Barbed wire and warning shots are not foolproof ways to get motorists to stop. How about airlifting in some of those bright orange construction barriers? How many millions would that cost? How many lives could it have saved by now? I think it's outrageous the Marines didn't even think to bring along Arabic language road blocks and traffic signs when they knew their mission well in advance. At least try to scrape together something in the way of traffic signs within the days following the battles at Nasariya and elsewhere. Barbed wired across the road and warning shots can be missed, or misinterpreted, by drivers. What's more, as you could see if you watched some of the live coverage of that intersection outside the ministry of information in Baghdad, Iraqis read a red light as slow, not stop. Maybe our soldiers just aren't familiar with the rules of the road in the Mideast?
In nearby Pakistan and Afghanistan there were several stories a year or two back about how drivers there tend to be more reckless just because that is the norm, or expectation. Two vans full of passengers speed toward each other down a one lane road, until one pulls aside at the last minute to narrowly avoid an accident. With insufficient roads and lots of traffic, but few traffic controls or traffic cops, the more reckless you are the faster you get where you're going. Unfortunately, drivers adapt to this. Pedestrians are killed if they make the mistake of assuming a driver will stop for them. Could it be that in part the recent tragedies, with innocent Iraqis speeding toward roadblocks, are related a simple cultural difference in driving habits?
While Americans are conditioned to slow or stop when they encounter something unexpected, Arabic drivers are conditioned to speed through? I'm not saying I know the answer, but whether I'm right or wrong about these drivers, I think a few Arabic language signs could go a long way to save innocent lives. The Iraqis are educated people so "What if they can't read?" is not a valid excuse. Even if it was true, most traffic signs require no reading at all, just bright orange and flashing lights that are difficult to miss. I understand this might be unorthodox for a military to do, but this is supposed to be a war of liberation, not exactly same old same old.
Posted by Mike at April 1, 2003 08:54 AM | TrackBack