The White Sands Missile Range U.S. Army Garrison Safety Office hosted a Safety Stand-Down at the Post Theater on June 21, 2023. The stand down included safety-focused information and briefs from the Directorate of Emergency Services, the Hazardous Communication Office and the Environmental Division. One of the main topics discussed was how the problem of speeding significantly jeopardizes the safety of WSMR.

According to DES official, police Lt. E.Q. Wilhoit, Supervisory Traffic Collision Investigator and Community Outreach Coordinator for the White Sands Missile Range Police Department, speeding is a significant traffic concern. In fact, five citations were issued in the past month for driving over the speed limit by 30 miles per hour or more. The White Sands Missile Range traffic police has also cited three drivers for driving over 90 miles per hour in the past five weeks.

This year, DES has significantly intensified its enforcement measures to tackle traffic issues, including but not limited to speeding. Although efforts have been made to address safety concerns related to speeding, WSMR DES is working on future measures to reduce traffic concerns. These include imposing steeper fines for driving 20 miles per hour or more above the speed limit, conducting random checks of government-operated vehicles for dispatch violations, and automatically suspending licenses of drivers caught speeding 20 miles per hour or more above the limit, violations in school zones or engaging in reckless driving.

Additional traffic concerns include:

• Collisions with wildlife and while backing out in parking lots
• Failing to stop at stop signs
• Inattention
• Cell phone use
• Dispatches in government vehicles not being filled out

The safety of pedestrians, especially children, is being jeopardized by speeding on main post. Moreover, in other areas of WSMR, hazards like oryx, deer, and treacherous long stretches of roads make driving at high speeds even more dangerous. The key message from Wilhoit and the White Sands Missile Range Police Department with respect to speeding and safety is straightforward: slow down.