Vanquishing the V/PD

1st Quarter 2012

A quarterly publication from the

Safety Section

Federal Aviation Administration Airports Division

Western-Pacific Region

This publication is directed primarily towards airport management to be disseminated to

all levels of personnel working at your airfield. It does not matter how large or how small

your airfield or how tight your budget may be, this information must be made available to

your people by whatever means. Vanquishing the V/PD can be accomplished through a

solid partnership between the FAA and airport management. The responsibility of

making sure that the proper safeguards are in place; however, lies squarely on the

shoulders of the airport management. Please use this information and all that follows as a

guide by which to produce a safer environment at your airfield.

Happy New Year!

For many of us, compiling a list of New Years resolutions is a tradition we accomplish

with the best intentions. My chief New Years resolution is to make 2012 a gainful year in

our endeavor to vanquish the vehicle pedestrian deviation (V/PD) in the Western-Pacific

Region. Please join me in adding this resolution to your list for 2012.

How can we make vanquishing the V/PD a fruitful resolution as the New Year matures?

You can start by developing a campaign at your airport intended to focus attention on the

issue. The campaign should contain the following elements:

 Give your campaign a name that reflects the goal. May I suggest Vanquishing the

V/PD?

 Give your campaign a time frame. May I suggest the calendar year of 2012?

 Continue to communicate the campaign message on a regular schedule

throughout the year.
 Give your campaign a sense of urgency. Improving the level of operational safety

must be a primary concern for everyone.

 Give your campaign a reason. Make it clear to your audience that the reason for

eliminating unauthorized activities in the movement area is to preclude

dangerous conflicts with aircraft, particularly in the runway environment.

 Enlist the efforts of tenant managers to help communicate the strategy and goals

of the campaign.

 Provide education in a simple form geared to those who will use it. Maps, flyers,

newsletters, posters, warning signs on gates and pocket-sized information

reference cards are all effective.

 Make sure individuals understand their basic responsibilities while conducting

business on the airfield: escorting guests, driving vehicles, soloing students,

performing maintenance tows, responding to emergencies, etc.

 Empower the individual by encouraging the concept of self-policing on airport

property.

 Make your message positive.

 Give recognition to outstanding achievers.

 Close the campaign at the end of the year with measurable results.

A year long campaign is no substitute for a solid driver education program, thorough

construction safety phasing plans, a well attended tenant outreach program and

meaningful consequences for those who do not follow the rules. But a year long

campaign might be the right spotlight to focus attention on the importance vanquishing

the V/PD in 2012.

Column written by:

Steven Oetzell

Lead Airport Certification Safety Inspector, AWP-620.6

Reproductions of this, past and subsequent issues of Vanquishing the VPD are available

on FAAWebsite:

http://www.faa.gov/airports/western%5Fpacific/airports%5Fresources/newsletter/