Is This How Our soldiers Have To Drive In Urban Iraq?

Humvee Traffic Driving in Iraq

Watch and see how the american soldiers have to drive through Iraqi streets to limit risks of attacks

Ok Now before people start putting words in my mouth and flame me for whatever reason, I am only posting this video with a question. I am not blaming anything on anyone, or generalizing about a certain military group or people or whatever. I am not accusing anyone of anything.

Ok anyways, the following video shows the drivers view iside an unidentified military vehicle driving through the streets of Iraq, and judging by the accents and voices, it is likely they are American. They are just bumping people's cars to force them to yield, including a bus, and at one point just start driving on the opposite side of the road, forcing those drivers to yield.

Now the comments state that they have to drive this way in those crowded streets in order to avoid becoming a target for insurgents. But I seriously doubt everyone over there is driving this way. Are there any soldiers back from Iraq that can vouch that this is definetly not the norm?Given the volatile situation in the country, I figure they are probably on their way to reinforce some of their forces that may be under attack. May or may not be. Could probably just be a couple of knuckleheads with no respect just driving how they want.

Frankly, I am not inclined to believe that this is the typical driving manner of the American forces.

As I would say, adapt or die. I would drive like that too instead of exposing myself to vehicles that may be VBIEDs or IEDs that are around. Not to mention the threat of RPGs. Gotta keep moving.

Yeah I guess I cant deny that delta. but pretty much all the videos I have seen of IED's hitting a tank or Humvee, they were never driving on a crowded traffic congested road like that. I still do not believe that this is how most of our guys are driving around out there, it just does not seem rational.

[edit on 1/27/2007 by DYepes]

Originally posted by DYepes
Yeah I guess I cant deny that deta. but pretty much all the videos I have seen of IED's hitting a tank or Humvee, they were never driving on a crowded traffic congested road like that. I still do not believe that this is how most of our guys are driving around out there, it just does not seem rational.

O really? Here is a video of the Marines moving fast in a crowded city. The troops would drive fast and do crazy moves to avoid what they believe they could be targets of IEDs, ambushes, etc. In the roads like highways and so on, they drive in the middle which means head on into other cars on the opposite side, which forces the Iraqi drivers to get out of the way.

i am sory but what I meant is that I do not see them driving on a congested road when attacked. See that humvee was just driving regularly as far as I can see, on a low traffic road. They seem to be driving just fine there. Not crazy at all.

Jeez I sure hope those people in the white van are okay.

[edit on 1/27/2007 by DYepes]

Originally posted by DYepes
i am sory but what I meant is that I do not see them driving on a congested road when attacked. See that humvee was just driving regularly as far as I can see, on a low traffic road. They seem to be driving just fine there. Not crazy at all.

They can go fast or crazy, anything to avoid other cars. If the Marines had seen cars were in the way, they be pushing them to keep moving, not slow down or stop to give insurgents a clear pefect view of their target and have it on a camera and post it on a website with their annoying music.

it seems to me they were in a hurry to get somewhere, some kind of emergency.

There is not real way to tell why they were in such a hurry, heck they could have been trying to avoid to get hit, trying to save a burning school of children, or simply were runnign late to get that 10:30 am breakfast at the local Iraqi Mcdonalds.

I am watching the History Channel now and they are saying do not slow down or stop at any cost, don't worry about traffic laws. If they slow down or stop, they can be trapped and killed before they know what is going on. Remember, they are not driving in a friendly American city. Anybody they see could be out to kill them.

[edit on 27-1-2007 by MBF]

So then this is in fact how all of them drive lets say even if they are just getting from like a meeting at a FOB to a point the are supposed to secure outside the greenzone?

Well man that sucks. Good luck to them I guess.

Originally posted by H34T533K3R
it seems to me they were in a hurry to get somewhere, some kind of emergency.

In America there's no such a thing as a claxon?

Usually we don't put big flashing lights on military vehicles, yes.

I rarely defend the way the US army conducts itself in Iraq but the driving shown in the first video is above board.

