Driver's Education - Afghanistan Style

Most people in the world think they are good drivers, at least they seldom admit to driving like an idiot. Here good driving, like we are encouraged to do at home, is a sign of weakness; it's like blood in a shark tank.
There are plenty of cars and someone in our group has commented that traffic is one sign of an improving economy. Unfortunately, the economy seems to be improving despite the lack of traffic laws, cops to maintain some semblance of order, good roads, traffic control devices and (a biggie in my book) trained drivers.
Now, most people will think I'm exaggerating when I say that there are absolutely no rules and people will drive anywhere and anyway in order to get to where they intend to go. They will drive on the right hand side of the road on an area that would pass as a shoulder in the US. They will pass on sharp curves and drive straight into oncoming traffic to get around slower moving vehicles. They will drive through the parking lots and travel portions of private property without even slowing down. I've never seen anyone drive on a sidewalk because there are no sidewalks. If you walk, you walk in the street.
There are pedestrians everywhere and they make great targets for the Afghans that happen to be driving. Bikes and donkey carts are very common everywhere as are motorized rickshaws if you happen to be in Jalalabad. Through the mountain passes you will see goat and sheep herders pushing their herds along oblivious to the traffic that comes from every angle. Camels are also common and they, like the Afghans, have no apparent fear of traffic coming from their rear.
The condition of most roads, especially just outside major cities like Kabul and Jalalabad, is terrible. Pot holes that could be considered terrain features are everywhere creating the dilemma of "weave or don't weave". If you weave, you are likely to hit something or be hit by something. If you don't weave you screw up your tires, wheels and undercarriage of the vehicle. This country has a good number of shade tree mechanics (without the trees) and most drivers can do one hell of a repair on their cars. An awful lot of driveways actually have a pit in the middle so the owner can get beneath the vehicle to make repairs.
My interpreter (or slang - Terp) says that he does not have a driver's license and he knows no one who does. There is a licensing requirement preceded by a class and a test. The class and the license cost money. There is no penalty for driving without a license. Need I go on...?
All of these factors would be an issue in peacetime. Toss in a hostile environment with about 20 different countries all having troops driving around in big, lumbering tactical vehicles and you don't need too much of an imagination to figure out there will be problems in accidents where a civilian vehicle is involved with a tactical vehicle.
Our High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV or HumVee) are one of the smallest vehicles in the coalition. The French have little things that would hardly classify as tactical vehicles but they are the only things that I've seen smaller than ours. Our HumVees are so big and noisy that they require an intercom system inside to allow the crew to talk, rather than yell, to each other. The passenger (or assistant driver, better known as the "A Driver") and gunner are an absolute requirement as additional eyes when you have to manuever through traffic. Even with that, a vehicle with original mirrors is considered a collector's item. In truth, you're going to hit something, you just try to minimize the damage and the frequency.
Now, toss in a convoy of between two and five HumVees and add the responsibility of keeping up with the vehicle to your front. This is an absolute necessity for our protection. Once a convoy is moving, nothing should be allowed to get between the vehicles. Bombers on foot, on bikes, on donkey carts and in vehicles of all sizes are now frequent in built up areas with coalition presence, especially in Kabul, the nation's capital. Speed and constant motion are our only defense against this type of attack. In the more remote areas, cars and trucks pull over upon the approach of a convoy. In cities, it's every man for himself. So we try to maintain convoy integrity in the traffic conditions I have just described.
Some new service members in this country have a hard time getting used to it. Others figure it out right away and are very good at tactical driving. I do pretty well as the lead and a follower. My only concern is that I will pick up habits here that I will use in front of my daughter who has just gotten her learner's permit.
My imagination is gone and I feel the need to stop writing. Hopefully this post has helped you understand about one of the fundamantal tasks that we all have to perform here. It is often funny to watch what happens but there are occasions where the lack of organization leads to tragic pedestrian accidents. Fortunately, our involvement in accidents is very limited.
If I don't get to a good connection in the near future, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving. My guys will still be in their forward positions so please remember them in your prayers.

Sarmajor