It's called defensive driving, you will notice how the driver very quicly finds the easiest path through the traffic, if he cannot find an easy path he nudges the car to get out of the way.

For Europeans here that are unlikely to have seen a Standard Humvee let alone an Army HMMWV these things are HUGE compared to normal road vehicles. If the driver was just bashing people to be a pain in the arse those vehicles would be demolished from behind. I commend the driving skills your US soldier shows here.

All NATO armies (I say NATO because I've never worked with the others) are trained to drive like this, stopping in a warzone = DEATH

whats the deal with the driver?????? why do you have to play bumper cars with everyone infront of you???!!!

Originally posted by conspiracymaster
whats the deal with the driver?????? why do you have to play bumper cars with everyone infront of you???!!!

Because they are not pulling over! Iraqi citizens KNOW to get out of the way if they see a military vehical trying to pass.

Originally posted by Jimmy1880

Originally posted by conspiracymaster
whats the deal with the driver?????? why do you have to play bumper cars with everyone infront of you???!!!

Because they are not pulling over! Iraqi citizens KNOW to get out of the way if they see a military vehical trying to pass.

exactly some iraqis in the vid were moving out of the way instinctively as soon as they pulled up behind them. Besides, I doubt that humvee was the only one, it seems they were leading a convoy or something.

Originally posted by deltaboy
I would drive like that too...

I would drive faster.

i was a tractor trailor driver for the army and i spent a year in iraq and that is how we are told to drive. we roll in large convoys throught citys like that all the time.

we are told to put the peddle to the floor and dont stop for anything i also had to hit a few cars but i allways gave them a few seconds to get out of the way and if they didnt even try to move then i gave them a little "motivation" but just enough for them to get the idea.(a 55 foot long semi-truck doing 70mph in your car mirrior usually does the trick though)

you just have to remember one of those cars could turn into your truck and explode at any time,(and trust me when your in traffic thats all you think about)

in my eyes the driver in the video did what he was supposed to do, he could have just slammed hard into the cars but that would have caused a bigger traffic jam and blocked the other trucks behind him(you are not allowed to leave post with less than 3 trucks)

Well I did not know any of this, and thats whay I asked. Thanks for the information. I know if my comrades were dying everyday cuz of IED's and suicide bombers, I would be driving the same way.

I say that if you don't know what the hell BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE! BEE! BEEEEEP!!!! means than you deserve to get bumped and gently at that by a pissed off marine in a humvee.

He was laying on the horn the whole time. ANd honestly if i had to deal with morons who cant interpert that, then yeah I'd ram them out of the way too. i am not going to let my life rest in the hands of a bunch of people who hate me anyways.

THose marines were driving in a logical way to avoid any and all IED and RPG ambushes they could. Hell if I just arrived there and the guy who showed me where my bunk was where the mess hall was etc the day before... got blown up driving to the store or elsewhere then yeah, I am officially dricing NASCAR Style...Nasty Car that is.

Screw all the others. It's me or them. I plan on going home somewhat safe.

I remember in LA watching some prick in a mercedes decide that he was going to make a left turn right infront of a convoy of firetrucks doing 55 down the street to get somewhere because his little pri-maddona ass though he was too important to get the hell out of the way. So right as the lead fire truck pulled into the intersection he made a left...knowingly.

What happened next was priceless. The firetruck driver downshifted and rammed that mercedes the F.... out of the way....hard... real hard.

The jack ass and his mercedes spun instantly and in a half second later slammed into the curb sideways. The car was completely crunched and nobody stopped to help his arrogant ass. We all just drove away. The rear element to the convoy was a paramedic and he pulled over immediatly but ass holes like that deserve getting their car wrecked and maybe a delay in medical treatment.

Those firetrucks could have been on the way to rescue this jerk's mother for all he knows. But he though he was more important.

I say the marine with the humvee was being nice, and the iraqies need to get with it and pull the hell over. Anybody with half a brain would.